On the 7th Day of Christmas...

Sue Gager's 7th Day of Christmas

Saran Ban Breathnach's: "On the 7th Day of Christmas I give to my true loves...

the gift of Beauty...

Autumn-Anemone - growing in same yards as the "winter sun"
Berry Blue Bubbly is made and in the fridge
Caravel of contentment... her triangular sails...
Divine Love sustains us.
Elizabeth coming back to spend the Eve with me!!
Fellow travelers
Go in peace
Homophony: from Greek(homóphōnos), literally 'same-sounding'.
Ithaka:
Joy Be With You While You Stay Peace Be With You On Your Way
Kairos (καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment).
Let personal passions stir your mind, body, and spirit.
Mondegreen: mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning.

Never forget that all you have is all you need

Overwhelming sense of gratitude
Poppies on my new travel mug are gorgeous
"Spiritually designed to take advantage of winds blowing from either side of real life..."
...The shadows and the light." (Triangular sails)
Ultimately...
Vibrations
Will
Y
Zest for life!

“And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been…” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

On the 6th Day of Christmas...

Arborvitae: an evergreen tree or shrub from the cypress family

Barkdust: a form of mulch found on Danger Garden blog post to
Check it out, Click here
Dangergarden.blogspot.com

Essence of a New Day..."This is a beginning of a new day....

Friday, December 30th: Humphrey Chronicles

Geese a-layin' and Humphrey a-spyin'

Hebe was the goddess of youth and the cupbearer of the gods at the heavenly feast.

Ithaka was the beloved island home of the legendary Greek hero, Odysseus.... authenticity is our personal odyssey. "Ithaka" poem by Cavafy is an emotional touchstone for some: "Pray that your

Journey be long, full of many summer mornings / when with much pleasure and much Joy

you anchor in harbors never seen before...

Keep Ithaka always in your mind... But do not hurry the journey at all; be patient. / Better that it lasts for many years -

Longer than you can even imagine. / So that finally, when you reach this / sacred isle, you will be a wise woman / abundantly fulfilled by all you have gained along the way...

Misty Moping ... Me too...
New words and depth of meaning inspire me

Popcorn time... Quiet, Resting and Relaxing, Savoring memories

Tom Shadyac and Oprah discuss his film 'I Am'.

Uplifting

Video

"What you do today is important / because you are exchanging a day of your life for it / When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever / in its place is something that you have left behind…let it be something good."

You have been given this day to use as you will / You can waste it or use it for good.

On the 5th Day of Christmas...

Sue's Art - Humphrey's 5th Day of Christmas

On the 5th Day of Christmas I give to my true loves.... the gift Tenderness...

Can't help it I guess... when I went looking for other words that help describe the meaning of tenderness - I was so close to an entire ABC list, I just had to follow through...

Attentiveness, affability

Beneficence, benevolence, benignity

Compassionateness - did you know "compassionateness" is a word? :)

Deeds done with the good of others in mind

Ease of loving

Friendliness

Graciousness

Humaneness

Incredible gratitude

Just being there

Kindheartedness, kindliness, kindness

Leniency

Mercifulness

Niceness

Openness

Pleasantness, patience

Quiet loving quests

Restful resonance

Softheartedness,

Thoughtfulness, tolerance

Understanding, unselfishness

Vested interest

Warmheartedness or simply: warmth

eXamine, Your, Zeal :)

On the 4th Day of Christmas...

Day 4 of the Humphrey Christmas Chronicles by Sue Gager Palmer

And on this the 4th Day of Christmas I give to my true loves: the gift of Simple Seasonal Pleasures...

Elizabeth still sleeping, I took the opportunity to read Tolstoy's "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" It was the most recent reading assignment for Ms. Jessee's 10th Grade English class and seemed important. It was. I don't normally read online, as it gives me a headache, but I did it for my girl and I do have a headache. It's ok though, because I don't know what else to do while I sit here and wait to hear how my cousin Bobby is doing. I feel that the news cannot be good. His body has quite simply given out after all these years of sadness and subsequent abuse.

