Garden of Gratitude

A very trying, hectic week - But! then there is this Adorable photo of my nephew: 
Brendan Robert Law
"Don't underestimate the therapeutic value of gardening. It's the one area where we can all use our nascent creative talents to make a truly satisfying work of art... 
"...Every individual, with thought, patience and a large portion of help from nature, has it in them to create their own private paradise: truly a thing of beauty and a joy for ever." ~ Geoff Hamilton, Paradise Gardens, 1997
Favorite song from Fun movie: "So Close" from Enchanted : listen here 
 Gardens of Gratitude
 Here's to a peace filled weekend
I am so glad I went to yoga. It was... 
 Juicy!! :) thanks Meghan
 Ken  Law - thank you for Hafiz quote below
Mary Poppins (1964)
Now 
 Overwhelmed 
  Promise to Play the Pauses
Quality time
Rax: to pass or give (something to a person) with the outstretched hand
Stretch - one of those Words With Friends moments.  
Thank you, God, friends, and family for getting me through this week.
"Write a note to yourself about when your heart was most alive...
Anything good in your past is a harbinger of what is to come in greater quantities. Whatever beauty you have known, darling, you will know a thousand times more" ~ HafiZ

Here's to an Awesome Year!


Boring is easy, everybody can be boring... BE A PARTY
Create something that will make the world awesome!
Dedicated to Gabbi
Economic policy: IF you don't have money, don't spend it
Find Your Light
Get to it!!
HE'S CUTE HE'S FUN HE TELLS IT LIKE IT IS
I think we all need a pep talk... I want to be in the one that leads to awesome
Journey: Don't stop believing, unless your dream is stupid. Then you should get a better dream



Life needs you to stop being boring
Make this an awesome year
"Not cool Robert Frost!"
Ok - so this Kid made my day, and perhaps my year!
Play ball!! Pass this Pep talk along
Quit? not an option
Road less traveled
Soul Pancake
This is life people! You've got air coming through your nose...
Uncle Joey from Full House: Dave Coulier
Visit old people
Who encourages you? What will be your Space Jam? We got work to do...
eXactly like you
You were made to be AWESOME!!!

A Sequestered Saturday - January 27, 2013

Acceptance: the soul's Alchemist 
Beat our retreat
Chillin'
Daymaker: A person who performs acts of kindness with the intention of making the world a better place." source
Evergreen by Barbara Streisand listen here
Fragments
Golden Grainy Grumbles
Honest intimacy is authenticity p. 53
Jazz up your wants
Keri Hulme's The Bone People
"Language without words, where everything is always clear,  and there is no danger of being misinterpreted" (66). Like the River Flowing by Paulo Coelho
Maud Montgomery's "Money In, Money Out" p. 79
"Not cool Robert Frost!" ~ Kid President on Soul Pancake click here
"O paper soul, and against all the preceding bitterness and bile, this One shining scrawl ... maybe I should fold you away to pull you out again in a decade, see whether the flowering that now seems promised, came;" ~ Keri Hulme The Bone People
Peace and Plenty Comfort Companion: our designated place for "quietude"
Quietude: the state of being quiet; transquility; calmness; stillness; Quiet
Reading Peace and Plenty by Sarah BanBreathnach
Spiritual practice for financial Serenity p.79
Transform
Unpretentious
Visual diary p. 54
Worry's dross into Life's nuggets of gold p. 51
eXcavating always makes me think of Michael Anthony Morrone.... with love
You have wings. Learn to use them, and flY. ~Rumi
Zazzle

Frantic Friday Followed by....


Antoinette posted this at, of course, the perfect time

Does Anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?
Endless Love - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
Faithfully by Journey is a great song, but I like the Boyce Avenue cover even better
Gratitude Garden
Happy impetuous ramblings p. 48 of Peace and Plentyby Sarah BanBreathnach
Impetuous


Keep on Loving You - REO Speedwagon
Moxie p. 41 Peace and Plenty
... Note book does not help me think, but it eases my crabbed heart." ~Florida Scott-Maxwell
Oldies but goodies
"Pizmotality described words of such secrecy that they could only be spoken to the one you loved"
Queen of My Heart by Hank Williams Jr.
Random Randomness
Sajou: A spider monkey or capuchin
'Til I Gain Control Again - Crystal Gayle

Yesterday Once More by the Carpenters
Zing p. 48

Tuesday...Wednesday...

