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.'

coming

always a bittersweet adventure.

the week found such a lovely time in the sunny state. big smiles. lots of hugs and kisses. stories. playtime. talking.

the week shared unhappy news of a friend's passing. a very good man. we were blessed to call him friend and neighbor.

today I'm happy to be home sweet home because I happily leave part of me behind.

'how lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.'

going

it's a happy day. heading to California to see the all the kiddos. the time will pass all too quickly. but we plan on enjoying. every. second.

'and thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen.'

beautiful day

with a million little things waiting for us on the to-do list, the hubs and I are abandoning all responsibility and heading to the movies. having this kind of drama in my life is totally acceptable.

'how beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.'