A bath, peppermint tea, calls and texts from siblings, still at a loss as to what we can do for Mom, Uncle Bob, and especially Bobby T... God guided me to send a message to my cousin's best friend in Alaska. He will be flying to FL in a few hours, and due to arrive where he is needed about 6pm tomorrow evening. Thank you, God. Garden therapy helped, as did a good lunch, a walk with Misty, and a trip to Trader Joe's for tonight's dinner and the ingredients need to make soup of some kind tomorrow. In the meantime, Princess Bride with my daughter and this prayer for Bobby...

On the 3rd day of Christmas...

I'm sharing my friend Sue's art work for the 3rd Day of Christmas her because... On this, the 3rd day of Christmas I give to my true loves, the gift of my Creative Energy. As it is currently 9:30am, I'm not sure yet what that will involve, but I am open to the Universe's response to this prayer for creative energy to flow through me and out into the world. Thank you, God.

Phone calls and a Winter thunderstorm inspired this:

and decided to share this with my facebook friends:

And Elizabeth shared this with me: "Evil beware, we have waffles" ~ StarFire Teen Titans

On the 2nd Day of Christmas

I do believe it is time to be free of ABCs and allow randomness to lead to playfulness and discovery. Let me know what you think, ok? Taking a suggestion from Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance, I've decided to ease my "discombobulated mind" and give the gifts that really matter. So, on this, the second day of Christmas, I give to my true loves: The gift of Enthusiasm"

Unfortunately, since I'd been up for hours before Elizabeth, the Enthusiasm with which she was greeted proved a bit overwhelming. Deep breath, a moment in the rocker I've had since before she was born, a moment of sunrise and now... cartoons on Boomerang. After breakfast, shower, walk for Misty, store for groceries, and bread flour. Homemade bread in the bread machine, frosting for the sugar cookie house, and an attempt to put the roof on - epic fail:

but not really, since it made Elizabeth smile and it does taste good :)

Christmas Day 2011

Apricot nectar is a sweet childhood tradition of mine
Bedtime Stories
Christmas Spirit is our souls' knowledge that things, no matter how beautiful, are only things...simply be.
D
Essence
Flamingo
Gnomeo and Juliet

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing"
It's A Wonderful Life
Jurassic Park
Kindness
Love
Movie Marathon
"...Not always to do, but sometimes simply to be..."
Omelets & bacon for breakfast with Elizabeth's Dad
"Perhaps the Christmas Spirit is a loving reminder..."
Quiet reflection and peace
"Remember, no man is a failure who has friends"
Simple Abundance
Toys, Tinsel
Undivided attention
V
"We are Wonderfully Weird" ~ Elizabeth Kathryn Manning
eXquisite grace
Y
ZuZu's petals

Sarah BanBreahtnach's Simple Abundance essay for December 12th
"On the first day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves: The gift of my Undivided Attention"

And the result was the entire day spent in our living room - except for trips to kitchen for food and bathroom for, well, you know... yesterday's blog is a pretty good recap of that, with the exception of the following:

"So, apparently, when a mutant moth is presented with a moral conflict stemming from issues of perceived parenthood, they explode violently and revert to a larval form. Write this down, there will be a test." Teen Titans video on YouTube - Elizabeth is schooling me in Teen Titan lore (again)

Tomorrw there will be a Marathon! yeehaw! Can't wait :)

Christmas Eve, Dec 24, 2011

Angels We Have Heard on High

Carpenter's Merry Christmas Darling

Do You Hear What I Hear - Bobby Vinton

Elizabeth Berg's The Handmaid's Tale

"Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")
Happy Christmas by John Lennon
In My Daughter's Eye's
Jesu, Joy of Men's Desiring sung by Josh Groban
Kissin' by the Mistletoe by Aretha Franklin

Law Family Christmas festivities have begun
Marshmallow World by Brenda Lee
Now Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Pretty Paper, Pretty ribbons of blue... and Scarlet Ribbons (Willie)

