A Simple Gift

"The waves echo behind me. 

Patience--Faith--Openness, 

is what the Sea has to teach.

Simplicity--Solitude--Intermittency."

Gift from the Sea

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Texture Tuesdays, Texture: Simplicity

KimKlassen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heart Thought: there was a time when I read fully entranced  by everything, especially the journals, of Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Although she was my mother's generation, I was completely attached to her through her writings. Have you found that at different stages of life you feel certain books/authors are writing just for your eyes?  It is a marvelous feeling to find such a gift.    

                                 Simplicity in your Day: Sharon

When Rocks Melt Hearts

It all started with Stripey Stones

and  a beautiful blog    be...dream....play...

A world where Elizabeth Bunsen spins a world of dream like creativity, wrapped around Wabi Sabi words, crowned with gorgeous photography.

 Stripey Rocks, say it softly.

Downey gray, diagonal stripes of meringue.

Baby smooth born from one thousand years of shifting.

Elizabeth introduced me to them.

A very heavy box arrived, festooned with stamps and black willowy silhouettes.

Peeking inside like a child seeking Santa Claus through the midnight window;

the interior, as splendid as a dancing yellow ballroom spilled over into my heart.

 Layers, small offerings, eucalyptus stained silk, velvet bags, dried leaves, such delights

bound in sunset peach yarn and cotton string.

How did she know I love vessels tucked into vessels....small, tiny, tinier?

OX-eb    Ox-eb  love spilled out, layer by layer of lovelies made by her own hands.

Nature's Skipping Stones, carefully wrapped in time rusted cloth.

be...dream...play

There is  more to the story....

 wait and see.

My new treasure will go on to touch other's lives.

If you would like  a destination where Creativity reigns and EB is the designer visit her at Be..Dream...Play.  You will visit for a LONG LONG time.  She has some beautiful handmade coptic bound books, encaustic gems and Stripey Stones available for purchase.

Elizabeth was recently interviewed by Meri
on her new blog, Finally Me.  You will find a glimpse into this marvelously creative and generous woman's life, philosophy and art.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I thought it was perfect to share this post on Kat Sloma's, Photo-Heart Connection.

A Gaelic Prayer for Rebecca

I became acquainted with Rebecca but a short time ago, through her blog, recuerda mi corazon. 

If you don't know this gentle, gifted woman, you will wish her to be your best friend, just as I have.

Today Rebecca is in need of our prayers and heaven wishes for a full recovery from surgery.

Rebecca is Nature, Sky and Water. 

May this Gaelic Prayer bring Peace to her Heart.

Deep Peace of the running Wave to you

Deep Peace of the flowing Air to you.

Deep Peace of the quiet Earth to You.

Deep Peace of the shining Stars to You.

Deep Peace of the gentle Night to You.

Moon and Stars pour out their Healing Light on You.

Deep Peace of Christ,

the Light of the World to You.

Blessings to you dear, Rebecca

Count the stars to know how many send prayers and heaven wishes for your full recovery.

What I Have Always Known

May this small offering of prose and photography give you a few moments of quiet and reflection.

Texture: Sunrise provided by Kim Klassen

Heart Thought: as you, like I, have aged, have you found certain profound truths concerning the Joys in your life? What Joys do you carry next to your heart?

(Feel free to print this card.)

I have   come to know that the joys in life have nothing to do with age.

They do not change.  Sunrise, sunset, family, buds in blooms, hummingbirds darting about,

music, words, art, waves rolling in through all Eternity.

Chinese New Year

The Year of the Dragon

Those born in the year of the Dragon

are considered to be very fortunate.


Their sign is Prosperity and Courage

  Grab those chop sticks, order some really yummy Chinese 

food....don't forget the Fortune Cookies.....and celebrate

the Year of the Dragon.


May we

 all have Courage and Prosperity all year long.

Heart Thought: do you know which of the 12 Zodiac signs you were born under?  I am glad that I am not the Rat...!

Window on the World

When I was a little girl, my Window on the World consisted of sitting in the loft of our barn or on top of the neighbor's garage roof. From those lofty views, the wire and wood fences  were the bookends of the World....

One day my third grade teacher pulled out a blue and brown globe. She spoke about China, it seemed so mysterious, colorful and distant on the OTHER side of the globe. 

"Other" to me meant THROUGH!  I could imagine no way to get there but to DIG down deep...and thus, I started a BIG HOLE with a very little red tin shovel.    

Just before entering my teens, my aunts took my sister and me on a JOURNEY. Crammed in a car, with no air conditioning, we crossed the farm lands of Utah, the desert flats of Nevada.....the lush vegetation of California ending at the OCEAN!!!!

