Think About a Mantra for Today: Post for TUESDAY, Last Day of November, 2010

                       

      Today’s Mantra

  I will make the most of this busy day

 No matter what is going on around me, I will seek peace

 Today’s meals will be balanced, healthy, and enough


 I will refrain from eating sugar in any form


 I will remember to laugh-----a lot

 If someone is mean to me today, I will respond with kindness. After all,we never know what’s going on in someone else’s life.

  Today I will be immensely grateful to be alive

 For every person reading this post, I wish you deep
    and abiding peace today

 I will remember to wish all my beloved fellow bloggers a wonderful day, too!

                  I also wish you Merry Holidays ahead!

PLEASE ADD ONE OF YOUR OWN WISHES TO THIS MANTRA IN TODAY'S COMMENTS.  THANKS!

Love, Susan

The Beauty of Salads

With the holidays fast approaching, it's important for me to remember to eat healthy meals. 

There is usually so much "junk" available that fruits and veggies can easily take a back seat.

One present I plan to give myself this holiday season is to eat lots of salad. There are so many hundreds of yummy kinds that one certainly does not have to feel deprived.

While traveling last month, I ate salad a lot. Roasted beet salad  (shown above) sounded intriguing to me and, quite honestly, it tasted absolutely delicious. Roasting the beets made them sweet. The salad also had pistachios and chevre (goat cheese) mousse. This salad could easily be duplicated at home.

A Cobb salad had lots of chopped tomatoes, onions, bacon bits, green onions, chopped chicken and  avocado, chopped hard boiled eggs. It came with thick and yummy blue cheese dressing. Yumma dum dum!

Just this past Thanksgiving, one of my sisters brought her signature chopped green salad to the meal. It really made the feast extra special.  She even made the radishes look lovely by cutting them in zig zag fashion.  With  homemade balsalmic dressing, the salad became as popular as ol' Tom turkey, himself.  She served chopped onions on the side, since not everyone indulges in them.

CAN YOU SHARE YOUR FAVORITE SALAD WITH US?

Christmas Decorating Gets Underway; Post for Sunday, November 28

What does it feel like to run a marathon?

How do one's muscles respond? Does the whole body ache, from top to bottom?

To be perfectly honest, I have never run a marathon. As a matter of fact, I've never run, period. But does going up two flights of stairs to the attic several dozen times two days in a row count?  How about if one is carrying boxes and boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations?

Yeah, the house is definitely starting to look festive. Things are falling into place and it's about 75 percent done.

Here are a few things that are still unfinished:

Lights have to be put up outside and on the hall bannister.

More (never ending) decorations have to be brought down from the attic and gift bags sorted and stored.

Meanwhile, the aches and pains in my arms, back, and legs will dissipate in a few days and I'll love looking at the house all decked out for Christmas.

Right now, however, that bed with the fluffy down comforter on it looks better than sugarplums dancing in my head! 

The Christmas angel wishes you all a peaceful Sunday!

HOW DO YOU RENEW YOURSELF DURING THE HOLIDAYS WHEN FATIGUE SETS IN?

P.S. By the way, do you see that lovely, festive button with Santa and falling snow on the sidebar of my blog? It is a gift from Mo, writer of Rose Petals from Heaven, an exquisite blog. Mo is truly gifted and has impeccable taste. Check out her blog if you haven't already done so. Just click on the button and it will take you there!  (Thanks, Mo. You are too sweet and generous.)

Flowers in a Punch Bowl: Post for Saturday,November 27, 2010

One year, when we lived in the southwest, my dearest friend invited me in to see her Christmas tree.

Without a doubt, it was the most gorgeous tree I had ever seen in my life. Period. It stood tall, full, and majestic and had cascades of gold ribbons streaming down from its top. Dozens of gold ornaments filled almost all the branches and white lights reflected in their shiny surfaces. My friend decorated with style and the precision of an interior designer.

Ever since then, I have stuck to decorating our Christmas tree with gold adornments but have added a few touches of pink, as well.   You'll see photos of it this season.

