I started this blog to share some of the thoughts I have along the journey of life. I love to travel and spend time with my family and friends. A good meal, breaking bread with those I love, gives my life meaning. So does travel. I adore dreaming of sites to visit, not just to check them off on a list. Rather, I consider myself a student of life, traveling as an explorer, to open my mind to all the possibilities the world holds in store for me and for others. I love to travel to discover how different the world is in terms of climate, cultures, politics, terrain, economy, etc. but also to discover how SIMILAR the people are. Despite language barriers, much can be communicated with a smile or gestures. Language is simply a means to communicate, yet there are so very many other ways to communicate. Once when I was in French-speaking Canada, I realized that my 7th grade French class didn’t teach me the word for “straw”. However, when I thought about it, I was able to communicate to the very French-speaking waiter in a very French-speaking restaurant about my need for a “cylinder through which to drink” in my limited French vocabulary. Travel challenges the mind and soul, stretching us to problem solve and form conclusions about all that we experience. THAT is the type of travel I enjoy best. “All’s well that ends well”, as they say………….”Life is Good” as well.
“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’…”
– Alfred Lord Tennyson
“What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.”
-Vern McLellan
“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.”
-Raina Maria Wilke
“Let your heart be light…
from now on all our troubles will be out of sight…
Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.”
-from “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by Hugh Martin
“A merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
No matter where or how you are celebrating Christmas this year, I wish you peace and joy with those you love, wherever you are, this year and always.
Spending Christmas in quarantine with only my immediate family gives me plenty of time this year to concentrate on Christmas breakfast when I am usually preparing the meal for mid-day for our guests. Christmas breakfast isn’t a replacement for our extended family gathering together, but we’ll look on the bright side this year and always. Qurantining at Christmas with my husband and daughter who have covid is different than we imagined Christmas to be this year, but we count our blessings anyway. They have only mild cases, so we have plenty of things for which to be grateful and time for home-made cinnamon rolls and a surprise breakfast casserole in the crock pot when they wake up. And then there is always making the gingerbread house together later on in the day this year as we always do; it always makes us laugh together, which is something we need during this pandemic.
Life is good; carpe diem, friends…and enjoy this magical day!
Tonight a rare phenomenon happened in the skies above us, about a half hour after sunset here in Florida. It was visible elsewhere, but this is the time that I experienced the “Christmas Star” or the conjugation of Jupiter and Saturn, which appears to the naked eye as one great big bright “star”. The last time this has happened like this was eight hundred years ago. A similar event, “The Star of Bethlehem” is theorized to have happened at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, although that “star” is theorized to have been the conjugation of Jupiter and Venus at the time.
…”Star of wonder, star of night
Star of royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding..”
-from “We Three Kings” by John Henry Hopkins Jr.
While looking up into the sky tonight, I couldn’t help but wonder who the people were who saw the very same thing that I saw tonight. I wondered how they looked, how they dressed, where they lived, and what they thought about. In 1280, in the Middle Ages, I know they were very concerned about disease and were likely thinking about leprosy that very night, as the bubonic plague happened a bit later than that. While they were looking up into the heavens, were they witnessing this beautiful event, thinking it was a brief diversion for that one moment from the things that weighed heavily upon their minds, such as disease and pandemics, like we were? One moment of a sparkling wonder might have been all they needed to refresh their minds, even for a moment together with those they love during their holiday season. One moment of wonder. One moment of joy.
“May your days be merry and bright.”
Fa la la la la, la la la la….
Life is good; find the wonder and joy somewhere in your day today. Carpe diem, friends….
“Once I decided to take control of my destiny, I harnessed the energy that I had buried deep inside me and pushed it out. Once I told the universe who was the boss, the universe took a back seat, and I created a new reality for me to live in.”
-from “Rowing Against The Wind” by Angela Madsen
“Rowing Against The Wind” is the amazing story of a former US Marine who was injured while on duty. After several difficult (“botched”) surgeries and a broken neck she sustained from another injury, she became permanently disabled as a paraplegic. She sustained many significant losses as a result, including losing her house and was homeless for a period of time. However, through cultivating a different mindset, she persevered and ultimately found success as an athlete who won a bronze medal in the ParaOlympics in London. She found her love of rowing and was one of the first woman to row across the Indian Ocean. She was the first woman with a disability to row across the Atlantic Ocean and held six Guiness World Records. She was a real mover and a shaker.
