Time for a Make-Over and Other Bits and Pieces

  I haven't been posting so much this month but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing.  I did a bit of a make-over on the design of the blog, as you can see. I changed the color scheme , going for a wintery white, clean look.  I couldn't resist putting some veggies in the back round though, just because....I like them!

    The most important change I've made is to the sidebars.  I peruse many blogs on a variety of topics and, to make it easier to do some blog-hopping, I divided them into categories.  So feel free to check out some of my favorites.  I plan to add more, as I find new ones that I enjoy.

    Since I don't do TV,   reading has become my leisure 'vice.'  I read everything........ recipes, book reviews, poetry, prayers, articles about health and wellness, fiction  etc, etc. and  many  blogs offer  nourishment for me.   I am especially fond of poetry sites and you will find many of those on the sidebar.

    Recently, I've been writing poems - lots of them!   This gives me a sense of peace, a feeling of accomplishment, and, if nothing else,  a wonderful hobby to pass the winter months, as I wait for my garden to reawaken.  In a word, writing poetry fills me with joy! Perhaps one day, I will let you into my poetry garden!

<<>>

translating 

one moment at a time

into poetry

<<>>

  Yesterday  I went to visit my almost-bed-bound mother.   I brought her some fruit compote along with  her weekly groceries. She loves sweets and is especially fond of this compote which she says "keeps things moving." Her memory fades with each passing week and  she has stopped trying to keep track of her life.

<<<>>>

old mama

she's forgotten everything

except her children

<<<>>>

     When I got in the car to come home, I spotted the car-seat we installed for my grandson and the irony of that hit me over the head.   I am certainly a member of the 'sandwich generation.'

<<<>>>

a little boy says

'amma, tell me everything

about the universe'

<<<>>>

   I feel  blessed to have my mother still with us and a young grandson to keep me on my toes. He still thinks Pappa and I know 'everything' about the universe!   Very soon, I suspect,  he will know infinitely more than we do.  Right now, we can still answer most of his questions.  He is coming to visit us for a 'sleep-over' this weekend. That means I have to put my running shoes on to keep up with him.  The good news is,  he'll probably love the fruit compote too!!  Here's the recipe.

Fruit Compote

1/2 lb dried apricots

1/2 lb dried prunes

1/2 lb raisins

1 stick of cinnamon

1 piece of ginger chopped

1 apple cut up

water to cover

Cook on a low flame for about 1 hour until all the fruit softens.

Thought for Today:  Every moment can be turned into joy, if not poetry.

Sharing with Rebecca and friends at Recuerda Mi CorazonRecuerda Mi Corazon Haiku My Heart

    

Keeping a Journal...It's not just for teenagers anymore

     Keeping a journal is a time honored exercise for many writers and since I fancy myself a writer, I'm no exception.  I've kept many different journals over my lifetime and find it a rewarding past time.  Journaling isn't just for 'writers' though.  It is a wonderful way to keep track of whatever it is you desire to record.  It can be therapeutic, spiritual, practical, health-promoting and fun!

****  Are you always noticing the weather, keeping track of the phases of the moon or when the cherry trees bloom? Which birds are visiting?  Do you love walking at the beach or through the woods and observing  nature?  How about keeping a nature journal!  This has been one of my favorite writing exercises over many years.  I found a ten year journal that was perfect.  It has only a small space for each entry but you can compare the weather, gardening observations etc with the previous years.

****  Perhaps you are starting an exercise program or a diet.  (It is January, after all.)  Writing down goals and then tracking progress, including keeping a list of what you eat and how and when and where you exercise, can be a powerful motivator.  It is also great to look back to see where you were.

****Many people keep a gratitude diary.  This is easy....just list all the things that happened each day for which you are grateful.  This can be tied to a spiritual practice or not, your choice!

****  A spiritual or prayer journal  can be  another source of nourishment.  If you are in the habit of communicating with God,  meditating mindfully, contemplating a higher power, or sitting in silence, journaling about the experience can be fruitful.  Perhaps you read scripture as part of your meditation.  After reflecting on your reading, write about how it moved you.

**** The arrival of a new baby into a family is a wonderful time to begin a journal.  New mothers  are often given a book to record all of their baby's milestones but there is no reason grandma or grandpa or even dad can't write about the little one!  Along with your  photos you will  create a treasure worth more than gold!

**** I love to bring a small book along when I go on vacation.  I try to record all the sights, sounds, smells and sensations of my experience in a new place.  Along with my photos, my travelogue can recreate moments from a vacation long after the return trip home.

**** If you are artistic, your journal can incorporate other  ways of communicating to enhance your words or  instead of words.  I am not  very artistic  but have recently been drawn to using paint, pencils and pens to "doodle."  I bought a sketchbook and, when the time is right, I  plan to create  a visual journal.

****Some other journal ideas:  Cooking and recipes, memoir writing, poetry or haiku journal, mindful moments,  a garden diary(with photos,) a dream journal, a reading journal (with book reviews/synopses)  Keeping a journal is proven to reduce stress and can be life affirming and lift one's mood.

   Although I blog ( an online way to journal)  I keep and have kept many paper  journals throughout my life. The idea of creating a book, even if it never sees the light of day, appeals to me.

Try it!  You may like it!

