monday monday

Happy Birthday Martha

Today I love …

            Planning new gardens

            Morning swim

            Zucchini from the garden

            Dinner with Becky

                                               

           

Tid bits from the homefront:

Saturday afternoon was a celebration of life for Mavrine Reel [Zack’s Grandmother]. What a beautiful celebration – for such a beautiful person. I was filled with sadness and joy at the same time. So grateful she is no longer suffering, fighting her battle with cancer … and, selfishly, sad that in her human form she is no longer here with us. Mae was such a loving person. Always positive, always showering her love on everyone … RIP … always in my heart … miss you.

In many ways, Mae reminds me of my Aunt Kaye. Filled with love and beauty. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to spend time with her while I was in Massachusetts for the reunion.

When I began writing my blog, I posted a few essays from a book I am working on – today I want to post this one again … about my Aunt Kaye.

1971

The stands were filled with people. It was difficult to look and to find the family and friends that I was looking for.

And, all of a sudden there she was.

I hadn’t seen her in probably 10 years.

Didn’t even know if I would recognize her.

Didn’t even know if she would really be there at my high school graduation.

Aunt Kaye. My mother’s sister. She always stood out.

Exuded class, mixed with a confident sweetness.

The lump in my throat was huge. I didn’t want to cry right there on the bleachers.

But, I did.

The graduation went along as graduation ceremonies do.

And there she was. Right in front of me; arms extended.

She was definitely the most beautiful person there.

She told me how proud my mother would be. That didn’t mean too much to me at the time … but, her saying it added some importance. We talked of family, and how God brought us to this day, and all of the blessings that he bestowed on everyone.

She always God Blessed everyone. She was beauty.

She was the epitome of fragile strength. Dainty, delicate and certain. When she spoke, everyone listened. Not because she said they had to … she demanded nothing.

She commanded everything.

Because her heart and wisdom were apparent to all.

That day, I filled with pride thinking of all of the times that people said, “Pattie, you are just like your Aunt Kaye.” If I was going to be like anyone, being like her would be just fine with me.

Garden fun ...

I love being able to have beautiful cut flowers in my home from my own garden. Planted many more seeds today ... I seem to be cutting them faster than they can grow. 

Babbling … may be Ranting:

Still thinking of my rant from the other day ... another piece that often saddens me – we judge others and say things about them even when we have no clue who they are, what they are dealing with in their lives, or what has happened to/with them today.

Example - The day of Miranda’s funeral, my friend Donna and I stopped at a local grocery store [on the way home from the funeral – on our way to have our private school-family funeral]. Standing at the register, the cashier person said [snottily], “What’s up with you two – you look as if someone just died.” We calmly said – “Someone did”. Hoping she will think, with her heart and then head, before blurting something so insensitive out … having no clue where someone is coming from – and/or where they have been.

Let’s all keep spreading the light …

Thought this quote was worth a repeat …

I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.
~Martha Washington

Until tomorrow xo♥

Be what you want the world to be

fun fun friday

July 8, 2011

Friday

Invent your world. Surround yourself with people, color, sounds, and work that nourish you. ~ Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

Today I love …

            Not smoking

            Working in my garden

            New jeans

            The sound of the woods

            Turning fifty-eight and not feeling old

            Remembering

                                   

           

Tid bits from the homefront:

It’s been almost two weeks since I last wrote here … wow … long time, much has occurred. Beautiful ‘stuff’. Emotional time.

My trip to Massachusetts was wonderful … always too short, though I am grateful for all of the beauty.

Meeting [in person] my sister, Cathee, was wonderful. Spending time with her [and Martha], I felt like I’d always known and loved them.

Spending time with Aunts and Uncles … takes one back – lovely.

Seeing people [at the reunion] that I hadn’t seen in [at least] 20 years was so great. Such a connected group of people – it all came back in a few minutes – so love when that happens.

Family cookout at Carey’s on the 4^th was perfect.

So heart challenging to be living in different pieces of the planet – makes the being together a time to really be in each moment.

It all went by so quickly – today I am reveling in all of the moments.

Garden – Week 17:

I love my garden. It continues to amaze me how much things grow in a week’s time. Loving being able to eat things I grow. Tomato plants are bursting with beauties – the spaghetti squash is taking over the fence and has run over into my neighbor’s back yard – crazy.