After experiencing so much anger at her situation early on in her disability, it was later after falling from a train track in her wheel chair that broke her neck that really caused her to re-think her situation. She decided to use her gifts of leadership, athleticism, organization, and dedication to continue to live her life in a new way, finding ways to enjoy her life despite her setbacks.
She died doing what she loved in 2020, halfway through her solo row from Los Angeles to Honolulu.
As the French say, “vouloir c’est pouvoir” or what the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve. To want something is to be able to do something in loose translation.
Find something that drives your life. Love living. Find your passion.
Life is good; carpe diem, friends…………
I met Diane about thirty years ago when she was middle aged and I was a young adult. She and I worked together, and she was one of the most inspirational people I had ever met at the time. My first impression of her was a well-kept, slim attractive woman who had a certain “joie de vivre” right off the bat. She wore professional clothing, and her suits were well-tailored. Her skirts were always hemmed well above the knee, as she had legs to show off and somehow knew it. She was always smiling and always looked on the bright side of things, despite her background and the events which occurred along the way. She was divorced and a single mother of an only child at the time of her divorce several years before I met her. She was married to a prominent member of the community but decided her happiness was more important than staying in a stale and loveless marriage. While I wasn’t sure of the details and circumstances of her divorce and had always believed that marriage was a forever commitment, I admired her courage and honesty to herself and others. She left the marriage and the financial stability that came along with it, living by herself at the time I met her in a house she had purchased with her salary. I got the impression that she didn’t work outside the house until her marriage ended. I admired her ability to make something out of nothing. You see, she clipped coupons and searched high and low for shopping deals each week. She told me she treated herself to a vacation each and every year out of the country since her son grew up and moved out of the house. She knew she didn’t have extra money in the budget to pay for these vacations, and that’s why she started clipping coupons. Her goal was to clip enough coupons to finance this vacation each year. I remember her lively laughter when she announced to me that the local market was actually paying for her to try a new product with the double store coupon and manufacturer’s coupon that she used in tandem to bring the price down. She actually did save enough money through sales and coupons to finance her vacation each and every year.
Diane tended to her yard and garden all by herself, as she was strong and very independent. She had a “strong faith” and knew that life was to be lived fully and completely. When she returned from her most recent vacation at the time, I asked her if she had any pictures to share. She handed me a roll of “prints”, which were from the old days of film, to sift through. I admired her photographic technique and how she captured the joyful faces of her traveling companions, too. Almost every single picture she showed me made me smile. One time I bumped into a picture of Diane that had inadvertently ended up in the pile of photos she was showing me. It was a picture of Diane with a sly, coy smile wearing nothing at all while standing behind an over-sized sombrero hat. I looked surprised by the photo, and she laughed saying she forgot to take that picture out of the set of prints that she handed me. She didn’t apologize, however, knowing there was nothing wrong with her photo that captured the moment beautifully.
I lost track of Diane through the years but think of her often. I recently looked her up on social media, and she looks great with the same effortless curly-locked hairdo she always sported. Evidently she is over eighty and now has a seasonal home in Florida with her male companion, who owns a Tesla. They drive to Florida each year in the Autumn, and she still takes care of her own yard there as well. I smile when I think of one of her social media posts that says:
“I have a watch that I bought about 20+ years ago for $1.75..yes…on sale at CVS 90% off!!!…and it tells the same time as a friend’s Rolex that cost many $$$ more…once again……….TRUE HAPPINESS IS NOT FOUND IN MATERIAL THINGS!”
She enjoys the finer things in life but doesn’t need them. She knows how to find true joy and happiness in feeding the ducks, having a good meal with a companion, and spending time with those she loves. She is at peace with herself and her world.
At last account, Diane wasn’t able to take a cruise with her companion in May during the pandemic when the rest of the United States waited indoors with caution. Instead she posted pictures in May of her previous cruise, finding pleasure in re-living the moment, as she knows how to savor her memories. Diane’s introduction on her social media pages says that she “works at living each day to the fullest” under her occupation, as she has since retired. There is a picture of herself and her companion dining with a wine glass toast that I love that captures her essence so well. Along with the photo there is a caption that says they are “brave souls”, as they were the only diners present at the restaurant that evening in Florida in May during the pandemic.
