“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ~ John Muir
Listen to the sound of the waves as they crash onto the beach.
Listen to the sound of the seagrass as it blows in the wind.
Listen to the sound of Mother Nature as She speaks directly to your soul.
The beach during the colder months has a certain ethereal quality to it. The desolate beach filled with nothing but the sound of the wind, the waves, utter and complete silence. Continue reading “Sounds for the Soul . . .”→
There is something deep within us that sobs at endings. Why, God, does everything have to end? Why does all nature grow old? Why do spring and summer have to go? ~ Joe Wheeler
Summer feels as though it is a fleeting moment, three months of the year gone as quickly as a whisper in the wind. Autumn will begin this week, summer will be a mere memory for 2017. It was a good summer, not the best weather one could have hoped for, but it will have some happy memories for me and my family. All one could hope for is good memories to look back on one day. Continue reading “Farewell to summer . . .”→
“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.” ~ John Grogan
If you follow me on Instagram you have seen many photographs or our Westie, McKenzie. McKenzie has been part of our family for twelve years now. I guess it was about one year after we had to put our Akita, Teddy, to sleep that I decided it was time to have a dog again. My husband and daughter knew they wanted another dog after we lost Teddy, but I was the hold out. I just didn’t want the responsibility of owning a pet again. My daughter was getting older and we weren’t home much anymore for a pet. Logical, right? Even though the logical part of my brain knew we really shouldn’t own another dog, the emotional part of me knew the house was lonely and we needed to get a dog. Continue reading “the inevitable . . .”→
Nostalgic reminder of life’s simple, gentle pleasures, while calming one’s “inner child.”
I’ve been writing my blog for a few months now, so when I saw a post on the website of Bella Grace Magazine in their new section called Field Guide to Everyday Magic Blog Hop, I wanted to be a part of it and I am so happy to post here! As I started thinking of ideas to write about, I began coloring in an adult coloring book that I purchased over one year ago. Originally I thought, what a silly idea, a grown person coloring, but the more I began to color, the more I felt a sense of comfort, peace and calmness wash over me.
One of the simplest pleasures I can remember growing up was coloring. Each summer, my mom would buy me and my sister a set of color by numbers and a new box of Crayola crayons. I’m not really sure what it was about that brand new box of Crayola 64, was it the smell of the crayon wax when the box was first opened, the sharpener on the back of the box or the endless possibilities that box held? Whatever it was, I just remember the excitement it created. Each of us would pick out a new box of Prestige Coloring pages and that box would last almost to the end of the summer, but the crayons and pencils would be almost non-existent, we had colored so much. I don’t know what happened to all of our “artwork” but it’s really the memory of those simpler times that means so much. Sitting under that large tree next to our house, two young girls keeping cool and coloring until we couldn’t color anymore.
Today adult coloring books seem to be the big rage, I guess it’s the simplicity of actually sitting down, unplugging from our everyday lives, that is so appealing. Thinking or rather not thinking and coloring a pretty picture, brings an inner child calmness we may need to rejuvenate ourselves. No time limits, no schedule to keep, just simple strokes and the sound of the crayon or pencil as it colors across the plain white page, creating a beautiful picture.
There are many websites where you can download pages to color or if you are in the market for a particular type of page try purchasing one of the many adult coloring books available today.
If you need to simply unplug from the world for a little while, try downloading or purchasing a coloring book; buy a box of 64 crayons and most importantly, color until your heart is content.
If you would like to share one of your memories or what you do to find some calmness in your life, please drop me a comment and you will be entered to win a copy of the Everyday Field Guide to Magic.
As always, thank you for reading and following along in my life journey . . .
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things.” ~ Robert Brault
As children we are free and completely confident in our thoughts of who we are, we haven’t been influenced yet by life to form opinions of ourselves. If only we could go back to that feeling in our adult lives, but we can’t. Hope, however, gives us as adults, that small inhibition that we experienced as children. This is not to say, that we can’t be free and confident in who we are, but that confidence is different somehow, the innocence of childhood is gone.
