Merry Christmas!

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others."  -  Bob Hope

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly Merry Christmas."  -  Peg Bracken

The Desert

"I don't see the desert as barren at all; I see it as full and ripe.  It doesn't need to be flattered with rain.  It certainly needs rain, but it does with what it has, and creates amazing beauty."  -  Joy Harjo

The first time I visited the desert I was in my early 20's...and I didn't like it.

Seasons Change...

"The seasons are what a symphony ought to be: four perfect movements in harmony with each other."  -  Arthur Rubinstein

It happens every year...

The days get shorter,

The sun lower in the sky,

Not Quite Lost

"Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all.  The true joy of life is the trip."  -  Robert J. Hastings

"There are no wrong turnings, only paths we had not known we were 

meant to walk."-  Guy Gavriel Kay

We took a wrong turn.

Cookbooks

"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."  -  Julia Child

I like to look at food pictures in cookbooks and magazines.  I love the dark and moody ones as well as the light and airy ones. 

A Grateful Life

"There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle."  -  Albert Einstein

Top Ten Comments

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." 

-  L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

"It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon." 

                                              -  Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." 

-  Albert Camus

Top ten repeated comments this past week:

A Little Tart

"The whole world is an art gallery when you're mindful.  There are beautiful things everywhere and they're free."  -  Charles Tart

It all started with the pears...

Collecting

"Collect things you love that are authentic to you, and your house becomes your 

story."  -  Erin Flett, Designer

I like to collect old things to photograph. 

A Flower Crown

"A daughter is one of the most beautiful gifts this world has to give."  

 -  Laurel Atherton

What is the last thing a teenage girl wants to do on a Friday afternoon after jumping off the school bus?

Treats

"If you can change your mind, you can change your life."  -  William James

I splurged a little...I bought a big beautiful bouquet of flowers...for myself.

I Missed It

"Look for beauty where it is not supposed to be found." 
-  Claes Oldenburg

"Unexpected intrusions of beauty.  This is what life is."  
 -  Saul Bellow

I missed it.

Driving down the gravel drive my heart sank.  

Fall Is In The AIr

Summer ends and autumn comes, and he who would have thought it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night."  -  Hal Borland

Summer is definitely winding down.

Beauty In The Details

"In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion." 

-  Albert Camus

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."  -  Buddha." 

A Few Photography Quotes

"To me, photography is an art of observation.  It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place...I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them." 

 -  Elliott Erwitt

Caprese Salad

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces, just good food from fresh ingredients."  -  Julia Child

My favorite recipes are the simple ones...the recipes I can remember off the top of my head with the fewest ingredients.  The very best recipes are the ones I can use fresh, in-season ingredients from the farmer's wagon down the road and my own basil.

A Little Bit Of Paradise

"If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it."  

 -  Willy Wonka

This summer I found a few little pieces of paradise.

Summer Is Here!

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."  -  Sam Keen

"Some of the best memories are made in flip flops."  -  Kellie Elmore

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing , the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."  -  James Dent

Memories

"Sometimes you will never know the value of something until it becomes a memory."  -  Dr. Seuss

                                   

                                                                       

I love the smell of peonies.  

A Few Little Things

"You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you 

suddenly thrill you."  -  Andy Warhol 

A few little things from my week...

Treasures Found

"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost..."

 -  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

I was lost. Totally.  Completely.  Utterly.  Lost.

I Feel A Pull...

"Butterflies can't see their wings.  They can't see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can.  People are like that as well."  -  unknown

Crazy Weather

"In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours."  -  Mark Twain

I popped a fresh K-cup into the brewer to make another cup of coffee, my first cup was cold.  It was the heat I was craving, not the caffeine.  I wanted to wrap my cold hands around a hot mug.  The temperature outside was downright cold (33°F) for a May morning.  

A Beautiful Day

"Everywhere we look the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes."  
-  Van Gogh
"Sometimes the most beautiful things are in front of our eyes and we don't even notice, because we're either too busy or too afraid to take a closer look." 
 -  Katja Michael

I shoved a plastic grocery sack in my pocket on the way out the door.  I had my big girl camera in hand and was determined to use it, no matter what the sky was threatening.

The Personality Of A Beach

"The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to 

the soul."  -Robert Wyland 

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it's always ourselves we find in the sea." 

-  E. E. Cummings

Every beach has its own personality:

easy access with a parking lot or a long hike

clear or silty water makes its color turquoise, blue or brown

Spring Is In The Air...

"I hear the passing echoes of winter and feel the warming spring on my face."  

-  Terri Guillemets

morning serenades from happy birds

occasional light frost

coats in the morning...shed by midday

Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops

"...Where troubles melt like lemon drops

High above the chimney tops

That's where you'll find me..."

-  Over The Rainbow

In my car,

driving with my windows and sunroof open

25 Random Facts About Me

"Be yourself, everyone else is taken."  -  Oscar Wilde

1.  I am a middle kid. :) (That's me on the right)

2.  My mom dressed me up as the 'Big Bad Wolf' for Halloween one year and my sister was 'Little Red Riding Hood'...even though she was older and bigger. 

Orchids

"You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one.  Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own.  It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle."  -  Paulo Coelho

Last week a friend and I went to Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio to take pictures.  They were having their annual orchid show...so many beautiful orchids of all kinds. 

Taking Time To Play

"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." 

-  George Bernard Shaw

"You're never too old to do goofy stuff."

 -  Ward Cleaver

"It is a happy talent to know how to play." 

 -  Ralph Waldo Emerson

My family and I took a little time out to play this past weekend.

We took a drive through rural Ohio and visited an Amish Bakery.  I love their pretzels!  

Cooking Failures?

"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook, try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun."  -  Julia Child

Have you ever had a  colossal failure in the kitchen?  I have had many...but two come to mind first.

When I was a teenager, my mom asked if I could make meatloaf for dinner.  Sure.  The recipe called for one cup of chicken bouillon.  I had no idea what that was.  I looked in the pantry and found a little glass jar that said chicken bouillon cubes. 

My Word For 2016

Choosing a 'word for the year' is similar to a New Year's resolution, but way better.  A word for the year points me in the right direction.  It is a little whisper of guidance during times I am stuck and wonder what to do next...oh, I will  (insert my word).

There is also no failure with a word for the year.  If I forget, I try to remember next time...it is always ok to begin again.