Before all the decorations are put up throughout the house, I want to show you an example of how my dear friend gets double use out of objects.  Shown in photos in this post is an arrangement of sunflowers.  The perky flowers sit in an old-fashioned, beautiful cut glass punch bowl with a silver bottom and little silver feet.

Now I never would have thought to do that. Who needs vases when there's an antique punch bowl around, right? 

All day Friday, I hauled boxes down the attic stairs. Got a pretty good start on holiday decorating but there's still a long way to go. My dear husband, (God bless that man), took about four hours to assemble the seven foot Christmas tree. I wanted, so much, for him to put the lights on, too, so I could start decorating the tree but he said it'd have to wait until tomorrow. Now I know I could probably do it myself but he does a much better job so I'll be patient. It's so hard to wait, don't you think?

DO YOU LIKE TO DECORATE A LOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS OR JUST A LITTLE?

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (Post for Friday, November 26th)

Thanksgiving, 2010, is now history.

The turkey's cooked, eaten, and digested. Mountains of dishes have been washed.

Dessert has been tasted (and eaten) with guilt.  The only thing left to do is get on the scale and face the music but that can wait.

See the girl and kitty cat in the photo ?  That's what I feel like doing today. However, it's time to start decorating for, you know, Christmas.

Can't wait to put up the tree and make the rest of the house beautiful, as well. That multi-day task begins today.

By the way, the photos shown are scenes in a southwestern museum dedicated entirely to miniatures.  Everything in the photos is little, including the Christmas tree!   I'll be posting on a visit to that museum, along with some photos of many unique dollhouse rooms and shops, etc. So keep checking this blog if you love miniatures.

(Unfortunately, the photos are a little blurry when enlarged. Some came out as clear as day but while taking others, I must have jiggled the camera a bit. So sorry.)

Hope you have a peaceful, relaxing day today. If you are also decorating for Christmas, at least do it with joy in your heart. Take frequent breaks. Make some tea. Listen to some holiday music. The best of the season is yet to come!

DID YOU HAVE A MEMORABLE THANKSGIVING?

THANKSGIVING DAY, 2010: And I Am Thankful For........YOU!

This Thanksgiving, there is so much to be thankful for, despite the economy. 

Personally, I am deeply grateful for my family, friends, and all the readers and followers of this one-year-old blog.

Now I'm going to "talk turkey."  Without you, this blog would just be writing on a computer screen.  No human heart would feel joy or sadness over a post. There would just be black words against a pale, impersonal background.

You, the readers and followers, give me the impetus to do a daily post, seven days a week regardless of whether I am busy, tired, or working on a long "to do" list.

You also make me want to take my camera with me wherever I go, so no good photo taking opportunities get missed.

So thanks, dear readers and followers. Each of you is so important to me. No matter where you live or what you do, I appreciate your reading my blog. You are the best of the best!

The photos shown are decorations in the hall of our front entryway. Hope you enjoy them.

I wish a blessed and abundant Thanksgiving Day to each of you. 

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BEST PART OF THANKSGIVING DAY FOR YOU?

Gratitude: Important on Thanksgiving and Every Day

Having a heart filled with gratitude results in having a happy life.

When a person has an attitude of gratitude, negativism cannot slip in.  Gratitude provides a protective shield against pessimism.

When gratitude comes in, whining, complaining, and negativity go out.

We've all known people who never have a good word to say about anything or anybody. They have sad looks on their faces and will recite a long litany of why they are so miserable.  These people, sad to say, have no sense of gratitude. If they did, their misery would evaporate.

Keeping a gratitude journal  is a very good thing to do. It's an exercise in becoming aware of all the little things in life for which to be thankful.  As soon as one gratitude journal is filled, I have an empty one ready to go to replace it.

At the end of each day, try to list at least 12 things for which to be thankful.  Try not to repeat the same things each evening. You can be grateful for little things, such as sitting outside on the steps in the sun for five minutes or tasting a delicious cup of coffee. The little things definitely count.

Developing an attitude of gratitude is a good thing to do near Thanksgiving and all the days to follow.

