English: Agraulis vanillae butterfly. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You can say that I am crazy for quotes. In them, I find nuggets of inspiration and wisdom, unvarnished by the negativity and distorted thinking that life can bring. They are gentle reminders of truths that lay dormant in our hearts. A good quote can instantly connect us to that place within us, where there is no fear or doubt–only hope, faith and the certainty that all is as it should be and all will be well.

As I read the following quote, I felt a familiarity and a deep inner knowing.

“You may not see it today or tomorrow, but you will look back in a few years and be absolutely perplexed and awed by how every little thing added up and brought you somewhere wonderful–or where you always wanted to be. You will be grateful that things didn’t work out the way you once wanted them to.” ~ Unknown

After reading it, I thought, “Yes, the passage of time is the safe harbor that shelters us and safely holds each of those seemingly inexplicable moments, until it is ready to reveal to us, the answers that we’ve longed to hear.” Only then, can we appreciate the full import of our journey, and like the butterfly, our lives be transformed as we were intended to live. Moreover, even though we might not realize it, there is a reason for most of what we encounter on our journey.

On this Friday, may your weekend be either a time of rest or relaxation or a time to enjoy your time with friends, hiking or other activities that the work week does not allow Whatever you do, be safe.

An anemone

Good morning dear friends,

This is one of those days when I want nothing more than to scurry under the covers and fall back asleep. Last night, the time got away from me and I ended up reading until 3 A.M. This was totally unintended, but I guess that it says something about the book.

Anyway, I woke up with a splitting headache caused by allergies, (Just an aside, I heard that Austin, Texas was the #1 city for allergies. I wonder if that is true?) I forgot to take my pain medicine on time, so my pain level is up, and my laptop, on which just last week, I purchased a $199 extended warranty and spent 2 hours on the phone “to put it in ship shape” condition, won’t even boot up. Of course, it did so before and now I’ll have to spend a better part of the day on the phone with Apple so that they can fix the problem that they created. In any event, I still wanted to wish you Happy Monday and start to your week.

Today, this morning blessing feels even more personal since it screams to me to take heed. Today, I bring you the following blessing:

–Count my blessings.
–Practice kindness.
–Let go of what I can’t control.
–Listen to my heart.
–Be productive, but calm.
–Just breathe. ~ Unknown

Check. I am beginning to feel better already. I hope that you, like me, are reminded to begin your day with love, wonder and peace in your heart. May your day, and week, be rich with memorable experiences and filled with joy. Stay chill.

The twins, 9/28/14

This is week 40 of The 52 Project. I can’t believe that there are only 16 more weeks in 2014. How fast this year has flown by. I am so glad that I choose to take part in this project because it has focused my attention on my sweet g’children.

Happily, this week, I  present  you L. and L., the beautiful twins.  They were at their cousin’s birthday party and I managed to get them to take a moment from the festivities for this shot. They are almost 2 years and nine months old and are quite the characters. Leila is the leader of the two, active, outgoing and always into one thing or the other. On the other hand, Lilly is shy and quite reserved, that is, until she gets to know you. Being twins, they are very close and sometimes, when sleeping, still hold hands.

Last year, they became big sisters and quickly adjusted to their new role. They are kind, gentle and compassionate to their baby brother, A. Of course, all three are a hand full, but their Mom, F, makes caring for them seem easy.