“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label imagination inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label imagination inspiration. Show all posts

Monday, April 25, 2022

Listen to Mama...

 Just because, you need to remember.....

     You're one of a kind and don't forget it!


 

Make Your Own Kind of Music

Nobody can tell ya; 

There's only one song worth singin', 

They may try and sell ya, 'Cause it hangs them up to see someone like you. 

But you've gotta make your own kind of music 

Sing your own special song, 

Make your own kind of music even if nobody else sings along. 

 source 

 Mama Cass Elliot

The Mamas & the Papas

 

Have the best day ever!

xx 💖 Diane 💖 xx 



 

Friday, December 30, 2016

A New Year Soon Begins





The moving song below was performed on one of the Christmas specials I recently watched.  I was first drawn in by the beautiful melody and then the lyrics.  

I was unable to locate a recording to post, but I hope you enjoy the lovely, but bittersweet lyrics. They reflect my feelings about this past year and the new one that is almost upon us.  It's a nod to the past and a glance towards the future. Let's hope there are more bright moments and fewer dark days ahead. So while our futures are still unknown, perhaps if we all hold strong together we'll get through it.





Thou Gracious God


Thou gracious God, whose mercy lends
the light of home, the smile of friends,
our gathered flock thine arms enfold
as in the peaceful days of old.

Wilt thou not hear us while we raise
in sweet accord of solemn praise
the voices that have mingled long
in joyous flow of mirth and song?

For all the blessings life has brought,
for all its sorrowing hours have taught,
for all we mourn, for all we keep,
the hands we clasp, the loved that sleep.

The noontide sunshine of the past,
these brief, bright moments fading fast,
the stars that gild our darkening years,
the twilight ray from holier spheres.

We thank thee, Father; let thy grace
our loving circle still embrace,
thy mercy shed its heavenly store,
thy peace be with us evermore.


Words/lyrics - American Poet - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. 1869 
Music/English Folk Tune - Wareham


Sunday, July 17, 2016

Summer Can be a Pain in the ....

Face it... none of us is getting any younger and try as we might to stop the aging process, so far few have made much headway in that direction. I try not to grumble too much about getting older but now I'm starting to understand what my parents and grandparents were talking about!

Things just get a bit harder to do as the years go by. Unfortunately sometimes we are the last to know it! That was my situation when after a heavy thunderstorm with high winds, a few of our trees branches were literally twisted off of the tree and thrown into the neighbors yard, and I decided to jump into action! I mean, why not, I've always done this sort of thing over the years...


 


Feeling that this was my responsibility because the hubs was away on business for a few days, I decided to drag the branches back into our yard.  I figured I could do that much as he would handle most of the sawing, cutting up and hauling them away.

There were about four larger branches that fell in the neighbors yard.  I surveyed the damage and put on my heavy garden gloves and started dragging the branches back into our yard. They were all about 4 to 5 inches in diameter at the thickest part.  I handled the easiest ones first.

This tree branch kicked my butt!


In the photo above the branch had come down between three 5 foot tall arborvitae trees and I knew it might be tough to get it out. Even though this was on our property I figured that I'd gotten the others out that I could get this one moved too. I was painfully wrong! As I was bending over and pulling on the broken end of this tree branch with all my might, I felt and I think I also heard a strange kind of kerplunk and a ripping sound. For that one moment I'm thinking, "Did I rip my pants?" I wish! 

I quickly and painfully realized that something was terribly wrong with my gluteus maximus muscle, gluteus medius muscle, gluteus minimus muscle, tensor fasciae latae, also known as buttox muscle! Who knew there were so many muscles in our rear ends, I only found this by Googling how to best treat a pulled butt muscle.  Anyway on with my story.... and it's OK if you are laughing right now, I get it!  Now that I'm feeling almost back to normal, it is pretty funny...

After the weird sound, it was the pain that clued me in. After a few choice words I retreated to the house, at least I could still walk! Anyway after the major pain subsided I figured I was going to live.  So I popped a couple of Aleve pills and lay face down on the bed till they worked their magic.  I decided to Google my symptoms to see what I might have done to myself and that's when I found all you ever need to know about how to take care of a pulled or torn glute muscle.