Huge, Frightening, Noisy, Cold, Never ending, Infinity, the Pacific Ocean. Surely this was the true "bookend" to the World. 

Slowly years drifted  by, the windows of my world became larger, more transparent, more welcoming. I had a choice: walk through, or stay behind.

Windows can separate us, divide us, keep others out, make us strangers, alienate.
Or windows can be an open invitation to the other side.  
And yes, one day I did go to  China, but I left my little red shovel behind.


Heart Thought:  have you ever encountered a window that shut you out? Were you able to "go through to the other side?" 

Postcards from Paradise

The Innocence of a Child's Hand

Ten beautiful fingers

blessed with innocence.

For each, two eager hands

ready to explore the world.

Time will slip on the

waves of time.

The sweetness born of 

curious fingers.

Where will these perfect, gentle hands

be as age beckons them on.

For they are our future.

Heart Thought: when last did you feel the delicious warmth of a baby's perfect little fingers, grasping your own?

Share the JOY
with Meri's Musings.

Time for Artistic Pursuits

"Artistic pursuits" suggests something different to each of us. 

For me, it is about trying to find a balance to do something CREATIVE and NEW 

within the normal verisimilitudes of life;

those activities that are REAL and

aren't easily changed.

And we all know what  that means.

In January I signed up for a few on-line classes, studied a few more photography books

and decided to pursue NO single activity, but to give myself 

SPACE and JOY

in a variety of art mediums.

At Meri's Musings, Meri asked for an example of something that brings us

~J~O~Y

This simple photo represents some of those  interests that I find JOY in: painting, photography, photoshop (kind of) and textures. 

Heart Thought: Remember that even the smallest steps count.

                             Take Joy,  Sharon

The Non-Conformist: Texture Tuesday

This morning I ventured out for a walk around my neighborhood. 

The sky was a very gritty gray, homes looked weather beaten like the homes seen on beach fronts, only perky pansies 

spread a dash of purple and yellow. 

It was rather dismal.

While walking, I couldn't help but reminisce about how much

I miss the summer open-air markets.

Then I remembered a really quirky melon I had seen at the open market near our home in the fall. 

"Melon" didn't seem at all intimidated that he was 'different.' Rather he just sat there waiting for someone to pick him up, test for freshness and take him home.

Very attractive in a rustic sort of way, he seemed perfect to do a little Texture Magic on.

And now "Melon" will be sent across the internet to the far reaches of the globe.

See it pays to stand out in a crowd!

Today's textures compliments of Kim Klassen.

Wonderful Magic (2), Market, and Bent Edges

Heart Thought: Thank you Open Air Markets, wherever you are...you are the best!

Smiles: Sharon

Postcards from Paradise

Offerings

Offering...to give what comes from deep inside one's own soul.

No coins are exchanged.

The gift of an Offering is selfless.

Women, mothers, grandmothers daily share Offerings 

of refreshment and sustenance to all.

   

Some carry their Offerings lightly,

for others there is great toil and labor.

Through generations, Offerings of teaching, training, 

and nurturing.

She will pass on all that is offered to her.

Hand to hand

Heart to heart

Generation to generation.

Offerings, a communal table .

Sanctification.

Prayer

Mother Earth, the Genesis of all
Offerings.
*********************


Please take a moment and visit Rebecca Brooks at her oasis of serenity and beauty, recuerda mi corazon,
to experience her Offering of an open heart, prose and poetry liken to Mary Oliver, photographer and artist. 


Once a week she offers Postcards from Paradise where one finds extraordinary beauty in the ordinary. 


warmly, sharon

JOY JOY JOY

Putting together a string of 25 photos

in a previous blog was like a trip down memory lane.

We can look at a photo taken 10 years ago and it immediately brings us back: where, when, how we felt when we clicked the shutter button!

It is like electricity, the returning memories just flow bright and vivid.

Photographs are powerful.

Today I was wandering through Meri's Musings blog and she was asking what brought us JOY! 

It was tempting to post my previous 25 photos!!!

smile

Too easy, didn't seem right.

What does bring me Joy?

Some things can not be photographed.

Some things are too private to be shared.

But here are a few Joys.

Joy

 in sharing art experiences with grandchildren, youth, those with special needs.

Joy

of Grandchildren and New Babies:

 seeing the love they have for one another.

Joy
 in the endless formations of clouds and water..the poetry of reflections, movement, dancing, day-dreaming.

Joy

 in learning from other cultures: their family traditions, religion, food, way of living life.

Joy

in self-expression: painting, photography, writing, blogs. So blessed to have the means to do all of this.

Thank you Meri, for the opportunity to share a few of the Joys in my life.

Heart Thought:  do you think that different stages in our lives brings different JOYS? 

warmly, Sharon