Ode to a Snowy Day

wrap me in silence

blanket me in fluffy white

soothe me

leave me isolated

slow me down

shut me in

and dazzle me

bring your magic

weave your spell

and cast it over me and mine

yes

wrap me in silence

treat me to hours of nothing

please

mr snowy day

come and visit

you're welcome any time

Joining Lisa, Tamar and Kat

Giving ~ Day 22

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."

Will Rogers

From this morning's journal:

Give away: As feelings swirl and whirl inside of me about my parents, today I promise to give away regret, what-if's and if-only's. There is so much joy coming in the next days, and I want to have PLENTY of room for all of it!

Give access: Love. Let it in. Feel it. Believe it!

Give thanks: Home. Our home. Doors and hearts wide open and ready to be filled with family ~ I am beyond blessed to have found this space.

Joining Lisa

Giving ~ Day 21

"Everything's magical when it snows!"

Lorelai Gilmore

Just in case the promise of

family

good food

{lots of it}

football

{lots of it}

a few days off

laughter

and

the counting of blessings

wasn't enough to get you excited about this week....

The Gilmore Girls return to us this Friday!!!!

I think a little snow,

to start of this week,

is a perfectly fitting way to get us in that holiday mood.

I'm sure Lorelai would agree!

From this morning's journal:

Give away: procrastination...there's some communicating I feel is important...yet I'm avoiding. So today I will have a few needed conversations

Give access: breath...today I will pay attention. I will breathe deeply. I will pause often and breathe deeply.

Give thanks: seasons...I feel so blessed to live in a place where we fully experience each season! I love waking up to a few snow covered branches and a white back lawn!

Joining Tamar

Giving ~ Day 17

age gracefully I

say to me ~ live laugh love ~ shake
off all rust and crust

A birthday haiku. 

Hello 56.

You feel good on me.

From this morning's journal:

Give Away: there are a few spots of sadness I feel today....as they come through my mind, I will sit with them for a minute or two...and then let them go. They are not to be suppressed, yet they will not be given much room today. 

Give Access: hear the good, feel the love, trust the words and hugs and wishes!

Give Thanks: It's no small thing to enter my next 365 day trip around the sun feeling as strong and able and whole and ready as I ever have. No small thing indeed. I am profoundly grateful for the village that got me here, loves me unconditionally and supports me in countless ways every day.

Joining Tamar and Kat

Giving ~ Day 15

"Love is what we are born with. 

Fear is what we learn. 

The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices 

and the acceptance of love back in our hearts."

M. Williamson 

unlearning and learning
rejecting and accepting
emptying out and filling up
letting go and holding on

not an 'either or'
nope
these are 'ANDS'

chasing 'demons' cannot be done in a vacuum
revising, rethinking and releasing old patterns mustn't leave us empty
just as adopting new thought patterns
or developing new habits
need 'inside space' if they are going to take root

for me, i've discovered that true change is both
both unlearning AND learning
both making room in my head
{in my heart}
AND
filling myself back up

From this morning's journal:

Give Away: guilt ~ 'tis the season... today I choose to give away those nagging thoughts of all I am NOT doing for certain people...I give away guilt.

Give Access: to goals ~ not really a 'goal setter' ~ but as I look towards another year of life I'd like to listen to the voices that are full of ideas of what I might possibly accomplish. Today I choose to hear all the possibilities.

Give Thanks: For my learners spirit ... I'm grateful that I love listening to and learning from all sorts of people ... may my horizons always be broadening!

Joining Lisa

Giving ~ Day 14

It's my birthday week.

Happens around this time every year ~ funny that.

I can always feel it coming,

even if I'm ignoring the calendar,

because the weather turns frosty.

I enjoy waking up on frosty mornings.

I love when the sun casts it's early light across the sugar coated yard.

And everything sparkles!

I'm always dazzled.

I dare say it's better than

{cough cough}

56 candles on a birthday cake!

I'm going to celebrate this week ~ 

gather family and friends and make it all about me.

Just cause I can.

And because gathering family and friends is

always

a grand excuse to celebrate!

From this morning's journal: 

Give Away: All thoughts of wrinkles, weakness and fatigue. My current plan is to age well. I'm working extremely hard in many areas of my life to assure success in this area...so today I will quickly reject all worries that come with the thought that I am now closer to 60 than 50. Yikes! 

Give Access: to encouragement...to words of affirmation. I will drink them in. I will believe them. I will allow my cup to fill up this week. Yes I will.

Give Thanks: For the ups and downs, the good times and bad. Today I give thanks for all pieces of my journey that have led me to this day.

Joining Tamar today

Giving ~ Day 13

i heart autumn

and quiet sundays

there was no journal today

not much thinking

just rest

naps

and enjoying the fresh air of a perfect fall day




Linking to My Sunday Photo

Giving ~ Day 10

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field.

