Memories of  Floating Along the windy roads of Home in the blue Mercury Marquis are flooding my mind this morning. My eye level is just above the chrome rim on the door frame.  I mostly see the tops of the trees and wires and blue sky as we head to our cottage for the weekend.  To my right in the passenger seat is my Dear Mama.  In her Blue Willy sweater.  She spent the day at the Fish Market selling her offerings and working in the office upstairs under its tin ceiling.  Her tired head seems to bob along with the deep Baritone of Roger Whitaker playing on the radio.  He sings so rich and smooth …

Did you ever know that you’re my Hero?  And Everything I’d like to Be?  I can Fly Higher than an Eagle, Because You are the Wind Beneath My Wings

My Mama was Wind to everyone who came into her Sphere.  There are Too Many to Count.  It was Selfless and Pure.  Never once was she Kind to someone and turn around and us children hear a Bad Word.  Never a  Judgment Call.  Just Love and Understanding.

I grew up on Hunter Lake Road.  A Road Aptly Named.  Our Surname is Hunter and many Families of Origin lived on this beautiful winding road along the Lake.  I only knew Harmony.  It wasn’t until I left home and the odd rumour would cross my ear that I ever knew there were the typical struggles in the family homes along the lake.  My dinner table never was a place for gossip or a place to share the pain of others.  We lived in Harmony because of Sovereign Grace and Love in my Mama’s Heart.

These are a Few of my Mamaisms…..

“Jeannine, if you are going to be a sweet old lady, you must be a sweet young lady.”

“Honey, I’ve never walked a mile in his moccasins.”

“If each before his own door swept the village would be clean.”

“Awe poor dear….(said often and regular to others struggles)”

“No matter how deep the waters are, they ne’er shall overflow.” (My eyes overflow as I type this one)

“Kindness and love never leave a bruise.” (Texted it to me today….I’ve heard this from a child)

Our home had a Revolving Door for all.  A Spirit of Optimism and Positivity Resided there even amidst the typical Trials and Tribulations of life.  Every Day my Mama Suited Up.  She put on the Breastplate of Love and Kindness and the Helmet of Humility and the Shield of Faith in her Precious Hands.  For that I am so grateful for.  It’s really all that matters.  In the End it is all that Remains.

Thank You Dear Mama, Happy Birthday.

You Truly are the Wind Beneath My Wings.

I love you

xoxo

 

 

 

 

So our Feet must Rest Somewhere.  What Ground are we Standing On?  Our Security is in the Solid and Secureness of the ground under our feet.  Is it the fleeting sands of Wealth?  Beauty?  Human Love? A downturn in the economy wipes away wealth in a day.  Even a lying tongue speaking untruths can find us with a pink slip in our hands.  Beauty?  Oh my goodness.  What a Fleeting Thing that is.  For one that is in the eye of the beholder.  And sometimes if you’re the one beholding, one is beautiful one day and pitiful the next.  We are our own worst enemy and critic.  Human Love?  A very fickle thing.  Even the best lover gets discontent and disillusioned.  Sickness and Death can rob us of our loved ones in a moment.

So where is Unshakeable Ground?  What Ground can keep our Feet in an Even Place through the Trials and Tribulations of Life?

We can Plant our Feet on the Ground of Sovereign Love.  It is Eternal and Constant.  It has the Ability to Satisfy when all else Fails.  It has the Ability to Lift.  Steady.  Inspire.  Strengthen.  Comfort.

There’s a lot of Delusion and Trickery out there.  So many including myself have Succumbed by times to It.  Even Just this Morning as a couple Dear Friends can Attest, I Almost Fell for Delusion. It’s a Powerful Thing.  But all the Wealth, Beauty and Love the World holds out for a Moment in Time will eventually Shake.  Tremble.  Slide Through our Fingers like Shifting Sand.

So Today I Plant My Feet.  In Faith.  On Unshakeable Ground.  And Once Again, My Heart Feels Secure.

So Grateful.

xoxo

By Nature, I’m a Ugly Old Pessimist.  By Spirit, an Eternal Optimistic Unicorn.

By Nature, I hold  Giant Grudges.  By Spirit, Hurts are Irrelevant and Happily Forgotten.

By Nature, Fantastically Fearful.  By Spirit, Super Excited for a Challenge.  Bring it On.

