May 14: My mom asked everyone at yesterday’s annual Mother’s Day brunch if they read my blog. For a moment I felt exposed, kind of like I do when I share a post on Facebook. Is the writing good or interesting enough, is it too personal, did I share something[…]
May 13: I have to brag about my husband. He has many hidden talents and one is his ability to replicate a dish that inspires him. The first time was Osso Bucco. He saw a chef make it on TV and the next night we had it for dinner. I didn’t even[…]
May 12: I’m in a bit of a writing slump. A cold has slowed me down even further. But I still think about gratitude daily. Today I’m glad to be feeling better. I’m not completely myself, but I’ve enough energy to put one foot back into my daily activities. A[…]
May 8: It’s rare for the Swallowtail butterflies at my house to linger long enough for a photograph. They’re frenetic and always flit here and there. I finally just gave up trying. This morning I opened the sliding glass door in my dining room and sat quietly in the threshold with my tea[…]
May 5: Today I am grateful for the Downton Abbey television series. I used to watch it at a friend’s house. She would bring out her china cups and we’d have tea while watching an episode. We admired the fashion, discussed what it would’ve been like to have been a[…]
May 4: Turned on the sprinklers in my rose garden and noticed a warthog in the nearby stump of a recently removed dead bush. Art in nature always brightens my day.
May 3: I’ve been waiting for my neighbor’s cactus to start blooming and finally it has. Flowers always make me happy.
April 30: Twenty to 30 mph winds stranded this little guy in our tree yesterday. Once again, gotta love Mother Nature’s sense of humor. Thanks for the smile.
April 29: Last night my husband and I attended the wedding of a woman I’ve known for almost 25 years. She is one of five women, all at one time co-workers, that have kept in touch despite no longer working for the company that introduced us all. We sporadically keep[…]
April 26: I’m grateful to my mom for pointing out some of the exquisitely colored Gazanias blooming along my walkway today. I walk by them every day and don’t often notice their detail and variation.
April 25: Plans are underway for a trip back East with family. The primary objective is to scatter my dad’s ashes off the coast of his hometown. There are differing desires for how to spend the rest of the trip and for a brief while the plan was to, upon leaving[…]
April 23: I’m a little late writing about this gratitude moment, mostly because it was difficult to write about on the day of its occurrence. Gratitude can sometimes be bittersweet. Three years ago my brother gifted me this blog so that I could write about a hobby that unbeknownest to me,[…]
April 21: I know it’s strange to post a photo of my head but twice this year people standing or sitting behind me have commented on the cut and highlighting of my hair. The most recent incident was 6 weeks ago. Two ladies standing behind me in the return line at Costco[…]
April 19: My 2005 Prius is getting its 100,000 mile service today. There’s no better time to write about a beloved car than in the waiting room of the auto repair shop. I’ve had a few other memorable cars in my past. The Honda I purchased from my grandmother a few[…]
April 18: An obligation cancelled. Secretly I’m grateful. I’m tired and this unexpected day of quiet was restorative.
April 16: I can almost count my first cousins with one hand. I can if I count only those that are still with us. My dad was an only child so my cousins are all on my mom’s side of the family. My mom and her sisters are close and they wanted[…]
April 12: I spent a lovely day with my mom visiting the colorful Giant Tecolote Ranunculus fields of Carlsbad Ranch. The company, the acres and acres of rainbow color, the warmth of the sun, fresh squeezed lemonade, charming birds, lots of photo ops, and minimal traffic made this a day full of[…]
April 10: It’s wildflower season in Southern California and I’m determined not to miss it. The amount of rain determines the abundance, even the existence, of the season. Years of drought followed by an unusually wet winter make this year a special treat. The news reports the best display of[…]
April 9: We shall find peace. We shall hear angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds. ~ Anton Chekov
April 7: Establishing relationships online is not always a bad thing, especially if it’s through a group and you meet because of a common interest. Three years ago I participated in Brene Brown’s Gifts of Imperfection eCourse. It was my first experience with an eCourse, with art journaling, using art[…]