Well it's been almost two weeks and my right butt cheek muscle is feeling better, but I must get up and walk around every 15 minutes, so needless to say, I haven't' been sitting at my computer that much lately! This is my excuse for not getting around to your blogs, so you can let me have it. I'm ready for all your jokes.  Bye the way, feel free to use this story if you ever need an excuse to get out of work etc....

In light of all the horrible things that have happened around the world and right in my own state, sometimes we need to laugh at ourselves and realize that our own problems are still not that bad!

So I'm ready! What do you have to say? 

~~~Diane~~~




Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year 2016






May the stars above sprinkle upon you all the joys of heaven.




May you reach the moon on all your journeys.




May your days be filled with happiness and joy.





Wishing you fun times with friends and family.






May you enjoy fond memories of those loved ones who are gone, 
but never forgotten.






"...and after the crimson light has fallen, when only the lavender hue of first night remains, as the stars begin their ritual twinkle, let our hearts touch and be full of thanks, because the gift of time is all we have." 
 ~ Susan Florence ~ A Gift of Time



May you make the most of your precious gift of time, 
and use it wisely.




Wishing you all Happiness and Peace in the New Year!
~~ Diane ~~




Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Be of Good Cheer



Vintage Illustration from "The Happy Rabbit" by Patricia Barton

Even though the snow covers the ground and the cold air took my breath away when I stepped outside this morning, I experienced something that made me very happy.  I couldn't help but feel joyful when I heard the cheerful voices of the finch and chickadees today when I went out to refill the bird feeders. 

So this afternoon while starting to write my blog post, I thought about complaining about February seeming like the longest month of all, but I stopped and I decided to change my mindset. No complaining about the weather because it is what it is.  Instead I thought about this morning, enjoying the song of the happy little birds and the pretty shadows on our new fallen snow.

Occasionally we've all had heartbreaks, illness and innumerous sufferings that have troubled us.  I know a few blog friends who are going through really difficult times right now, and they are in my thoughts and prayers. I'm sorry for any of you that are going through rough times now that I'm unaware of.  But, if you're like me and you're in a good place, then for goodness sake don't let the little things get you down.

Try and find a bit of joy in your day... 
it can be as simple as the song of a little bird.

~~ Diane ~~

What kinds of simple things give you joy in your everyday life?









Monday, June 2, 2014

Hello June



Spring lasted about five minutes and now here we are in summer!
It seems like we just got rid of the snow and the calendar indicates that our warm weather up here in the northern states will last just a mere four months more!  We went out for dinner the other night at a local eatery on Lake Minnetonka, and sat in the sun where we were roasted for the entire meal.  How can it already get this hot!? 

I had to remind our dinner party that we should enjoy it, because we had just endured one of the coldest winters in the past 30 years!!

But still, really 87 degrees already, that is kind of unheard of for this time of year.  I chugged down over two glasses of iced-tea just to keep from melting!  Our server was terrific and kept apologizing for the heat, (all the seating in the shade was taken), but dang-it, we were going to sit outside even if we got heat-stroke!

As I said our server was great and he made sure we had plenty of ice water and even replaced my first ice tea because all the ice melted in about 4 minutes!  We had a nice meal, even though we ate pretty quickly and did not linger, it was really hot! We drove around the lake and stopped in a couple of spots to take in the lovely views and the plentiful sailboats on the lake that were in some sort of regatta. I would have loved to get a photo, but we never got into the right spot to capture one. It was a lovely sight though and proof that the lazy days of summer are soon upon us.










I happily said goodbye to my house-guests and find that as an introvert having other people around for over a week starts to wear me down. It's nice to see visitors, but I also love my solitude!

I have to rest up though, because I will have more visitor's coming at the end of the month! So I need to enjoy the flowers, bees, wildlife and birds while I have some quiet time on my own. I need to refresh and renew my spirit and just soak up as much of this early summer as I can to last me through the cold months of winter.

I found a lovely little quote that I'd like to share with you today, it makes me wonder if maybe the flowers do sing and we just can't hear them!


