wellness wednesday

wellness tip:

do NOT get this!

update on cathy (noon)

cassie and kyle were able to visit cathy today

she is still in the hospital, but will be going home today

she is in less pain today, than yesterday, and cassie said she looked good....just tired

the tumor was actually in the rib area....and a lymph node was under her collarbone

so there was a bit more moving around in there than maybe anticipated

she will receive test results next week sometime.

cathy

i talked with cassie this morning

cathy is out of surgery

and it went well...but she is in a lot of pain

cassie will call again after speaking with cathy's husband

she let cathy know yesterday, about the thoughts and prayers

being offered on her behalf by all the sweet souls in this blogosphere,

and she was very grateful......

if you would.....

please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers....

thank you sweet souls.

prayers

i am asking for you to keep cassie's dear friend, cathy in your heart, thoughts and prayers

she will be having a double mastectomy on tuesday, the 29th.

she and cassie were both 3rd grade teachers at onate elementary school

in albuquerque....and she was like a second mom to her

as well as being her very dear friend

thank you deena for asking as well.

"Courage is fear that has said its prayers"

~dorothy bernard

laughter

if it is true that

"the earth laughs in flowers"......

there shouldn't be a moment of silence around here

for all the giggling!

far away fridays

this is the public market in seattle, washington

we took the ferry from bainbridge, washington

and after docking in seattle, it is within walking distance

i loved the feel of this place

so many languages heard

delicious coffee

yummy clam chowder

beautiful displays of veggies

flowers to die for....

i would love to be able to walk there every morning for flowers!

one man bands

groups playing guitars and singing

and so much more

one of the reasons i wanted to visit the market

was because i was a trainer at a credit union here in arizona

and we had incorporated the the FISH! Philosophy in our training.

"this philosophy is about the Seattle's world-famous Pike Place Fish Market.

What was captured and translated into film was that even in a workplace where fishmongers spent stinky, grueling 12-hour shifts stocking, selling and packing fish, remarkable results can occur when people accept the invitation to:

1) Be There for their coworkers and customers;

2) Play;

3) Make someone's day, and;

4) Choose their attitude about how they show up for work. "

it was a wonderful and fun philosophy to incorporate

and i loved being a part of its introduction to our company.

Starbucks opened its first store in 1971 in the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. Because the Market is a historic district with design guidelines, the store retains its original look.

pikes place fish market .......famous for their fish throwing!

i loved the whole experience!

it is a place that captures and plays with all your senses!

why not

my husband put this on the refrigerator

our oldest grandson uses this phrase quite a bit

and in the sweetest way

following is a conversation we might have

little boy: "why you not toming outside wif me, nonnie?"

nonnie: "because i need to get some things done in the house right now."

little boy: "why not?"

nonnie: "because i'm going to finish doing the dishes buddy."

little boy: "why not?"

nonnie: "i'll be outside in a little bit, okay?"

little boy: "why not?"

really...........i am thinking

WHY NOT?

twenty-two things

i received this in an email from a dear friend yesterday....and wanted to share

TWENTY-TWO THINGS TO REMEMBER

1. Faith is the ability to not panic.

2. If you worry, you didn't pray. If you prayed, don't worry.

3. As a child of God, prayer is kinda like calling home every day.

4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

6. Do the math. Count your blessings.

7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

8. Dear God: I have a problem. It's me.

9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

10. Laugh every day - it's like inner jogging.

11. The most important things in your home are the people.

12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional. (Preach it!)

13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open. Come on in.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

16. We do not remember days but moments. Life moves too fast so enjoy your precious moments.

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise it's just hearsay.

18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

21. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

22. Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of another for the angels to read.

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

have a beautiful day!

tuesday's treasure

our mother earth

"There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet." ~Brooke Medicine Eagle

think.feel.act.change

there are limitless links and articles i could refer to ...... but the simpleness of it is

i need to be a much better caretaker

The earth is what we all have in common. ~Wendell Berry

Psalms 65:8

the dwellers at the ends of the earth

hold thy signs in awe;

thou makes morning and evening sing aloud in triumph.

windows

as i was

"deep cleaning" my kitchen this morning

and not really "singing" about it,

i looked up

and this was my view

out my kitchen window

it may not look like much

through the screen

but it made me and aware

of the beauty

around me

and i am thankful

"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 our windows

today."