Diane routinely posts pictures of the ducks and lizards that visit her yard, as she notices and finds enjoyment in so many little things. One post on her social media says that “Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breath, smile, and begin again.”
One thing that struck my interest in Diane’s social media page is her feelings about the pandemic:
“I read most of this, and it is quite scary to think of all those DROPLETS Etc. Etc……..at this point in order to not be exposed to anything and go on trying to live a somewhat normal life….I THINK EACH OF US HAS BECOME a HERMIT of sorts…JUST GO OFF SOMEWHERE AND LIVE ALONE IN THE WOODS???? I REALLY DON’T TAKE TOO MANY PRECAUTIONS EXCEPT WEARING THE MASK WHEN I GO TO THE MARKET…AND WASH AND SANTIZE MY HANDS AFTERWARDS but …I SAY ….LIVE AND LET LIVE…IF IT HAPPENS IT HAPPENS….WE ALL HAVE TO DIE OF SOMETHING…AND YES, I KNOW IT DOESN’T SOUND NICE…BUT I THINK WE SHOULD TRY TO BE LIVE A BIT BETTER THAN WE ARE NOW…”
Diane is a class act. A person that takes precautions but keeps on living a full life with intention, despite the world around her. She has learned to live like she is LIVING, not DYING.
Life is good; find your own “joie de vivre”. Carpe diem friends…….
Note: the name in this blog was changed to protect the identity of the subject, and the picture simply reminds me of Diane with her dark curly hair. The picture here is NOT Diane.
An anecdote from not too long ago to share:
My daughter and I went into a drive through carwash not too long ago, as I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time yet to clean the house this week, never mind my car, and decided it would be a quick little thing to check off my list. We pulled into the car wash and stopped on the designated area, indicated by the red “stop” sign. After all, I’m a rule follower. After a minute or so, the “arm” of the carwash collapsed onto the side of my car and got “stuck” against my car after we heard the loud bang it made against the car, not moving for a minute or so, or at least for what appeared to be an eternity. My daughter and I looked at each other and immediately burst out laughing. The arm of the carwash retracted, went back to the “starting position”, and the car wash stopped with soap ALL OVER my car. We could barely see out the windshield. We immediately laughed a little harder. I decided to drive through the car wash slowly to check my car, then decided it likely would be a good idea to go inside to speak to the clerk. She came out, re-set the car wash, and the car wash worked fine the second time. It was, just “one of those things….”
After we stopped laughing, I immediately realized the parallels to life. Life is truly like driving into an unknown car wash like this at times. We do what is expected and what we need to do, yet we have no control over what happens while inside that car wash. We even pay money to help sway the odds in our favor that the outcome in that car wash is what we expect for that moment. However, every now and again in life something happens, and we don’t get the car wash we expected, or planned on, or needed, etc…It is clear to me that life with all its uncertainties happens as it will, and we most often don’t have any control over the outcome. We do, however, have control over our choices about what to do about it. That is, what we do about that car wash IS well within our control. If we explore our options, we see that we can cry, we can get angry, we can become paralyzed with indecision about what we must do, OR……..we can choose laughter. Laughter truly is the “best medicine”. I chose laughter whenever I can, although at times one has to look hard to find it.
I am happy to report that my car no longer has soap on it, it was not dented, AND we had a GOOD laugh over the whole thing. Someone very dear to me once told me, it is the “end of the story” that really matters, but certainly the middle of the story is where the fun is sometimes. After all, life is far too important to be taken so seriously.
Life is good; choose laughter every time you can. Carpe diem, friends………
photo/dreamstime
I know kayaking is all the rage, and I do like a good kayak trip. Sitting “IN” the water has its allure, but there is something about being in a canoe that I like so much better. Perhaps the canoe brings to my mind days of long ago when our ancestors hollowed out a tree to make something they could use in the water to get from place to place. Perhaps it is the hard work and ingenuity of those same people that I admire. Maybe it’s because paddling a canoe can be quiet and peaceful while it glides sleekly ON the water. Maybe it’s because using just one paddle to move the canoe around takes a certain degree of skill, and maybe it’s because using a double paddle on a kayak somehow feels a bit awkward. I’m not sure WHY I like a canoe better; I just do.
