Good morning, dear friends.  I hope this finds you doing well and looking forward to nice autumn days.  

It is difficult to believe that this is the last Sunday of August.  How did we get here so fast?  Personally, August has always seemed like a hectic month to me and not my favorite.  In Virginia, there was always much to do in the garden(vegetable),  the flower garden was wearing her tired hat, and there was an enormous amount of work to do in order to prepare for the opening of school (students and teachers returning).  To further complicate matters, the hurricanes most often arrived around Labor Day weekend, adding extreme chaos to the mix.  Especially, when your school was an emergency shelter.  Not to mention it was hot ~ really hot.  However, I no longer worry about a large vegetable garden, the opening of school, or hurricanes,  and I am happy those were days of my other life. 

In thinking about this post and going through my things, I found many talented people who wrote lovely things about August.  So, without any further chatter, I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

“In August, the large masses of berries, which, when in flower, had attracted many wild bees, gradually assumed their bright velvety crimson hue, and by their weight again bent down and broke their tender limbs.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

“August” by Mary Oliver

When the blackberries hang
swollen in the woods, in the brambles
nobody owns, I spend

all day among the high
branches, reaching
my ripped arms, thinking

of nothing, cramming
the black honey of summer
into my mouth; all day my body

accepts what it is. In the dark
creeks that run by there is
the thick paw of my life darting among

the black bells, the leaves; there is
the happy tongue.

“Whilst August yet wears her golden crown, Ripening fields lush ~ bright with promise; Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn.” ~ Michelle L. Thieme

“It is difficult to think of anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” ~ Lewis Grizzard

In closing, one of my favorite things about late summer is tomatoes.  I know I am not the only one who adores them.  A gentleman who lives on the golf course where Mike plays golf used to place a bucket of tomatoes and a salt shaker on his fence for the golfers to take as they drove by in their carts.  In thinking of Mike’s friend and this scrumptious fruit, I thought I would share a great and easy recipe ~ you will thank me for this one.    The recipe is from Ina Garten.

Summer Garden Pasta

Dear friends, know I wish you and yours a beautiful day 

And. . .

A glorious September.  Be well !  

“The summer air is now laced with autumn breezes. Time is passing.” ~ Victoria Erickson

Amour,

Sandra

” . . .but I also think of hands as the instruments of our love and creativity.  With our hands, we put our heart, spirit, and thoughts into action.” ~ Alexandra Stoddard

Good Sunday morning, dear friends.  August is moving along, so I do hope this finds you enjoying these last days of summer.  Especially, I hope it finds you doing the little things you love.

” It’s as interesting and as difficult to say a thing as well as to paint it.  There is the art of lines and colors, but the art of words exists too, and will never be less important.” ~ Vincent van Gogh

As many of you may be aware, I am a great fan of Alexandra Stoddard.  Her words continue to inspire me and I have read her book Gracious Living In a New World too many times to count.  Published in 1997, and quite relevant today, it serves as a guide to living well when the world around you is not pretty and is changing by leaps and bounds.  I urge you to see if you can find a copy of this motivating book.  You will not be disappointed. 

In re-reading this treasure the other day,  there was one chapter that was particularly touching and thought-provoking ~ “With Heart and Hands.” It brought to my attention, once again, the importance and the power of little things, such as writing letters.  Alexandra tells us, “All well-meaning letters are love letters.”  How true and what a beautiful thought.  When we write a letter, we reach out and connect with another.  Often, it is someone we care about and have had in our thoughts.  And, think for a moment how special it is to receive something hand-written in the stack of mostly worthless mail.   Actually, one can almost become giddy at the sight.

Should you be interested, Alexandra writes a lovely monthly newsletter ~ visit here.   The newsletter is often a bit lengthy but always a worthy read.