April 4: I’ve been thinking a lot about help lately. I grew up not knowing how to ask for help. I shouldn’t burden you, which is a thinly veiled excuse for not feeling worthy enough to deserve your time. I grew up not knowing how to accept help. I should be able[…]
April 2: Spring has arrived in Southern California. Warm sunny days, cool nights, green hills dotted with mustard flowers. The first roses of the year are blooming, my first Monarch caterpillar is munching away on a Milkweed plant, and somewhere in my yard there is a hummingbird nest because why[…]
March 30: I am grateful for Mother Nature’s sense of humor and creativity. Case in point is this big splat of bird poop. I found it on the nature walk I took earlier this week, the walk with the Labyrinth on it. I see an awkward looking bird with a big forehead and beady[…]
March 29: This is a Labyrinth. Unlike a maze which may have multiple entrances and exits, dead ends, no center, and branches requiring decision making; a labyrinth has one center, one entrance which is also the exit, and one non-branching path. A maze is confusing, a labyrinth is purposeful. Last month my[…]
March 28: I’m grateful today for the neighbor or postal employee who, instead of returning this card to sender, recognized the street number was wrong and corrected it. This person facilitated the delivery of “mailbox magic”, a phrase coined by a group of my friends for the unexpected surprise of fun cheery mail. I[…]
March 26: I am grateful for the magazine, Art Journaling, by Stampington & Company. My fingers are drawn to the high quality paper and my mind is stimulated by the art journaling pages and the story and techniques of each of the featured artists. I had some time to myself this afternoon and stopped to[…]
March 24: These vibrantly colored Gazanias are in full bloom right now. They line the walkway to my door inviting all who approach to smile. I can’t sneak by. It doesn’t matter how pre-occupied I am, the flowers just beg to be noticed. Gazanias symbolize richness. I didn’t know this when I bought them;[…]
March 22: I’m grateful to have found a way to make my four wooden adirondack chairs last another year or two. I love these bright orange chairs because they’re comfortable, their arms are perfect for resting a glass of wine or water on, and the color is super cheery. But[…]
March 20th: Talk about the squirrel syndrome. I came home from an appointment desperately needing to write about March’s book club book, the one I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit. It’s a book of connected essays and I finished the final three this morning. If I had[…]
March 19th: Sometimes what we’re grateful for is faraway, hidden in the muck of all our usual thoughts, revealed to us as a suggestion from someone else’s perspective. As I write this sentence I’m reminded of one of my original goals, to offer different perspectives of gratitude, but it didn’t[…]
March 18th: We share an orange tree with my neighbor. Officially it’s their tree; we simply benefit from its location along the fence that separates our two properties. A few months ago I was grateful for the oranges, today I am grateful for the sweet calming scent of orange blossoms and[…]
March 16: Four years ago today my husband and I were re-acclimating ourselves after being 7 days on a 16 passenger Motor Catamaran in the Galapagos Islands. Our brief return to Quito was the perfect opportunity to relocate our land legs, take a proper shower, attire ourselves with clothes that[…]
March 14th: I’m not a skier which makes snowbound vacations not so high on my list. But I never pass up an opportunity to go on a trip with a group of friends and this group of friends is a lot of fun to travel with. I did give skiing the[…]
March 13th: On this day in 2005 I was in Paris, on this day in 2009 I was in Banff, and on this day in 2013 I was in the Galapagos. For very different reasons these were three very significant trips. Two of them included my husband and another couple.[…]
March 11th: I feel great today. I’m clear-headed, relaxed and surprisingly pain free; all the result of my very first float therapy session, which was yesterday. What is float therapy? It’s a way of achieving deep relaxation by spending an hour or more lying quietly in darkness, suspended in a[…]
March 10th: My journaling prompt this week is to write about a favorite quote. I have an artsy composition book, one of those books you write essays in for exams only this one is covered in flowers and inspiring words to disguise its intended purpose. These books are inexpensive and fun and perfect[…]
March 8th: I am grateful for the sunny disposition of these sunflowers and this heart rock, a token of inspiration and friendship given to me by a massage therapist who generously shares her creative spirit and healing energy.