I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about."

Rumi

I love this quote.

And this notion.

This thought of reaching out beyond our differences,

of taking steps towards each other...

This thought of soul to soul connection

that occurs in spite of outward distinctions of

race

class

education

religion

gender

etc.

etc.

I long to linger, in this place,

where walls, borders, boundaries and barriers

are not needed between us;

this place where fear doesn't govern

or cloud our view;

this place where,

together,

we celebrate this wonder-full world.

From this morning's journal:

Give away: Today I give away insecurity. Many of the self-protective walls I build begin with the brick of insecurity. Though not nearly as weighed down by this angst as I once was, I still don't like this corner of me...so today I give away insecurity.

Give access: Truth. Today is for wrestling with truth and not avoiding it. There's an aging parent in my life...and much of what is facing me is unpleasant ~ to say the least. Today is for gathering information and wrestling with {at least some of} these truths...

Give Thanks: Listeners. I am blessed to have many listeners in my life ~ those who listen with their ears and those who visit me here and listen with their eyes! I am greatly comforted by all, because I know you are listening with your hearts.

Linking up to

Little Things Thursday

and

Mama Kat's

Backyard Bliss

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

fluttering from the autumn tree."

Emily Bronte

We've all seen this quote.

Many times.

On many memes.

This fall I have discovered something new about this seasonal bliss....

When the leaves are speaking to you

from your very own back yard,

the bliss-full, autumn tales

are even more melodious.

And soothing.

And mesmerizing.

I have

{literally}

spent hours watching the leaves change

and float

and dance

and frolic

across my {did I mention this?} very own back yard!

Joining Tamar and Lisa

Six Word Fridays ~ Catch

Energy. Life. Light. Oh, beautiful sunshine!

Nothing quite like the sight of

these new buds as they catch

some rays on a sunny afternoon.

There was a chill in the

air... but the glow from up

above put a spring in my 

step and warmth in my heart.

Please join in the Friday fun!

Caption a photo, share a poem

or tell a story. Just remember,

only six words in each line!

Seasons & Wisdom

I'm grateful for the seasons.

I'm grateful to live in a place where we experience each season....wholly and fully.

I'm grateful for photography.

I'm grateful to have discovered how much I love this hobby

and to have the means and health and time to explore the worlds around me

through the lens.

I'm grateful for blogging.

I'm so very, very grateful for the friendship connections I've made

through this space.

I'm grateful that you continue to come visit me and

so enjoy heading to your place for tea and a chat.

One of the things I've discovered over the past few years of creating content

for this space

{and for my Project 365}

is how much I love combining quotations and images.

I know I'm not alone in this!!

In searching for quotes on line

I've encountered authors and naturalists,

philosophers and poets...

Some that are new to me and many that have come into clearer focus.

I've purchased books,

explored websites

and enjoyed learning

from great hearts and minds...

Putting a quote with an image seems to cement these lessons into my being.

Today I've chosen a few of my favorites to share.

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

Six Word Fridays ~ Bend

A fall leaf still hangs on

while winter snow catches the sun.

And new buds tell us that 

spring is right around the bend.

Welcome Her

On shorter days,

through cooler air,

Autumn sends her greeting.

Her colors gently kiss the edges

of the still green leaves.

She welcomes the lingering bird

who sits, wondering, atop branches all askew.

She promises fragrant offerings ~

apple pies, warm cider, crackling fires.

As her breeze stirs up the

simple falling of dying leaves,

each plant offers shades of seasons past

and hints of winter gray.

Oh, Autumn.

We welcome you.

We embrace you.

And ask that you linger long.

Joining Ashley's Scavenger Hunt,
and sharing a favorite quote with Tabitha

Seasons

{Winter}

{Spring}

{Summer}

{Fall}

Ode to Sun's Flower {Bigger Picture Moment}

as the summer sun 
softens
and the days grow
shorter
the sun's flower 
blooms
and her stems grow
tall

she rises above
the deep, green 
leaves of summer
and holds the sun
until the 
reds
oranges
and autumn yellows
capture our imagination

seeing her
we're reminded
not to be sad
not to mourn the loss of one season
as we turn
with expectation
towards what comes 
next





Linking up at Jade's place today.

Spring's Promise!

Every branch. Each bud. Every seed.

Seeking sunlight. Yearning to bloom and

to become. Spring holds such promise.

Here come the reds, the yellows,

the purples, blues and greens! Bursting

forth from the dry, wintered ground.

We clean and plant and open
the long sealed windows to the
fresh air ~ our own hope renewed.

Melissa's word for us today?

Spring

Chilly November Morning

Brrrrr....