“The tomatoes I planted and later picked from the garden are now ripening on the window ledge ~ my hands have played a role in every stage, even now at this final stage when I slice them to make a delicious tomato and basil salad to serve to a friend.” ~ Alexandra Stoddard

These little things we do in our chaotic world hold power, give fond memories and make our hearts happy.  Who among you has sat on the porch with a loved one and snapped beans?  Goodness, I can’t count the times I sat with my grandmother on her porch swing and did just that. Our ‘hearts and ‘hands were in this endeavor.  Those memories are ones I will always treasure.

Back a few years, when I was still working. it was just before Christmas and there were around fifty ladies in the office.  Having been in a school office for twenty-seven years prior to going to the central office, I was accustomed to giving a wee gift to the office staff (around ten).  There is a big difference between fifty and ten.  Therefore, after a great deal of thought, I came up with cranberry jelly.  So, one Saturday, with my ingredients and equipment all in order, I spent the better part of the day making the jelly.  It turned out perfect.  Then I dressed the jars with little white doilies, and tiny Canadian Hemlock pine cones (gathered from Mom’s trees in WV) and tied them with red and green ribbons.  The jars were so pretty.  And oh, the joy they brought.  You see, the ladies were not accustomed to receiving a little gift and that made it all the more special.  A bit of love and appreciation in a jar ~ made with my ‘heart and hands.’

Dear friends, I hope you have enjoyed your visit.  And perhaps received a bit of inspiration toward the joy of things made with our ‘heart and hand.’  They mean so much in our current world.  In fact, they have almost become a rarity.  Even sharing a little basket of your hand-picked blueberries is an amazing sweet thought. 

Know I wish you and yours a beautiful day and week ahead.  

And. . .

May someone’s ‘heart and hand’ touch your life.

“If nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open and so is your heart.” ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett

Amour,

Sandra

Images: Tumblr

“For beauty, truth, and goodness are not obsolete:  they spring eternal in the breast of man.”~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good morning, dear friends.  I do hope this finds you well and under blue skies filled with bird song.  We have been blessed with a little rain in the evenings and cooler temperatures during the day.  Certainly not August weather.  However, often I have seen September arrive with August temperatures.  This time of year, I always begin to look forward to autumn. How about you?   

As you probably know, I can only endure so much of the daily news.  Then I turn to the beauty of the garden, words of marvelously talented writers, and the comfort of our loving sweet home.  In going through my quotes and in reading, it seems as though life through the years has often been filled with troubling times.  Perhaps,  that is why there is so much written about the beauty of the world and nature.  There is peace in the simple joys of life.  So, I thought today I would share with you some of these things, a little respite from the daily news.

“The individual human is still the creature who can wonder, who can be enchanted by a sonata, who can place symbols together to make poetry to gladden our heart, who can view a sunrise with a sense of majesty and awe.”~ Rollo May

Sunrise and the clear water of Lake Michigan’s Cave Point Park.  Photo, Nick Argires

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

“Sometimes happiness lies amongst the flowers. . .  Sometimes that’s all it takes to find happiness; is to open our eyes to the simplest of wonders.” ~ Nicole Addison

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” ~ Vincent van Gogh

“There is not a particle of life that does not bear poetry within it.” ~Gustave Flaubert

Dear friends, I hope you have received a brief respite from the chaos of our world.

Know I wish you and yours a beautiful day and week ahead.

And . . .

“May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.”  ~ John O’Donohue 

Amour,

Sandra

Images: Tumblr

“ The brilliant poppy flaunts her head Amidst the ripening grain, And adds her voice to sell the song That August’s here again. ” ~ Helen Winslow (American editor and journalist)

Good morning,  dear friends.  I do hope this finds you well and enjoying these beginning days of August.  It is hard to believe summer is on the downside, but it is. 

Before I go any further I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to write your lovely and thoughtful comments on my post last week. I read each one and have managed to comment on a few.  Eventually, I will respond to all, as I appreciate your words more than you can imagine.   Truly, I am blessed with the friendship and kindness you have shown.  Therefore, I thought you may enjoy the following. . .

