Doing what you can from where you are right now…

Here we are at the last week on November.

These sweet ducks were swimming on the pond when I took a cold walk last week.

Saturday night brought the abrupt change from Fall to Winter weather.

I spent a lot of time thinking about those ducks and the little birds that have been happily eating at my bird feeder on the back deck

when that cold, cold, cold wind was upon us yesterday.

I was thinking about their bravery and strength to face the winters here,

exposed to the elements as they are.

Also made me think about the people who were not as blessed as I am

with a cozy shelter, heat and an abundance of warm clothes to choose from.

My thoughts led me to great gratitude for all that I have and for how really blessed I am.

That carried on into this mornings meditation, where I placed this little green treasure on my simple altar during my quiet Being moments.

My blog friend Kim from “art in red wagons” has created these little sea glass treasures to help raise funds for ShelterBox to help those stricken by the typhoon in the Philippines.

As we celebrate and give thanks for all we have this week,

I hope to spend time remembering those who do not have as many blessings as myself in this moment,

and find little ways to help

and do what I can do to share the love.

Happy Monday, Beautiful Ones !

Be extra kind where you can today !

I am giving thanks…

Just little bits of sweet joy from a long Thanksgiving weekend in Quebec…

We got to meet Patine, my friend Suzanne’s new baby Old English Sheep dog.

Man, is she cute !!!

Chica was a great older auntie dog to her, playing a lot but also showing that little one some limits.

So much fun to watch !

Sunday, we traveled to my sister Kristina’s in La Conception. Quebec (near Mont Tremblant).

There we got to see this little cutie, Miss Kate, who Uncle Dave and I adore !

Dave loves her so much, he even lets her decorate him.

I am sure he won’t mind me sharing this pic of him on the internet.

Right, Honey ?

Along with Katie, her brilliant bro and fire keeper, Thomas, and their mom and dad, we had a Thanksgiving feast with 18 other lovely members of our family !

Such an amazing group of people. So much good conversation, great food, hugs, laughter and good family loving !

 

I was too busy soaking it all in to take too many pics, but I did capture a few, like my shiny Mom and and sister,  Kristina, Natalie squeezing her daughter Jessica tight, and Miss Katie hanging with her other aunt, Natalie.

Along with Thanksgiving, there was a continuation of the birthday festival for me !

I am so blessed !

These are just some of the sweet and loving birthday gifts I received !

I think the glow from this wonderful weekend will last for a long while…

Happy Tuesday, Beautiful Ones !

Enjoy the gifts of this fine Fall day !

Share the Joy–Giving Thanks !

May your day be filled with sweet, joyful moments

and abundant gratitude.

Big Love !

Touching Heaven…

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. -Johannes A. Gaertner

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate this day !

As you

I hope you and your loved ones will take time to

for one another and for the abundance of life’s good things that we share.

And also remember that

Big Rockin’ Love to you and yours, Beautiful Ones !

I am grateful for:

David, my sisters, my mom, my extended family, my dear friends, near and far, my furry kids, my bed, cotton sheets, my dad and all he taught me, a good cup of coffee, the ocean, my creative eye, my art, my on-line life, giggles and deep belly laughs, the release that comes with tears, my cozy house, chocolate, birds, tulips, Gerber daisies, poppies, fresh veggies and fruits, baked stuff, books of all kinds, smooth rocks, paint, LOVE, words, my camera, Katie, having been a teacher, meditation, shoes, cotton, silk, color especially purple, turquoise and green, oh and red, cereal with bananas, kisses, hugs, loving touches, massages,and…

life,

precious life.

(As well as Thanksgiving, it is Share the Joy Thursday. Check out the joys that other participants are thankful for at Meri's Musings ) )

It is Thanks Giving Time !

Tomorrow is Thanks Giving here in the US. David and I just finished saying how it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving very much this year. We are invited to his Dad's house and actually have very little prep to do for the holiday. It is his brother Richard's 50th birthday so we ordered a lovely big cake from the local bakery so I don't even have baking to do. I am not complaining - the slower pace is nice. But it feels different...

The whole holiday thing really has me thinking this year. Thinking about the what, why and how of what we celebrate. Not thinking about it in a Bah-humbug ! way - more like in a "How can I make this more meaningful ?" kind of way.

The answer so far ? I guess for me it is getting back to basics. We celebrate the holidays in order to spend time with those we love, to rejoice in what is good and to share the love we have for one another.

I am going to try and keep that in mind as I go through the preparation, the gift-buying, the planning, etc...and also on the days themselves. It is making me question each "act" that I usually would perform without so much thought, and definitely with more of a sense of urgency and stress.

This year, I hope to be a little mellower about the whole thing as I lower the expectations, examine what I really "need" to do and why I am doing it, and maybe let go of a few things or at least keep things a little more simple. It feels really good to do this - kind of like a gift to myself ! ;)

This way I can maybe get back to the basics of why we celebrate the holidays in the first place...coming together in love. Now that is definitely something worth simply celebrating !

I would like to wish all my friends celebrating Thanks Giving a wonderful day filled with memory making moments, love and laughter ! So much to be thankful for...

Cheers, Beautiful Ones !

Focusing on what is Good and Strong...

So my wonderful Mom/Guru and I were having a chat about forgiveness this morning.

These are her words that ring in my head after our talk...

"Forgive yourself first."

"If you can't forgive yourself, what hope is there for the rest of the world ?"

Her words and the quote from John Ruskin inspired this journal page this morning :

"Do not think of your faults; still less of other's faults.

Look for what is good and strong and try to imitate it.

Your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes."

So the question is now how do you forgive yourself ?

Well, the answer is right there in the quote.

"Look for what is good and strong and try to imitate it."

So on this day, so close to Thanks Giving Day, I decided to look for what is good and strong in my Self and express my gratitude, my thanks, for those qualities. Focus on what is right, and you will get more of it, right ?

Here are a few things on my Good and Strong Kim List :

I am so grateful for the fact that I am learning to focus on what is right with me instead.

I am grateful for how I love with so much of this big heart.

I am grateful that I am always trying to do better.

I am grateful for my openness to see things differently or to take another point of view.

I am grateful for strength that pulled my Soul up out of some pretty dark places and brought it so far into the light.

I am grateful for me, the Child of Light that I am.

Forgive yourself.

Give hope to the rest of the world.

Have a beautiful Tuesday, my wonderful Good and Strong friends !