By Nature,  Callously Covetous.  By Spirit, Stupidly Happy (in the words of a good friend).

By Nature, Antagonistically Angry.  By Spirit, Provocation is not Easily Provoked.

By Nature, Blind to Beauty.  By Spirit,  Speechless at the Overwhelming Beauties of Each New Day.

This Nature will never Get Life.  It’s only through the Spirit that Life is Truly Lived.  So here’s to Spirit.

 

I Love you!

xoxo

 

My romantic side like to open my windows wide at the first scent of rain.  Long ago I removed my screens because I love the look of my windows thrown wide without any barriers.  Like a french villa I tell myself.   It means the cat escapes every three minutes and must be retrieved as it instantly has remorse finding itself without the comforting walls of its home.  Only to find itself once more with only its haunches clinging to the window sill and once more making a dive for it.  Charlie my wonderful Yellow Lab gets a anticipatory gleam in her eye as she has come to know the Ritual of Rain.  It’s time to Hit the Road Jack.  Rubber boots retrieved, the hood zipped to the chin and the click of her leash on the collar.  A car drives by and I love the happy splash of the tires as it passes.  The cafe down the street is busily putting out its green and white striped awning over its patrons.  The red gleam from the street lights make a pretty design on the wet streets.  The snap of the umbrellas being opened is a happy sound to me as Charlie and I make our way down the street.  I love when we hit a dry spot and her little paws make the most darling prints down the sidewalk.  Her hips happily swaying.  She enjoys the rain as much as I do.  I think it’s a welcome relief to her some days as it is I.  Charlie finds a spot under the awning next to a happy dog lover who enjoys her company as I sneak in for a steaming americano.  I love the quiet chatter and the smell of blueberry scones and lemon tarts that fill the air along with the freshly roasted Fratello coffee beans.  I love how people take time out for the simple pleasures.  A young man in the corner is reading a book, two young girls are enjoying an afternoon chatting over their cappuccinos.  The little chiming bell welcoming each new customer is so charming.  Charlie is still happily engrossed in her newfound friend outside.  We bid adieu and continue on our happy wanderings.  Life is beautiful, rain or shine.  Sometimes we need to allow it to be though don’t we?  It’s the strangest thing, that enjoyment in life takes the discipline to see it.  To take time to even create it.  It’s all waiting for us each day.  So this was yesterday.  Today, the sun is shining.  There’s weeding and car cleaning on the agenda. Laundry.  I will take time today to enjoy these simple tasks.  I refuse to allow them to become just a task, but I am committed for them to be a way to enjoy the Gift of Life.  You with me?

 

I love you.

xoxo

When we stop Acting and Reacting from our own Moral Compass it is Veritable Suicide.  We all should have our own Value System.  Not contingent on the moral compass of the Most Popular Kid in Class so to speak.  The person in your current line of vision who is Scintillating your Senses.  Popularity and who is being Admired in Society changes on a Whim.  Our sense of Who We Are and what we want to bring to the world should be Settled.  Engraved in our Being.  We should act from that Moral Code first in our Thoughts.  The Private Chambers of our Hearts.  It should then first Extend to our Families.  Then outwards into the World.  Then we Know we are being True.  True to Ourselves.  Not taking on the Values of Others.

I’ve had Chapters in Life that left me Rattled.  As I Emulated what I thought Others wanted from me.  What would make me Accepted.  The Initial High of Being Accepted was never worth the Empty Feeling of Betraying Myself.

It’s good for me each day to Center Myself.  Remember Who I Am.  What I Value.  I then ask my Creator for Strength to Be those things.  Then I have Self Confidence.  The TRUE kind that can only come from knowing in my very core that I am being True to Myself.  Then I am Content.  Peaceful.  Satisfied.

I Love You All So Much

xoxo

 

Today is Overcast.  It’s midmorning and I’m still in my silk pyjamas nursing a coffee.  My kitty is curled up on my knee and watching my fingers move on the keyboard.  I love mornings like this.  It seems the sun being covered by a grey mantle says “Relax.”  I love the ritual of turning on lamplight on days like today.  A perfect jazz music day.  A day for cooking in the kitchen.  My dog Charlie splayed on the floor at my feet.  A day for Art.  For Nesting.  For Meditation.  Long Walks.  The flowers on my porch almost have a look of relief.  Like they are enjoying a lazy morning too.  Charlie is having a big ol sleep in.  She’s still snuggled deeply in her blanket in her kennel.