“Kindness” ~ by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

“Consider the tulip,
how it rises every spring
out of the same soil,
which is, of course,
not at all the same soil,
but new. How long ago
someone’s hands planted a bulb
and gave to this place
a living scrap of beauty.

Consider the six red petals,
the yellow at the center,
the soft green rubber of the stem,
how it bows to the world. How,
the longer we sit beside it,
the more we bow to it.

It is something like kindness,
is it not? The way someone plants
in you a bit of beauty—a kind word,
perhaps, or a touch, the gift
of their time or their smile.
And years later, in the soil that is you,
it emerges again, pushing aside
the dead leaves, insisting on beauty,
a celebration of the one who planted it,
the one who perceives it, and
the fertile place where it has grown.”

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” ~ Saint Teresa of Calcutta

My hospital adventure and illness has been quite an experience.  Indeed, it was certainly not what was in my plan.  However, with all the dreadful occurrences in our world, perhaps I was supposed to see firsthand how many wonderful and caring people still remain in our world.  From the doctors to the young nurse assistant who helped me with my shower, I was shown nothing but kindness and concern.

“That’s what you do when you love someone. You support them. Win, lose, or draw.”  ~  Ron Swanson

Around the middle of June, I ordered the rose pictured above.  It replaced a boxwood that was on its way out.  The boxwood was in a gorgeous pot and of course, I couldn’t let a beautiful pot sit empty.  So, along came Black Forest.  In my opinion, someone was not thinking clearly when they gave this lovely rose such a name  ~ Black Forest.  Nonetheless, yesterday Mike came in from the garden with one stem of this beauty.  Forgive me for gushing over him, but honestly, you can’t imagine the love and care he has given me.  God certainly did smile on me the day I married him.

Dear friends, again, I thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and concern. 

And. . .

Know that “you are the reason that someone believes in the goodness of people.”

And. . .

That someone is me. 

Wishing you and yours a beautiful day and month of August.

Amour,

Sandra

Images;  tumblr and M.S. Lambiotte

Ending quote ~ author unknown

“Living is the art of getting used to what we didn’t expect.” ~ Eleanor C. Wood

Good Sunday morning, dear friends.  I hope this finds you well and enjoying summer.  Time moved along and I lost July.

I know you must be wondering, “Where has she been?”  Honestly, I wish I could tell you that Mike and I  have been living life on top of the world in Southern France. However, that is not the case.  You see, I was admitted to the hospital on July 11, 2022, and released on July 20, 2022.  I can assure you I was not on top of the world.  In fact, this is the first day I have turned on the computer.  

You may or may not remember that around the end of June, I thought I had a bug of sorts, but it left as they do.  Our 50th anniversary was July 1 and stubborn as I am, I was determined not to miss that day.  Things went downhill after that day.  On July,11  Mike took me to the ER and of course, they admitted me.  After the blood work was reviewed it was determined that I was almost in kidney failure.  So, on Tuesday, July 12 I had surgery and had 2 stints placed in my kidney.  Everything was uphill after that.  All I can say is it has been a wild month and I had no idea I was so sick.

I don’t even want to imagine what I would do or would have done without my dear husband.  He has taken meticulous care of our garden and home, he came to the hospital every day, talked to doctors, and turned our dining room into a hospital room and at least a gazillion other things.  No human could have done more.

“I am so thankful for friendship.  It beautifies life so much.” ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery

In closing,  the word “grateful” has taken on new meaning to me.  It appears  God wants me to remain on this earth for a reason.  And before I close, I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for your good wishes.  I have briefly skimmed Facebook and I know many of you commented on my page.  Another big lesson I have learned is, that friends can be virtual but still hold you in the palm of their hand. 

Dear friends, wishing you and yours a beautiful day. Be well, enjoy these summer days, and know. . .

Tu m’as manqué! (Ihave missed you.)

