ok, where oh where has October gone???

It's the end of October already? Really?? How did this happen? One busy day after another, I suppose... Yesterday and today certainly have NOT been exceptions...



Ace Hardware on the list of places to go, but! they do not fix Sears Craftsman lawnmowers :(
Botanist - one who studies plants
Coffee and journal at Starbucks
Dendrologist: biologist who studies trees and other woody plants
Elizabeth helped me move furniture - yay!
Facial
Groceries
Horticulture: The science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants
It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
Joy-o-licious
Kooky fun Holdenween parade and party
Latte
Marta Stewart's chewy chocolate ginger cookies
Now I am so pooped I can finally Nap...
Or "flop"
Pumpkin Patch
Quality time with my kid
Riding lesson
Sprinkled with Joy
Thank you, God, for a gorgeous day and "Terra" ->
Unbelievably cold this morning, but warmed up
Very nicely
Weekend Warrior
Xpand Xplore Xperience
Yoga
Zzzzzzz

Making A Difference

Always give more than what's expected
Believe
Create memories
Delight customers
Emphathetic
Foster greatness
Great service comes from the...
Heart
Ideas

Kinesthetic learning
Momma Jackie
Non-verbal communication
Ode to Customer Service
Personal signature
Quacking ducks
Raving fans
Simple truths of Service
Think outside thebox
Use your Unique gifts
Visualize greatness
Wonderfil spirit of service
Xtra mile
You make a difference every


Zest and enthusiasm

Tranquil Tuesday:


Act As if...
Behave
Calm, Content and Confident
Discover peace
Experience moments of peace
Feeling futlie
Guess all we can do is try
Having some success
Imagine serenity
Juggle, just...
Keep swimming
Learn
Mindfulness
Nice
Open
Peace Activist Thich Nhat Hanh spreads message to Washington
Quieting the wants
Rest
Serene
Thich Nhat Hanh - Vietnamese teacher
Understanding
Vanquish anxiety
Willingness
Xanax :)
Yoga
Zen

Marvelous Monday Morning

Amazing Awareness
Big smiles

Caroline

Devotion
Enjoy every, every, every thing
Fantastic
Generous Spirit
Huge Happy Hugs
Invigorated
Joyous and Jubliant
Kindness
Loving the Love
Misty turns 3 today
Nature Nurtures Nicely
Overjoyed
"Poignant Proposition" ~ FV :)
Sun Shining on my Sycamore tree
Target for Misty's Wubba, and a new "baby" for her Birthday :)
Unconditional commitment, Unstinting devotion, & Unreserved enthusiasm
Vibrant
Wholeheartedly
Xtraordinary
Youth
Ziziphus jujuba courtesy of Dr. Janice Swab :) :) :)

Sunday sayings....


Antoinette is Affable :)
Baking
Cummings said:
"I thank you God for this most amazing day,
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees,
and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural,
which is infinite, which is YES!

Defiant

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." ~ Emily Bronte
Family photos on Kelsey's blog
Gilda Radner used to say: "It's Always Something"

Halloween Chopped
Intense
Juxtaposition
Kimberly would say today is "Flippin' Gorgeous!"
Long, long, long walk with Misty
"Miracles made Manifest"
Now? Nap?
Other people's blogs
Pleasantly Pooped
Quiche made with cranberry silton cheese
Reading?
Sue's Simple Costume for Humphrey is Sweet
Tenacious
"Untapped potential"
Weeded, trimmed, and photographed... see:

The Grace of an early Saturday morning...


"I beseech you, by all angels, to hold your peace, and not pollute the morning, to which all the housemates bring serene and pleasant thoughts, by corruption and groans.
Come out of the azure. Love the day."

Grace, Beauty, and Caprice
Build this golden portal;
Graceful women, chosen men
Dazzle every mortal:
Their sweet and lofty countenance
His enchanting food;
He need not go to them, their forms
Beset his solitude.
He looketh seldom in their face,
His eyes explore the ground,
The green grass is a looking-glass
Whereon their traits are found.
Little he says to them,
So dances his heart in his breast,
Their tranquil mien bereaveth him
Of wit, of words, of rest.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Priorities: Puddles and Presence

