Stillness

fire engine red

you caught my eye

tip toe i did

had to try and try

until still you stayed

and let me near

thank you little creature

who i hold dear

Joining Tamar for Little Things

Tiny, Magical Reflection

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing

is just a drop in the ocean.

But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

Mother Theresa

In moments when I feel less than,

weak,

insignificant or

unable...

the "macro" world helps me to shift my perspective.

Just look at the detail of those tree branches

captured in the tiny raindrop.

A wonderful reminder of the magic

and beauty

and possibility

that lives in each detail.

That lives in me.

And in each and every one of us.

Joining James for

Weekend Reflections

Each New Day

~morning has broken ~

easily one of my favorite songs of all time

the promise of a new day

the joy of a sunlit morning

the call to take note

to pause and

pay attention

this morning

as soon as the sun's light shone through the trees

the entire back yard sparkled

the air was crisp

the grass, covered with frost and

sprinkled with countless dewy drops,

caught the light

and put on quite a show for me

so i left the comfort of the family room

ventured forth into the morning

knelt in dew soaked grass

and

praised

THIS

recreation of the new day

Joining Kim and Kat today

{Good Random Fun} Week 5

The Good

One month in to 2016.

How, you ask, is it going with my word choice for the year?

I know you're on the edge of your seats!

Well....

The word I'd use to describe the month of January is....revealing.

There was a 2 week cleanse.

There was yoga.

And there was fresh air, sunshine and walking.

Physically speaking, a pretty darn good month!

The interesting thing to me is that, as we prepare for our move,

and I focus on this idea...

The idea of being efficient.

Of having nothing in excess of what is needed.

Of being single minded in my objective....

As I focus on lean and mean,

I'm finding that the real "house cleaning"

is taking place inside my head and heart.

Facing the facts about what we need/can afford in this house hunting journey

is bringing to the surface all sorts of feelings.

I've been fighting demons of regret.

The woulda/coulda/shoulda demons are knocking at my door.

Those "unfair" demons are dancing all around me.

And the self-pity demons...well, they're trying to throw a rager!

{a rager with no alcohol...cause I was cleansing...and - well - don't actually drink!}

But boy oh boy are these words - lean and mean - grounding me.

Reminding me.

Bringing me back to mindfulness.

To my chosen path.

To my heart center.

And, most importantly...to gratitude.

Stay tuned - I feel like I'm in for a wild ride on my 2016 journey!

The Random

I so delight...

...in these amazing little...

...weeds of winter!

The Fun

The artsy component of my new recipe book is complete!
{that's the fun part}
Let's see if I can get all my recipes transcribed onto the cards in the month of February!
{not as fun...but it'll feel oh-so-good to get it done!}




Joining Tamar and Judith

Black & White Wednesdays ~ Seeds

may the seeds of 

love

joy

peace

patience

kindness

goodness

faithfulness

gentleness

and 

self control

break free from the pain, rubble and fear
set sail on the winds of hope
and plant themselves in the hearts of people everywhere

Black & White photos? Link up below!

I'm also connecting with Communal Global

Six Word Fridays ~ Lucky

It's such a little thing. Really.

But it makes me so happy!

I am so lucky to have 

stumbled upon these precious wild beauties.

Thanks for letting me share my

teeny tiny macro obsession with you.

Join us and share your stories

Six Words at a time!

Into every life....

....some rain must fall. {Longfellow}

When it falls,

I do what any self-respecting iPhone camera loving,

blogging,

instagramming person does.

I snap picks of the leaves!

The colors are even more vibrant when they're wet!

And, once the skies begin to clear...

...I get that macro lens ready,
and really focus on the raindrops!

So, even though it's true
that into every autumn many drops of rain must fall...
I'm finding little ways to enjoy the chill, the bluster, the gray and the falling leaves.

OK.
Just keeping it real, not really ready to embrace the chill....




Joining friends for
Little Things Thursday
and the
Writer's Workshop

Each Leaf

Here's the thing about Autumn in New England.

I can never decide whether the swoon worthy landscapes

are more 

or less

awe inspiring than the transformation

and detail

I see in each individual leaf.

I could examine the changing leaves up close all day every day.

And never find two that are exactly alike.

Or that change in exactly the same way.

It's fascinating!

One individual miracle at a time.

Aristotle might have said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

And I get that - in foliage and in life.

But hey,

let's not ever forget that each part is an amazing miracle

in and of itself.

I need to remember that about me.

Each autumn leaf is a soul soothing reminder

of how much magic there is in each of us!

Joining Kim for

Little Things Thursday

Raindrops on Sweaters?

There was a new patch of something growing by the deck at my in-laws this summer.

These curious stems popped up from amidst the leaves.

Sage colored leaves that stayed close to the ground.

When I got close up to the leaves to catch the water droplets

after the sprinklers had done their thing in the morning...

...well

all I could think of was that Sound of Music tune.

The one that starts out, "Raindrops on roses."

But the closer I got to these "leaves" the more they looked like they'd been hand knit.

So...

I started humming,

"Raindrops on Sweaters..."

Joining Kim for

Little Things Thursday

Black & White Wednesdays ~ Droplets

Tiny droplets.

Azalea petal.

Simple.

Magical.

The delicate texture, magnified.

Mesmerizing.

Join me here and share your

Black & White photos!

{I'm also joining Wednesday Around the World}

Every Tiny Miracle

"Every drop of rain that falls

in the Sahara Desert says it all,

It's a miracle...

All God's creation great and small,

the Golden Gate and the Taj Mahal,

That's a miracle...

We're having a miracle on earth,

mother nature does it all for us.

The wonders of this world go on...

It's a miracle.

If every leaf on every tree could tell a story

that would be a miracle."

The Miracle ~ Queen

Look closely at the moss hanging from the Cape Cod trees...

It's a miracle.

A funky little abstract miracle.

Look closely at the dried petals that have hung on

through the snowy, windy, icy winter.

It's a miracle.

An intricate little,

delicate little

miracle.

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

In My Own Little World

I love the macro world.

I'm not fancy,

or really well equipped...

but my iPhone and I enjoy trying to capture

all things miniature.

I was wandering yesterday,

and found some moss on an old stone wall.

It was nice to see the bright green of new growth

that's been hiding under the snow!

Perhaps it's all the St. Patty's day talk,

but can't you just imagine a little leprechaun 

peeking out from behind one of these mossy buds.

Or a microscopic little fairy coming to light on one of them?

There's something about this miniature world

that completely captures my imagination!

When I step back from the macro lens

and just look at the old stone covered with a mossy carpet,

it's like there's nothing to see.

But, in reality, there's a whole,

beautiful,

magical,

macro world waiting to be discovered!

My friend Kathy chose a song for her weekly link-up today

that was one of my all time childhood favorite songs.

Cinderella sings it.

From her own little corner,

in her own little chair near the cinder-filled fire place she cleaned,

she could let her imagination soar!

And suddenly she wasn't little or insignificant,

but she became whatever she wanted to be!

I remember all the dreaming and imagining I did as a child,

safe in my own little corner.

It seems to me that it's harder to keep

our dreaming and imagining selves alive the older we get.

But this macro world...

well, it transports me and my imagination!

Which always makes me glad to be

back in my own little corner,

in my own little world.

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

Black & White Wednesday ~ Still

"Look at a tree, a flower, a plant.

Let your awareness rest upon it.

How still they are.

How deeply rooted in Being.

Allow nature to teach you stillness."

Eckhart Tolle

Join us here and share your Black & White photos!

I'm also linking up with 

Communal Global