Babbling … may be Ranting:

A couple of weeks ago my friend, Donna, and I had a conversation about moving away from our spiritual knowingness during the past year of crazy happenings. That is when we really needed it the most, though sometimes, no matter how much you feel and/or know, life still gets in the middle and we are left not knowing how to get out of our own way. As my reawakening has slowly and surely happened during the past few months, my truth about this all is that the dark energy kinda sneaks up on us and hits us before we realize it – as we are so filled with the loss and sad happenings. Seems kinda funny [not ha-ha funny, though funny just the same].

As I remember, with both head and heart, what we are all here to do/be – it seems unbelievable to me that I lost that for a period of time. Grateful to be ‘back’, connected to the universe and all of the beauty … and grateful for the time away … allowing me to appreciate it all so much more.

During these times of economic and other distresses, letting our light shine for all, is [in my opinion], the only way to get things back on track … to a happier, healthier, more together, planet.

This morning, sitting outside having my coffee – a bumper sticker [on my bumper sticker bench] jumped out at me.

Hate is the only Enemy

I am sending much energy today to those who seem to hate, judge, speak badly about, others. Does it really make someone feel better to judge and spew hate onto others? And, so often as we speak negatively of others, thinking they can’t hear us, the universe hears and the negative energy affects us all. It is so lost on me – makes my heart so sad. All that is in my power is to send light …

I remember always teaching my kids [personal kids and the kids in my classes] to think with your heart and check in with your head before speaking, making a judgment, etc. – Guess it is really the same thing as ‘treat others as you want to be treated’ – ‘be what you want the world to be’ …

I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.
~Martha Washington

I hope everyone enjoys a beauty-filled weekend … spread your light.

Until tomorrow xo♥

Be what you want the world to be

stellar saturday

let go of the past and go for the future. go confidently in the direction of your dreams. live the life you imagined. - henry david thoreau

Today I love …

            Lazy mornings

            Air after a nice rain

            Fun surprises in the mail

            New pillows

            Checking things off of my list

            Weeding

            Making soup

            Making bread

            Watching Lewis play like a puppy

                       

           

Tid bits from the homefront:

We had such a crazy storm the other night. Not much rain and lots of wild wind, thunder and lightening. My outside furniture went across the yard … garden blown everywhere. I think I have it all back together – rebuilding lattice things to hold ‘stuff’ up, and the tomato plants were totally bent down … they are looking a tad sad, but I think they will be okay. What a crazy storm year 2011 has been.

Yesterday was a lovely, semi-lazy day, here in the woods. Finishing up many little projects I have been working on, while beginning a few new ones.

The new home is almost together. I have been working on all of the little things I do not usually enjoy. Only one more room to go and everything has a place … organized and running smoothly. All ready to go on my reunion vaca [I can’t wait to see fam, friends, and go back in time a bit with all of my childhood friends – can’t wait] and come back to begin whatever is supposed to be next. I’m in that trusting it mode … what will be, will be. If anyone has any clue what July will bring for me – please enlighten me.

Garden – Week 16:

Everything continues to grow well in spite of Mother Nature’s recent attacks. Spaghetti squash is growing like crazy … I’ve been so enjoying eating it and summer squash and zucchini. Can’t wait for all of the green tomatoes to become red  - there are so many of the cluster tomatoes … can’t wait. I think Katy [she is housesitting/puppysitting for me while I am in MA] and my neighbors will be loving tomatoes while I am away.

 cluster tomatoes

 tomato plants a tad beat up

 spaghetti squash

 yellow squash

 zucchini

 love these flowers

Babbling:

My thoughts are sparked by something I read on a blog yesterday morning … someone who was really stressed at the continued prospect of dealing with people who drain your energy. I have been working on this for a long time. I know I am getting better with not needing to solve the world’s problems by taking on everyone else’s stuff, and not needing people to like me … it is still a challenge for me sometimes. I find that the older I get, the more exhausted I become with the taking on negative energy … the dark energy does no good.  One of my loudly spoken affirmations during the past few weeks has been, “I will no longer accept your negative stuff … I will no longer accept you wiping out my energy because you can … love you all, but won’t do it anymore … if you have a problem and want to solve it – I am there – if you want to just revel in the darkness, I must move away”.

