hand and heart

I made good on a promise that I talked about here. a 'long-lost' friend and I spent the afternoon together. we laughed. chatted. caught up. oh how lovely was the day. I am full again.

life is a funny thing. the days fly by. moments are fleeting. time is lost. then found. but never fully discovered. all those days (almost two years) will never be recaptured. so we reminise. and plan ahead. make promises to keep. vow never to let so much time slip away again. cross my heart.

'she is a friend of mind. she gather me, man. the pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. it's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.'

fifty five

time flies when you're having fun. and another year has passed happily. today is my birthday. I don't really think to count the years. I can never believe that so many have passed. the years hold so many memories. opportunities. wonders. a few upsets but into every life a little rain must fall. and I have always had a good umbrella.

my life is blessed. let me count the ways. to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. I am thankful. eternally grateful. grace full. yet I think to the year ahead. what will life bring. surprises. challenges. experiences. the world is waiting. let my love open the door.

'the other day a man asked me what I thought was the best time of life. "Why," I answered without a thought, "now."'

october

took a little trip over past few days. a few miles south. just tagging along on a business thing with the hubs. two things struck me during our time away.

one cooler temperatures are here. finally. brisk mornings and pleasant evenings are interrupted only by lovely sunny inbetweens.

two color is bursting out all over. blue skies are vivid. plants burst with blooms. charming roadside cafes sparkle.







welcome fall.

'winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.'

re-tale

in my newly 'nothing to do but sit and ponder' state I spend a lot of time on the computer. googling. pinteresting. and yes, facebooking. so as I wandered through posts and pictures this morning I came across 31 days in October. an interesting blog that requests its participants write daily for the entire month on a particular subject. and I thought, 'hey self, that sounds interesting!'. you see, my head is full of bits and pieces. half-started projects and assorted daydreams. but one in particular that I keep going back to is a collaboration with the hubs on a pet project of his.

when our kiddos were young he would tell them stories. in particular a long series of adventures of a certain yellow stuffed-animal lion named Lucky. we've always talked about and been prompted by the children to write down the stories for future generations. at the very least for the tales to be retold within our family; at the very most to write a series of children's books.

so when I saw the challenge to write - and it has become a new favorite past time of mine these days - I thought why not take on this project. it fulfills the dream of capturing the stories. it fills my time with a productive task. it, frankly, sounds like fun.

with September dwindling away I have a few days to organize my thoughts and story lines. sit down with the master and record his words. and bring that fuzzy mischievous lion to life once again.

'to me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music the words make.'

in black & white

you know how I love the written word. quotes. sayings. proverbs. snippets and cuttings. I am big on filling my head and my heart with literal reminders. be nice. play fair. say thank you. don't whine. be thankful. say my prayers. smile. laugh. cry. choose love baby.

and one I came across today did all those things in abundance.









I am working on making this simple message a steady truth in my life. not always easy. fear creeps in. grabs hold. and takes an ugly toll. but as long as I remember to take a deep breath. be patient. ask for others to be patient with me. count my blessings. I can keep calm and carry on.

'the fruit of the spirit is love, joy and peace.'

one moment please

home from our trip to California. allow me to share a photo (out of about a million favorite shots) of darling daughter and precious baby.














'a little child, a thing on mother's milk and kisses fed...'

hello world

today I am launching a new project. a little idea I've been considering for awhile. a bit of a wild notion combined with a continued mission to choose love baby.

and what makes it all the more exciting is that I have been accepted to a forum on Vibrant Nation, whose the tag line reads 'what women 50+ want to know' (how enticing is that?). where hopefully more eyes and ears and hearts will join my personal campaign to save the world one little bit at a time. follow me weekly at Omikuji.

'when I started counting my blessings, my whole world turned around.'