Arrigo Boito : poet - see quote in "W" below 
Brrrrr! it's cold today!
"Close your eye, fall in love, stay there." ~ Rumi
Enjoyed hearing my kid's voice when they actually answered their phone when I called! Yipee!!!
"Find me near the flower's eye that takes in provocation and begins to grow." ~Rumi (Art by Alejandro Costas)
Great day to wear Mom's Green sweatshirt and Gram's coat
Happy New Year (start of 2nd semester Junior year CHS)
Italian poet: Arrigo Boito


Kohlrabi: German turnip (when I "discovered" this in the community garden 2015?, I had no recall of having used the word years before in this blog post)
Motivation Monday
Now it's Tuesday, but it feels like Monday
Oh well....
Poetry is for everyone, you just need to find the right Poem for you
Quote, not by Shakespeare, but still LOVEly
"When I saw you, I fell in love and you smiled because you knew." ~ Arrigo Boito
You were born with potential
You were born with goodness and trust
You were born with ideals and dreams

You were born with greatness

You were born with wings

You are not meant for crawling, so don't.

You have wings

Learn to use them, and fly. ~Rumi 

Martin Luther King, Jr day

Azereix, France p. 33
Babinda, Australia p. 36
Courage... to simply do nothing p. 45
Discovers gardening p.46
Ecstasy p. 34
Espalier heart
"fount of all joy" p. 55
"God is listening" p. 54
Hermitage p. 53
"immersed in the river of life" p. 47
Joy
Ken's post in honor MLK: "‎" I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war, that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never be a reality." 
~  Martin Luther King, Jr.
Love p. 50

Moss heart from Maura Faulise
Pyjamas p. 37 (I'd never seen it spelled this way, but it is also correct, check the link)
Questions arise p. 34
Reading: Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho
"We each of us have our personal legends to fulfil " p. 55
"Talking to God through his work , and nothing else matter" p. 55
Understanding p.33
Voice p.33
Xperiencing the magic p.47

Inspired by...

Attualmente: At present
Beautiful Blog and Blogger
City bus
Dreaming of love
Elation welled up inside
From Fiesole to Firenze
Grooveshark
Happiness
Iota
Journeys
Knowing that all was as it should be...


"The opposite of love is indifference."
-The Lumineers
Mandy
"NOW"
Or will it be indifferent, too?
Power was too great and too deep in the end
Quite satisfied with just being a nemophilist
Reflected my calm and spirit once
Stone Streets
They need to scramble up to the light to things that they see as much freer
Vocabulary words...
Walking upon the earth
eXpansive
Yearned to believe
Zen, Zeal, Zzzzzz

Sunday Sunrise service to Self

"Applaud the love image he has found" p. 32 Like the Flowing River
Bedtime Stories
Correspondence
Embrace the mystery of being human like a flower or a bee, a hawk or a fly…
Finished the prep paperwork - yeah!
"Go beyond your tangled thoughts and find the splendor of Paradise." ~ Rumi
Have to get groceries so I can feed the puppy

Igloo as art



Kate Dudnik's art

Love is effortless—non-judgmental awareness of living from moment to moment.

Open
Parhelion (plural parhelia) from Greek meaning "beside the sun"
Quite Query
Random bits make Robust

‎"Time is very slow for those who wait / Very fast for those who are scared very long for those who lament / Very short for those who celebrate But for those who love time is eternal" ~ William Shakespeare
Under-demeciated: A mispronunciation of "under-appreciated" from the movie Bedtime Stories.
When you let go of fear—all that remains is love.
eXaltation of Larks by James Lipton
You are in the perfect position to get there from here. ~ Abraham-Hicks
Zecha: I saw this photo on facebook and it made me think of our mutual friend, and wonder if he still Peeks in on my blog.....

Saturday regroup time

Awesome sunset
Booked hotel for MomoCon
Consternation: amazement or dismay that hinders or throws into confusion
Dorcas thrift shop with my girl
Endless love without beginning made you sing. ~Rumi♥
Fresh ginger is the key to my new recipe for 
Ginger crinkle cookies
Halcyon days: Period of calm during the winter, when storms do not occur. 
Idiomatic: A period of calm, often nostalgic: “halcyon days of youth”.
Jinx - Just a good word
Karen's birthday box... almost ready
Love the Lorax
Mommy gave my "H" and my "I" for today :)
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao Tzu
Pinterest fun while Procrastinating PRAXIS Prep
Quality time with my daughter
Relaxing weekend now underway
Superfluous is a great word, don't you think?
Time to post
Unnecessary to wait for every letter
Very likely I 
Will fill in the rest later, or simply move on...
eXperiencing pleasure is how we say
Yes! to life with
Zeal!

