Sunday, August 31, 2014

Doubts?


Eyes open.
Hearts wide.
Listen.



Linking up with Saturday Critters and Simple Things Sunday


Thursday, August 28, 2014

Six Word Fridays ~ Daze



her sharp words cut me deeply ~
rip me to shreds in places
too deep to name.... she blames
and accuses until reason looses the
battle and emotions swallow me whole.
i drown. i'm numb....pierced and
tangled, i wander through the day
in a daze. shake it off.
let it go. don't let her 
steal the joy. a mantra to
repeat until clarity returns. i catch
my breath...wonder if there's been
any healing {or just scarring}...and
wait for the next thorny barrage.



My Memory Art six word fridays


A Culinary Adventure


 Adventure: a risky undertaking of unknown outcome

I've been on a new adventure lately.
Not a 'travel to distant lands' kind of adventure.
No, I've just ventured back into my kitchen and started to try new recipes.
In fact, in order to chase gluten, dairy and processed sugar from our lives,
I've had to venture into unknown territory.
New ingredients.
More time - much more time - chopping and measuring.
I've left the familiar, quick old stand-by cuisine
and am trying lots of new dishes.
When you send me into the kitchen to take cooking risks, 
you never know what will come back out of the kitchen with me.
Here's a recent success story!

This shrimp dish is one of my new favorite things!
It is zesty, cooks up in one pot and oh, so yummy...
My sister-in-law shared the recipe with me.
It's a go-to favorite of hers.
{I can't source it further than that...I got a photo of a well used magazine page when I asked her for the recipe!}
Her husband and high-school boys love it too!
My husband and I shared it on the evening of our anniversary, so it's going into my recipe book as
"Zesty Anniversary Shrimp"


SPICY CITRUS SHRIMP
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp extra light olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp horseradish
2 Tbsp 100 percent pure honey
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb. raw, peeled, deveined shrimp
1/2 tsp lime zest
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh, chopped parsley

Directions:
In a medium sized frying pan, saute olive oil, garlic, horseradish, honey, lemon and lime juices and red pepper flakes for 2 minutes, stirring. Add shrimp in a flat layer cooking for 4 minutes, then flip, sprinkle with zests and parsley and continue cooking for 3 minutes without stirring. Toss the shrimp then put on a bed of your favorite veggies or quinoa or both!

ENJOY!
If you give it a try, let me know what you think!


Linking up with
and

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Black & White Wednesday ~ Boston








Building details.
Old, old churches.
New towers.
Cool vintage window displays.
Banners, flags and fire escapes.

I love this town.


My Memory Art
Please join us and share your
black & white photos
here today!
I'm also linking up with Communal Global

I Really Want It


"I'm feeling the world go round
It's spinning me upside down
I'm finally homeward bound
I'm not giving up."
A Great Big World

On Sunday, after climbing and walking for about ninety minutes, I sat on a bench by the edge of "my" pond. The bench is almost hidden by the growth at the water's edge, so I felt very secluded and relaxed. It was sunny and quiet and I had no schedule. No pressing reason to leave. Before long I was completely focused on a small, orange winged, dragon-fly like creature. He (or she?) had chosen a stalk of grass as his resting place. He'd buzz off, fly around, flit across the surface of the water, play with fellow creatures and spin upside down. Then he'd come "home" to rest. Over and over again! 

It was oddly encouraging to me to watch this little guy.

There was a burst of energy as off he flew.
Then back to rest.
To catch his breath and regroup.
It's taken me a long time in life to learn that part...
the resting and regrouping part.

At times in my life, I think sickness slowed me down. Forced me to stop spinning around. I've gone through periods of emotional withdraw - shutting out the world and feeling guilty for it. These past few years, I've learned and accepted my need for solitude and rest...for peace and quiet...for home. These past few months, as I've begun to conquer some life-long weight and health demons, I've felt a deeper gratitude for the strength that comes from rest and home than ever before.

I'm daring to really want it. Daring myself to really, really want the changes that I'm making to take root. To last. To be life giving and life changing. As I take that dare, and try really hard to excel at some new things, my world can sometimes feel like it's spinning in ways I don't quite understand. For today, I'm glad that I have this new image of my little orange-winged friend. This image will remind me to rest. And regroup. And then, when I've caught my breath, and checked my reflection, I'll head right back out there and I'll keep at it!

"Just take a look in the mirror
'cause all you need is inside yourself
It couldn't be any clearer."
A Great Big World






Joining Kathy for

Monday, August 25, 2014

Oh, these kids of mine!


So...
On Saturday evening our kids had invited us
out to dinner to celebrate our 30th anniversary.
We were very excited about a night out on the town with our kids,
and dinner at the pub where our son works.
Little did we know,
these kids of ours had planned a surprise party for us!


There were old photos and scrapbooks...


a "this is your life" time line for people to sign...




a room full of our favorite people....


delicious food....fresh veggies, shrimp cocktail, chicken-veggie kabobs....


laughter and hugs and stories and a toast with champagne!


There were banners....


and sunflowers.
Every detail was just perfect.

Not all surprises are good surprises,
but this one was the BEST!
We had a great night with treasured friends and family.


And it was all thanks to our crazy kids
who planned
and schemed
and,
at the end of the day,
knew just how to make their parents feel extremely loved!!