~dale carnegie

far away fridays

joni was the inspiration for today's post

this is hawley lake

we plan a family reunion here every year

our family, my brother's family, my dad and my aunt

and many many dogs!

it is about a five hour drive

and it rains every year we go

but we love it

we canoe, bike, walk,

dig trenches to keep the rain out of tents

put up tons of tarps to stay dry

everyone shares kitchen duty

sit around campfires

play games...sing...

chase children

hunt for worms and crawdads

and as joni said in her post this morning...

coffee never tasted soooooo goood

it is so wonderful to just get out

under the stars

smell clean air

get dirty

have greenery all around

and water......love the water

as our family gets bigger....and more babies

it does get harder to plan and for everyone to make it

but hopefully

we will continue our tradition

and pass it on!

thanks joni....for the reminder of this special place this new day!

poem in your pocket day!

i said the hardest part of this would be to pick just one

i have a lot of poems that stir my soul

but this is the one

that i named my blog after
so i figured it would be appropriate to share

i found it on a card

in cannon beach, oregon

at least five years ago

so....i offer this poem

Walk the Beach

...To find a treasure
To exercise the limbs, to soothe the soul.
To praise God and to admire His handiwork.
To marvel at the birds that play against the sky and clouds.
To watch the waves
As they dance their way over and around the rocks.
To feel the sun and the wind pressed against my face
and to run from the foam grasping for my feet.
To think…..to reflect.
To see a million years of conflict
And realize that life is as simple as….
“THE LAND AND THE SEA”.
To walk hand in hand with nature
and draw upon its energy….
which is never-ending and as constant as the stars.
And no matter how far apart my visits might measure…..
I am always free to renew an old acquaintance with myself.

~unknown

that is the poem in my "pocket"

hope you enjoy your day of poetry!

some of those participating so far:

jessamyn

jamie

brittni

joni

annette

phyllis

PIYP

april is

and they have suggested that we all

celebrate the first national PIYP day

poem in your pocket day!

april 17th.......tomorrow!

or a psalm in your pocket

as talked about here

here were some of their suggestions:
~post pocket-sized verses in public places
~add a poem to your email footer
~post a poem on your blog or social networking page
~post a poem on a wall, inside or out
~text a poem to friends

poetry gives you permission to feel

~ james autry

tuesday's treasures

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.

~Eudora Welty

i love pictures

i have so many

that they are in photo albums, boxes and drawers

they take me to the very moment each one was captured

making it possible for me

to hear, see, taste, feel, and smell

that very moment in time

once again

some days i start looking for a certain picture

and end up spending hours

just enjoying

memories

i would use them all

as wallpaper

if i thought

i could!

beauty from struggles

glass winged butterfly

The story of the butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch it,expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body, Neither happened! In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand:The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.We will not be as strong as we could have been and we would never fly

~unknown

I asked for strength, And God gave me difficulties to make me strong;
I asked for wisdom, And God gave me problems to learn to solve;
I asked for prosperity, And God gave me brain and brawn to work;
I asked for courage, And God gave me dangers to overcome;
I asked for love, And God gave me people to help;
I asked for favours, And God gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted - I received everything I needed.

~ Azriela Jaffe

(i received the picture in an email yesterday, from a dear friend

and happened to see these poems this morning in a frame

at jessamyn's house....

a gifting from cassie quite a few years ago)

today......

i thank heaven

for little girls

far away friday.......at home

joys today

~cassie and kyle visiting from new mexico

~the girls all getting to spend time together

~a trip to the zoo

~sunshine

~belated birthday celebration for jessamyn

~love of family

~my roses having too many buds to count

~goooood coffee this morning

~prayer

~God's love

hope you have a joyful friday and weekend!

thursday's thoughts

"Journal writing is a voyage to the interior”

~christina baldwin

i have been thinking lately about writing.

how beautiful it is when words are written

and convey and express so vividly

emotion

pictures

smells

sounds

places

where we find ourselves nodding in understanding

shedding tears

laughing

feeling enlightened

motivated

several of my daughters journal....

and have for years

i guess many of us do in some way with blogging

but many times we feel vulnerable

when so many can access our thoughts

i think it's something i am going to step into and begin

i enjoyed these thoughts about healing effects of journaling

"recording your thoughts and feelings, anxieties, successes, and future hopes can be reassuring. Even if you only write one or two sentences each day, it is worth it. So, select a special journal book to use, find or go buy a great pen that feels good in your hand, and start writing. Once you get started, you'll find that words you never allowed yourself to speak aloud will flow out of you onto the paper.

remember, you're not keeping a journal to share with others, though some women do turn their journals into books. Its main purpose is to give you a clear place to hold your thoughts, release your worries and fears, create hope within yourself, and see that you are making it through this journey. One day at a time."

special journals

created for special words

~more to come

enjoy the voyage, happy journaling

tuesday's treasures

i have been gifted several willow tree angels or figurines

over the past several years

for

wedding days

birthdays

mother's day

and

just because

(from left to right)

~mother and daughter - protect and cherish, give wings to fly

~angel of the garden

~mother and child

~thinking of you

~grandmother

i love each one

and the sentiment

it was gifted with

April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go

~Christopher Morley

Everything is blooming most recklessly;

if it were voices instead of colors,

there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.

~Rainer Maria Rilke,

boda bella

we went to a wedding this weekend

held in Tubac, Arizona

about two hours south of phoenix

close to nogales, mexico

the wedding was absolutely beautiful

the bride and groom

the words & music

the mission style church

mariachis

the flowers

the weather

the people

the converstation

the laughter

the food

b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l.

and where we stayed was such a treat

a little casita here

and this morning we went into town

and had homemade pastries and delicious coffee

at the pastry/deli company

the weekend was wonderful in every way

and just wanted to share a few pictures with you.