“Describe one positive change you have made in your life.” Another prompt caught my attention today, mostly because there are so many ways to answer it. You would think that would be easy — name one positive change. But I’ve made a number of changes – particularly in recent years – that have been pretty…
Category: flowers
Magic
“Don’t rule out magic in ordinary things. Simply open your heart and believe. Magic is all around for those who see with their souls.” – Melody Lee If ever there was a time to believe in magic, its spring. Photos are just a few from a wonderful holiday visit to the town where I grew…
Take hope
“In an increasingly uncertain and uncomfortable world, it helps to remember that there are still soft blankets and warm mugs and kind friends and good people. So many REALLY good-hearted people who want the future to be better. If nothing else, take hope in that.” – Nanea Hoffman And there are really good people (like…
Good day, good life
“Name three good things that happened to you so far today.” I saw a video today that suggested that turning your mood in a more positive direction is as easy as 1-2-3. She interviewed a series of people and asked them to rate how their day was going on a scale of 1-5 — 1…
To this day
“When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?” Another day, another prompt that got my attention. But oh, this one made me so happy — and unlike yesterday, I knew the answer immediately. When I was five, I wanted to be an artist. And when I was ten. And…
Good question
“What’s something most people don’t understand?” Today I got a notification on my phone saying that I had an unusual jump in traffic on my blog. This made me smile a bit, but it also made me super curious. “Traffic” has never been important to me when it comes to writing here. This is mostly…
Learn something(s) new every day
Each of these little wildflower blossoms is about the size of a dime, but collectively they look like a massive white carpet. And right now they are all over the park, making the hills look like they have a fresh dusting of snow. But today is the first time I’ve ever really looked at these…
Astonished
“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” – Mary Oliver I’ve noticed that the older I get, the more astonished I become with the changing seasons. Have I seen daffodils before? Yep. Did I still gasp and say, “Wowwwww….!!!” when I first saw them blooming in the park this morning?…
Many happy returns
“There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate.” Today is National Flower Day! Personally, I think flowers should be celebrated every day, but I’ll take any excuse to make a floral run. Wouldn’t it be great if we could create a day for all of our favorite things? I…
Ultimate trifecta
Thought of the day: So March 20 is the first day of Spring…and International Day of Happiness…and Fred Rogers’ birthday. That is a whole lotta goodness loaded into a single day. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Perfection? No doubt about it.
Everyone
“Be brave because you are a child of God. Be kind because everyone else is too.” I’ve noticed something about myself lately that bothers me a lot. I have a really bad habit of assigning character traits to people based on a single behavior that I’ve witnessed – especially people that I don’t know well…
Sunday Smile
“Earth laughs in flowers.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson And Finnegan is here to remind everyone that laughter is contagious.
That’s all
Just a beautiful bloom in early morning light. I figure any bloom giving this much gloriousness deserves to be seen by more than just me.
Invitation
Oh do you have timeto lingerfor just a little whileout of your busy and very important dayfor the goldfinchesthat have gatheredin a field of thistles for a musical battle,to see who can singthe highest note,or the lowest, or the most expressive of mirth,or the most tender?Their strong, blunt beaksdrink the air as they strivemelodiouslynot for…
Dolce far niente
I have a small practice of typing random tidbits into the notepad on my phone. Just a hodgepodge of to-dos, names to add to my prayer list, shopping lists, quotes I want to revisit, that sort of thing. But today as I was scrolling through my note library to locate a recipe, I noticed this…
Of gardens and gratitude
I noticed this evening that the days are definitely getting markedly shorter and it made me just the tiniest bit anxious. The loss of daylight can sometimes contribute to seasonal blues and I’m really not ready for it. So I thought I would share tip (abbreviated – click on the link for full text) from…
Hello, dahlia
Can we just pause for a moment and admire the gorgeousness that is this dahlia? She’s actually about the size of a sunflower. And I’d like to briefly point out that there *might* be a heart in her center, if you look at it just right. But there is no mistaking this heart. If you…
Shady
Is it just me or does this fence look like he’s up to something? On an unrelated note… so the surprise continues. Check out how our friend is doing. Day seventeen.
Rainy Sunday
“May you do what is right and kind, for others and yourself. May you attend to your responsibilities but also remember to make time for rest and play. May you listen for what your heart tells you is true and let it guide you. May your coffee and your humor be strong and plentiful, and…
Missed it
Well, I didn’t get a photo of the sixth day of unexpected joy and delight — it disappeared too quickly. It was a brief stare down and funny little exchange between my dog looking out the front door and a chipmunk on the porch. The startled little guy took off before I could grab a…
Yellow
“To the attentive eye each moment of the year has its own beauty and in the same field it beholds every hour a picture which was never seen before and which shall never be seen again.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Day number five … it was all yellow.
Surprise
“For the next 31 days, allow yourself to be surprised by joy. Find one tiny thing that catches you by surprise in its delightfulness or its beauty.” – Field Guide to Everyday Magic Today when I stumbled across this book during some fall cleaning, I flipped through and paused at this prompt. I went for…
Gratefully
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” – Maya Angelou Today is my day for receiving gratefully. The above zinnias came from a yard a few streets over, as the gardener was encouraging folks to cut what they wanted from the abundance. And I certainly wasn’t the only one eagerly accepting this…
Six little stories with lots of meaning
Once, a group of villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of prayer, all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That is faith. When you toss babies in the air, they laugh because they know you will catch them. That is trust. 3. Every night we go to…
hey there, friends 