Amour,
Sandra

Images:   Tumblr and Pixabay

 “What Gorgeous Thing” ~ Mary Oliver

“I do not know what gorgeous thing
the bluebird keeps saying,
his voice easing out of his throat,
beak, body into the pink air
of the early morning. I like it
whatever it is. Sometimes
it seems the only thing in the world
that is without dark thoughts.
Sometimes it seems the only thing
in the world that is without
questions that can’t and probably
never will be answered, the
only thing that is entirely content
with the pink, then clear white
morning and, gratefully, says so.”

Good morning, dear friends.  I do hope this finds all of you well and enjoying your favorite summertime activities.  To me, summer seems to arrive and then in a blink,  it is gone. There is the garden and her variety of weeds.  To bad the State Fair does not have a classification to enter ones collection.  Mine would be a blue ribbon winner for certain.  However, I will share the pretty blooms ~ not the weeds. 

Annabelle Hydrangeas, planted around 2007.

One of my favorite plants, Oak and leather Leaf Hydrangea.   She is just beginning her change in color of the bloom.  She will turn a deep pink and by fall her leaves will be a dark burgandy.  Beautiful in a floral arrangement.

“When weeds go to heaven, I suppose they will be flowers.” ~ L.M. Montgomery

Speaking of weeds and the State Fair.  Does anyone see this lovely tree growing and thriving?  I know Mike didn’t when he took the photo.  Now, if I was quite careful to dig with caution.  I could pot this beauty and in a very few years, someone who had the room would have a nice shade tree.  Tulip poplars grow rapidly, have big leaves, and make a wonderful shade tree.  However, they do not like storms and will fall quickly.

Hydrangea, Bue Danube.  She is in an urn and has thrived for several years.  Mike moves her to the garage in the winter.

The daylilies have just begun their show.  This one is Purple Badger.  I did not care for the name of such a lovely plant.  Therefore, her new name is Purple Passion.  She is like a lady in a pretty purple rufflled dress.

“Not all love stories start with Roses. Some starts with petunias too.” ~ Satabdi Panda

Be sure to look closely at these petunias.  I love them so much I order them every year so as not to take the chance of not finding them at a garden center.  Their name is Almost Picasso.  They have a chartreuse green edge.

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.”  ~ Malorie Blackman

I’ve been doing a little reading on the days it has been ninety-plus degrees.  Reading is a pure joy to me and the book above was wonderful.  All I will tell you, “it is based on a true story and the young woman in the story becomes friends with Eleanor Roosevelt.”

“I will look for evidence of what I do still, deep down, believe nature is singing a song, the trees are clapping their hands, and we are called to join them.  With God’s help, we can pick up the pieces of an old and dying world, and we can make them new.  We can make a place where beauty and peace can take root, flourish, and grow.” ~ Christie Purifoy

This was my introduction to the writing of Christie Purifoy.  Brenda Leyland who writes the beautiful blog, “It’s a Beautiful Life” is the sweet soul who introduced us. https://beautiful.wordfromhome.com/    Purifoy is a lovely writer.  I found myself saying, “Yes” over and over.  And I thought surely this woman knows me.  If you love beauty and have visions of such in a different world.  This book is for you.

Good News ~  my copy of  “My French Country Home Magazine”  arrived today.  If you are a bit of a Francophile this magazine is for you.  It is a little pricey.  However, each and every issue is a treasure to behold.  It can be ordered online or purchased in the US at Barnes and Noble.

Dear friends, In closing, I will leave with you a photo of a most special day, July 1, 1972.  On that day,  Mike and I said “I do.”  Yesterday we celebrated 50 years.  Hard to believe how quickly time has passed.  Truly, we have been blessed. 

Know, I wish you and yours a beautiful day and a Happy Fourth of July.  Love each other, stay safe and be well!

