Red

"An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere,
 while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight...
 the truly wise person
 is colorblind."


~Albert Schweitzer

Be safe.
With love and hugs.
xo

Social Networking

We never know what life has in store for us.
I know that sometimes it appears that some people are happier,
healthier, and sometimes, just plain luckier than me. Life has given me a smorgasborg of experiences. Some happier than others. Today was one of the happier ones so many years ago. It was when my first nephew was born. It was January 16th, but it was a Sunday. And, it was Super Bowl Sunday! I was away at college, and a telegram arrived announcing his birth. Except, Western Union got it wrong. It read "Janie" has arrived. It was supposed to read.."Jamie" has arrived. I remember feeling sad and homesick that I wasn't able to join in the festivities and celebration. A new baby boy! Miami to NJ was way too far for a visit. My only connection back home was an occasional letter from my Mom, or a collect phone call on a Sunday evening. How times have changed. Today, that little baby boy is all grown up! He calls Las Vegas his home, and he has his own baby girl. Actually, 2 girls! Consequences kept us distant and apart for so long. Facebook and a woman  changed all of that! I am so very grateful! A very special Happy Birthday, James! May your dreams come true!

With love and hugs.
xo

Dancing With The Moon

Trees, proud standing people
stretching fingertips to the sky, reaching, praying
glorious attention, breathing light,
strength
shelter
timeless confidence
bending and firm
comforting
rooted chorus line
dancing with the moon, the wind, the clouds
framing bursts of stars
tender rugged celebration
absorbing and releasing life
each holy branch holding
the power of the Universe.
There.

~Wallace Stevens

With love and hugs.
xo

Paperwhites

Happy Monday from my kitchen to yours!

With love and hugs.

xo

Twenty Twelve

20 Ways to Get Good Karma in 2012.


1.Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2.When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three R’s:

- Respect for self,

- Respect for others and

- Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke  of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and

think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

~The Dali Lama~

Happy Weekend!
With love and hugs.
xo

Turkey Vulture and a Patient Cat

'The rugged old Norsemen spoke of death as Heimgang-"home-going".

So the snow- flowers go home when they melt and flow to the sea, and the rock ferns, after unrolling their fronds to the light and beautifying the rocks, roll them up close again in the Autumn and blend with the soil. Myriads of rejoicing living creatures, daily, hourly, perhaps every moment sink into death's arms, dust to dust, spirit to spirit-waited on, watched over, noticed only by their maker, each arriving at its own Heaven-dealt destiny. All the merry dwellers of the trees and streams, and the myriad swarms of the air, called into life by the sunbeam of a summer morning, go home through death, wings folded perhaps in the last red rays of sunset of the day they were first tried. Trees towering in the sky, braving storms of centuries, flowers turning faces to the light for a single day or hour, having enjoyed their share of life's feast-all alike pass on and away under the law of death and love. Yet all are our brothers and they enjoy life as we do, share Heaven's blessings with us,

die and are buried in hallowed ground, come with us out of eternity and return into eternity.' "Our lives are rounded with a sleep."

-John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir-

Do you see the patient cat?
Cobblewood Road
November, 2011

Seventy Six Days...

Until Spring!



Love and Hugs.

xo

Sugar Coated Weekend

There is a sugar coated mountain in Maine. Otherwise known as "Sugarloaf".

Located in the Carrabassett Valley of Western Maine, the "Loaf" is the setting of my brother and sister-in-law's new weekend home. We took a trip there last week to visit. A long drive from New Jersey, it's about 9 hours from home. It was so worth the drive! Once we arrived, the strong winds just about blew us in the door! I could not believe my eyes. What a spectacular place! The quality of the craftsmanship and the details in the design and interior left me speechless. I felt as if  I was in the setting of Country Living Magazine shoot. Perfection! The log interior is bright and light. With an outstanding view of the 'Loaf' from the great room windows, the mountain becomes a magnet from dawn to dusk. The trails were snow covered, but there was little snow compared to most New England winters. It made for hiking and exploring rather easy, and definitely enjoyable. Surrounded by our family and friends, we learned in a very short time that it's easy to fall in love with the 'Loaf'.

We celebrated Kim's Birthday, we chilled in the sunshine, we toasted with the kids, and we met and fell in love with the newest member of the clan, Miss Bailey. What a little pip she is! And, as if we needed to party some more, we were also lucky to be at the 1st New Years Eve bash! There was live music and dancing and bubbles in the air! There were fireworks on the mountain, and a dusting of snow to complete the festivities! The photos give a little sneak peek, and I woke up this morning looking for the Mountain!

A fabulous time was had by all. My Mom could only say..."WOW"!!

Happy New Year and I hope yours is sugar coated!

With love and hugs.

xo

Christmas Passed

Sweet and tender.

Laughter, then tears.

Joy, then sadness.

Dark into light,

light into dark.

Quiet and peaceful.

Gladness of heart.

Truly,

Love is all you need.

See you next year!

Blessings of Love and Gladness of heart.

xo



Oh, Christmas Tree

The boys cut down our Christmas Tree this year.

You can see how tall the ceiling in our family room is.

It allows for great height in a tree.

We need a ladder to decorate it with lights and our angel!