Quiet

Rest-filled

Snoopy vs. The Red Baron

Touch Hands on Christmas Mornin' Touch Hands and Thank the Lord

Unchained Melody sung by Willie Nelson

Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) sung by Josh Groban

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

XOXOXOXO

Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Zakuska- a Russian appetizer

Winter Solstice, Dec 22, 2011

http://sporeflections.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/spo-reflections-on-the-winter-solstice-2/

Anguish or Joy, it’s always a choice
Broom by Jim Harrison is wonderful!!!
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2011/12/11
Catching up on podcasts
Dewey's Birthday is Dec 10th
Emily Dickinson’s Birthday is Dec 10th too!
“Finish the wine…”

Grinch Who Stole Christmas

"How could it be so? It came without ribbons!... it came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes, or bags!"

“It is not what she did / at 10 o'clock / last evening / accounts for the smile

It is / that she plans / to do it again / tonight.” ~ John Stone

Joan came for a visit and cut my hair. Fun!
Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach
Light is the word of the day on the Longest night of the year
"Men Untrained to Comfort" by Wendell Berry - Dec 4, 2o11
Now we're are just kickin' back
Order of taxonomy in biology:

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Pets breathing deeply either side of me this am. Love it!
Quiet morning with nowhere to go and nowhere to be
Rest… Relax
Solstice: “Sun Stands Still”
Thank you, God, for Tranquility
Winter Solstice
Zsuzsanna Budapest suggests reflection, release, restoration, and renewal

“Somewhere at the intersection of joy, fear, mystery, and insight lies awe, that ineffable response to the amazing world around us…Overwhelming, surprising, humbling, even a little terrifying—awe is what we feel when faced with something sublime, exceptional, or altogether beyond comprehension.” ~ David Hochman

Who Trimming Song

Trim up the tree with Christmas stuff

Like bingle balls, and whofoo fluff

Trim up the town with goowho gums and bizilbix and wums

Trim every blessed window and trim every blessed door

Hang up whoboohoo bricks

Then run out and get some more!

Hang pantookas on the ceilings

Pile pankunas on the floor

Trim every blessed needle on the blessed Christmas tree

Christmas comes tomorrow

Trim you, trim me!

Trim up your pets with fuzzle fuzz

And whiffer bloofs, and wuzzle wuzz

Trim up your uncle and your aunt

With yards of whofut flant

Trim every house in Whoville from the cellar to the roof

Hang up a mile of dafflers

And three miles of snaffer snoof!

Hang dang-donglers on the bathtub

Trim the occupant the with floof

To every home in Whoville and to every blessed Who

Christmas comes tomorrow

Trim me, trim you!

Trim up the tree with Christmas stuff

Like bingle balls, and whofoo fluff

Trim up the town with goowho gums

And bizilbix and wums...

Trim up the tree with bizilbix and wums

Midnight in Paris

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway is about his years in Paris
Book's End: http://booksend.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/review-midnight-in-paris/
"Courage and grace under pressure"
Decoding Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/movies/midnight-in-paris-a-historical-view.html

Epitaph
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Gil has "Golden Age Thinking"
Hemingway
"I love walking with you"
Jean Cocteau: French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker.
Kinetic display of dancing lights
"Let's Fall in Love" by Cole Porter
Miniver Cheevy ... loved the days of old
"Nostalgia is denial of the painful present"
Owen Wilson
Pablo Picasso’s lovers, models and muses represented by Adriana
Quiet
Romantic Rodin "both loved Rodin with commitment, and intensity"
Self-effacing
True and beautiful passion
Ultimate source of inspiration
Vintage car allows Gil to travel back in time
Writers
eXhales
"You're just a tourist"
Zelda Fitzgerald

New Year ABCs... a little early and inspired by my friend Sue

Act Authentically

Breathe Deeply

Create Contentment

Dream Daringly

Enjoy Elizabeth

Fan the Flames (2 Timothy 1:6)

Give Graciously & Generously

Help Happily

Inspire Imagination

Jump Joyously

Kiss Kindly

Love Luxuriously

Make a difference daily

Nap Noisily

Open Opportunities

Play Purposefully

Question....