Amour,

Sandra

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” ~Robert A. Heinlein

Images:  M. S. Lambiotte, Christie Purifoy ~ A spacious place., Facebook, Tumblr

“The earth laughs in flowers”. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To me, a birthday means celebrating the presence of an individual in our lives.” ~ Meena Bajaj

Life Happenings

Good morning, dear friends.  I hope this finds you enjoying the first few days of summer.  You may wonder what happened to me last week.  It was a combination of things.  I had a couple of days where I think I was trying to come down with that ugly twenty-four-hour virus.   However,  ginger ale and chicken noodle soup took care of that, but not my energy.   It was also Mike’s birthday on June 17.   To me, birthdays have always called for a celebration. Especially if they are the birthday of the ones we love who make our lives sweeter just by being who they are.

Mike seldom asks for anything special in the way of cooking or baking.  I am fortunate that he likes almost everything and is quite easy to please, other than breakfast food for dinner ~ not his favorite thing.  However, for his birthday, he does love a cheesecake with strawberry sauce.  And he is partial to the cheesecake I make (the recipe is from the old Southern Living Cookbook).  Then, I always try to prepare a nice dinner with a present or two.  All said the festivities seemed to tire me out way more than usual and I am certain ugly Mr. Virus was the culprit.  

“What I am saying is that lovely, whimsical, and soulful things happen in a garden, leaving a gardener giddy.” ~ Janisse Ray 

Garden Happenings

Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle

My garden happenings are going to be a ~ Remember this?  Do you remember about three years ago we removed Gertrude Jekyll roses from our arbor?  They were not thriving,  they would have a slight flush in the spring and then the back spot would arrive and that was the end of the story.  Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable sight.   After a bit of research and considering many factors I ordered two Peaches and Cream Honeysuckle vines.  They have flourished and are not invasive.  Their fragrance is divine and they will bloom again later in the summer.  The photo above is just as they are beginning to open. 

Next, the Lavender story.

Spring Planting ~ 2019.

The lavender story began four years ago.  We lost a beautiful purple beech tree and I was in a quandary as to what to plant in its place.  A long story goes with this gorgeous tree but I won’t delve into it today.   I’ll just share the lavender story.  I spent many hours in mourning over my beautiful tree and looking at the place it once called home.  Then it came to me  ~ an Olive Jar with lavender planted around it.  After finding the Olive Jar (Ballard Designs), I went on the hunt for lavender.  Knowing that not all lavender is fond of our winters, I searched for one that would be happy and was promised the variety I selected would thrive and not suffer in our winters.

Late summer ~ 2019.

Late Summer ~ 2020.

Should you be wondering what the zinnias are doing here.  The promised variety of lavender was not pleased with our few nights of 12 degrees below zero.  You know the rest of the story.  Now, I will admit I have a wee bit of a stubborn streak and I did not plan to look at the place where my glorious tree and beautiful lavender had lived.  So to the rescue came zinnias for the summer while I searched and read about every variety of lavender I could find.  Then, my searching was rewarded by a lovely variety of lavender ~ Phenomenal ~ hardy zone 5~9.  Ordered from ~ American Meadows.com

“A garden is made of hope.” ~ W.S. Merwin

Lavender, spring 2022.

Merwin says, “A garden is made of hope.”  I say, “Yes, and also with a bit of intimidation.”  If you look closely you will see my garden stake that reads, GROW.  I move it about the garden where ever it is needed.

Lavender, spring 2022.  Planted in the spring of 2021.

“Flowers are the Romeos and the Juliets of nature!” ~Mehmet Murat ildan

Dear friends, I hope you have enjoyed your visit.  Also, I hope you enjoyed my honeysuckle and lavender stories.  Both have perfumed the garden and our home with their magic touch.  I was quite surprised at the vase life of the honeysuckle.  It was a treat, to come down the stairs in the morning and be greeted by its heavenly fragrance. Needless to say, the honeysuckle and the lavender made me quite “giddy.”

