Warmth, Messiness, A Beautiful Life

It was a day of noise, of messiness, of 70 degree weather, of windows open, of Spring in the air, of noise, of silence.  All summed up, a day of beauty.  A hard day, definitely; a day of learning, of getting it done, of letting it go, yet still beautiful.

Saw glimmers of what it would be like having a larger family, at least for a few hours.  Saw the personalities in children and "rolled" with each unique one.  Thankfulness throughout the day.  Reminders of how quickly time flies; how moments drag on.  Greatful for bedtimes and the hope of doing it al again tomorrow.

• first round of coffee
• a singular clover, reaching for sunshine
• laughter
• science experiments
• younger being a gracious host
• large enough house to "hid" from the craziness

 Singular Clover

As messy as Christmas morning!

Signs of Spring

January throws a surprise.  Time to shake of the long pants, thick socks, and heavy jackets.  Today was all about a lovely and unexpected day.

• list making
• sweet sunshine
• 56 degrees outside
• daffodils poking through, the hope of Spring
• windows open
• smell of fresh air

Random Joy

All sorts of joy today; gratitude all over the roadmap; looks like a plate of spaghetti noodles all jumbled together.

Sometimes, randomness and mess can be good.  Today, we were okay with it.  After gathering up the stash of knitting needles and matching up their mates, I finished cleaning out a basket.  In that process, money was found, in an envelope addressed to me.  Very unexpected surprise, a joyful and greatful moment.

Another moment was driving across town, Adele on Pandora playing, and the sky clearing up.  Beautiful shades of blue and white clouds.  In the van felt warm, without the heat turned on.  This, after two and a half days of dreary, felt wonderful.

Listing the hightlights looks like this:

• blue skies
• found money
• day not rushed
• winter sunset through the trees
• moments to sit and chat

The Day After

. . . any big event, can be overwhelming, be a joyous occasion, or be a day of grieving.

Today, the day after the Presidential Elections is no different.  Folks seem equally divided between being thankful and wanting to leave the USA.  This tension has been felt for many days and weeks.  My sincerest hopes and prayers are for unity of the common good.  The common good of every USA citizen, those who are here on work visa or school visa, those seeking asylum from their previous country.  The United States of America was founded with and by immigrants, from many nations.  The constitution was created out of a desire to safe guard our freedoms and to protect our citizens.  I am thankful for USA "growing up" and realizing it's narrow view of "man" was lacking, that human beings is a far better way of looking at individuals (although "we" still need some work on that).  I am thankful to live in a country where folks want to come to, to live and work.

Anyway, have been meaning to come back here, at least in the month of November, and blog things to be thankful of.  Nine days in and just getting to it.  Feels like the story of my life.  A lot of "Around to Its" going on.  Here's a random list of things, to include the last few days:

• blue skies
• some cooler days
• fall colors
• election being over
• fall/winter meal planning
• walks through the woods
• hot tea
• hot chocolate
• fresh, homemade whipped cream
• blankets
• crazy, silly dog
• sunshine

Random, fall picture from my hard drive

Still Alive, Still Breathing, Still Thankful

yes to all the above!  Days have been feeling shorter and longer at the same time; they feel harder, too.  No room for margin.  No spare time for anything.  No extra time for the big chores.  Been working on that ~ finding the time, delegating, letting go.

Haven't given up hope, yet, that I can get back to this blog and be posting more regularly.  Mulling over changes.  In the mean time, I leave you with this lovely photo:

Seasons are Changing

around here!  At least the decorations.  The leaves are falling and the evergreen wreaths are coming out.

Today + Joy = a hodge podge of a list.  So here it is:

• weather that keeps people home
• quick feeling therapy
• ending of "one" season and beginning of another
• warm breakfast on a cold day

Short and sweet list!

 Fall leaf garland that came down this morning!

Annual Christmas Wreath from

my in-laws.  Love getting this each year.

Not something I would buy for myself,

so it is appreciated!

Joy Through the Seasons ~ Summer

Summer loving had me a blast, oh yeah

Summer loving happened so fast,

I met a girl crazy for me,

Met a boy cute as can be


Any time I start thinking about summer, I automatically get into the song from "Grease", you know the song that starts with the lyrics above!  What I enjoy about summer is the following:

• pool time
• lazy mornings
• shady spots
• grilled food
• cool days/cool nights
• movies going late into night (late for a middle aged mom)!
• extended reading time
• fresh fruit and veggies
• visiting family

Joy Through the Seasons - Spring

Again, almost at the end of a series of blog posts containing joy.  Having a hard time coming up with what is next.  When the idea came to write like this, I thought 26 letters, a few people, and the seasons.  Cool, that is approximately 35 posts, I'm sure more ideas/series, will come.  I am at a loss as to what to choose.  Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Today's post is about Spring though.  Here is what is coming to mind:

• weather is warming up (after the winter of 2013/2014, warmer weather was nice.  We had a lot of snow and colder weather)
• my birthday is just a few days after the Spring Equinox :)
• the lime green grass popping up
• flowering trees
• Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.
• daffodils and crocus' popping up all around
• the first kind of nice day you grill out
• windows open for the first time, in a few months
• coloring hard boiled eggs
  
  Daffodils that got bent over, so I brought
  them inside!  Can't tell in the photo, but
  each glass is a different color (blue, green red,
  and a burgundy)

Joy Through the Seasons ~ Winter

Winter ~ is it synonymous with dreary, cold, can't wait to get through it?  Probably one of the best things about winter is that bulb flowers need a good freeze in order to bloom the following spring.  There is something to be thankful for.

Other things to be joyful about winter season (if you're in the Northern Hemisphere):

• possibility of a White Christmas
• the movie "White Christmas"
• lots of other "traditional" Christmas movies
• Christmas season from the day after Thanksgiving through end of December (yes, most of that is still technically in the fall, but work with me here)
• the birth of both of our boys!  January brought us two boys and a number of other kids we know.  One of Ian's baseball friends was a few hours younger than him.
• beautiful snow ~ at least until it needs to be shoveled or we need to drive somewhere
• hot chocolate
• warm fires
• reading "Snowflake Bently" by  Jacqueline Briggs Martin
• reading "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
• reading "Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen

Joy Through the Seasons ~ Fall

Fall, when used as a noun, refers to the period of time from September 21 through December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere or March through June in the Southern Hemisphere.

What I like best about the season of fall:

• changing colors of the leaves
• cooler temperatures
• wearing an extra layer
• bringing out the blankets
• all the lovely sounding coffees, teas, and other beverages I don't drink, but sound really good!
• "Sunday Meals" take on a more hearty flavor
• more soup and stews
• candles (yup, another plug for Autumn Hill Candle) 
• "Mr. Pumpkin Head" ~ our front porch friend during the fall season
• trip to Cox Farm

Feeling a touch nostalgic, fall of 2004.

Neighbor's beautiful Japanese Maple.

Birds feeding and another maple I think!

 Cool Subway Art