"What a pity flowers can utter no sound! A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle, --oh, what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be!"
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)








 Oh, and one more thing --- 

Dear June,
Please be Wonderful!

 June Calling Card...
 Happy June!

 ~~Diane~~ 


 

Friday, January 31, 2014

The Playhouse

As a child, did you ever have a playhouse or treehouse?

When I was little, about 7 or 8, I had an actual house for a playhouse. Our family farm had a one bedroom house set several hundred feet away from the main house behind some trees. It had been built back in the early 1900's for the farm-hand to live in. It had no indoor plumbing, but it did have a sink (the water was caught underneath in a bucket). There was a hand pump outside for water. It also had an outhouse. The house was occupied most of the time up until the mid 1950's and then rendered vacant for a decade or so.  It was finally sold to a neighbor and was moved and turned into a small lake cabin.

During it's vacant period, my cousin and I transformed it into a very fine playhouse for a couple of summers. My cousin was older than me and was good at improvising, we scrounged a few odds and ends from the house that my mother let us have. The cats and dogs were our kids and we had a grand old time in there. We did lots of pretending and dreaming there, many fantasy cakes and cookies and fabulous fun was had!

We were already re-purposing and recycling before it was trendy and I don't think we ever uttered the words, "We're Bored!" once. It was the best playhouse ever!  I think my mother loved it; we were not underfoot and she knew we were safe and occupied!

The sweet little poem below sparked my memory of my playhouse, I hope you enjoy it and the cute illustrations by Lois Maloy.




Tell me about your playhouse! ~ Diane



Sunday, December 15, 2013

Joy and Edna

Another bitter cold day here in Minnesota but tomorrow will be better.  Our temperatures have been bouncing around lately.  Just when you brace yourself for the frigid weather it turns downright balmy, well if you can call 20 degrees balmy!

I love when the mail arrives at this time of year!  You might find some cards, a package or a huge tin of three flavor popcorn on your porch! Joy, Joy, Joy! I was especially glad for the latter so that the hubby would stop eating all the Christmas cookies out of the freezer!

Back to the mail, one item that gave me great JOY was a package from my blog friend Stacy - Magic Love Crow!  I had ordered this cute little Baby Crow painting from her titled "Winter Blessings". Isn't she adorable!!




To my surprise she included another darling baby crow titled "Waiting for Santa".  There he is, tucked into his little "nest" all cozy and waiting for Santa's arrival.  Soooo.... Cute!! Thank you Stacy, you are the best!



I was surprised and pleased that the beautiful card that Stacy sent with the kitties on the front, is from a painting called "Decorators" by Persis Clayton Weirs. The art is courtesy of Wild Wings, Lake City Minnesota! How ironic! I'm not even sure she noticed where the card was from! JOY!

Guy appreciated the artwork too as you see in the photo below. He is an avid bird watcher and here he is also cozy in his little brown nest! These photos took place on a day when our temperature only got up to -2 degrees, for you celsius people that is -18. BrrrrrrrrRR!





So what does one do when it is too cold to venture outside for more than a few minutes, well finish the decorating for one.  I of course get sidetracked easily so when I was rummaging about and getting the house ready for house-guests, I found this painting that my husband brought home from an estate sale.  It was leaning on the side of the dresser in our guest room.  I had kind of forgotten about it and that brings us to Edna, another woman who has brought me great Joy ....



The daughter in-law told my husband that Edna had started painting in her later years.  Being the frugal woman she was, she had not invested in a bunch of expensive materials. If you look closely, you can see that it is painted on cardboard. After looking at it a bit, I decided it was actually kind of a neat folk art piece.







I think Edna did pretty darned good with her perspective on this one! I love her choice of bright colors for the house and other buildings.  Snow can be very difficult to paint for new artists and I think she did a nice job.  Edna thought so too, and she signed and dated this original piece of art, which I am now the proud owner of.  The painting is now hanging in our basement family room.





Edna E. Johnson, Red Wing Minnesota - 1963



As I said before, this was from an estate sale, so dear Edna has passed on to her reward and I hope she has an unlimited supply of paint and canvases she can use to creative some stunning work.

So there you have it, a story about two creative and interesting women who bring Joy to life!  Thank you Stacy for your Joyful and Creative Spirit, and bless you Edna for your frugal but Beautiful Soul!

Joy and Peace ~~ Diane



Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Christmas is Coming

Snow, snow!!! Along with bitter, bitter cold! Yow, what a drastic change! It can only mean one thing...... Winter is here and Christmas is coming!!






I found this fabulous image below on Flickr. It shows the best of the winter season and the festive feeling of Christmas. Oh, I wish my place looked so good!  I wish the cookies were all baked, the gifts all wrapped, the house clean and shiny!  I do have our little tree up and decorated and to my surprise, Guy seems quite uninterested in the whole thing! The rest... still a work in progress.

Well I'm going to get there... sometime soon. Right now I'm still working on listing a few last minute things in my shop.  I always say I'm going to start early and then I underestimate how much work is involved in all of this!! So you may not see much of me for the next week while I finalize all my preparations for the holiday.



christmas is coming
via





And I haven't even started on Christmas cards yet... somehow it will all get done. If it doesn't, oh well.... because the point is I want some time to actually enjoy the moment.  To see the lights and hear the Christmas music, to enjoy time with family and friends.  It really doesn't have to be perfect, even though that would be nice. Hasn't it been said that perfection is overrated?

So I think tonight after I finish this post, I am going to curl up with the my lap cat (Guy) and a cup of hot cocoa and watch some sappy Christmas movie.  I've been recording a bunch...
........that could be a whole other blog post.

Happy Holidays ~~ Diane






Friday, October 4, 2013

An Autumn Poem

I was looking around today for a nice little Autumn poem and just couldn't find anything I really was in the mood for. I was checking my bookmarks and came across this goofy website poem generator that I had saved.  I have used it a few times just for fun, and decided today I would have it help me write a poem.




I  used the generated poem for inspiration in the poem I wrote below.  Sometimes it's fun just to play!


Autumn's Rosy Red Apples
I could stroll down this path forever
  overjoyed with a lovely orchard
  full of rosy red apples and orange pumpkins
  breathing in the blustery brisk air
  feeling the sunshine on this autumn afternoon
  what a gorgeous way to spend the day.

Look to the blue sky
  the leaves are falling like confetti on the grass
  orange and reds glimmer on the pond
  the reflections draw my eye down towards
  water as the leaves float to and fro
  isn't this enjoyable? Gorgeous!

I could stay here forever
  so if on a carefree whim you happen
  on an orchard on a warm and
  sweet Autumn day
  you may find somebody
  happy go-lucky adoring
  the rosy apples
  and it might just be me.
                      ~~CraveCute







My other inspiration for the poem was my trip to Jim's Apple Farm  a couple of weeks ago. I hope you have all been able to get out and enjoy some of this beautiful weather.  We are getting some blessed rain finally, but next week is predicted to be gorgeous again!  We are barely into Autumn and Winter is already nipping at our heels! We have snow in the states just west of us and I am NOT ready for that yet!















































Just follow the orange pumpkin-ed road to the end of the row and you have a great photo-op for your family! So cute!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! See you in blog-land! ~~ Diane


Linked with Common Ground


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Look Closer


It's hard to believe we are half-way through August! Where did the time go?
With the family reunions behind us and the garden getting back in shape, I plan on taking some time just to enjoy what is left of the summer. I have found a way to make summer last though. Photos!

I love taking these macro photos and I especially enjoy having them to look at now and then during our long winters. It's nice to be able to spend a few minutes examining their intricate designs in a way that isn't always possible while in the garden. 

The Dianthus flower above looks as though it has been clipped with a pinking shear.  

The flower color as delicate and lovely as if painted by angels!















Why this is called a Tiger Lily and not a Leopard Lily I'll never know! It has spots after all, not stripes!











The whirled beauty above is the seed head of a clematis flower.


















This pink delight is called Queen of the Prairie and it reminds me of cotton candy!









































As you can probably tell, I love the dark pink flowers, as in the Bee Balm above. I am always searching for more flowers in this color!










I hope you enjoyed taking a closer look at some of my garden flowers. Thank you all for visiting and leaving your lovely comments.
 ~~ Diane





In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
                           ~~~ Aristotle ~ Greek philosopher




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