Know I wish you and yours a beautiful day and a summer of magical days.  Days spent doing the things you love ~ with those you love.

Have a lovely week and be well.

Amour,

Sandra

“Surely the flowers of a hundred springs are simply the souls of beautiful things!” ~ L.M. Montgomery

Images:  M.S. Lambiotte, Tumblr

“Light-enchanted sunflower, thou Who gazest ever true and tender On the sun’s revolving splendour.” ~ Vincent van Gogh

Good morning, dear friends.  I trust this finds you well and enjoying these last days of spring.  Even though many days feel as though summer has arrived, it is still a few days away. 

With summer comes the arrival of sunflowers.  A lovely plant, but often overlooked by gardeners.  Most likely this is because of their size and often a garden does not have space for such a large plant.  Although, there are now dwarf varieties such as Little Becka, Teddy Bear, and Firecracker.  Just to name a few.  Sunflowers not only add beauty to our gardens but the birds and bees love them too.  

“Come with me into the field of sunflowers is a better line than anything you will find here, and the sunflowers themselves far more wonderful than any words about them.”  ~ Mary Oliver

Leanne Potts, writer for “HGTV Magazine,” tells us that, “Sunflowers have long tap roots that need to go several feet into the ground, so sunflower plants prefer loose, well-drained, somewhat alkaline soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5.  The bright yellow blooms are like a smile on a stalk. Growing sunflower plants is easy because they’re heat tolerant, pest resistant, and fast-growing. They’re native to North America so they can adapt to conditions in most locations.  You can use them as cut flowers, leave them on the stalk for a gorgeous outdoor display in your garden, or harvest and eat their seeds.”

“Sunflowers are sun worshipers that grow best in spots that get six to eight hours of direct sun per day.  No plant says summer like a sunflower.”

Should you be interested in a few botanical specifics, their botanical name ~ helianthus annuus, common name ~ sunflower, hardiness zones ~ 2 to 11.  In the language of flowers, they signify adoration.  A more recent meaning is a world free of nuclear weapons. 

Additionally, they are the national flower of Ukraine and the state flower of Kansas, known as the Sunflower State.

“Who knows what may lie around the next corner?  There may be a window somewhere ahead.  It may look out on a field of sunflowers.” ~ Joe Hill

“The morning glories and the sunflowers turn naturally toward the light, but we have to be taught, it seems.” ~ Richard Rohr

“. . .Which makes it ironic my favorite flower isn’t even indigenous to the British Isles, let alone Yorkshire. I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower. For me, that’s because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.”  ~  Tim Firth

“Every day I walk out into the world to be dazzled, then to be reflective.” ~Mary Oliver

“The sunflower is mine, in a way.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

“I am working with the enthusiasm of a man from Marseilles eating bouillabaisse, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to you because I am busy painting huge sunflowers. ” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

“When van Gogh paints sunflowers, he reveals, or achieves, the vivid relation between himself, as man, and the sunflower, as sunflower, at that quick moment of time.”  ~ D. H. Lawrence

“Van Gogh’s paintings of Sunflowers are among his most famous. He did them in Arles, in the south of France, in 1888 and 1889. Vincent painted a total of five large canvases with sunflowers in a vase, with three shades of yellow ‘and nothing else’.  In this way, he demonstrated that it was possible to create an image with numerous variations of a single colour, without any loss of eloquence.”  Note:  This information is from the Van Gogh Museum.com  and the photo of the painting is from pixbay.

“Sunflowers are like people to me.” ~ Joan Mitchell

And perhaps, they are to her too.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now in the third month, the sunflower stands not only as the national flower of Ukraine, it now has an additional meaning.  People around the world are embracing the bright bloom as a symbol of solidarity with the beleaguered country.” ~  Antonia Mufarech

Dear friends, I do hope you have enjoyed your visit.  

Know I wish you and yours a beautiful and peaceful day.

May your week ahead be filled with joy and kind souls.

