Food, Family, Friends and Fellowship

My brother called last Thursday morning to wish me a happy Thanksgiving and inquire if I had plans. More on the plans in a few paragraphs, but we somehow got on the subject of foods eaten during our childhood. The not-good-for-us foods. My brother didn’t remember the Velveeta macaroni and cheese mom and dad made from scratch during lent and his better half bellowed a big “Ewww” when I recounted how dad made fried-in-butter bologna sandwiches on Wonder cardboard whiteRead more

Beholden

Sitting here, wondering, what do I praise? In a week filled with stuffing and turkey Surrounding self, I fix a knowing gaze Faithful gratitude is never murky A bike, a home, gray and white purring cats Family, friends, community feels right I step on the earthen beholden mats And wipe away thanklessness with delight Upright and breathing is who I am now Fed with food and love and blue butterflies Embracing what matters like sacred cow Receiving life’s blessings isRead more

Monday Morning Catch-Up

No, I am not back in Colorado. The week I returned from the mountains, we did get early snow (which didn’t stick), but my brother wasn’t quite as lucky. While our weather improved, his deteriorated for a bit. Thankfully, we are both back to nicer weather, although the photo above would make a nice Christmas postcard. The last two weeks have flown by with a mountain of busy-ness. Personal/doctor appointments, cat sitting for a friend, churchy stuff, getting together withRead more

#SoCS: Happy Colorado Places

Eleven days in heaven. A happy place. Mountains, canyons, cliffs, yellow aspens, flowers, views for miles. Many of you know that bicycling in the warmer months is my usual happiness, but a visit to Colorado in autumn is breathtaking. Being out in nature is my jam, whether on bike or hiking on foot. Nearer to God, nearer to the planet’s creation, nearer to the sights and smells that create a feeling of calm and peace. Unless, of course, I amRead more

#SoCS: The Ring that Takes us Back

Ring, circle, loop, wheel… I’m not sure what it is about the coming of autumn. Memories ring and hang in the air. I have been drawn to the home of my youth on a number of occasions, but autumn always takes me back to the lake. Shadow Lake. Where I used to spend many summer days, tanning with the Coppertone lotion that may have had a sunblock of 5 or a sunburn of 5. I didn’t sunburn as a child,Read more

What Day is it?

Today is Labor Day in the United States, so I’ll start off by saying “thank you” to those who are enjoying a day off from their jobs. As of September 1st, I haven’t had to acknowledge this holiday for two years, unless an invitation to a picnic is involved. It’s just another day off to anyone who is retired. Every so often, I wake up in a need-for-caffeine fog and wonder, “What day is it?” Because one can lose senseRead more

#SoCS – Filling Frames

“The key to happiness is not to get more, but to enjoy what we have and to fill the empty frame of our lives instead of enlarging it.” ~Albert Szent Gyorgyi~ I like this – a reminder that I have plenty to work with inside my own frame and don’t need to turn an 8×10″ into 20×24. Friday reminded me that I have special people who make up part of my life’s photograph…spending the morning with a friend who IRead more

SoCS: All Over the Place

Ubiquitous: Everywhere. In mind and body, this summer has been packed with places to go and things to do. I feel as if I’ve been all over the place the past eight or nine weeks. In other words…everywhere. Vacation, meet-ups with friends, appointments, keeping a kitten occupied, a music festival, watering flowers, walking at night with the neighbors, and volunteering for a week-long arts camp for kids through the church I attend. In between laundry, house cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.Read more

#WATWB: The End is not the End

“Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin. And there are many things that don’t really end, anyway, they just begin again in a new way. Ends are not bad and many ends aren’t really an ending; some things are never-ending.” ― C. JoyBell C. In early 2017, two women – Damyanti Biswas and Belinda McGrath Witzenhausen – came up with an idea for a monthly blogfest that would promote positivity and light inRead more

#SoCS: Icing on the Cake

Mmmmm…cake. Chocolate cake, lemon cake, carrot cake, any cake. Icing is a great part of cake, but please don’t give me the sicky-sweet stuff. I prefer fluffy not-so-sweet icing that enhances the cake rather than overpowers it. But I digress. For now, I have to stay away from cake and lose the pounds that it and all of the holiday treats added to my waistline. Instead, I’ll focus on a different kind of icing…the type that makes life a littleRead more

First Monday Gratitude

The first Monday of twenty twenty-two A new beginning, the day of week’s start In which I offer a woke dream to you With sincere thought from Pollyanna heart We live, we breathe with upright conviction Blessings from the mighty hand of a God It is this life that offers addiction To the marvel of a positive nod Gratitude gives us more than one reason Days to see blue skies through ashen-gray clouds Hope builds, aspires to craft a smile’sRead more

Christmas and the Gift

“And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans–and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused–and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins,Read more