For those who are celebrating today….Happy Easter!!
And, Happy Sunday!
I hope you are able to spend the day with family and friends.
Until next time….peace
Happy Easter!
Happy Valentine’s Day
Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day.
I hope you were able to spend the day with loved ones.
Until next time….peace
Festival of Sleep Day
Today, January 3, 2017, is known as Festival of Sleep Day. Dedicating an entire day to sleep sounds incredibly relaxing. In fact, I think my cats have been practicing for this unofficial holiday for some time. Mid-Michigan is dreary today. I woke up to dense fog, followed by rain and cold. My cats (and dogs) did not want any part of being outdoors for a long period of time. Instead, they all are curled up around the warm fire enjoying a lazy afternoon.
As for me, my sleep patterns vary. I love to stay up late in the early morning hours. I find the night time silence inspiring. What can I say, 3 a.m. and I are old friends. At least on this Festival of Sleep Day, I can sneak in afternoon nap without a twinge of guilt. I will simply blame the quick snooze on research for my blog, right?
Happy Sleeping!
Until next time…peace
Happy 2nd Day of the New Year!
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes,
then you are making new things, trying new things,
learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.
You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.
Neil Gaiman
Well, Happy 2nd Day of 2017! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!
My days were filled with family, friends and a lot of food. I really couldn’t ask for anything more.
Until next time…peace
Happy Thanksgiving
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.
If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.
Oprah Winfrey
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For those who are celebrating today….
Happy Thanksgiving. May your day be filled with peace,
love and an overflowing of blessings as you spend time with your family and friends.
Have a wonderful day!
Until next time…peace
I Love to Write Day
Today, November 15, 2016, is I Love to Write Day. What can I say, words fascinate me. I could spend hours writing. When I am not writing, I am usually reading, taking photos or creating stories in my mind. I use my photography to capture moments in time. Often a simple photo leads to inspiration for an entire night of writing.
My first dabble in writing came from a simple outdated journal. My parents use to attend auctions where second hands goods and other oddities where available. They brought home a box with various items including an outdated calendar journal. The dates were two years old.
I carefully crossed out each day to make the year correct. I entered daily notes. The kind only an eleven-year-old in the late 70’s would find fascinating. Seeing a deer across the road, painting rocks with old fingernail polish than throwing them into the pond, playing hide and seek with my cousins, or riding a skateboard down the “large” hill. Reading the entries always make me smile and nostalgic.
The old outdated journal became my first source of a lifelong love of writing. I left my writing for a while to pursue a business career. After some time, loss of job, and reorganization of my priorities, I am slowly returning to my true love, my calling. The more I write, the more I realize who I am.
Never consider an old outdated journal or other “junk” items as a waste of money, for a child, the inspiration may be the root of a lifelong pursuit.
Until next time….peace
A Holiday Gratitude Journal
November generally signifies the beginning of the holiday season. No matter how you celebrate, the holidays can be stressful. Normal schedules instantly over fill with holiday activities, extra school events, party invites and family obligations. During all the hustle and bustle, focusing on the fun part of the festivities may seem difficult. Consider creating a gratitude journal.
What is a Gratitude Journal?
Basically, a gratitude journal is a diary. Unlike normal diaries, the gratitude journal focuses primarily on the positive aspects of each day. Even the most chaotic, stressful days have a positive moment. Being thankful and focusing on the special moments can help ease the stressful days.
Creating the Gratitude Journal
The gratitude journal does not have to be anything fancy. A simple spiral bound notebook or composition notebook will work. Other types and styles of journals are available. Pick one to inspire your journal writing time. As you begin to order holiday gifts online add one to your cart. Or get creative; make your gratitude journal into a cherished memento. Later on in life, you may find the entries funny, heartwarming or unbelievable.
Writing in the Gratitude Journal
One of the most important aspects to consider in keeping a gratitude journal is making the time to write. Getting into the habit of writing journal entries may seem difficult in the beginning. After a few days, the urge to write may surprise you.
- Make your gratitude journal time part of your daily schedule
- Allow yourself at least 15 minutes to write
- Try to expand on your journal entries by adding extra details
- If you have children, ask them about their best part of the day
- Expand on your children’s thoughts of the day
Remember there is no right or wrong way to keep a gratitude journal. Focusing on the positives may help reduce the stress of the holiday season.
Many people decide to keep the gratitude journal just for the month of November or just the week leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. Other people decide to keep the gratitude journal throughout the entire holiday season right into the New Year. Some find the journal entries inspiring and decide to continue. The length of time depends on your personal desire.
Happy Halloween
Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. As a child, my mother would take my siblings and me to go trick-or-treating with my cousins in town. No matter what, there would always be a group of us together. My mom and aunt were always nearby to supervise.
Our customs were either handmade (sometimes at the very last minute), hand me downs from older cousins, or garage sale finds. None of us thought anything of it, we were just there to have fun and get candy. We would travel for blocks and blocks. Until we were all so tired, we wanted to head back to my aunt’s house to warm up. Often, we wore out before the ending siren blew.
Back at my aunt’s house, we would gather in the living room to exchange candy, drink hot cocoa and eat no-bake chocolate cookies. My mom and aunt would always inspect each bag to ensure the candy was edible. I think, they would sneak many pieces for themselves during the inspection process.
My Halloween’s are less eventful now. What can I say? I enjoy the comfort of my fireplace. But I still carve pumpkins and hand out goodies to trick-or-treaters who venture out my way.
Did you celebrate Halloween? Do you now? What is your favorite Halloween memory?
Happy Halloween!
Until next time……peace
National Pumpkin Day
Today, October 26, 2016, is National Pumpkin Day. As soon as the cold air begins to settle in here in Michigan, everyone goes crazy over pumpkin-flavored foods and beverages. I personally tried a pumpkin spice latte which was okay. But I admit I am still hot tea type of person.
Since today is National Pumpkin Day, I decided to look up different facts about pumpkins.
According to the Pumpkin Patch, pumpkins are actually a good source or potassium and Vitamin A. No wonder, Pumpkin Juice was so popular at Hogwarts. Along with vitamins, the facts about pumpkins are very interesting.
- The flowers on a pumpkin plant are actually edible.
- Weighing over 350 pounds and five feet in diameter, the largest pumpkin pie required six hours of baking time. Requiring 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, and 12 eggs, the largest pumpkin pie was a sight to see. I think the large pumpkin pie would satisfy anyone’s craving.
- Pumpkins were actually referred to as “isqoutm squash: by Native Americans.
- Pumpkins are part of the gourd family
- According to Guinness World Records, the largest pumpkin weighed in at 2,323 pounds (1,054 kg). I cannot imagine trying to turn that large of a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.
Wondering how to celebrate National Pumpkin Day? How about carving pumpkins? I currently have three pumpkins on my porch. My favorite one is small, orange and bumpy. I am sure it’s more along the gourd variety than a pumpkin. I just love it for the oddness. I have not found the inspiration to carve them yet. But who knows, maybe with National Pumpkin Day, I will.
Until next time…peace
Sources:
Guinness World Records., (2016). Heaviest pumpkin. Retrieved from:
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/heaviest-pumpkin
The Pumpkin Patch, (2016). Unusual pumpkin facts., Retrieved from:
Happy Easter
For those who celebrated today, Happy Easter. Regardless if you celebrate or not, I hope you were able to spend time with family and friends.
Today was nice…sun shining, light breeze….lots of family members….lots of food….I really couldn’t ask for a better day.
My contribution for the day was an Easter cake. I had fun decorating the cake. I added candies which my nieces and nephew loved.
Until next time…peace
Rebecca's Vintage and Wildlife Photography 