BESIDES YOUR LOVED ONES, WHAT IS ONE THING YOU ARE THANKFUL FOR TODAY?

Traditional Turkey Triumphs for Thanksgiving!: Post for Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The other day, I sat down and wrote a menu for Thanksgiving dinner.

Keep in mind that in my home library there are five shelves comprised entirely of cookbooks; more than 50 recipe-filled magazines sit in milk cartons in a room on the second floor; and hundreds of recipes can be searched on the Internet.

So what new things will guests find on the table this Thanksgiving?  The answer is "none."  The dinner will be traditional from start to finish. The exact foods I've eaten at Thanksgiving dinner since childhood will be served.

To me, no stuffing in the world ever tastes as good a my late paternal grandmother's giblet stuffing.  It's moist, succulent, and immensely tasty. There's just no other stuffing like it anywhere and I'll be making a huge batch of it for Thanksgiving dinner as well as to send home in containers for guests. Of course, there must be some left over to eat with turkey sandwiches, too.

There will also be potatoes whipped with an eight ounce package of cream cheese, butter, salt, and pepper; boiled turnips with butter; cranberry sauce; gravy; and fresh rolls.  A side veggie and dessert will be brought by guests.

As we all sit around the table this Thanksgiving, we will think of all those loved ones who have gone before us to the other realm of life. They will be missed terribly.

I will also think of our son and new daughter-in-law who are having their first Thanksgiving as husand and wife. We will miss them terribly as we wish them hearts filled with happiness.

Later in the day, we will see more family at another house and have coffee with them. 

We will also be thankful for all the tremendous blessings in our lives, including a traditional Thanksgiving dinner!

WHAT IS ONE TRADITIONAL DISH YOU ALWAYS SERVE ON THANKSGIVING?

Monday Wishes for You!

To all readers of this blog:

Today is Monday, the beginning of a new week of life.

So here are some heartfelt wishes to all readers of this blog.

Sometimes things get a little crazy in our lives. Notices keep flashing of how many days there are until Christmas.  Thanksgiving is so close around the corner we can almost smell the turkey. It's all great but also a little unnerving. So,  to keep things calm and sane, here come the wishes, just for you:

Today, my wish for you is that you have a few moments to sit quietly, peacefully, and leisurely, and take at least three deep, cleansing and relaxing breaths. Know in those moments how splendid it is to be alive.

I wish you more smiles than frowns today.

No matter how many worries you have, I wish that you will let them go, one by one. Every single worry we have gets solved, one way or another. We must be strong during the process.

I wish you delicious coffee (or tea), and the enjoyment of savoring each sip.

If there is no sunshine in the sky today, I wish for it to shine in your heart, instead.

I wish you the knowledge that your children, friends, family, and  special loved one will all be fine today, if you place each of them in the hand of the Creator. He is a faithful God who never abandons His precious children.

I wish you laughter over the littlest things.

Knowing what a special and unique person you are, I wish you acceptance of yourself, just as you are today, right at this moment.

To all bloggers, I wish you several new and faithful Followers today.

To all writers, much inspiration and creativity.

To all mothers, patience with your little ones and the desire to give lots of tender hugs and gentle kisses.

To all fathers, the same for each of you, as well as love and admiration for your spouse.

I wish all negative thoughts be obliterated before they have a chance to form, quickly replaced with positive ones.

I wish you a really marvelous Monday and a good and fruitful week !

Love to all, Susan

P.S. The stained glass piece and amethyst bottles that line the sill in the above window are from the home of a dear friend in the southwest.  I wish her the best of life.

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL WISH TODAY?

Thoughts on a Sunday

The Lebanese poet, Kahlil Gibran, said parents give their children "roots and wings."

They also try to give them values and traditions.  Having  been around the block more than a few times (more like a few hundred times),  some things are now very clear.  Having survived many difficulties and deep valleys of despair in life, the realization has come that the greatest gift my own parents gave me was faith.

All the material things don't even begin to compare with the treasure of faith.  When darkness of the soul surrounded me and disappointments seared like a hot branding iron, faith is what pulled me through.

