happy nest

four days off. a cluttered house a bit less so. closets cleaner. piles more sorted. lists made and scattered with check marks.

had a most wonderful day with friends being thankful. thank full.

counting blessings and days 'til Christmas. and travel. and babies (of all ages). joyful. joy full.

'I may be justifying my pockets of chaos. but I will always choose people over perfection & the heart over task and tidy.'

dear people

(image courtesy kindnessgirl.com)

the most wonderful time of the year

I am ever so excited. today I'm breaking out the uggs. a very happy day indeed. as I indulge in the fuzzy warmth of these incredibly pampering soothing things.

off to run errands. enjoying every step.

'now shall I walk or shall I ride?
"Ride," Pleasure said: "Walk," Joy replied.'

contented heart

home. sweet home.

away was pretty sweet. alone. together. always sharing. there'll be lots to talk about. but for now I'll just share a rocky mossy shot taken during a walk around Helmsley with the hubs.

lush. green. ever so beautiful. happy me.

'in every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.'

there and back again

well, the hubbub of the big event is over. and I am happy, very happy, to report it was perfect!

so now it's time to take a little time away. a wee bit of time, I should say. as the hubs and I head to Scotland later today. he has to go for business. I get to go for absolutely no reason at all. and we are positively giddy about it.

so off we go. see you soon.

'begin doing what you want to do now. we have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake.'

me oh my

goodness gracious. what a week. how does fall become so full?

planning. planning. planning. for birthdays. for travel. for events.

tears. tears. tears. for loss. for new beginnings. for joy.

prayers. prayers. prayers. for comfort. for patience. for love.

I fall into bed at night, exhausted. I wake up early, my head filled with to-do lists and anticipation.

the season has turned. the air is crisp. the skies a piercing blue. the evenings twinkle. blessings are all around.

just stop. you'll see.

'pray on the shadowy hillside of hardship and on the sunny hillside of happiness.'

over a pint

last evening the hubs met me at a meeting. we left early because, truth told, I don't like the small group activity session portion - and that was next on the agenda. we were meeting friends for dinner and had about an hour to kill so we went to have a drink. just down the road to a lovely outdoor venue. we sat on the porch and had a beer. and talked.

October is birthday month for us. the hubs and I are the same age for 4 days out of the year ... otherwise he is much older than I am. so he asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told him a story.

when the kids were little, handsome son had a stuff animal named Lucky. the hubs told stories involving this precious yellow lion. and we've always talked about doing something with these adventures. I've been nagging asking for awhile now for him to put the tales in writing. so I'm making the request again as a required gift. and he said yes.

well, that request turned into a long conversation about Lucky. turns out he has been giving a lot of thought to this little project. and it was wonderful to see his eyes light up as he told me his vision. he has quite an elaborate plan. a dream. and hopefully soon, a reality.

I continue to be amazed by this man. what I learn over an unexpected conversation. how I love him.

'the pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.'