This week, so far... Jan 17, 2013


Bhagavad-Gita - Hindu "text" - actually 700 verse scripture
Days are getting longer... yeah!!
End of another semester (at Cary High School)
Flu shot
Gotcha!
Harmonious
Intensity, Intimacy Indeed!
"Just verdant and peaceful" as heard on NPR this am
Kyudo: a form of meditation through archery p. 2 of ...
Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho
Mandy's blog "attualmente"


Tangled  - watching a movie with my girl
"Unfathomably juicy" ~ what my kid said about the burger I made for her dinner :)
Very nice to feel appreciated
When I am just doing what I do without
eXpectations
“Yesterday's fairy tale is today's fact. The magician is only one step ahead of his audience.” ~Anne Morrow Lindberg

Sunday, Sunday... so good to me....

Alchemized as Art p.22
Bliss
Conscious Choice. Choose "now"
Domestic Daily grace
Essential morsels
Fresh start
Grasp Golden threads of Grace with both hands and all your Heart
Howl at the moon. Heaven knows that
I have
Joy
Kick in Keen: long high-pitched wail p. 8
Liquid triggers from your body;s reserve of strength (tears)
Magical Mysterious Mystical
Now
Order of the Hearth
Providential Promise

Quiche for dinner  - but all of the other entries for this one, came from the first 25 pages 
Reassuring Rich tears
Spiritually tuned in to Serendipitous Sojourns
Transform
  Thrift: A Cyclopedia edited by David Blackenhorn
Uniquely Feminine
Vibration Vivacity Vital p. 15
Wisdom Whispers in the Wind
Xquisite authentic Xtravagances
"Yoga is the practice of tolerating the consequences of being yourself." ~The Bhagavad Gita
Zest p. 26

So THAT'S how it is...

Antoinette Always helps me notice Aha! s :)
Busy morning
Christmas tree is now out in the yard ... Cleanup was um - fun? Not
Dorothea Lange : influenced the development of documentary photography
Earth delights...

Garden Gratitude
Help Handling life...
I have everything I need :)

Jinx! (as in we just said the same thing at the exact same time :)
"Kiss me beneath the milky twilight...make the fireflies dance Silver moon's sparkling So kiss me"
Linda Ronstadt's song "Shattered" used to be embedded here, but it is so sad... hear it here
Misty and I took a nice long walk
"Nothing changes until something moves." ~ Albert Einstein
Pizza for dinner
Quiet choices... [go] a long way towards fundamental change ~ Gunilla Norris
Read
The song above is for you
U.S. History review time - final is on Tuesday
"Vast collection of blushing, tawdry money secrets churning" ~ SBB's Peace and Plenty
Word alchemist
eXorcize the old thought patterns that limit grown and imagination!
Your imagination***
Zine:  a small circulation self-published work of original and/or appropriated texts and images

 *** For the second time this week I NOTICED a terrific coincidence: Last Sunday during yoga class I spoke my intention for the year to be "Peace and Prosperity"... Later that same day, while searching online for an image to go with said intention, I realized I had on my shelf Peace and Plenty by Sarah BanBreathnach. This morning, instead of going to yoga, I chose to stay home and make brunch for Elizabeth and her friend. Afterward, I took pause to read, write, scrapbook, etc. To finish this blog post, I needed something for the letter "Y". Just Yesterday, because it was such a gorgeous day, created for myself a new play space next what Elizabeth calls "the library". It has a beautiful view of the screened in porch with French doors that are wide open to allow in sun and warmth on this, another gorgeous, unseasonable warm January day. Here is what I read:

 "If your imagination is blocked... you can't be sighing with pleasure over repurposing your never-used dining room into a cozy library, happily imagining....." ~ 
SBB's Peace and Plenty

Coincidence? I don't think so! Big grins to you on this lovely day, the 13th of Jan '13 
Time for me to go all the way outside and breathe in the wonders of the weather in anticipation of all that the Universe has in store ... I need only notice, because it is already happening.....

Friday Finds....

