My Grama's Soul

I'm out here everyday, first thing, doing my little bit of gardening.  Even if it is sweltering hot, here in AZ.  This is a spiritual manauver that is necessary for my well being.  It is a terrific stress reducer and uplifter. Just putting this out there in the Universe for today's thought. xo J0 

Thought this elderly woman looked so "plucky". Don't know how old she is but I hope to be a feisty as she is when I'm her age. Keep on Keeping on.......... Jo

Sending Lillies to all........ xo Jo

JUST SAYIN'......... Jo

Enough already folks.....it is the holiday season!  If you follow the news at all you will realize that our country is so very angry.  In fact....the whole world seems to be angry right now. I get that everyone  is overworked and most of us are underpaid but can't we let go of all this animosity for just a short period of time and really ENJOY this season. I know things are far from perfect on our planet...we've done a lot of things wrong and haven't been paying attention as we should.   But please...let's give it a rest and just smile and greet the next person you see with a heartfelt MERRY CHRISTMAS or HAPPY HOLIDAYS. I know, I know.... I'm on my soapbox, but life is much too short not to enjoy the truly merry times. SO.........MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! Jo

Brad and I have a lunch group that meets on the third Friday of each month.  We rotate turns on picking the place.  Today it was Indian food. Here are we girls being silly in our Christmas cheer. xo Jo

You can never go wrong with flowers! Have a beautiful weekend. xo Jo

I have posted many times about using what you have to decorate around your house.  CREATIVITY OVER CONSUMPTION.....has been my motto for quite some time now. This little house is full of my treasurers  collected over a lifetime during many of our travels both in the U.S. and Europe. Since I would certainly NOT call me a minimalist.....I like seeing all my treasurers and having them around me.  There is a certain comfort from being able to see items that bring back wonderful memories and are also beautiful to MY eye. This is the bathroom off the master suite and the one that I use.  Brad said he didn't care what I did as long as additional construction was not involved.  So I made it MINE.   I have named this little room ANNIE OAKLEY MEETS GYPSY ROSE LEE...Makes me smile every time I come in here.  I moved the feather boas elsewhere as they were a little over the top...even for me! haha When I see al...

This is a second marriage for both Brad and I.  His first wife, though I never met her sounds like a lovely woman, but the marriage just didn't work.  Fortunately, ours has. He has never shared much with me about his first marriage...but as I have gotten older I have been a little more inquisitive about that part of his life. One of my recent questions to him was what his home looked like. He has always loved wood and he has told me that his last home with her had Mahogany doors and window casements.  Perhaps that is why we always have wood floors  when we purchase a new home.   This led to me inquiring about the inside style of his home. He said it was pretty basic...black leather sofa from college days and a few other things they has picked up along the way. Her style was totally opposite mine....not so much stuff!  haha Anyway....as we are talking about this he was looking around our sweet li...

SHOW UP PAY ATTENTION TELL THE TRUTH DON'T GET TOO ATTACHED TO THE OUTCOME There it is in all its simplicity. So easy yet so very hard at times. xo Jo

I've posted before of the difficulty  of a spring or summer garden in Arizona.  In fact, gardening in AZ can be a challenge any time of year....here.   We have lived here going on three years now and I never tire of changing things around or sprucing things up.  In fact, at 70 years young I still get a kick out of decorating and fluffing up my house. These are photos of both the front and back gardens of our home.  Most of these plants have been here for the whole time and they just keep thriving in spite of AZ weather.  As you can tell.....I like a "full garden" look and the more the merrier I say.   For all of you who are still dealing with snow and slush....here is sending spring to your corner of the world. ENJOY!! JO

MY GIFT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US........ found somewhere on the web

What a wise quote for the beginning of 2016.  I plan on staying PRESENT this year and enjoying every minute of it. xo Jo quote:  Values.com

"O.K. God--you take care of the quality.  I will take care of the quantity." Julia Cameron At this point in my life.....I am just stuck!  There, I have said it...and am going to have to do something about it. I don't like being in this spot.  This last year of my life has been so very unsettling, with my huge move and downsize, Brad's serious surgery, and my son's death; it seems as though true JOY is just out of reach.   This isn't a case of the "blues or depression"....I'm still getting on about the business of life.  The passion is gone.  Things I once loved doing, blogging, painting, making jewelry just being creative in some manner have all fallen aside and piled up behind my wall of "being stuck". Friends tell me that this will pass since I have certainly had a lot going on...but I DON'T LIKE BEING STUCK.  Since I believe there is a direct connection between spirituality and creativity...in fact they ...

My friend, Lainey, is one heck of a gardner!!!  She had to leave town unexpectedly this week to drive to Wyoming; before she left she told me to go pick tomatoes as she didn't want the birds to get all of them.  So......I did!! The lemons are ours from our tree out back.  We have been harvesting them for months.  LOL LOL Anyway, I make tons of homemade salsa so these tomatoes are going to be used for this as well as some homemade spaghetti sauce. I'm only growing a few herbs and some easy veggies in our garden out back...since I seem to be a little intimidated to grow REAL VEGETABLES as I call them.   Mint, basil and oregano But.....visiting her garden today inspired me to buy one tomato plant and some cilantro.  I don't know if it is too late to plant the tomato but I'm going to plop it in with my flowers and see what happens. I'll keep you posted! (O: Jo