I love the brightness of a sunny summer day.  But it feels like a reprieve somedays when clouds buffer its rays now and again.  Feeling grateful today for the simple things.  Like a Grey Day.

Love you all

xoxo

Ralph Waldo Emerson that is…here are a few of his lovely quotes…

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

“The earth laughs in flowers.” (This is the moment I fell hard for Ralph.)

“Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air.”

“To be great is to be misunderstood.”

“To know even one life breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded.”

“Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.”

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”

“Always do what you are afraid to do.”

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

“Envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide.” (I Love You, Ralph)

“We become what we think about all day long.”  (Yep, proven that one both ways!!)

“For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.”

“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.”

 

So tell me Dear Friends, Wisdom is better than silver and gold isn’t it?  Why?  Because without wisdom, silver and gold are used to our hurt.  Wisdom is the key to Success.  I’m grateful for those like Ralph that put effort in to understanding the mechanics of a truly successful life.  We’ve all benefited.  Here’s to Wise Ralph….

 

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Love Y’all

xoxo

 

Slade told Janie years ago “Happiness is a Choice.”  A Wise Guy.  In the Best Way.  Most people’s lives don’t go as Planned.   As Dreamed.  Some people from the day they were born their bodies Struggle.  The ordinary feats of life become a Challenge to Overcome.  Some people from the start have struggled for the Basics.  Love.  Food.  Shelter.  There’s a lot to deal with on this Earth.  Some of us enter the Battle of Life fiercely assailed from the moment our little pink toes see daylight.  But Happiness is Free.  And Free Flowing.  Not Contingent on Circumstance or Providence.  One way to Achieve it is to Humble Ourselves to Be Grateful.  Grateful for what IS ours.  There isn’t a soul Without Blessings. Sadly though there’s too many Souls Without Happiness.  Waiting for Arrival.  Waiting for Utopia.  Waiting for Change.  Well today there’s going to be Change alright.  Change in my Attitude.  My Gratefulness.  My Happiness.

 

Love you All.

xxoo

“A dinner of herbs with love is better than a stalled ox and hatred therewith” .  I’m loving this reading this morning.  Love filling the hearts of our little families nurtures them far more than the external blessings we can give them.  Especially if hatred has a place at our tables.  Maybe it’s not directed at our children or significant others.  Maybe it’s to the neighbours.  Our coworkers.  Our employees.  The leaders of the land.  Hatred in any form hurts our families.  Maybe we could say, “Let’s be Real.”  Since when is a negative perspective on someone or something more real than finding the positive in them?  Since when is ugly usually right?  Could we not say beauty and goodness is most usually right? Positivity and Optimism creates Resilience in our Families.  Sends them into the world expecting good things even from the hard experiences.

Let’s remember the conversations around our tables are as important as the offerings on the table.  This has chastened my heart this morning.

Here’s to Filling our Families with Soul Food.

Love Y’all So Much

xoxo

Visualization is Powerful.  Imagination a wonderful tool to Heal.  To Renew our Strength. Our Gratitude. Our Passion for Life.  As I Pondered Life this Morning, here are a few of my Pretty Pictures….

…blue gingham dresses on little girls, sweet ringlets gleaming in the summer sun

…strawberries ripening on the vine, little white blossoms with their sunny yellow centers.  blonde sawdust lying between the garden rows, sending its woody fragrance into the summer air.

….the quiet rhythmic lap of the lake on its shores.  a sailboat drifting gently by.  the snap of it’s sails in the warm breeze.

…farmer’s market wares and the wonderful aroma of homemade bread.  gorgeous vine ripened tomato sauce in mason jars with the basil leaf pressed to the glass. 

…homemade lemonade with a mint leaf garnish in a gold rimmed glass gifted to you from a little Slovakian watchmaker.

…early morning window shopping with my doggie Charlie.  the french linen shop.  the flower shop owner busy making cut bouquets on her wooden table. 

Some of these are my present real life things I get to enjoy.  Some are memories of the past.  Some are the wonderful gifts I see in others lives on social media.  I love my own gifts. I also love witnessing the gifts of others.  It reminds me of how teeming with blessings this wonderful life is.  So thanks for sharing with me.

I love you.

 

xoxo