When things seemed hopeless, when the bottom fell out of the ship of life, faith sustained.

Today, when looking at the church of my childhood, there is a feeling of comfort and peace. My parents are gone from this earth now yet their spirits are still very much alive. 

 Their presence is made known when church bells peal, when the choir sings, when the smell of  the incense on the altar drifts into the church pews, and in the flickering of prayer candles.

This Thanksgiving week, when there is so much for which to be thankful, the gift of faith will be at the top of the list.

WHAT GIFT FROM YOUR OWN PARENTS DO YOU TREASURE THE MOST?

Sunshine and Relaxation Make the Day

Today began with sunshine pouring through the bedroom windows.

The next 14 hours or so held great promise.  Because the temperatures outside had warmed up considerably, I turned off the heat inside the house and began the day's tasks.

A birthday cake had to be made; cleaning had to be done;  there was computer work to complete; and so on.  Somehow, with golden light pouring down outside, everything seemed possible.

By afternoon, with many items checked off on the "to do" list, but still many left to complete, I took a break to sit outside by our fountain.  It turned out to be the best decision of the day. The sun illuminated my face and its warmth filled my entire being.

Birds twittered and cars zoomed by on nearby streets.  The sound of rustling leaves could be heard as my husband bagged them in the front yard.

Taking deep breaths, filling my lungs with fresh air, I felt that all was well. The work would get done. Problems would be solved. Babies would be born and some people would die, all in the next few hours. 

For these few moments, nothing mattered except to be immersed in God's golden sunlight.

HOW DO YOU RE-ENERGIZE?

Brass Items Add Beauty to Decor

Brass, to me, is elegant, regal, and classy.

It's definitely not as popular these days as sheak black and all things modern but I don't care. That's why there is a brass gooseneck faucet in the kitchen,  brass faucets in all our sinks in the bathrooms, and a shiny brass handle on the front door.

So many of the brass items in our house were found in thrift shops. For instance, the basket shown above now sits on a table in our front hallway and is the container for keys.  It's so convenient to deposit them there. It was purchased for a couple of dollars.

An assortment of brass candlesticks, such as shown here, has also found its way to our home, via estate and yard sales.

I'm joining Linda at A La Carte today for Junkin Friday as well as Cindy from My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.

NOW TELL THE TRUTH, DO YOU LIKE THINGS MADE OUT OF BRASS?

Hope you check out Linda's blog, A La Carte. It's a real  fun blog. Visit her at http://ljm-alacarte.blogspot.com/.



Also go to see  Cindy's lovely blog, My Romantic Home  http://romantichome.blogspot.cm/  and
Show and Tell Friday. Her blog button is in the sidebar to the right.

Newspapers Start the Day!

Today I am joining Dayle for her Simple Pleasures Party.  This week's simple pleasure, for me, is reading the daily newspaper.

          Every morning, our paper delivery person leaves the newspaper right outside our front door. It

           always comes inside a clear plastic bag. All we have to do is open the front door, bend down,

          and pick it up.

          Morning coffee would be totally incomplete without reading the paper.  Skipping the sports
          section entirely, (sorry sports fans), I usually go through the other sections with a fine tooth
          comb.

          I remember when my late mom would flip right to the obituaries.  At the time, I thought that was
          rather macabre. Now I do it, too.

          The arts section is always fun to read as well as certain columns by favorite columnists.  One of
          the  best sections is the "classified."  Sometimes I circle ads of things I would buy if I had a
          lot of extra money. ha!

          Despite all the bad news one can count on being printed, the newspaper is still a simple pleasure
          for me. There's so much to read and digest. Having written for newspapers for years, I appreciate
          that so much of what is contained within the pages of a new edition had to be gathered rather
          quickly and written on deadline. That's actually a rather amazing feat! 

          DO YOU THINK NEWSPAPERS ARE ON THEIR WAY OUT BECAUSE OF THE
          INTERNET?