Rest

Seek Solace

Tend Tenaciously

Unfurl

Vivaciously

Wander in the Woods... Wing it...

eXquisitly

Yen for more

Zeal, Zest and Zsa, Zsa, Zsu!

Nearly six years later, I see this image and realize no one else will know why I've included it here with "Zsa, Zsa, Zsu" - It is a reference to an episode at the end of Season 5 of Sex and the City in which Carrie described that feeling of "zsa, zsa, zsu" - a favorite episode of mine. A search this morning (5 Nov '17)brought me to a blog someone else wrote in August 2013.

Luxuriousness of extra time off...

Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)
Bobby Vinton's "Do You Hear What I hear?"

Cozy Couch Company
Dough for more sugar cookies
Elizabeth was very happy to see us near the bus stop again :)
Finding old pics and displaying them prominently
Gentle standing yoga
Holiday pasta salad with tortellini
I
Just chillin'
Kendall
Learning a new word: Cladodes from photo I saw on Danger Garden blog

http://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dictionary/Dictionary_C/dictionary_cladodes.htm

M
Notice. Take Notice of...
Orange sugar cookie balls for dessert
Pasta salad for lunch
Q
Ryan Reynolds
Sandra Bullock in The Proposal
Tinsel
Walked up an appetite for lunch
Yogurt and blueberry granola for breakfast

Saturday, in the dark, I think it was....

December 17... woke early, got up, let Misty out and made coffee because... I can!
For now, I am content to surf facebook let myself be inspired by... Angela Deeds' page.

"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware."

~ Henry Miller

So... yoga, wrap some gifts, finish writing Christmas cards... Lately I've felt the uncomfortable swell rising that signals the need to let go of something. Resentment? pain? the past? and allow old wounds to be open to the healing power of rest, renewal, rebirth and new beginnings. Ahhh the power of renunciation...

Inspiration

WinterSong, Christmas Readings

a compilation of works by Madeleine L'Engle and Luci Shaw.

The Birth of Wonder

As I grow older
I get surer
Man's heart is colder,
His life no purer.
As I grow steadily
More austere
I come less readily
To Christmas each year.
I can't keep taking
Without a thought
Forced merrymaking
And presents bought
In crowds and jostling.
Alas, there's naught
In empty wassailing
Where oblivion's sought.
Oh, I'd be waiting
With quiet fasting
Anticipating
A joy more lasting.
And so I rhyme
With no apology
During this time
Of eschatology:
Judgment and warning
Come like thunder:
But now is the hour
When I remember
An infant's power
On a cold December.
Midnight is dawning
And the birth of wonder.

Madeleine L'Engle

Friday Fears

I know! Why in the world would I "publicly" express my fears? Well, for one thing, this isn't exactly public. After all, the only people who will see this/read this are either close friends or don't know me at all so it isn't that big a risk. Besides, what would be the consequence of exposing fear to light? Dissipation? ok. Sounds good to me :) Besides, I'm probably not as much afraid as I am tired, and some times I get a little lonely, but not often. This time of year is difficult because I live so far away from where I grew up - chronologically speaking. And, going "home for the holidays" doesn't really help, because this is my home, and in many ways, I really grew up here, so.... what is it exactly?? Well, this morning Misty woke me at 3:45am. yep. she had to go out and then was hyper, so I turned on my coffee and sat down on the couch. I turned on my computer and the first facebook status I saw echoed my frustrations with myself. The fact that I sat on the couch and turned on my computer. So we are now encouraging each other in the letting go of what does not nourish us in the New Year. We have a team of 2, so far, but we suspect many other are joining us, whether they say so or not. Actually, the mutually friend who introduced us, began this "quest" a few weeks ago. Or.... maybe she planted the seeds about a year ago. Thank you Sue :)

To live authentically can mean we start with balance and end with peace. hmmmm I feel ABCs trying to surface, and there will be at one more. I came up with a great one, again, inspried by my friend Sue who challenged herself in 2011 to draw, and paint and become an artist this year. She seems to have succeeded in every medium she tried. Painting, drawing, photography, tie-dye, gardening, etc etc etc.
But I don't think it can wait until New Year's day, because I am needing it now.

