My Grama's Soul

O.K. people.....here's the thing....We are all in this together, so do something wonderful for yourself.  Please bring something beautiful into your home.  You deserve it, your emotions deserve it, your family deserves it, and your space deserves it. If you lucky enough to have a yard....go out and whack on some bushes and bring some greenery inside.  I've  done this here with  trees and bushes that are flowering at the moment.  I can't go the grocery store and buy fresh flowers because of our stay at home mindset right now..but I can raid my yard.  Things in pots count too....go cut off some stems of greens and put them in a little vase inside.  You would be amazed at what this little bit of effort does to your immediate space. One can only image how long this "sheltering in place" will be in effect but don't let this bump in our society let you lose your long term goal of living and having a ...

  Each year around Mother's Day Trader Joes has glorious peonies.  Sometimes they are a light whitish blush color  and sometimes they are the bolder warmer pinkish color as above. They are always reasonably priced at $7.99 a bunch.    You never know how they are going to open..whether they will remain a bright pink or fade to this glorious blush color.  This particular  bunch has flowers the size of saucers. What starts out like this becomes this..... They truly are the most gorgeous of flowers. Takes one's breath away. Just sending some  beauty out to this wonderful world of ours. Stay well and happy. Jo

ENJOY!! Jo

SENDING BEAUTY AND HOPE OUT INTO THE WORLD. xo Jo

"Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism.  It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out."     Vaclav Havel Life goes on.......no matter what happens in it!!! xoxo Jo Pic by me taken while traveling across this magnificent country of ours.

All of us, at one time or another, have had to make a transition in our life.  Well, at sixty-six years old, it is finally time to make yet another one in mine.   My wonderful husband and I have decided to sell our large home and downsize into something more manageable.  We have been here almost 12 years....live in a wonderful area....have beautiful neighbors and certainly will miss this spot.   However, I know something even better is around the corner.  The biggest concern now is what to do with all the "stuff" that one does seem to accumulate over a lifetime.  Of course, we will keep things we love, but out of necessity we will part with things that no longer have any significance in our lives.  I want to do this move while we both are still alive so as not to be overwhelmed when one of us do eventually pass. I am feeling a little overwhelmed at present...but I do know that this process will take time.  It is kind of like ...

Do you have ungrateful people in your life?  I know I do.  Some of them are more in my life than I desire...but I do try to weed them out as I can. It does seem that a sense of entitlement goes hand in hand with a lack of gratitude.  I believe we American's as a whole believe we deserve the PERFECT life....since we believe we live in the perfect society...or so we are told in every way possible.  There has never been the perfect life.....nor will there ever be. Life is difficult at best and at other times it seems as though events are insurmountable...as the recent Boston Marathon can attest to.  Our  country is one of the few in the world who don't have to live every day with a constant threat of danger.....I MEAN CONSTANT....examine Israel....for just a small example So...on this day.....after yet another tragedy.....I vow to up my gratitude quotient....by focusing entirely on what I have instead of what I don't have.  A...

Actually, we are not in the middle of a field of wild flowers......nor are we here..... floating in the middle of this beautiful lake.........we are here.... Hope, Idaho.....population 78......the views of  wildflowers and the lake are everywhere as you drive along the highway....incredible.. aren't they?? A little more local color........ Cute funky little cottages.....looking out on a potager garden... Inside the main store, which is the first photo of this little community, there is a restaurant, gallery, lending library and a little local meeting area  situation (I think)... gotta love that purple door..... I would love to live in a community where I could paint my house ANY color I wanted..... Perhaps next time around....eh??  LOL Hugs from this little artist community. Jo

If I slow down long enough....and REALLY pay attention....I can usually figure out where I have missed the mark. I've visited with a few friends...and listened to their input...which I value greatly...their open sharing always seems to make the load a little lighter. Anyone who has followed me for any length of time knows of the addiction problems that have troubled my family for generations.  This disease can stay in families for generations and one can certainly become worn out fighting the battle. My sweet husband and I are no exception.  In fact, our tendency is just to want to ignore the problem, get them out of jams, ignore their hurt and ILLNESS and carry on with OUR LIFE.  It does not mean we don't care....it just means that we are so uncomfortable with the situation and so very tired of having to deal with it.  Well.....we are still in the middle of the mess.....however....with a change in tactics.....I hope we can see some light at the en...