Changes

I have a new post over at Dreaming Existence. I hope you can jump over and take a look. There are some lovely little creatures I want to introduce you to. 😉💕

This post brought to you as part of Linda Hill’s #SoCS prompt.

Stop over to her place to meet some other great writers and special people. Happy weekend. Be safe. Be happy and do not let fear drive your actions.

Love and Light,

Cheryl

Changes

More ramblings from an unemployed mind. Stop by and say hi. We can share a few moments together in my sacred space

The door up top? That’s for my buddy Dan Antion. He is a faithful prompt poster and today is for Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors prompt.

It didn’t fit with my words over there but I wanted to share a door here. This one was taken in Chattanooga, Tennessee a year or so ago.

I hope you are all very well. Stay safe,

Cheryl

Because/Poetry #SoCS

 

September now has passed from view

and Autumn in the mists

of dank and often dreary

days of Winter’s cold and

unsympathetic hand.

 

Suppose we, then, weep not for days in

whose long, languid shadows

we swore at sweat, nor regret

 the changing climes

in these fearful times.

 

Soon the sap will run again like

rushing tides, life’s vein will

pump wildly to keep time

as we sip wine toasts

to new beginnings

and Summer’s play.

 

I shall give you a bloom for every

moment passed in those hot,

sopping days of free fun

that someone does not,

in foolish jest,

suggest

a frigid day

might count them blessed.

 

CKP copyright words and images 2019

Hop over to Dan’s sofa  

and bring along some hot tea. He has been under the weather. We miss you waxing witt-tastically at the bar! Get well soon.

This post brought to you by Linda Hill and her #SoCS prompt. Jump over to her place for more great prompts and join the fun.

Speechless/#SoCS

It is with my apologies to Linda Hill and her #SoCS prompt that today’s post is not as fun filled as I normally try to create.. I try to always post things that lift others up or give them a smile.

Sadly, at this particular time, when I hear the word reservation my heart and head are heavy. Since hearing the news about Anthony Bourdain, the word only conjures up memories of watching his great food show Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations with my husband and dreaming of visitng all those wonderful places and having similar experiences as Anthony. He will be missed by so many. That also reminds me of the recent suicide of Kate Spade and not so recently of Robin Williams. All will be missed. So many people lose hope and in a single moment of deepest despair make that decision to abandon the life they were born to live. It breaks my heart for them and for those who love them.

The word reservation also conjures images of the atrocities suffered by the indigenous peoples of this and other countries for decades, a fact that many people still are unaware of or simply don’t care to look at. The issue of our government separating parents from infants has not been confined to illegals over the course of its history. There are still Native Americans seeking their natural families after being taken from them as small children and forced to live in foster homes. These are not myths or justifiable procedures. They are heartbreaking stories of growing up with a sense of lost identity and disconnection.

I have no reservation in speaking from my heart about these things. Life is beautiful in so many ways. I try to always glean the best from every situation and share the perfect moments that I find; however, we must also look at those things which are tragically present in this world and that we can affect with our prayers, with our voices and our votes, and above all else-with our love.

May Peace reign over the dis-ease that is insidiously infecting God’s perfect creation.

1 Peter 3:9-11

9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.

11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.

I rarely quote scripture these days; but since many use it as a weapon, I feel it is necessary to bring to light the words of the Christ who is being used to commit many atrocoties against his message. I also do not equate ‘evil’ to the traditional interpretation. In my heart evil is fear. When man fears he wishes to destroy. My mother and father taught me as a child that “There is no fear in perfect love.” It makes perfect sense to me, yet it can be a mighty mountain to climb in this life.

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Every living thing has a purpose
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Nature cares not for pride or possession
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We have a responsibilty to care for the planet

Even our thoughts have power, so we must use these thoughts and our words wisely, lovingly and without reservation.

Happy #Free48 everyone.

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Free 48/Weekend Adventures

I had a stellar weekend. Really, it was all I wanted and came right on the heels of a great week. Was work perfect? Hardly. But I realize the things that mean the most to me are those little gold flecks that show up while I am sifting through life’s dirt and rock to make a living, with or without striking it rich. Things like friends that pass through town and spend an evening relaxing and laughing over some great food. Things like meals I neither have to cook nor clean up after. Things like preparing a simple, tasty lunch with my hubby and enjoying it outdoors.

