“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

A Thankful Heart




Here we are again over half-way through November! As we age time seems to speed up and the days fly by like the leaves in the wind!  We are in a rainy spell here up north and it seems to match the mood I've been in as I reflect on some of the sad events in the past few days.  I won't go into details, you all know what I'm talking about, but let's just say the world needs a very large group hug.

As I was thinking about what I wanted to write today, I decided on finding a few things that I am thankful for and focusing on them this Thanksgiving season.  One thing I am thankful for is my family, not just my closest living relatives, but some of my ancestors from many decades ago that have somehow helped to shape my being today.

One of which is an ancestry that includes a small bit of Native American heritage.  I've never delved much into that side of the family, but there was talk about this relationship to a Native American tribe, but it was covered up for many years and unless someone has DNA testing, it will probably never be solved.  You see, back then the only living relative that knew for sure, was asked about it and did not deny the relationship, but would not give any explanations about how it came about to the relative that was doing a genealogy study.  It's possible even he did not know the full story. So the questions go unanswered.

I see the physical resemblance on my mothers side of the family though, and when I heard about this, it all made sense.  Her beautiful dark hair and somewhat darker complexion was evident, even to me as a young girl. When I started wearing makeup, I noticed that her base makeup was so much darker than mine and I thought that to be a bit curious.  The rest of my genealogy has loads of English, Scottish and a wee bit of Danish thrown in too, so I ended up with a light complexion and dish-water blond hair!  Oh how I wanted lovely wavy dark hair like my mother when I was young! She had dark eye lashes and brows and I always thought how lucky she was to have these pretty features. My mother never knew about her possible Native American connection, she passed away before my cousin started doing the genealogy study.

So, I'm thankful that I know about this bit of past history in my family and even though at this time, I don't know which Native tribe I am linked with, it has given me a different perspective of who I am. The more I've learned about the Native American tribes in this country, the more I admire and respect them for their incredible wisdom.

Here is one example...


"Warriors are not what you think of as warriors. The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the right to take another life. The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others. His task is to take care of the elderly, the defenseless, those who can not provide for themselves, and above all, the children, the future of humanity."                                                                                                     ~Sitting Bull







On a lighter note here are a few more things I'm Thankful for!


This just in.... Coffee Extends Your Life!!

"In our study, we found people who drank three to five cups of coffee per day had about a 15 percent lower [risk of premature] mortality compared to people who didn't drink coffee," says one of the study authors, nutrition researcher Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health. Decaf drinkers also saw benefits.  (source)



I love my coffee!






Animals, Wildlife and the Beauty of our Natural World....

I love watching the funny chipmunks!




Bees and Flowers... a perfect combination. 
It's like they were made for each other! 
Oh right, they were!










Dot... one of my goofy cats, she teaches us to relax.  While we were cleaning out our garden storage shed, she was using the ropes as a headrest whilst she took a nap!











Look Up!.....   Sugar Maple Leaves and gorgeous blue sky!


                 Look Down!....   

Duck foot prints in the soil! You never know what you may find!










Look through the leaves and see the glimmer of the shining sun!





Do you get up early and watch the sunrise? Maybe sunsets are your thing!
The photo below was taken at sunrise from my 
living room window just this week!







Most of you know I love music.....
it's playing right now... 
I'm very thankful for all of these things.



I'm especially thankful for all of you that stop in and visit! 
 I will be visiting you all very soon! 
~ Diane ~ 


What you are thankful for?