In my adult life not many things make me feel this way, but there are a few. My first cup of coffee in the morning, photographing a sunrise or sunset at the beach, listening to the hummingbirds as they chase each other, or to my wind chimes as the wind blows through them and the music of the crickets as they sing me to sleep at night. When I was younger, I don’t think I really thought about this too much, but seriously, who does when they are young? It’s as we get older we begin to reflect on things we once never noticed before.
I think in this extremely busy world we live in, there are so many distractions that weren’t even a thought when I was young. Cell phones, computers, social media, to name a few, slowing down is virtually unheard of. However, if we don’t slow down, what is the sense of it all? The simple pleasures of life will go virtually unheard, but once in a while, it’s refreshing to break away from it all. It’s a kind of resurgence of the soul, not being tied down to all the modern conveniences that make our lives the hectic mess they can be at times.
When it’s all said and done, it’s the hugs we have received, the love we have given and received in return, the simple pleasures in life will be what we remember; when we can’t remember anymore. So tonight when you turn off the TV, put down your cell phone and log out of your social media accounts, open the window and listen ~ truly listen ~ to the melody of your wind chimes or the crickets as they sing you to sleep.
Thanks as always for listening and reading my thoughts on life . . .
Depression is a prison where you are both the suffering prisoner and the cruel jailer. ~ Dorothy Rowe
The days are shorter and the darkness is creeping in sooner each day. For anyone who is affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder you certainly know what I mean. I had heard of this disease, even knew someone who experienced it, but I never experienced it myself. About two years ago, I began to feel a sadness come over me when I knew summer was coming to it’s end. Continue reading “A Bit Melancholy | Smithville Lifestyle Photographer”→
Good morning yesterday, You wake up and time has slipped away …
Time is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.”
This week my daughter and son-in-law will celebrate their first wedding anniversary. I cannot believe one year has gone by so quickly. Last year was so busy, so many plans and events, it’s difficult to remember all of the little details. We seemed to be living in a wedding frenzy, joyful busyness that encompassed our lives. This year has been the complete opposite, quiet with no big event to plan.
Cristine’s Christening – 4/28/91 1 Month old
The quote above is from a song titled “The Times of Your Life” by Paul Anka, (oddly, that song was an advertisement for Eastman Kodak) my sister played that song at her wedding when she danced with my father. That too is so long ago, I was pregnant with my daughter and life just seemed to move at a steady pace back then. I’m not really sure when it seemed to move as quickly as it does now, but I know that it moves much faster the older I get. Both of my parents are gone now, just the three of us left, me, my sister and my brother, who is the youngest. I remember when my parents brought him home from the hospital, we are five years apart and, I can remember it like it was yesterday.
This week, I started thinking about time, with Cristine’s first wedding anniversary approaching, I thought, how did it all go by so fast? She was just a newborn last time I looked, 26 years could not have gone by that quickly, could they? I can still see my mom bouncing (yes bouncing) down the hallway of the hospital, on her way to meet her first grandchild. Presents and pink balloons in hand, she was so excited to be a Grandma.
“Just one more music box Mommy”
Maybe being nostalgic is part of getting older, you see things differently as you get older and become more sentimental about so many things, at least I seem to be. That being said, life is a gift and it should be lived to the fullest. Sadly, when you’re young, you don’t think this way, but as you get older, you realize how precious every moment is and how it should be cherished. Looking at photographs is one way I enjoy remembering all of those special moments, now just memories and such good memories they are! I sometimes find myself laughing when I look at how silly my daughter was when she was young and her smile, how it brings me such complete joy. I’m sure you have similar photographs which bring utter joy as well.
As always, thank you for stopping by and I look forward to hearing some of your memories. Until next week . . .
“Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get.”
~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.
I have always envied those who are able to grow plants, flowers or maybe an herb garden. Unfortunately, I was not given that gift, not that I wouldn’t love to be that “gardener” person. I don’t think I received the gardener gene though. Continue reading “A Dahlia Story | Smithville Lifestyle Photographer”→
This past week I began cleaning out some old art portfolio cases I had from college. I hardly remember those days, some 30 plus years ago now. When I was young and had dreams, that never became a reality. Sometimes I wonder what my life would had been like if I had gone to art school instead of college? or if I hadn’t worked in New York City; or if I moved to California when I had the opportunity. Continue reading “Where from here?”→