I‘ve made my mind up about one thing since returning to full time work after our brief ‘retirement’ in Costa Rica.

 

I cannot go back to living for the weekend.

 

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My time in paradise taught me that each day is meant to be lived entirely-whether brilliant, beautiful, boring or back breaking. When we power through our days with blinders on working toward those precious moments we feel belong to us alone, shining like a trophy on a folding table at the finish line, several things happen.

Number one, we rush through our moments, trying to ignore the difficult ones while our eyes are glued to the checkered flag waiting to mark the end of another gruelling race.

Secondly, we build ourseleves up for something stupendous to serve as our reward for a job well done, for putting up with so much nonsense for yet another week and for perservering through life’s muck and mire to get to that place in the sun we call our weekend. And then it rains. 🙄

Thirdly, we age while we live our lives in chunks of time. Week to weekend, holiday to holiday. Vacation to vacation. Another year closer to retirement. Talk about a hamster wheel!

 

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While I can’t always (though I try like hell) improve the quality of a nightmarish work day, I can at least step outside of myself to be objective.

 

This too shall pass

 

I can’t change the attitudes of anyone around me, so I must be content to do what I feel is healthy for me and hope that someone else might find value in my outlook, might learn to laugh instead of complain about the small stuff, and so a ripple effect is begun.

Sooooo. I have made the decision to no longer live for the weekend; and the first step in this new mental directive is to change the way I view the mini repreive I get every 120 hours.

Henceforth the afore mentioned ‘weekend’ will be now be referred to as the Free 48. The Glorious 48 hours that are blank pages in my book of days. What do you think?

I am celebrating this new outlook by sharing my very first Free 48 with you here. It was relaxing, exhilarating, creative, fun, rewarding, loving….did I mention it was really good? Here are a few of the simple, fantastic details.

It started Friday afternoon by grilling shrimp with the hubby and enjoying our meal on the deck under some welcome sunshine.

 

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Magenta blooms
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A nice Reisling to go with our shri p
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My humble little paradise in the making, check out the SUNshine……..

 

Then, my ‘book-that-never-came’ from Amazon finally arrived! Yaaaay!! (Yeah, it was sent again with actual shipping info too!) Miracles do happen.  This little book is a real treasure. If you haven’t read it I recommend it highly. The simple truth of the Tao spoken through the heart of a lovable bear.

 

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The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet. 💕
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Which explains my completely Zen feeling all weekend.

 

Then, Saturday we got out for an early morning hike. Well, early is relative since my one rule of the Free 48 is no alarm clocks. But we did make it out of the house by ten am. Hubby is in charge of adventure time, finding us new trails, parks and places of interest. This time we hit the Silver Comet Trail, a very scenic and easy to walk paved hiking trail that goes on for miles. We did about three. It was beautiful but had a bit too many bikers for my comfort. (More on this subject on One Liner Wednesday. I’m working to keep my ohhhhmmmmm on here.)LOL.

After our hike we rewarded ourselves with a great Mexican meal and margaritas at our new favorite Mexican place in town. (More on that for Thursday Doors)

 

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Silver Comet Trail
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I wanted so much to get a shot of this tunnel sans people-no easy task.
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Someone else was feeling Zen!
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My new best friend in a glass.

 

Now on to my favorite moment….

Sunday brunch with my youngest at the place we tried to go before. You know….where the awesome bar Eleanor  is? 

Yes! We finally ate at Muss and Turner’s. And it waaaas good. From the Tropicalia on draft to the pulled smoked pork andwich on an H &F bun, it was all I hoped it would be.

 

 

But the real gift was the company. Food, no food, we all had a great time catching up!

 

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Oh yeahhhhh…I actually spent an evening working on my latest creative exploration. I have wanted to try my hand at paper bead making for quite awhile. It was such fun! I am only just getting started. 👏🏻🙈

 

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Sooooo…..there you have it. My first Free 48. Can’t wait to gear up again in about….well…..who’s counting anyway? 😉Have a great week friends!