         Now be sure to hop on over to Dayle's blog, A Collection of This and That,   
         http://alittleofthisandthat2.blogspot.com/ and check out all the other simple pleasures. Her
         blog button is in the sidebar, too!

Sweet Cat Loves Cake~~~Post for Wednesday, November 17, 2010

See this festive homemade birthday cake?

It was going to be a four layer confection.  However, when I placed the fourth layer on top, the cake looked way too cumbersome. It was much more manageable with three layers so I left it at that.

Everything was ready for a birthday bash. Balloons bobbed in the dining room. Birthday plates, napkins, and cups matched the yellow plastic knives, forks, and spoons.

The freezer held the ice cream and guests would arrive momentarily.

Sitting in the backyard for a brief respite before the bash began, my ears perked up when I heard screaming coming from inside the house.

      "What happened?"  I yelled, frozen in fear.  Did I dare go and see?

      "The cat is eating the birthday cake," came a high-pitched reply from the kitchen.

     "What?" I screamed back.  By the time I flew into the kitchen, Honey Cat had absconded.  Sure enough, a big chunk of birthday cake had been nibbled. 

     "She was right on the table eating the cake," the informers reported.

     Carefully removing the kitty nibbled section of the cake, I grabbed  a butter knife and covered the hole with frosting as guests began to  arrive, one by one.

     Shortly thereafter, I lighted all the candles on the cake and carried it into the dining room for the birthday girl.

     Honey Cat, by the way, didn't come to the party.

 

WHAT IS ONE NAUGHTY THING YOUR PET HAS DONE?

For Tuesday's Show and Tail at Angela's West Virginia's Treasures

A friend of mine has a great big white cat named Snowball.

He's a gorgeous cat with piercing green eyes and the whitest fur you've ever laid eyes on. Snowball is also extremely large.

My friend found him as a stray and he was covered, head to end of tail, with sticky oil. She had a professional groomer clean him up. Then she named him, invited him in, and he's been her permanent houseguest ever since! That was all about nine or ten  years ago.

No kidding, this big boy could double for a small polar bear. Did I say he's a very, very large cat? He's also spoiled rotten.  That's right, my very sweet friend opens unknown numbers of tuna cans, just so King Snowball can lap up the juice. He does not touch the tuna! Talk about particular feline tastes.

Snowball also has a kind of foot fetish. When some guests, not all, kick off their shoes or slippers, Snowball makes a beeline for them. He plunks his large, furry white body down right on the shoes or slippers and nestles in for a "sole" rest.

Not knowing whether I'd be one of the "chosen" guests, I kicked off my sandals and sat on my friend's comfy couch.  Snowball zoomed right over and plunk, down he went onto my sandals. I was one of the chosen ones!

He didn't claw at the sandals, nor did he take a bite out of them (thank goodness). Snowball just sat and sniffed and pawed them a bit while I sat on the couch and cracked up laughing.

Why oh why did Snowball develop such a weird, rather smelly habit?  Only a cat psychologist would have the answer.

     "Are you hungry?" my friend asked the white bombshell. Up from my sandals went Snowball and lumbered off to get a fresh shot of tuna juice.

DO YOU KNOW OF CATS THAT HAVE WEIRD HABITS?

By the way, this is the first time I'm hooking up with Angela at West Virginia's Treasures  for Show and Tail Tuesday. 
http://wvtreasures.blogspot.com/2010/11/jazz-two-tuesdays-show-tail.html 

 Thanks for hosting, Angela. Hope you like my post on Mini-Glacier. Whoops, I mean Snowball!

Angels Among Us

Almost everywhere these days, there's  a lot of talk about angels.  Books have been written about them.  Certainly, in the Bible, they are mentioned numerous times.

Without a doubt,  I feel angels protect us from harm.  Once, our daughter was involved in a horrible car accident. A drunk driver, who had downed a 12 pack of beer and then got behind the wheel of a car, rammed into her car. 

When my husband and I were called to the accident scene and saw her mangled car, the police prevented us from going to her. Emergency workers removed our precious daughter from the heap of mangled metal with the jaws of life. Except for an ankle injury, minor scratches, and the psychological trauma of being in such a horrific crash, she was unharmed.