Ahhhhh... do you feel the Breeze?
“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you / Don't go back to sleep!
You must ask for what you really want. / Don't go back to sleep!
People are going back and forth / across the doorsill where the two worlds touch,
The door is round and open / Don't go back to sleep!” ~Rumi



Dance - Don't go back to sleep - Dance!
Ego a go GO

Flossing on this Fantastic Friday Frenzy
Gratitude
High school Half way through junior year
Into final exams now
Junior... is a Junior - wow!
Kelting: communicating telepathically (without speaking) Beautiful Creatures
Laughing out Loud
Money: Maintaining a sustainable flow

Naked Juice - Blue Machine - Thank you Naked Juice

Paulo Coelho's Like the Flowing River
Q-tips :)
Rhythm and Routine
Sandwiches
Tired now
"Unblinking sun"
Vitamins
Xceptional!! 
YogaSlackers Rockshaw Run - Episode 6: The Road To Pendra video here
Zein: A prolamine protein derived from corn, used in the manufacture of various plastics, coatings, and lacquers.

Gathering Peaceful strength....

Angel of January: "Let the sun illuminate parts of you that are dormant, numb, or forgotten."
Bialy: a flat breakfast roll that has a depressed center and is usually covered with onion flakes
Cloyingly sentimental
Doing my best
Enough is Enough
Flexible as in "like...
Gumby (dammit!)" ;)
"Heart opens, Love motions, inviting me in, I begin to remember the cure is in the center, is OPEN!" MNG
"If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back". 


Kristen's Birthday today

Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. ~Rumi♥

sorghum, which the birds absolutely love
Thank you, Andy, Antoinette, attualmente, Kristen, Meaghan, Meghan....

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” ~ Confucius


"Your negative feelings won't last forever, there's a light at the end of every tunnel. It might not happen today or tomorrow, but you'll feel better eventually.” ― Paulo Coelho

Sunday, Jan 6 - Monday, Jan 7, 2013

Align and Shine yoga class
Burrito Bowl for lunch - yum!
Delightful
Energizing
Familiar
Going deeper
"Holy Moly" :)
Invigorated
Juicy
Kickass
Love my body
Must be Monday
Natural
Order

Peace & Plenty
Quest
Rejuvenate
Sankalpa -Sanskrit word that translates: "to bind the mind to"
Uploading pictures to print
Vanquish
Walgreens
eXcel
Yoga
Zip

Sunny Saturday 5th Jan '13

Arboretum was scentsational today
Birthday gift for my soon to Be 17 year-old
Convention
Delicious scents

Edgeworthia chrysantha 'golden paperbush'
Fifth of January...
Guess what?
Here we go again... MomoCon, Georgia
I'm taking fans to Georgia for birthday celebrations
Jasminun nudiflorun 'golden winter jasmine'
Kale? nope Mustard. just Keep learning.  learning, learning, learning...

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. ~ Lao Tzu


Maudiae Michelia Magnolia: 
Quince:

Rosemary: 

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” - John Ruskin
Tranquility
Unraveling
Vicissitudes
'Wintersweet' Chimonanthus praecox
Xeric garden - no hummingbirds today...
Yet just as beautiful and magical
Zzzzzzz

Lots of Rumi and some Meaghan


Agapanthus 1917

Beloved is whispering to you exactly what you need to hear and know. Who can ever explain this miracle? It simply is. ~ Rumi

Childlike    
Dancing is not getting up any time 
painlessly like a speck of dust blown around in the wind. 

Dancing is when you rise above both worlds, 

tearing your Heart to pieces and giving up your Soul. ~Rumi



Feeling for a living by Meaghan Minogue

Good time to Grow
Holiday party at work - now the new year can begin


I am in Love with Love / and Love is in love with me / My body is in Love with the soul
and the soul is in Love with my body / I opened my arms to Love / and Love embraced me like a lover. ~ Rumi
"Just keep listening in the quiet moments." ~ Meaghan Minogue

Ken is now in Punta Monterey, Nyrarit, Mexico
Listen and you will discover it every passing moment. Listen, and your whole life will become a conversation in thought and act between you and Him, directly, wordlessly, now and always. ~ Rumi

Meaghan Minogue
New day...
Only the soul knows what love is. ~ Rumi
Protect yourself from your own thoughts. ~ Rumi
Quiet
Rest
Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place. ~ Rumi

Tender words we spoke to one another are sealed in the secret vaults of heaven. One day like rain, they will fall to earth and grow green all over the world. ~ Rumi

What matters is how quickly you do what your soul wants. ~ Rumi