Thanksgiving Weekend

I had a really lovely weekend.

Four straight days at home.

Full of family and feasting, football and fun.

With plenty of time to myself.

And you know what some good "me" time always includes...

yes, you guessed it.

Time at my favorite pond.

On Sunday, I was snuggled under a warm blanket...

enjoying coffee and some re-runs

and not feeling like I wanted to venture out into the cold.

I was undecided.

You know that place ~ knowing the good you ought to do, but not quite sure you're going to do it.

I unburied myself long enough to clean the kitchen, 

and then stepped outside with a bag of trash for the outside bins.

Funny thing...

Sitting in my driveway,

just taking a little rest in the sunshine,

was an elderly couple.

Completely random, never-before-seen elderly couple.

They were seated in the little chair part of the walkers they were using.

So I headed over to say hello.

Turns out, they were out for a stroll...and had never wandered as far along the sidewalk as they just had.

Didn't even know the sidewalk went this far!

Just the sweetest pair.

Well, I knew then that I'd venture out for a walk. Because if they could push themselves to get out of their comfortable, safe, warm home on this sunny November day...well then so could I!

It's no coincidence, I think, that as I walked the pond on Sunday

I saw many elderly folks.

Some with a spouse.

Some with a friend.

Some on their own.

It's as if the universe was sending me an object lesson!

Keep moving, Adrienne.

Keep moving.

So that as you age, you can grow stronger and remain active.

Well, universe...message received. Thanks!

One of our holiday weekend traditions is making sure we find the time for a puzzle.
This was a fun one!
And pretty enough that it might even rate a frame!

Hope your weekend was a fun one!




Joining Tamar today for some
Good. Random. Fun.

Path Dwellers

shades of gray and brown and beige

now color their world

they leave the trees and
come to the bridges

on the bridges

they find the seeds left by the humans

that share their world

all winter long

their friends leave some treats on the bridges
to ease the winter months

so they come to the bridges to nibble
to pose for the photogs that wander
before they take wing
and return
to add color to our leafless trees




Joining Eileen for
Saturday's Critters

Six Word Fridays ~ Thank

Today, I thank God for this

place. This oh - so - special place.

Tomorrow there will be feasting and

family. My oh - so - wonderful family.

{we carve our turkey on Friday

so workers can work and married

kids can visit with two families}

So today was my day. Mine.

It was a joy to follow
 all the oh - so - familiar pathways
around my favorite pond. Horn Pond.
I spent hours wandering ~ grateful for
the reflections on the water and
the reflections that filled my heart.

So very many blessings to count

in this leaf-flying, letting go,

and oh - so - magical holiday season!

Join in and share your story ~

only Six Words in each line!

{and I'm linking with Weekend Reflections}

Black & White Wednesday ~ Make a Wish

Wishing you a joy-filled Thanksgiving!

Join in!

Share your black & white photos!

Thankful

The land around me is baring her bones.

Most of the leaves have fallen and the twigs, thorns and empty nests are exposed.

The bold hues of autumn have faded.

Only the berries remain to dot the beige landscape

with tiny hints of spirited color.

I love this.

I love ...

that as the earth sheds her abundance,

we find ourselves focused on gratitude.

We find ourselves in this Thanksgiving season.

Making lists.

Not lists of wants.

But lists of already haves.

I love this.

I love...
that as the frilliness, abundance, excess, color, cheer and bounty

of the earth fades away

we are 'called upon' to choose gratitude.

To put aside any focus on what is lacking ~

what we might have lost

or how we might have failed

or what makes us feel 'less than' ~

and focus on the essential.

The gifts.

The blessings.

All that we hold dear.

Yes, I really do love this.

"But I'm thankful to be here

Thankful to be clear

Thankful my prayers have been answered

I'm thankful to listen

Thankful to heaven

Thankful for feeling alive again

Thankful that hearts always mend

Thankful my heart always mends."

Celine Dion

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

The Peace of Wild Things

A good friend from days gone by

sent me a poem via FB messenger this morning.

You know,

there's nothing random about kindness ~

about thoughtfulness

or compassion.

I believe that when we give these pieces of ourselves ~

when we pour out our lives in the

consideration and care of those around us

{or those an ocean away!}

it matters.

It chips away at the darkness that can, at times,

seem to have a bolder, louder voice.

But no understanding gesture,

no matter how 'small,'

is ever without influence.

A moment can change,

some one's countenance can change,

a day - even a life - can change...

 ....or a friend can find the words to express what a fun afternoon walk

with a puppy really meant to her.

{Thanks Gillian}

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

and I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Joining Tamar for
The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Six Word Fridays ~ Kind

A kind word. One kind word.

A gesture...or a helping hand.

Can Will this be my response?

Each day. Each and every day.

Each soul. Each and every soul.

When I feel it and {perhaps}

most importantly when I do not.

Now. Today. I want to remember

this: "Constant kindness can accomplish much.

As the sun makes ice melt,

kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility

to evaporate." Albert Schweitzer ... Now. Today.
I absolutely want to remember this.

Join in!

Share your story

Six words at a time!

Chère Paris ~

Dear Paris,

You hold my children's smiles.