For Recuerda Mi Corazon Postcards from Paradise

Resolution Revolution

  OK.  I'm not a fan of  New Year's resolutions.  So I'm starting a resolution revolution.  Join me if you want, if not , that's OK too!


january one

open the newspaper

same old, same old

same old, same old
 will it ever really change

flip the calendar

flip the calendar

promise a brand new start

resolution

resolution
nothing new under the sun
live in the moment

live in the moment
it's really all one can do
breathe peace

breathe peace
in and out every moment
start today

start today
peace one breath at a time
january one

   I'm still on a blog break for the holidays but wanted to wish all my wonderful friends, readers,  fellow bloggers and poets a peace-filled 2013. Thank you for your encouragement and support in 2012!  I am so blessed to have you in my life!  

Sharing with Haiku Heights 'new'

The Magic of Christmas

  It is usually easy to  conjure  up that old Christmas magic every year.  The sound of Christmas hymns in church ,  the smell of pine in the air, the gradual appearance of lights and decorations just as the darkness of winter comes upon us,  and the excited anticipation of children everywhere, all stir up in my heart,   the magic of Christmas' past.

 Perhaps nothing does it for me quite like the decorations I put on my Christmas tree. Each one is dusted with the magic of Christmas memories. A few were on the first tree I ever saw in my parent's house!

      When I was very young, we lived in the basement of my grandparent's house.  What I remember most about Christmas was the lights.   We had  bubble lights (since outlawed as dangerous)  that  were shaped like candles but had bubbling liquid in them. They were magical and  I loved them.  And perhaps because I was so close to the floor, I recall looking, in absolute wonder at the glittering balls and decorations on the tree.  Magic!

 On Christmas morning, we opened our presents, then some time later, Nannie would come to the stairs and call us,  saying that Santa had come upstairs  to her house too.   My sister  and I would run upstairs  to find another tree with more gifts under it.  Magic!!  

     

     My favorite memory of  my other grandmother involves her suggestion that we call "Saaaanta" into the old fireplace in the living room.  Before long, we would hear, coming right out of the fireplace, Santa's voice!!!!   Years later, my mother  told me that Grandma would answer us through the heat registers in another room and the sound of her voice would travel and sound like it was coming out of the fire place. Magic!!

       Moving to the suburbs a few years later, brought new and unforgettable traditions.  My father set up the only outdoor creche in the neighborhood and someone  got all the kids together to practice singing Christmas carols and every year on December 23rd, we went caroling after dark.  Finally we gathered around the creche on our lawn to sing one last hymn.  Then someone gave out hot chocolate and we warmed up.   Magic!

    
   I recall three gifts from my childhood.  When I was perhaps four or five, I got a chain drive tricycle.  I was thrilled that Santa brought me such a big bike!  Magic!  Another year, I  received a  John Nagy Drawing Kit,  something I had coveted.  I guess that was an example of early television advertising.  Still, it was magic!   By the time  I was nine or ten, we received mostly clothing  for Christmas but always, a few Nancy Drew books were tucked away behind all the clothes boxes.   I opened them last and spent the rest of Christmas Day reading.  Magic! 

     Once I married and  started to have children , the idea of Christmas magic shifted and  suddenly  we became the magicians - no longer did we expect magic, we now wanted to make it!   Soon we were creating our own family  traditions even as we added more babies to our family.

  We began collecting decorations for our tree,  adding a few more every year.  Watching the little ones react to the lights  was magic!   When the children were old enough, they made ornaments and those remain some of  my most cherished. 

  
    Sharing the  ancient Christmas story about the Light of the World with each child, perpetuating the magic of Santa for another generation and sharing with them the joy of giving carried with it  special joys.  I revisit each memory when I see the tree in all its glory.    

     Recently, our grandson  has brought the wonder and delight of childhood back into our lives.  Every light and ornament looks brand new when I look at it with him. As he stares with wide eyes at my Christmas music boxes and studies each ornament on the tree, I can experience Christmas through the eyes of a child again.  Magic!!

     My Christmas memories fall loosely into three eras : my childhood, my children's childhood,  and my grandson's childhood. And my tree has ornaments on it from all of those years.  Each one, sparkling with memories,  is capable of bringing the innocent joy of Christmas to my heart.  

 My fondest hope and wish is for the Christmas Light to grow brighter every year until  all hearts are touched by its brilliance.  

PEACE BE WITH YOU

Shared with Recuerda Mi Corazon   Postcards from Paradise.

Soul Care

      I had to go looking for inspiration to create a post for the end of this week.  With Christmas looming, there would normally be no shortage of topics to explore, all lending themselves to savoring the wonders of this season.

   Somehow, I was unable to get up the energy to post a recipe of my favorite cookies or another story about Orange Sneakers.  Not this week.  My heart is just not ready to put on the child-like joy I usually feel right about now in the year.

     I often visit Abbey of the Arts for spiritual nourishment and especially to join in the poetry party held monthly by Christine Valters Paintner, PhD., a Benedictine oblate.   The challenge this month was  to write a poem on the topic of 'kinship with creation,' using the photo below as inspiration. Click on the link above to explore more Abbey of the Arts.

   Here are three linked haiku that came out of my meditation on the photo and topic:

________

an innocent deer

leaves a trail to follow

toward the light

________

in stillness

trees lift their branches

toward heaven

_______

do song birds

find the silence comforting

in winter? 

_______

Photo Credit: "Snow Tracks" by Brent Bill

I am also  sharing  with Recuerda Mi Corazon for Haiku my Heart on Friday.    Hop on over there to find poets and artists with abundant  heart and soul nourishment!

*****

Take-away for today:  The spirit is the fourth spoke in the wheel of holistic wellness and may indeed be the key to physical, mental and psychological health.   There are many paths to spiritual wellness.  What nourishes your spirit?