Thank you thank you thank you … feeling an abundance of gratitude

Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet; and two others at first speech are old friends."
- Mary Catherwood

Until tomorrow xo♥

Be what you want the world to be

Tuesday

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
- Anais Nin

Today I love …

            Fresh veggies

            Morning swims

            Netflix

            Creating

            It is summer time

            Hummingbirds

            My new [amazing] coffee machine [thank you Cathee and Martha]

            Not smoking

            Planning my trip to MA

           

Tid bits from the homefront:

I have been busy here on the home front, trusting the universe as I work on building this new life of mine … internet issues have prevented me from posting my babbling the past few days. Productive and relaxing couple of weeks here in the woods. My yard is looking great, and I so love having cut flowers inside from my own gardens. It seems the internet is back up and running beautifully – stronger and faster than ever. Yeah. Life is good.

The no smoking thing is going great. I still get edgy and nervous – though those times are becoming further and further apart – yeah.

Bees are completely gone … yeah … what an ordeal that was. Feeling pretty good about getting it handled. Thank you Cherie – we did it!

My newest netflix addiction is MI-5 [a bbc series]. I’ve been loving it. I so enjoy the bbc entertainment.

The garden is doing great. Yesterday I pulled a few of the spaghetti squash plants out of the ground … they were really taking over and I still have no idea how I got so many plants. I have been enjoying dinners with summer squash and spaghetti squash for the past few days, and am very happy that all of the tomato plants are filling up with green tomatoes.

I am feeling so grateful …

The idea of really changing up one’s life is [equally] exciting and scary. I am excited about it most of the time, mixed with a few bouts of panic, here and there, when I get nervous that it isn’t going to all fall into place. Trusting that it will – that it is … is with me most of the time.

How fortunate I am to have such amazing fam and friends … the crazy journey of the past 2 years has been the most growing time of my entire life. Pretty cool. Love that I can say that, and mean that, now. So grateful to have been surrounded with [and often caught when needed] by so much love …

I realize I am scattered with my thoughts/writing … still think it is the no-smoking thing … writing without a cigarette is very new to/for me … hope I can get back the knack of doing it – soon.

The Summer Solstice is a mystical / magical stop in time … loving the tilt in the universe. Turning the dark into light …

The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him, his own."
-Benjamin Disraeli

Until tomorrow xo♥

Be what you want the world to be

wonder-filled wednesday

"If we judge people there is no room to love them."

Mother Theresa

Tid bits from the homefront:

Last night – again – Bee time. Gasoline and even fire did not deter these pests. I don’t like using anything that is bad for the environment – though I will not get attacked by those little buggers again. Garden work was slow and quiet this morning … tiptoeing around my yard.  I accept [and thoroughly enjoy] living in the woods will include sharing space with more bugs and creatures … but bees taking over the yard – a tad too much for me. Staying positive on this beautiful day.  

The red roses are blooming again. So Pretty.

A few years ago my daughter, Taylor, gave this book to me for Christmas. I read it on Christmas day and the following day purchased 30 of them to send to my friends. What an impact it made … it is all ‘stuff’ that we should know – life gets in the way and we often need reminders. The other day, in the moving frenzy, I found a copy and gave it to my new friend/neighbor, Cherie. Upon giving, I realized that I must read it again [now] … that it would ignite some of the smoldering fire within me that I have been adjusting and working with for the past year or so … It so did. I love Patricia Reilly.  A book, I believe, every woman should keep close. I ordered many copies from Amazon.com – perfect gift for women we love.

Imagine a Woman in Love with Herself by Patricia Lynn Reilly

The following [I believe] is the essence of it all – a poem which begins [and weaves through] the book. Patricia Reilly is amazing – I think she says it all.

Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is woman.

A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.

Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past’s influence on the present.

A woman who has walked through her past,

Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman in love with her own body.

A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.

Who celebrates her body’s rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who embraces her sexuality as her own.

A woman who delights in pleasuring herself.

Who experiences her erotic sensations without shame or guilt.

Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.

A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.

Who refuses to use her precious life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who has access to the full range of human emotion.

A woman who expresses her feelings clearly and directly.

Who allows them to pass through her as gracefully as a breath.

Imagine a woman who tells the truth.

A woman who trusts her experience of the world and expresses it.

Who refuses to defer to the thoughts, perceptions, and responses of others.

Imagine a woman who follows her creative impulses.

A woman who produces original creations.

Who refuses to color inside someone else’s lines.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods.

A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.

Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.

Imagine a woman who refuses to surrender to gods, gurus, and higher powers.