I changed things up a bit this year,

and decorated with a collection never displayed before.

Because it's a Christmas like no other.

Our little diamond girl is with her other family this year.

She's far away in the cold Northern lands of Michigan.

So, on Christmas Eve this tree goes up for you, Tiff.

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas!

Because after all, Christmas is truly about Love.

Merry Christmas to all...

With love and hugs,
 and dreams come true!

xo

Winter's Solstice

I love the word "solstice". It reminds me of solitude. It feels calming and peaceful. And full of sunshine and dreams. It commands a pause in time. It's heavenly. It's fancy. It appears on our calendars twice a year. Today is our lucky day! Inch by inch the days will become brighter, the nights will become shorter. Before too long, the engines will rev up once more! On this Winter's Solstice I wish for you Peace. I wish for you Love. And most importantly, I wish for you Light. Blessings to all.

"Light a candle and burn away that which no longer serves."

~via Catherine Hiker~

With love and hugs.

xo

Decisions



When your journey

becomes long and complicated

simply

follow

your heart.

With love and hugs.

xo

Light



"There are two ways of spreading light;

to be the candle

or the mirror that reflects it."

~Edith Wharton~

May your days be happy and bright.

With love and hugs.

xo

What Is Life?

'It is a flash

of a firefly

in the night.

It is the breath

of a buffalo

in the wintertime.

It is the little shadow

which runs across the grass

and loses itself

in the sunlight.'

~Cowfoot~

Native American Curator

With love and hugs.

xo

Peace

"He is happiest,
be he king or peasant,
who finds peace in his home."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Peace at home.
With love and hugs.
xo

Quiet

I listen to the river

and the moon

and the wind

in the bare naked trees

and

i hear

the voices of my

children.

With love and hugs.

xo

Color

"Sit in reverie

and watch the changing color

of the waves that break

upon

the idle seashore

of the mind."

~henry wadsworth longfellow~

Happy Monday!

With love and hugs.

xo

While Surfing...

I came across some cute finds

 for December galavanting..

Click here to see them!

Happy weekend!

With love & hugs...
xoxo

Milwaukee Art Museum

We took a sweet little stroll along the water's edge and stumbled upon a bit of art. Inside and out. Here are a few shots of the Art Museum of Milwaukee. Rumor has it that Chicago wanted the building to grace her harbor, but Milwaukee won out. And win she did. The "wings" of the building actually open and close. It's quite beautiful. It's quite unique.

Hats off to the architects that imagined and created this Masterpiece. Designed  to showcase fine art. And light. And love.

A quote from Degas greets all visitors:

"Drawing is not what one sees but what one can make others see."

Here's to the artist in you.

With love and hugs.

xo

Back Home

We're back in New Jersey after what was a whirlwind of a few days with our daughter and Matt in Milwaukee. I thought I'd share some photos of the city, and a few thoughts on our visit. We haven't seen Tiff since May. I had been counting the days until we met. My heart skipped a beat when she peeked around the corner at the airport! Her smile radiates love! Her engagement ring sparkles on her little finger!  And, on first impression, I loved the city. It is so clean. And sprawling and light. In spite of the fact of tall buildings, the sky is so visible, Lake Michigan looks like the ocean. The city is pretty flat, and holds unique architecural delights! Beautiful museums, restaurants, brew pubs, bridges, coffee shops, and, not to mention the Bridal Salons! It was Black Friday when we shopped for the perfect white dress! And I'm so happy to say...Mission Accomplished! What a great time, what a memorable Thanksgiving, and what a sad day indeed when we needed to say good bye. I Hope you enjoy some photos, I'll be posting some more soon!

Happy Monday, everyone! 

With love and hugs. 

And a view of Milwaukee!

xo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings of Abundance.

Love, Joy, Peace.

And may you gobble 'till you wobble!

With love and hugs.

xo



Birthday Love



I'm grinning ear to ear!

My heart is bursting with

Gratitude

for all of the Birthday love!

Thank you, everyone, everywhere!

The cards are beautiful, the thoughts are heart warming,

the wishes are abundant, the Love is touching.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday,

I am forever grateful for all of you!

With love and hugs.

Kitty :)

xo

Weekend Already!

I hope this Friday finds you well prepared

for a beautiful Autumn weekend,
Filled.


With
Love and  Hugs

and Gratitude.

xo

Started My Shopping!

Some of you may know I took a little motorcycle ride this past weekend. We went with a few friends up to Newburgh, NY to the motorcycle museum. There were photos to be taken for a story to be written. So we hopped on board. It was great fun, very interesting history of bikes from the early 1900's to the 60's right on through to present day. I'm so happy we did. Because with the Chrsitmas holiday approaching, I'm always stumped as to what to get my Mom. She's tough to buy for. She always says she doesn't need anything. She wants simple gifts like love and happiness.But in my heart, I know she'd love a motorcycle! But, her hair do. And, She doesn't like wind in her face. Problem solved! No worries!

Can't you just see "Dolly" sporting around Brick Town, NJ on this!!
No wind, no helmet hair, no worries!
Shhh!!

A Single Word

just a thought....
if your closest friends or family members
had to describe you...
in one word.
what would it be?


Happy Tuesday!
With love and hugs.
xo