Joining Tamar for

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Wise Words


"Be a loner.
That gives you time to wonder,
to search for the truth.


Have holy curiosity.


Make your life worth living."
Albert Einstein




Linking up with

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Six Word Fridays ~ Mirror


Mirror, mirror on that wall, what
image is clearer than all? When
I look deeply into my eyes,
do I see truth? Or focus
on lies? Do I see junk
and clutter and dust...the trash
that's unsettled or lost or unjust?
Or do I see treasure and
moments divine that add up to
now, this life that's all mine?

The past is so tricky, it
can't be undone - or changed or
recaptured or ever respun. Yet still
I have power to choose what
I see - the trash or the
treasure - when I look at me!






My Memory Art six word fridays
Please join in the Friday fun!
Caption a photo, share a poem
or tell a story. Just remember,
only six words in each line!

And this week I'm linking up from here for
Weekend Reflections

just an ordinary day....



today, i will smile
today, i will speak kindly to the people at the gas company that have taken over 7 business days to not yet do
               what they promised to do in one day
today, i will thank each person who crosses my path for some kindness or another
today, i will be thorough and gentle with each person who calls the office...
               even if they don't identify themselves before they start barraging me with questions
               even if they are hard to understand
               even if they are only trying to sell me something
               unless they are a recording - they will still get hung up on
today, i will file and sort and file some more so that each person's office work goes a bit more smoothly
today, i will text my kids and tell them why they are so unique and wonderfully wonderful
today, i will joyfully prepare a dinner for the guy in my life who works so hard
today, i will reach out to someone who's hard for me to love
today, i will tell those closest to me that i love them very much

today

just one, ordinary day in one pretty ordinary life
yet
with the right eyes and heart and perspective
this ordinary day
can be chock full of
extraordinary
moments



Joining Kim for
and
Mama Kat for her

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Black & White Wednesday ~ Lean In

Monday was one of those days.
Nothing specifically wrong.
I just had a case of the blahs.
If you were related to me, you would probably say I had bad case of crankiness.
I could feel myself retreating.
Fading.
Withdrawing.
Trying to stuff my feelings and letting silly things really irritate me.


I posted this photo on instagram and facebook with this caption:
"Lean in. I'm feeling a bit old, craggily and tired this Monday evening. 
This tree is telling me to lean in...in spite of myself."

Now, if I'm being really honest, I'm not quite sure what "lean in" means. 
Except that I could feel it was the opposite of what I was wanting to do.
And I was thinking it had something to do with the whole being present in the now concept.
Somehow I knew that putting my heart out there,
instead of just giving in to moody silence and withdraw,
probably had something to do with "leaning in."
I'm so glad I posted...here's a comment I received from a far-away friend.

"Yes, lean in. I grew up in the Dalles (Oregon) where the wind is always blowing. As kids we used to see how far we could lean into the wind without falling over. After a while, instead of fighting against the wind, it was more like allowing the wind to hold you up. Lean in - it's a great metaphor!"

Well, I love that! 
Such a sweet, simple, profound and inspiring description of what it means to lean in!
These are words I will carry with me...Thanks Kelly!
Hope they encourage all of you as much as they encouraged me.




My Memory Art
Please join us and share your 
Black & White photos with us!
I'm also linking up with Communal Global 

i climbed a mountain, and i turned around


The path to change.
For me, 
this path often seems so extremely narrow
while the change to come looms large.
I feel as if I have to walk it perfectly - not a step to the right or left.


Walking this path, crossing over from one point in life to another,
takes such concentration.
One foot in front of the other.
The new path becomes all consuming.
It's as if the path itself becomes almost more important than the goal.
An end, in and of itself.


But I learned something recently as I climbed a mountain.
When you climb a mountain, you turn around.
You turn around to see how far you've come.
And that gives you the strength to keep going!


When I face life's storms and changes,
eventually I do turn around,
and the path that brought me to where I am,
the hard pieces and the easy pieces,
fade into the vision of the whole.
Lo and behold,
I've gained perspective.


Gratitude replaces worry
and visions of new horizons dance into my soul.
Time has, indeed, passed.
Time has made me, not only older...
but bolder.


When I reached the top of this mountain
and I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills,
I believed more fully that I could face the tough stuff...
the landslides of life.
Each stage of life seems to have taught me the same thing.
One bridge crossed,
one mountain climbed,
one or two adjustments
and
life stretches out before us full of new horizons and possibilities!




{Inspired by the lyrics to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac}
and joining Kathy for

Monday, August 18, 2014

Memory Lane

On Saturday, Brian and I took a walk.
A long walk down memory lane!
We headed to Concord, Massachusetts to visit the town where our wedding was held!
We started at the Old North Bridge ~ 
the scene of some after ceremony wedding photos.
Then we headed to the church and found the groundskeeper ~ 
who let us in and walked us through the whole building!
Our last stop was for an early supper on the porch of 
the Colonial Inn ~ the site of our reception.
It was so good to walk and talk and relive all those wonderful memories!

The most random {and humorous} sight of the day was
watching the biker guys and the colonial guides mix it up
and pose for photos!


We had such fun playing tourist.
I enjoyed the photo-ops
{Concord is really beautiful!}
and Brian enjoyed making me laugh...







Cheers!
Here's to another 30 years!


Joining Tamar for