This morning, shortly after 7am - well, ok, 7:15, but it should have been 7, as is often the case, we were running a little late, so when my Mom called at 7:01 and we were still gathering everything to walk out the door, I couldn't pick up and decided I'd wait to call her back until after I'd dropped Elizabeth off at school. In reality, I was already not with her, because... on THIS morning, I forgot to go THROUGH the puddle, which I almost always do, because I know Elizabeth likes it when I do because less than a week ago she said "pretty" and I smiled and was happy I'd driven slightly to the right to purposefully drive THROUGH the puddle. You see, these things DO matter. They matter to us, and that's all that matter, but I forgot, so... I decided to remember to pull up this quote I used to have attached to my visor in my car. I "used to" because I used to have CD on one side, held in place by a carrier with elastic that went around the visor and there on the side the I saw when I put it down to block the sun was my reminder:

"If you do not give right attention to the one you love, it is a kind of killing.
When you are in the car together, if you are lost in your thoughts,
assuming you already know everything about her, she will slowly die."
Thich Nhat Hanh


Misty, for Elizabeth


"[Her] eyes are pools in which one
would be content, on any summer afternoon,
to swim away through the door of the world.
Then, love and its blessing. Then: heaven."
~ Mary Oliver

Reminders

Auschwitz concentration camp is established near the Polish city Oswiecim. (1940)
Birkenau (p. 28)
Capsaicin: is the active component of chili peppers (Mythbusters)
Dr. Mengele (p. 31)
Elie Wiesel: born in Sighet, Transylvania, then and now part of Romania. (9/30/1928)
"Flames that consumed my Faith Forever"
Glacial wind (p. 36)
Hasidic melodies (p. 45)
Immense conflagration (p.21)
Juliek (p. 95)
Kristallnacht: night of crystal, also known as the night of broken glass. (1938)
Lucidity (p. 36)
Majestic sanctity of Jerusalem (p. 50)
Night
Oblivion (p. 36)
Palentine (p. 50)
Quarantine (p. 48)
Radiant
Sages (p. 31)
Tzipora
Untenable (p. 56)
Veritable monsters (p. 44)
"We were Withered trees in the heart of the desert" (p. 37)
Yom Kipper: The Day of Atonement
Zionist (p. 50)

Ode to Jessica Willson Kelly


Yes, "Willson" with 2 "l"s - No, Kelly with 1 "e" :)
When a dear friend moves far away...what do you do?
We said our goodbyes, although we know, of course, we will see each other again
In two years...
Think about how quickly the last 2 years have evaporated
Remember the smiles, tears, growth, experiences, confidences
She has been my tutor, my mentor, and my secret keeper
A dose of reality, a source of inspiration and of strength
Honest feedback without judgement or admonishment
No fear
Love
Friendship
Our friendship survived when she graduated 3 semesters before I did.
That was the only time I thought maybe I wouldn't make it without her, and that we might not stay in touch. hahahahaha

We've since shared 2 more graduations - mine from Meredith, and her UNC, Law school
My divorce, her marriage, birth, baptism, and growth of Liam
Elizabeth's transition from elementary school, through middle school and now high school!!

How could I NOT dedicate at least one ABC list to my dear friend Jess??

Awesome Actor
Beautiful Babe
Creative Cook
Darling Daughter
Encouraging Editor
Fantastic Friend
Generous Giver
Huge Heart
Intelligent Inspireror
Jovial Jessie
Knowledgeable Knockout
Loving Lady
Marvelous Mom
Now New European
Overwhelmed Ode Observer
Positively Passionate Person
Queen of this new Quest
Rare, Reassuring, Realistic Romantic
Sensational Singer
Terrific Tutor
Ultimately Unique
Vivacious
Wonderful Wife
Xceptionally Xquiste
Youthful YOU!
Zealous over Zeke

Sunday sunrise

Alchemist, as in Full Metal Alchemist - new favorite show. Watched together
Bacon for Breakfast, again
"Chuffed to bits" - the British guy on Extreme Makeover said it :)
Deviant
"Endlessly beautiful and fascinating" - JCRaulston regarding growing up in Great Plains
Fluorescent pink was how you described the sunrise when you woke this am
Gorgeous
Human transmutation
Imagination
Joy of Horticultural Deviance: Chapter Twenty-Two
Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens
Law of Equivalent exchange
Musings...
Night by Elie Wiesel
Osmanthus: Is this what is so beautifully fragrant at Meredith right now??
Plant Lust List - August 1996 p. 286
Quiet...
Rest...
Seckle pear
Transmutation circle
"Uniqueness - lust!" JCR p. 204
Vitex trifolia - aka chaste tree. p. 284 I trimmed this today :)
Winry - character in Full Metal Alchemist; Weigela - a fav of mine
Xanthorhiza simplicissima is the only woody member of plant family Ranunculaceae.
Yay! You went with me to take Misty for a walk!!
Zenobia, Honeycups (Zenobia pulverulenta).