March 6th: I suffer from “Squirrel Syndrome”, kind of like Dug the talking dog in the movie Up. It’s not always a metaphor though. Today there actually was a squirrel in my yard, lounging on the fence in the shade of a tree. It’s a distraction that makes me smile.[…]
March 5th: I participated in an activism training program given by Sara El-Amine today. She is the former National Grassroots Organizing Director at Organizing for Action, President Obama’s grassroots 20-million-person strong movement, and is known as “The Organizer of Organizers”. The program’s goal is to empower individuals to be political[…]
March 4th: In the spaces between rainstorms there is spring, just enough spring to tease. I spent the morning in the garden weeding, pruning, planting seeds for my butterfly garden, and hanging up hummingbird feeders. A Mockingbird inches along a telephone line, hop hop pause, hop hop pause, silently moving into position to dive[…]
February 28th: Today I acquired a first class ticket to Boston for a trip I’m taking in a few months with my brother and sister-in-law. We’re taking my father’s ashes home and following the path of his youth. First class on a coast to coast flight is a rare luxury. Back in[…]
February 27th: I am grateful, on the anniversary of my father’s death, for the soothing poetic words of Sarah Blondin. To my lover, my husband, my wife, my child, my dearest friend, my mentor To the stranger I pass on the street, the kind eyes who met mine, the gentle breath shared while[…]
February 26th: This is a strange time. I’m helping to plan a Celebration of Life for one of my oldest and dearest friends on the first anniversary of my father’s death and while my husband recuperates from surgery to repair a severed tendon in his hand. I’m wrapping up a year[…]
February 23rd: The clarity of January has flown out the window and a little bit of chaos has landed in its place. I hate when this happens. Every morning it is a struggle an adventure to define my day. Hundreds of ideas and suggestions floating through my head, some accompanied[…]
February 20th: The final assignment for my numerology course was to write a personal mission statement inspired by my numbers. The attributes of the numbers help to fill in the blanks. This should’ve been an easy task as my numbers accurately reflect my past, present and future; and I’m fairly comfortable writing about[…]
February 19th: I had pre-planned today’s gratitude post to coincide with last night’s book club. Our book, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, made me grateful for authors whose words and metaphors invited me to linger on the page and who exposed me to unfamiliar situations, people and feelings. Through the eyes of a[…]
February 18th: I feel the pressure to write today when this quiet, rain filled day begs for a more tranquil activity — a simple art project, a good book, a nap, or just some quiet time watching the world go by outside my window. Writing, while pleasurable, is still work and today I[…]
February 15th: Pablo Picasso said, Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up. Well I’m trying to re-acquaint myself with the artist inside and today I was very successful. My mom and I spent the day making art with shaving foam. It’s a very messy[…]
February 14th: I’m grateful for a husband who, after 30 years of marriage, still remembers me on Valentine’s Day. For the last 10 years he’s surprised me with pajamas from Victoria’s Secret. I know lingerie is more romantic, but I love pajamas. My first and favorite pair of pajama bottoms[…]
February 13th: I’m celebrating my first milestone; completion of month one in my Year of Gratitude project. I’ve posted every day except one, and only in a few cases did I resort to just a sentence or two. What have I learned so far? I can show up when I put my[…]
February 12th: A storm cleared out yesterday leaving in its place a warm, sunny, spring-like day. The Pear trees are in full white bloom; the hills, usually a fire concern, are covered in a lush emerald green carpet; the trickle of water in the normally bone dry creek twinkles in the sun. A perfect day for[…]
February 10th: Today I am grateful for the thoughtfulness of my sister-in-law. Yesterday, out of the blue, she sent photos and a nice email regarding an Apple tree that we had planted in her yard last October. Two trees were actually planted, one in honor of my Dad and one[…]
February 9th: I’m a bit adrift this week. The displacement caused by the fumigation of termites in my house is the likely culprit. Or a side effect of binge watching Gilmore Girls on sleepless nights; my brain suffers from the constant chatter of all the show’s female characters talking as[…]
February 7th: This year’s creative expression is writing. In addition to my daily gratitude writing I’m participating with a group of friends in a 52 weeks of journaling project. Every Sunday a new prompt is posted and we respond in any form we wish — writing, art work, photos, etc.[…]
February 4th: I have always wanted to do more. Be more involved in my community, be more involved in our democracy, do more to contribute to the well being of others. It’s been this idea in my head for as long as I can remember — almost another life that I’ve[…]
February 3rd: Sometimes gratitude is a very intentional exercise of turning a negative into a positive. Sometimes gratitude is turning inward and reflecting on the basics, the things in our life we take for granted or do without any recognition of their importance. Nothing screams “write about me” today so[…]
February 2nd: Don’t laugh, but I’ve been studying numerology. It’s part of a self-directed initiative to expand my horizons and it’s the information in this course that I’m actually thankful for today. Numbers 1-9 each have personality types associated with them making numerology not much different than the personality types[…]
February 1st: There’s no better pick-me-up than helping someone else and today I needed just that. A sympathy letter composed today to my recently widowed best friend is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to write. Afterwards I felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach, winded by the grief of also[…]
January 31st: I’m grateful for the opportunity to use my developing art skills to make someone a personalized gift. I’m setting it free tomorrow. I hope she likes it!