Amour,

Sandra

“Like a single sunbeam on a warm summer day, there is an exuberance and brilliance in a sunflower.” ~ Unknown

Images: Tumblr, pixbay

” The contemplation of beauty causes the soul to grow wings.” ~ Plato

Good morning, dear friends.

I hope this finds you well and happily welcoming June. 

We have once again endured some dreadful times and what do we do to soothe our souls during these times?  Many of us pray.  We may seek love and peace from friends and family, or we may read cherished and uplifting words. Or, perhaps, we may do them all ~ I do.   

I will not try to analyze these challenging times, as I clearly do not have answers.  However, I do know what inspires me to move forward and gives me the strength to face another day.  And, that is what I will share ~ the power of divine beauty.

“This magnetic pull toward beauty is an inclination most of us carry but too few of us acknowledge.  Even if we are aware of it, we seldom honor it as something planted in us for a purpose.” ~ Christie Purifoy

The love of beauty has been with me for as long as I can remember.  This love is not limited to the beauty of the garden, flowers, trees, rivers, and oceans. Or, enthralling words spun together so magically they almost sing.  My love has traveled to exquisite paper-thin china, handmade creations that have warmed homes and hearts for generations, art that can bring me to tears, and the exceptional stories often attached to such beauty.  Stories that may span lifetimes, light-dark rooms, and drive away sadness.  Stories that will also fill, anyone who happens to listen, with exuberant laughter.  Thinking of happy stories during heartbreaking situations is something I believe most humans cling to as they remind us there is still good in the world.

“Beauty will save the world” ~ Dostoevsky

Long ago, I read the words of  Dostoevsky.  They made a permanent home in my brain.  Please understand, that I am not so foolish as to believe that if everyone would plant daffodils or peonies, it would save the world.  I believe there was a greater implication to his words.  Perhaps, his wishes were to inspire the best in each of us and help us appreciate the connection we have to each other.   A message of honor and respect ~ both are beautiful.

As Christie Purifoy writes: “With God’s help, we can pick up the pieces of an old and dying world, and we can make them new.  We can make a place where beauty and peace can take root, flourish and grow.”  I believe in her words and I believe much of achieving success with “picking up the pieces” has to do with how we think, what we focus our minds on, how we treat others, and what we do in our lives.  Purifoy also reminds us that caring for each other, our communities and our homes are holy work.  Now and again, I receive a gentle reminder when something of exquisite beauty stops me dead in my tracks, it is the hand of God who has created the glorious beauty before me.  I pause and give thanks to Him for his magnificent creations and I wonder, “Perhaps in 1854, Dostoevsky was a soul with wings and knew that “beauty just may save the world.”

Images:  Tumblr

” Memorial Day ~ A day set aside to honor our loving memories of the brave souls who fought for our freedom. . . ” ~ Unknown

Dear friends, with all the chaos in our land, Memorial Day rather crept up on me this year.  Certainly, it is not because I don’t feel the day is important.  Memorial Day is one of our honored traditions. To me, it is and will always remain a day of honor, recognition, and gratitude.  A day to say ‘thank you’ to those who made the ultimate sacrifice ~ dying to preserve our freedom.  

Know I wish you and yours a lovely day.  Hug the necks of those you love, and be safe.   

This Memorial Day, I feel it is more important than ever to reflect on our past and present decisions regarding issues that face our nation.  Not just for ourselves, but it is vital for little boys who like to go fishing and dream of becoming a doctor.  And little girls who like to ride ponies and just know that one day they will be president.  To enjoy living in a nation where all children can play, be educated, and follow their dreams ~ whatever they may be.  We have to do better by them.  We sincerely owe them a better and safer world.  We certainly had one.

“If peace is a state of harmony, if it is a kind of wholeness or completeness, then we will never find it by running away from broken things and messy places.” ~ Christine Purifoy

Amour,

Sandra

Images: Tumblr and Pinterest