This week end we went paddling at Silver Springs State Park in Florida, where numerous movies were filmed. This place was THE theme park where Floridians flocked in days before Disney. This is “old Florida” at its best. Of all the springs I’ve traveled to, Silver Springs is my favorite because of the allure of the possibility of seeing wild monkeys, because of the beautiful butterflies flying about, because of the crystal turquoise waters, and because of the large blue fish found in the waters.
We started our canoe journey at the Fort King Paddling trail, a partially shaded narrow waterway flanked with beautiful foliage that looks like a jungle and is 1.1 miles long. This is an easy paddle, allowing one to stop, look, and listen, along the way. I love pulling over to the side of the waterway to close my eyes so I can hear the birds in the distance. Along the journey, old abandoned buildings that used to be part of the theme park on the site in previous days are dotted along the shore. Upon exiting the Fort King Paddling Trail, we entered the Silver River for an easy upstream paddle for a while in more open waters in the direct sun. Paddling by the hundred year old glass bottomed boats still in operation at the park gives a sense of continuity and connection to the past while peering into the depths of the water at some point where there are a few underwater sculptures (and site of the filming of a movie scene in the movie “Thunderball”).
After leaving the Silver River, we paddled again through a more narrow waterway like at the beginning, shady and flanked by beautiful foliage on either side and then under a bridge. The trip brought us in a circle to where we started.
I can’t help but draw a parallel of this circular loop canoe course to life in my mind while paddling quietly through the waters where Native Americans paddled before me. The shaded narrow waterway at the beginning of our journey reminds me of the protected years of our youth, where the “paddling” is easy. After the narrow waterway, when we entered the Silver River in full sun, I am reminded of our adulthood when we are out in a larger environment with more people and experiences, sometimes “paddling upstream” when things get a bit complicated in our lives from time to time. We are more exposed to so many things during this part of the paddle, including an alligator or two either sunning itself on the shore or in the waters to our sides like we are exposed many new experiences, both good and bad, in our adult lives. From time to time we are surprised and delighted upon seeing something unexpected like turtles sunning themselves on a log in the water while paddling, and we are surprised and delighted in our lives in general when we encounter something new in our adult years as well. After leaving the wider and exposed Silver River, we paddled back to a less complicated place in some ways, like the Alpha and Omega of our lives. Things are a bit simpler and quieter in some ways with less commotion as we age, and the narrow water way at the end of our canoe journey reminds me of those calmer years, closer to home, when we need quiet and tranquil “waters” around us more than ever.
Life is good; find a way to enjoy today. Carpe diem, friends………
My head is spinning today with back to school schedules that fill the lives of most parents this time of year. Seems as though my day is filled with multiple errands in many different directions and trying to remember where to be at what time, as this school year is quite different with my daughter going to school part time in person and part time on-line. Each year, right before school starts, I take out my two year planner to add the dates, times, and things that need to be added to the calendar for the coming school year. This year is the end of my “two years” on the two year calendar, so I need to replace my existing calendar by the end of the year. Through the years, I have come to rely on a certain brand of calendar, as the format is easy to use and there is ample space for me to keep track of the all the things I need to have at a glance (passwords, notes to self, etc…). I also like having a clear vinyl protector with a pocket insert that comes over my planner into which I can stuff appointment cards and flyers from the school and such.
That being said, I have spent WAY too much time trying to find next year’s version of the customary planner/calendar. I know it comes out again in October, but I would prefer to have it now. I was hoping to find a one year version to hold me over until then. I have been on-line for the PlanAhead Make-It-Bigger calendar/planner with a pretty cover far longer than I need to. I have been in the stores for the PlanAhead Make-It-Bigger calendar/planner with a pretty cover far longer than I need to as well. While at the local chain store today in hopes of finding this planner, I smiled when I heard my late father’s voice in my head as though he were standing next to me. He was a simple man who would never dream of spending so much time on something so trivial as this calendar. My father, King of the colloquial expressions, would simply would have whispered to me in that store, “Any port in a storm, Cat.” Cat was what he called me, and he was right. I decided immediately that the BLACK- WITHOUT- A- PRETTY- DESIGN Plan Ahead Make-It-Bigger calendar/planner without the clear vinyl cover with the pocket would do just fine. In fact, it would be more than fine. I could take the clear vinyl cover off my existing calendar and use it with my new black calendar with great results.