January 30th: One year ago my husband and I took my Dad and stepmother to McDonald’s. In my world this was a significant event. Dad’s broken hip, followed by an unsuccessful pin and a desire to faithfully research options resulted in 7 months of extremely limited mobility and a desire not[…]
January 29th: Gratitude is being overshadowed by anxiety and concern over current events. I’m struggling to find something I’m grateful for today. But after returning home from a nice family dinner with my cousin’s family I realize that I have something to be very grateful for. My husband and cousin[…]
January 28: This is the time of year for Mourning Cloak butterflies and today there are two flying around my yard. Butterflies are one of my simple joys so I am always grateful for them. They remind me to stop and enjoy the life that surrounds me. They bring a smile[…]
January 27th: I have a group of friends with a desire to be held accountable for their 2017 goals, a desire to be here on this day in 2018 and say “I made this happen for myself”. Goals are big when you’re young — get an education, find a job that is rewarding[…]
January 26th: Our large pool barren backyard is both a playground and natural food source for raccoons, in fact I’m not sure which did greater damage to our yard last year, water restrictions or raccoons. While we don’t encourage them by leaving food out, we do accept their presence. The grass[…]
January 24th: Today I am grateful for cameras and my love of photography. My memory has never been first-rate. It’s a frustrating trait, a trait I attribute to multi-tasking and difficulty living in the present moment, a trait that prevents me from being a viable Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy contender. There[…]
January 22nd: Parking lot manners leave much to be desired these days. There’s nothing more frustrating then not once, but twice going through the cycle of looking in your rear view mirror, then over your right shoulder and over your left shoulder only to find someone right behind you as soon as you[…]
January 21st: Many of my friends here and in other parts of the U.S. are attending the Women’s March today, an event whose mission is to promote our rights and honor the diverseness on which our nation is founded. Many of these women are from my generation and have never before[…]
January 19th: This morning I visited a gravesite that I have not been to in 41 years, a gravesite of a dear friend that I lost when we were both teenagers. I was there to visit his mother, Bobbie. Bobbie extended a hand of friendship to me, a teenage girl, at a[…]
January 18th: I am thankful for the man I married 30 years ago today and for the life we share. My husband has an uncanny knack for finding parking spaces and greeting cards and today’s card sums it up perfectly — On the road of life it’s not where you go[…]
January 16th: Most mornings I read a random page from Julia Cameron’s Prayers to the Great Creator. It’s uncanny how many of the selections speak to what’s on my mind. The desire to have a relatable voice and write about it every day for a year puts this blog project – A Year of[…]
January 14th: I give thanks today to those who planted the blogging seed, to the universe for its synchronous presentation of this idea, and to myself for paying attention. To my friend and sister whose idea it was for my online women’s group to embark on a 52 week journaling[…]
January 13th: Today I am thankful for rain. Rain is rare here and it has rained most of this week. Our plants, suffering from a year of water restrictions, are thirsty. Rain had made them new and fresh. Rain has washed away the grime of daily living. Rain has sweetened[…]
Dear Friend, So I have this hammock in a part of my backyard that I call “critter corner”. An Australian Willow frequented by squirrels, raccoons and opossums anchor the corner. The ground is littered with the leaves of a nearby Flame tree making critter stealth virtually impossible. My bedroom faces critter corner[…]
Dear Friend, I am a Monarch butterfly. Apparently you are loving me to death. I am not supposed to feed and mate year round. I am supposed to migrate in the fall, rest in the winter, and send my offspring back to you in the spring. I know you mean[…]
Dear Friend, What a relief to learn my cat, B, is not imagining things. I live in a house of glass. This is both a curse and a blessing for a cat. You can see what’s out there but you can’t get to it. Countless times I’ve been awoken in[…]
Dear Friend, One last note before I put my computer away for the weekend. Our recent conversation about saying goodbye to loved ones brought to mind the person I referenced in my recent blog post, the one about the love of letter writing. The friend who I exchanged 100’s of[…]
Today I encountered a street poet, a bald and bearded young man who said he could write a poem on any topic in 10 minutes. Pay what you think the poem is worth. A vintage typewriter loaded with carbon paper sat at the ready. Butterflies for me, a birthday poem[…]
I’m living vicariously through my friends who are now growing Milkweed. My ecosystem should have produced one more generation of Monarch butterflies. But it hasn’t. Only one butterfly has visited in the last few months. It was a female and it did lay eggs, but I never saw a caterpillar. Two friends[…]