Simplicity

In all the moments of your today~

make sure to bring it back to something simple.

Sometimes,

 one can make life more complicated than it has to be.

in its time....

~What Was~

~What Is~

~What Is to Come~

~There are times in my life I wish I could be in an 

altogether different place.

But it seems to me that you can't get to where you want to be...

 without experiencing the other place first.~

~All places can be beautiful in their time.~

~~~

(Thank you all so much for your encouraging words before my races this past weekend. I have to say both the Aquathlon and Triathlon were a learning experience....more of a mental battle than a physical one. 

I completed both....not with times I like, but I crossed the finish lines. 

And for that ~I'm happy:)

backyard finds

There's a lot of work to be done around this place.
Example #1: 
I still have construction stairs braced on my front porch.
~It's been 5 years since I moved in.~
(I'll hold back more comments on THIS matter. I tend to go off on a tangent.)


And that's just one thing.
Let's not talk about mud sidewalks that have yet to hold concrete...or....
(oh! never mind!)


I DO love the other parts though.
Remember the "barrel of fun"?
The "birdhouse neighbors"?


And now I have these kinds of things popping up in every direction:

It's a good thing to keep your focus on the positive.

(As long as you don't fall in my mud walk~way.
Oh....and please be careful when you walk up those braced steps!)

Rainy Day Finds

{Youth}

{Frivolity}

{Potential}

~~~

I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains. One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness. 

- Adeline Knapp

The last for 2010....

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”

~Lady Bird Johnson

“Flowers grow out of dark moments.”  

~Corita Kent

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”

~Henri Matisse

“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”

~Indian Proverb

“Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity.”

~John Ruskin

“Stretching up his hand to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet.”

~Jeremy Bentham

“So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, 

instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”

“Life is like a rose…More exquisite and precious, when shared with others.”

~Jane Oechsle Lauer

“Plants are like people: they’re all different and a little bit strange.”

~John Kehoe

“You don’t need to know anything about a plant to know 
that it is beautiful.”

~Montagu Don

“A flower that has not bloomed…has not lived.”

~David Uthera

“The seed is hope; 

the flower is joy.”

“Earth laughs in flowers.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Flowers are happy things.”

~P.G. Wodehouse

~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for bearing with me as I post this year's Review in everything these past few days.

For some reason I feel the need to sum up my year in all I've seen and experienced.

I love nothing more than the outdoors and seeing Creation...in everything.

I truly am grateful to all of you for reading these posts, and am thankful for your comments. I may not always respond, but what you send me in the way of your thoughts, truly brightens up my day. I read and cherish every comment!!

Thank you!

I want to wish all of you a very Blessed New Year in 2011.

Aren't you so very excited to see what lies ahead?

I know that some of you are hoping things take a turn for the better....I hope that for you as well.

Some are wishing life will continue on in the same pleasantness of this year...I wish that also.

Regardless...I hope we all continue to grow and bloom into what we were created to be!

Saying Goodbye to 2010....

Happy New Year of 2011!

~$7/Bundle~

I think it is so amazing when a person has an idea and a love for something- and then goes all out to fulfill that idea.

I met the most wonderful person at the Farmer's Market Saturday....he grows the above blooms- in his backyard.

When I asked him if he really was from this province...{which has missed ALL the hot weather the rest of the world seems to have gotten this summer}- he said he and his flowers only lived 3 minutes away...and he grew all of these holding his breath while we got rain, wind, snow, hail, more rain and wind.....

TA DA!

They were Beautiful!!!

He now is having a Flower Show  this weekend to show-off his work.

And WHAT a display to show.

{I am a sucker for flowers and blooms like these.....}

I want to go just to take picture after picture...so I can fill my walls with pictures of these amazing blooms!

(I still cannot believe he managed to grow them right here in this province....)

~~~

~Sweet Sunday~

~Enjoying these from Molly's Sweet Pea Garden today~

Wishing you all a sweet Sunday, 

and wishing I could send you all a big boxful of these!

~~~~~~

Morning Glory

.....a favorite flower of mine I have never been able to grow.

 For some reason or other it never makes it through the summer, 

and I have never seen it bloom.

But this summer.......

{Morning glory is the best name,

it always refreshes me to see it.}

~Henry David Thoreau

~~~~~~~

When you arise in the mornings, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive- to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

~Marcus Aurelius

~~~~

Enjoy What is Today

~~

Plant

~

Water and

Watch and

Wait

~

Appreciate

~

Enjoy Today

~

I came upon this quote today, and had to share it.

{I know the above pictures aren't roses.....but

 am Enjoying whatever beauty I can when it happens}

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon~instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside of our window today."

~Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)

Something Simple

A Fistful Of Flowers...

was brought to my back door the other day.

 In between the down pouring of rain, the wind, and the gloomy gray,

I managed to get the kids to go breathe some outdoor air  in order to

take a break from school and chores.

A knock on my back door while I was trying to hurry and do the dishes before their return, and I opened it to find these lilacs in the fist of one of my boys.

His "Here mom, these are for you",

was what has gotten me through these past gloomy and hurried days of school, sports, and mundane everyday routines.

Sometimes it's the small moments

or the seemingly little things, 

 that can get someone through a day.

His simple handful of flowers have meant more to me than anything these past few days.

~~~

Here's wishing you all,

a Fist~full of Flowers.