You hold museum adventures, river boat cruises, carousel rides and tower climbs.
You hold family visits and friend visits and all our visits from Père Noel.

It was on your sidewalks that we walked through those first years, their little hands in mine. The daily routine and grand adventures of their childhood are engraved in your stone, planted in your parks and woven into the fabric of your culture. O, city of lights, you hold their firsts. First steps. First teeth. First words. First friends. First schools. First achievements. First failures. First heroes. And first loves. For more than a decade we called you home. Home. We were honored to call you home.

My heart has been broken, just broken to pieces these last days. I remember the fear and uncertainty that stunned all of us here in the days and weeks after the Bosotn Marathon attack. My heart aches for the loss. For the loss of the sense of safety and refuge that home implies. For each family and friend that has suffered loss. And for the children, who have, if only for this moment, lost their smiles.

My dear Paris. One thing I know is that when the stain of these last days has been washed from your stone walls and walkways...when the laughter of children fills each little park down the street....when your cafes, restaurants, theaters and arenas are alive with the threads that have woven the rich tapestry of la culture française... when shock and horror fade gently into an echo of pain, you, my dear Paris, will be standing strong. As you've stood so many, many times throughout your history. As you stood to protect all of us living there after your metros were brutally attacked. You've stood. You stand. And, I hope you know, that the world stands with you.

Yes, Paris...you hold my children's smiles. Their childhood. I am forever grateful to have lived in the heart of such a great city. I long to return. To spend time with you yet again. I know that when that day comes, I will find you essentially ~ in your essence, in that which makes you great ~ unchanged.

And I will find my children's smiles in the chatter and laughter and smiles of les précieux enfants who continue to call you home.

Paris, je t'aime.



Linking with Kim and Kat

Black & White Wednesdays ~ Seeds

may the seeds of 

love

joy

peace

patience

kindness

goodness

faithfulness

gentleness

and 

self control

break free from the pain, rubble and fear
set sail on the winds of hope
and plant themselves in the hearts of people everywhere

Black & White photos? Link up below!

I'm also connecting with Communal Global

Six Word Fridays ~ Lucky

It's such a little thing. Really.

But it makes me so happy!

I am so lucky to have 

stumbled upon these precious wild beauties.

Thanks for letting me share my

teeny tiny macro obsession with you.

Join us and share your stories

Six Words at a time!

Into every life....

....some rain must fall. {Longfellow}

When it falls,

I do what any self-respecting iPhone camera loving,

blogging,

instagramming person does.

I snap picks of the leaves!

The colors are even more vibrant when they're wet!

And, once the skies begin to clear...

...I get that macro lens ready,
and really focus on the raindrops!

So, even though it's true
that into every autumn many drops of rain must fall...
I'm finding little ways to enjoy the chill, the bluster, the gray and the falling leaves.

OK.
Just keeping it real, not really ready to embrace the chill....




Joining friends for
Little Things Thursday
and the
Writer's Workshop

Black & White Wednesdays ~ Leaf

"It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

J.R.R. Tolkien

Please join in and share your

Black & White photos!

Beautiful

The stage was set. Just one grand piano stood silhouetted against a glowing blue back drop. The actress, in the role of Carole King, took the bench and began to play. It took just a few notes, and the whole theatre knew the melody. She played for a bit, then turned to the audience and said,

"Life sometimes goes the way you want,

sometimes it doesn't.

And sometimes, when it doesn't,

you find something beautiful."

For the next two hours, we were invited into the world of the young singer-songwriter. We learned of her ups and downs ~ of her insecurities and early struggles. We watched her give birth to her music. Music that is, to me, so very beloved. Part of the very fabric of my life. I learned so much about her and was brought back to those earliest years of my life...through sight, sound and dizzying emotion.

At the very end of the show, we see Carole about to take the stage at Carnegie Hall for the first time. And joy abounds as she performs "Beautiful!" There was so much joy in the theatre last week when I saw the play, and, I can only imagine, so much joy as she sang this for the first time in Carnegie Hall over four decades ago. 

Timeless. Inspirational. Personal. Full of light and determination. 

Here's where I catch myself. I laugh at myself. I can spend hours with the weeds, looking beyond their scruffy exterior and focusing {literally} on all their beauty. Like these, my favorite 'puff balls.' Each no larger than my thumbnail. As each plumed seed loosens from the plant and sets sail on the autumn breeze, a tiny, sunflower-like treat is exposed. I see so much! I return and return with my camera because the more I focus, the more I see the layers of 'beautiful.' When I hear Ms. King's lyrics, I'm reminded that I can bless myself with that same gift I seem to bestow effortlessly on these simple weeds. Or, truth be told, on just about everyone and everything except myself! 

It's my choice. To wake up each day, put a smile on my face, and give away as much love as I can.

After all, aren't we truly as beautiful as we feel?

"You've got to get up every morning

With a smile on your face

And show the world all the love in your heart

Then people gonna treat you better

You're gonna find, yes you will

That you're beautiful

You're beautiful

You're beautiful as you feel"

Carole King

Joining Kathy for
Song-ography
And linking up with
Communal Global