Sometimes in life, especially as we age, we can easily (no, VERY easily) get a bit set in our ways. I know I have become a bit set in my ways in some things for certain. But, change is good. Spending excess and precious time getting something “just right” doesn’t make sense if it isn’t something that really matters in the end. Time is better spent getting something “just right” if it is a project, a craft, a recipe, etc. instead. Getting a silly little calendar “just right” simply isn’t worth the effort. “King Colloquial” would be proud of me today. In fact, I am proud of me today, as I grew in some small way and broadened my horizons a wee bit.
Life is too short to be taken so seriously sometimes. Change is good. Carpe diem, friends……….
photos:dreamstime
Lavender lemonade. Such wonderful alliteration. I adored the sound of it, so today on day four of eating (or drinking) lavender, I knew THAT was exactly what I needed to make.
I steeped the lavender only thirty minutes in order to get a subtle lavender flavor to avoid that “soapy” taste I’ve encountered in some recipes. The recipe calls for steeping the lavender several hours alternatively if desired for a stronger lavender flavor.
My daughter really liked this tart lemonade (you can fiddle around with the amount of water, sugar, or lemon if necessary, too. I could see this lemonade mixed with seltzer water or sparkling wine, too, for a different refreshing drink.
Here is the recipe if you want to try this:
Ingredients:
Directions:
Life is good. Give something new a whirl today. Carpe diem, friends………..
I can still hear my wonderful father saying to me time and time again in my head: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” That was him, “King of the Colloquial Expression”, always finding a teachable moment everywhere. A man of few words but words that meant something. He didn’t speak much, of course, unless he had something to say. No idle banter for him, but a pleasant and funny disposition, a kind and loving heart, a warm smile with a sunny laugh, and a man of few words. Life lived well and lived fully.
I think of my Dad today on day three of a week of lavender recipes I am trying. It comes down to the idea of cut the idea of cutting your losses while you are ahead versus you never know until you try. Go the distance; live without wondering what could have happened. Go the distance; risk disappointment but know you tried. I impart these same words to my daughter, “Teen Traveler” and decide without blinking an eye that the proverbial “show must go on”, another quip from my beautiful days with my father before he passed on. Even though we haven’t really cared for the two lavender recipes we tried this week, we will continue in our quest.
Day Three: Lavender pound cake. Pound cake brings to mind simpler, almost more old-fashioned times, as my beautiful mother adored pound cake and served it to me when I was small like her mother did before her. Pound cake, buttery goodness and sweet confection, just like Mom. Throw in a little lavender, and it HAS to be good, right? This time I am going to decrease the amount of lavender I use to see if that makes a difference and pair it with lemon. How could lemon pound cake go wrong with wise words of advice from my father coupled with sweet memories of my mother……
I decided to use my Mother’s old vintage Corningware loaf pan, complete with the cornflower from a lifetime ago filled with less complication, confusion and without Covid. This was either a very good thing to use my Mother’s pan as fond memories of love and comfort surrounded me while I was baking, or…..it was a bad thing because my mother wasn’t much of a baker. In either case, it was fun to take out my Mother’s old pan again if for nothing other than the sake of nostalgia.
Yesterday my track record for yummy lavender recipes was 0 for 2. I waited with excitement as I watched the cake come out of the oven and cool. I used a vanilla confectionary sugar glaze when it was cool enough as the recipe directed.
And I added sprinkles. Of COURSE I added sprinkles, as I had learned years ago from marrying into my husband’s family that sprinkles on our Italian struffali is the ONLY way to go. LOTS and LOTS of sprinkles. My daughter also taught me that life is better, always better, with a little sprinkles on top.
One person who tasted it said it felt like they were eating a scented drawer liner. My daughter said it would be delicious WITHOUT the lavender. I actually liked it, but I would have preferred the recipe to have a little heavier glaze on the top, as it was almost transparent in the recipe, even though I added even more confectionary sugar to thicken it than the recipe called for.
Day three: 1 for 3. Finally a recipe that tastes good (to some of us). I actually think I’m on to something here with the combination of lavender and lemon. Perhaps tomorrow I will try lavender lemonade. You know how it goes…..”if life gives us lemons, we make lemonade!”
Life is good; carpe diem, friends……..
(photo 1:dreamstime)
Carpe Diem with Caye 