A woman who has descended into her own inner life.

Who asserts her will in harmony with its impulses and instincts.

Imagine a woman who is interested in her own life.

A woman who embraces her life as teacher, healer, and challenge.

Who is grateful for the ordinary moments of beauty and grace.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life.

A woman who trusts her inner sense of what is right for her.

Who refuses to twist her life out of shape to meet the expectations of others.

Imagine a woman who participates in her own life.

A woman who meets each challenge with creativity.

Who takes action on her own behalf with clarity and strength.

Imagine a woman who has crafted a fully formed solitude.

A woman who is available to herself.

Who chooses friends and lovers with the capacity to respect her solitude.

Imagine a woman who refuses to diminish her life so others will feel better.

A woman who brings the fullness of her years, experience, and wisdom into each relationship.

Who expects others to be challenged and blessed by her presence in their lives.

Imagine a woman who assumes equality in her relationships.

A woman who no longer believes she is inferior to men and in need of their salvation.

Who has taken her rightful place beside them in the human community.

Imagine a woman who refuses to use her precious life-energy

managing crisis and conflict.

A woman whose relationships deepen in satisfaction and contentment

without depleting her.

Who chooses friends and lovers with the necessary skills to navigate through the challenges of life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.

A woman who sits in circle of women.

Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine a woman who has relinquished the desire for intellectual safety and approval.

A woman who makes a powerful statement with every word she speaks,

every action she takes.

Who asserts to herself the right to reorder the world.

Imagine a woman who has grown in knowledge and love of herself.

A woman who has vowed faithfulness to her own life and capacities.

Who remains loyal to herself. Regardless.

Imagine yourself as this woman.

www.openwindowcreations.com

We all go through periods in life where we struggle with who we are – where we are going – etc. etc. … I am so excited to have traveling this latest challenging journey. Just a few short months ago I do not think I could have said that ... even though I knew it. I used to think dark [challenges] times were partly about getting to the light at the end of the tunnel … no no no. It is about all of the moments on the way – even the ones that make us very uncomfortable in our own skin - as the light inside of us goes from flickering to burning brightly once again. So grateful I am.

I hope everyone has a beautiful day …

Until tomorrow xo♥

Be what you want the world to be

Tuesday

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.

~ Arthur C. Clarke

Grateful – Grateful – Grateful …

Having these past few days to get things finished up around the homefront has been great. Things feel really peaceful here – even though I am still somewhat jigged up with my body seeming to be scouring the universe for nicotine.

Becky and Amy are coming over tonight – for dinner and to hang out. I so love that we keep that daughter-like connection when my girls are far away. I am so fortunate to have so many amazing friends of all ages.

Tid bits from the homefront:

What a beautiful day it is here in the woods.

It was so nice and cool outside this morning … glorious. I finally finished planting my side garden planter box that Caleb built for me … a mixture of flowers, Swedish ivy and a bit of basil. Love it.

The pepper plants are now in the garden – they are weeks behind the other veggies – I think they will be great though …

The puppies are so happy to be spending the day outside … what a difference 10 degrees makes. Lewis is getting more comfy each day here. He seems happy and thoroughly enjoys playing with his squeaky toys.

Bees are gone … at least that is what Brad tells me. Here he is in the bee suit. He traced the little buggers to my neighbor’s yard, and [for as much as I am not usually about killing anything] disposed of them all. I am still a tad nervous [more than a tad really] when walking over to work on the garden and especially around the pool. I’m sure that will pass as the bites disappear.

The pool is back to great again. After only two weeks with the new pump, it blew a leak and we had to return it. This time I think we got the right one. I should have listened to Brad the first time. It really isn’t that I wasn’t listening. I heard. I am pretty money-tight here lately as I figure out what my next career will be. The prospects are exciting – though I feel like I better hurry up a bit. [I gave up hurrying a few years ago] I have a green thumb when it comes to plants of most kinds – not too great here lately with the money trees though …

Garden  - week 14:

Things are growing so beautifully - tonight we will enjoy yellow squash from the garden - I so love that ...

Here is a great blog to check out … I love her words/thoughts/randomness

http://www.lostinrandomeness.com/

When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.

~ Zig Ziglar

Question: Why would one affiliate themselves with any group if they didn’t know what the group stood for?

Until tomorrow xo♥

Be what you want the world to be