No one can tell me she had not been protected by angels that fateful night. No one. She could easily have been killed on the spot. Angels saved my "baby" girl's life. Even now, as I write this, tears fill my eyes and run down my cheeks, just remembering.  My heart overflows with immense gratitude to God for sparing her life and for sending His angels to protect her.

I think angels come in the form of friends. During some pretty lonely years in the southwest, away from family and all familiar, my heart literally ached until I met a very special friend. We are kindred spirits and remain in close contact today, even though separated by thousands of miles.

The angels shown in the above photo are part of her collection.  It would be appropriate to have her in the photo, too, because she is definitely an angel to me and always will be!

HAVE YOU HAD ANY DEALINGS WITH ANGELS OR HAVE A SPECIAL FRIEND WHO IS LIKE ONE?

A Collection of Religious Art: Post for Sunday, November 14, 2010

Some religious statues symbolize the saints they represent. Others depict Mary, the mother of God or Jesus, Himself.

 In the Catholic faith, saints are said to be effective liaisons from the other realm of life. Many of them died martyrs to their faith and were not afraid to lose their lives for God. Many of them even died violent deaths.

Throughout the years, I've acquired a small collection of religious statues. My mother gave one of the Blessed Mother to me years ago. It symbolizes the Virgin of Guadalupe who is very popular in the Mexican culture because of appearing to a Mexican boy.

Religious symbols, like anything else, seem to multiply in a household. Often, I wonder where to place them.

So one can imagine my surprise, when visiting a  family Mexican restaurant in the southwest, to see a very colorful religious display in the lobby of the restaurant. Apparently the family who owns the business is quite devout.

There were so many statues and other religious symbols all grouped together including photos of family members  or friends who are priests, candles, and rosary beads.  Such an altar is one way of placing lots of religious symbols in one place. One could certainly say a quick prayer and feel close to God with so many reminders readily visible.

DO YOU HAVE ANY RELIGIOUS STATUES?

FLYING INTO SUNRISE: Post for Saturday, November 13, 2010

There are times in life when something so profound  and wonderful occurs that it's hard to breathe.

Falling madly in love might qualify.  Suddenly every day seems miraculous. The sun shines brighter, people are more pleasant, and there's a lightness to one's step. Looking into a lover's eyes makes the heart beat fast and furious. How could such a person have fallen totally in love with "moi?"  One wants to dance, sing, and shout, "I love you," from every hill, building, and street corner.

Then, the birth of a new life might be one of those profound times. One sees the little one's perfectly formed lips, the sleeping eyes, the tiny fingers and toes, all so fresh from heaven, and a feeling of utter amazement  and overflowing love fills the heart to the breaking point.

Something besides falling in love or seeing a new baby happened to me recently. It was not as profound as those experiences but definitely filled my heart with intense gratitude just to be alive.  Passengers on an airplane, my husband and I were on the way to our son's wedding in the southwest.

The inside of the plane was quiet as it was pre-dawn. What a heck of a time to be flying but ours was an economy fare and less than convenient.  We had already been in the air quite a spell and my eyes felt sleepy.

As I glanced out of the plane's small, square window, an orange line appeared to be painted along the horizon.  Squinting to get a better look, I soon realized it was the beginning of a sunrise. Watching intently,  I saw the colors in the sky begin to change. Below the horizon a sea of fluffy white clouds filled a huge expanse of sky.

The heavens to my left  lightened and brightened and then the sun made a sudden appearance, first as a round rim of fiery red and then as brilliant gold, visibly announcing a new and precious day of life.

I inhaled and held my breath, totally unaccustomed to flying into a sunrise. The magnificence of the occasion squeezed my soul.  Humbled by such  an awesome experience, I felt tears fill my eyes as I continued to stare out of the airplane window. 

The sun seemed to say "Welcome" to the new day, to life, and to all the passengers in a plane above a sea of clouds. What a thrilling way to start the day!

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AT SUNRISE?