Wednesday morning's read, and...

An early morning Appreciation visit to the Arboretum

Breathe in Beauty of the Browns

Camera Capturing

Discombobulated: saw it on a friend's facebook status and remembered how much I like this word

Everything

Feels

Great?? I wish

Heath

I do like my morning Jaunts though

Magnolia 'Anticipation' Kehr hybrid

Quercus glauca 'Japanese Blue Oak'

Slowly realizing it is....

Time to give up on the ABCs I guess

Happy Birthday Grandpa Thomason

Today December 14, 2011, marks the 100th Birthday of my Grandpa, Joe Robert Thomason, born December 14, 1911. Although he passed 16 years ago, I will always think of him this time of year with love and joy ♥ xo Still miss you, Grandpa T xo ♥

Sunday's mix - updated from 12/12/11 for 12/17/17

Aamy Grant's "Grown Up Christmas Wish"

Baking? not so much these days

Christmas is coming... music for the car ride... CD? again, not so much

Downloading ... interesting how much has changed

E is for endorphins by ZeroTalking.com

Fortuitous: occurring by chance; fortunate, lucky; coming or happening by a lucky chance

Groceries?

How about naughty AND nice?

iTunes? now also have SoundCloud, Audible, and YouTube Red to choose from as well

Jingle Bells - the really fast one by Barbra Streisand

Kiss, A Christmas Kiss - Movie on Lifetime or something... no more cable so...

Laundry and a walk perhaps?

Mix of Christmas fun and daily stuff

“Nature abhors a vacuum.” ~ Aristotle qtd on Covert Affairs 12/2011

Our tree was mentioned in 2011 post, this year, no tree here - feels weirdly right somehow

Pretty Paper by Willie Nelson was one of Grandpa's favorites

Raymond Briggs' The Snowman

Scarlet Ribbons is lovely as well... from Stardust album - the first Willie I ever bought

Twilight... maybe the movie in 2011, but now I mean the time of day

Up on the Housetop by Eddy Arnold and Updated this blog post from 12/12/11 on 12/16/17

Videos - which ones to be with me to share with fam?

What WILL I bring with me on this trip

Xtra love along with gifts to share and ?

Year Without a Santa Claus

Zerosophy blog post: Nature abhors a vacuum.December 19, 2012 by Zerosophy.com

So, I think this is cool, even though I already can't remember which thread it was I pulled that got me here [I remember! I was search my blogs for the word "downloading" to see if I'd ever used the sentence: "And then the mystical will start downloading data into my brain" - because I found it in a journal and don't remember what it was from - but that is now an entirely different tangent :) THIS morning I was letting myself wander about on my computer and "do" whatever is next. The sun is rising and I will take a walk soon, but for now, I am looking up one thing, I land on another and I see this blog post from 12/12/11 and decide to go in and edit something. Then I start moving things around and decide to look up the Aristotle quote: "Nature abhors a vacuum." and I see this amusing Gary Larson comic and decide to click on it to see where it leads and it leads me to the above blog post, published 1 week and 1 year after the one I am editing. I don't know why, but I just really enjoy pulling these threads and weaving an entirely new tapestry...

Perhaps you will click around (or not) and have an entirely different experience... here's the link, just in case: http://zerosophy.com/nature-abhors-a-vacuum/

Zerosophy

Written works by Zero Dean to motivate, encourage, challenge & inspire.

Saturday Highlights

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
Christmas cookies
Doing
Elizabeth is such a joy and an inspiration
Full Moon
Gram's Gingerbread boys
Hot cocoa, with peppermint whipped cream
Ideate: to form an idea or conception of
Just
Kickin' back now
Later, Lights
Meredith's Spelling Bee
Noel is one of our favorite Christmas specials
Our Christmas tree we got from Neighborhood Boy farms
Popcorn
Quite nice to be in sync with my girl
Rare, but wonderful
"Sli-in-in-inky"
Toy Story
Unusual
Very grateful
Watched Polar Express too :)
Yum!
"Zealots!"