Satisfying Saturday

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. ~ e. e. cummings



utumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~ Albert Camus

Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger... Maugham, W. Somerset

hild-like enjoyment


Dendrology: the science and study of wooded plants (trees, shrubs, and lianas).
Enthusiastic Exploration
Family
Giggling
Holy Hunger
Infinite Imagination; Impetuosity:
Jump-start
Kim Trip co-author of The Year in Tress
Lushest of roses
Maroon-colored calycanthus
Nurture
O hushed October morning mild...
Poise
Q
Rejuvenate
Shan't
Trim over grown privet
Understanding
Video
Warm Waffles
X
Yes!
Z

Fantabulous Friday

Ask for what you need - Awareness
Books
Call Cornerstone
Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia
Ego: sense of self, separate from others
Fluffernutter
Gardening
How to ... from this old house: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,1631909,00.html
Intimation: a delicate and indirect communication
Jeans... I need to find some
Kara called need to help...
Lee with ...
Martyr False Self 'nuf said
Nurtured via Nature
Out with the weeds
Pruning Privets
Quiet day ... mostly
Rejunvination
Sherrill Steen
Timecards
Understanding
Video help for making passion fruit concentrate too :)
Winsome: generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence...
Xystarch: ancient Greek officer in charge of gymnastic exercises
Yes
Zig, Zag, Zoom...

Chlorophyll in His Veins

Chlorophyll in His Veins is a book by Bobby Ward that is teaching me lots of new things, not just new words and plant names, but also a great deal about a man I have come to admire greatly. I am also extremely grateFULL for his life's contribution and the arboretum that now bears his name.

Astonishment
Beautiful!! as opposed to awfully pretty :)
Contagious spirit
Devoid of self interest
Encouragement; Exemplifies the nature of a mentor
Fun
Grounded in reality
Hummingbird...flies in spite of all... we keep going
Idiosyncrasies
Japanese maple
Keeper of passable paths
Life was not meant to be permanent
Magic
Nobility
Open, honest, and humble
Passion for Plant
Quite wonderful
Refreshing... to have a friend...
Sensing Scrutiny
Tacit: expressed or carried on without words or speech
Umstead Act: prohibits NC government agencies from competing with the private commercial activities of NC citizens
Very different approaces to life
Wayne Winterrowd & Joe Eck co-wrote: Our Life in Gardens
eXuberance
Yin-Yang balance
Zeal as in "infectious Zeal" & "evangelistic Zeal"

Monday Meanderings and More

Alive, Alert, Awake enthusiastic
Brisk early morning walk at the JC Raulston Arboretum
Clearly it is taking my longer to Create
Deep steep - ahhhh lavender and chamomile body butter in the am
Elizabeth needs to find out what the '0' grades are and e-mail her teachers
Fiercely, as in "kiss me too fiercely/ hold me too tight..."
Genuine
Happy, Healthy and whole
Intuition

Journal
Kind
Learning how to be Lazy
Muhly grass
Necessary
Open
Perfectionism vs. Peace
Quick wit - as Elizabeth has an amazing sense of humor :)
"Release one leaf at the break of day..." Robert Frost
Season of abundance begins
Take Time To Touch
Upon completing the Universe, the Great Creator pronounced it...
Very good... not "perfect" :)
Woadwaxen: an ornamental Eurasian shrub whose flowers yield a yellow dye
formerly used with woad to make a permanent green dye.

Xeme: fork-tailed gull
Yoga tonight - Tuesday :)
'Zing' is not something I want to feel while in the chair at the dentist :( - Monday

Saturday Sunshine

Apples in my omelet
Beguile us in the way you know
Cary High School Spirit week outfits
Drama Club meeting on a Saturday morning? ok!
"Earth with out ART is just eh"
Finished reading Anthem - wow!
Great book
Hippie looks good on you 
I vs. we vs. EGO
Jazzed Jewel tones
Kinda wish...
Let October seduce you
Morning Messages Make My day...
Now is the only moment we have
Omelet
Passionate Purple






Quintessential tourist
"Rustic palate of dazzling beauty"
Sweetest Surprises
TyeDye T-shirt Time
Ummmmm....
Very chilly at the play







Words that begin with....X,Y, and Z are not as plentiful :) but thanks to Antoinette...
Xenodocheionology : the lore of hotels and inns
"Your lists are always so much fun!" ~ Antoinette
"Zamia is a species of plant not likely to be found on campus."