Elfabet by Jane Yolen a lovely little book in which the plants are also ABCs

a lovely little book in which the plants are also ABCs

A is for Acorn Elf Always Acrobatic

B is for Bottle Elf Boldly Balancing

C is for Candle Elf Carefully Cooking

D is for Dandelion Elf Daintily Dancing

E is for Egg Elf Endlessly Eating

F is for Feather Elf Fearlessly Flying

G is for Grape Elf Grumpily Gathering.

H is for Honey Elf Hopefully Harvesting.

I is for Ice Elf Idly Inking.

J is for Jelly Elf Joyfully Jumping.

K is for Kite Elf Keenly Kicking.

L is for Lollipop ELF Lazily Licking.

M is for Mirror Elf Merrily Mimicking.

N is for Needle Elf Neatly Numbering.

O is for Orange Elf Often Overflowing.

P is for Paper Elf Playfully Parachuting.

Q is for Quilt Elf Quietly Quivering.

R is for Rose Elf Restfully Reading.

S is for Seashell Elf Swiftly Sliding.

T is for Tinsel Elf Terribly Tangled.

U is for Umbrella Elf Usually Upside down.

V is for Valentine Elf Vigorously Vaulting.

W is for Water Elf Wearily Washing.

X is for Xylophone Elf eXcitedly eXercising.

Y is for Yo-yo Elf Youthfully Yodeling.

Z is for Zipper Elf Zestfully Zigzagging.

Merry Monday

Andrew DID get his package from me. yay!
Birthday of my Aunt and Godmother and...
Christina Rossetti
Dankeschön
Elizabeth is sick :(
Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862)
He's got a point:
"If you've got toys to fill both hands, a good lungful of oxygen, and some pleasant company to share it all with, you've got yourself a playground."
Liam Michael Kelly's belief is terrific
Missed my oatmeal this am
Nematode as a model organism :)
Pay bills and go to Post office
"There's a Rumbly in My Tumble"

Year in Trees by Kim E. Tripp and J.C. Raulston
Zebrina - western red cedar

Peaceful Ponderings...

Aware

Butternut squash soup with shrimp

Cardinals playing just outside my window :)

"Don't worry... everything will come around...in time

Find yourself... in time." ~ Sarah McLachlan

Gratitude

Harmony

"I sat beside you and became myself"

Joshua Radin's "Today"

"Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne

Listening, Learning, and Letting go...

Marshmallow World by Brenda Lee

Now Comes the Night by Rob Thomas

Order

Poor baby is sick :(

Quiet afternoon

Reloading my iPod shuffle

Scrapbooking

Today... today by Joshua Radin

Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks

Visible manifestation of the soul

Wholeness can be felt in the Wrapping of gifts

Your authentic self

Friday Favorites

An anapodoton (from the Greek anapodosis: "without a main clause") is a rhetorical device ... a figure of speech that is an incomplete sentence, consisting of a subject or complement without the requisite object. The stand-alone subordinate clause suggests or implies a subject (a main clause), but this is not usually provided.source

Bella Monica lunch Break

Coffee

Dazzingling December

Elizabeth Hawes wrote:

Fashion is Spinach in 1938.

Garlic soup for dinner - yum!
Had a pear and gorgonzola salad with shrimp for lunch

Just Journal
Kind, Kindred hearts
Leave a Little early
Make it home before sunset
Nearly done...
Oatmeal
Pick up Prescriptions
Quiet study floor provide an opportunity for me to help a student
Reading: An Ordinary Fairy by John Osborne
Satsumas on sale at Whole Foods: "Clementines sweeter cousin"
Today's "research" took me to some interesting places. A book in the 600s caught my eye, and everything else I've done this afternoon seems
Unusually odd
V
W
X
Y
Z