For My Sweet Baby Bee

I havent picked up this blog in nearly 6 years, so there is a lot that has not been said, but I want to get to that later.

Instead I want to begin by going back, because there is one post in particular I feel needs to be out there now more than ever. While this is being shared for everyone, there is one young woman I am aiming this to specifically, though truly there are so many wonderful women in my life that I hope will take a moment to watch, listen and to remember its message when the world tries to make them feel less than they truly are.

The world has never been more toxic to each other, but moreso to women specifically, and my heart breaks when I think how those I love are in the path of the same slings and arrows that devestated me when I was struggling myself for so long. But then who am I kidding, because even I need reminding of this from time to time when the world grows so loud it threatens to drown out the still quiet voice that speaks calmness and healing to my soul.

So I hope you take a moment to watch, and even if you find yourself not a believer in the Creator of us all, I hope you will apply it to whatever higher power you do look to, even if that higher power is just yourself. And above all, please remember to cherish yourself even when it seems like no one else does.

What an inspiring message...

This is a must-watch for all women, and it wouldn't hurt a few men to watch this as well...

Take this message with you, and share it with other women who may need it in their own lives.  We are all of a worth that is beyond measure.



WATCH.... and remember.

Sammy

This is Samson... Sammy for short.

Sam is a sweet cat, but he can be a bit of high maintenance. Like when he comes across one of his toy mice. Mice are to be thrown, chased after, and then you come back and demand a new mouse be tossed. Heaven forbid he should actually bring the original mouse back (that is something dogs would do and is, therefore, not to be considered). A good game of chase will end up with the thrower eventually bored out of their skull and Sam asking for "just one more mouse toss" even though there is a graveyard of abandoned mice littering the end of the hall.



"Toss it Dude!"

Sam's second favorite pastime is mewing at the underside of the couch until Richard finally digs out the yardstick and fishes out all of the toys that have been lost to its shadowy recesses. He gets excited as more and more mice are pulled out, until he is sitting on a stack of toys; his very demeanor chortling with glee, "mine, all mine". Forget the fact that there are two other cats in the house that enjoy tossing a mouse about... the mice in this house are Sam's and Sam's alone.

So imagine my surprise this morning when, while at work, I glance down at the floor and notice a flash of orange on my pants... or rather, in my pants.



Sam had tucked one of his mice into the cuff of my jeans, and I had not even noticed it until then.

For the rest of the day all I had to do was glance down to that mouse, still safely tucked away in my pant cuff, and I could feel the smile on my face growing ever wider. A little secret... me in my mousey pants and no one else the wiser. Not my boss, not our customers... just myself and a sweet little ginger cat, waiting for me back home.

Almost All The Pretty Little Stars

I found something fun the other day.

I love the stars... I love to lie there and watch them at night, twinkling away hundreds and thousands of light years away; light only now reaching us, when the star that emitted them could be long gone.

I find it fascinating, and so beautifully haunting. I don't know what exactly it is, but I find looking at the stars almost like greeting old friends. I keep an eye out for my favorites, and it warms my heart to see their reappearance with the change of the season...

Which is why I found this to be so entertaining. Its an interactive star map... you can watch the tour (which is fun on its own) or zip around to the stars you are interested in.

Now not everyone is in there... this is in Beta mode still (and I am trying to not be sad that my beloved Sirius is not included as of yet) but it does give wonderful information, gorgeous images and you can learn something at the same time... how is that not amazing?

The Perfect Purple

I dreamt of helping others to find the perfect purple.

They would come forward, searching, and I in return would pull out just what it was that they were looking for. I would hand over swatches for all who approached me; each piece about the size of my hand and rectangular in shape... and the people would walk away happy, secure in the knowledge that this piece was for them, and them alone.

Soft chenilles of lilac and nubby woolens of a heather hue. Velvets of the deepest plum and satins of a pure periwinkle; the same, fleeting shade as when day gives way to twilit evening.

Delicate shades of amethyst, orchid, lavender, pansy and thistle. Rich imperials, eggplant, mulberry and heliotrope... all these hues and thousands more slipped through my fingers without hesitation, and graced the hands of all those who came seeking.

And I? I did not keep one for myself, but it wasn't a concern, for it was as if a little part of all that I gave away somehow imbued me with a touch of its grace before departing on its new path in life. Each allowing me a touch of the comfort and peace it had to offer, until I felt I could hardly keep from bursting at the bounty laid before me.

It is amazing how certain dreams can stay with you. This dream was from over a year ago, and yet I awoke this morning with the echo of it on my mind.... that same peace, and the warmth that comes from being selfless to others. My simple writings cannot come close to conveying the sweetness that dream has afforded me, but I wish it could.

If it were somehow possible to give the world what it sought after I would, be it even a simple piece of cloth.

The dream, I know, isn't really about colors, or cloth, or any truly physical thing, but about love. Unwavering love, kindness and charity. While I am a hopelessly flawed creature, these are things that I can offer to those around me. I do not have to be a Mother Teresa, serving in the far reaches, but I can be there to those around me. For those in my own little corner of the world.

Such a simple thing.... but one I hope that would have far reaches.

The one in which I compare myself to a cart horse...

Confused?

Maybe you should run over to Four Perspectives and read all about it....

Mothers

Mothers are more than just the women we are born to.

Mothers are also women that come into our lives; women who love and support us.  They inspire us to pursue our dreams and provide an outstretched hand to help us when we fall.

My Mother, Kathy

I have had the privilege of having three absolutely wonderful women in my life.  Women who have loved me.  Women who have stood by me and been there for the ups and the downs.  Women who have supported me through marriage, through divorce, through trials and tribulations.  Women who have shared my sorrows as well as my joys.

 Women who have loved me deeply, and who have been deeply loved in return.

My Mother, Arlene

So I wish to take a moment to say how much I appreciate them.  How grateful I am for the Lord bringing such wondrous and kind angels into my life.


Women who have molded me, who have shown me what it means to be compassionate.  Mothers who have given me a model after which to pattern my own life.

My Mother, Patsy

 Words cannot say enough just how much these women mean to me, but, until greater words are created, I love you will simply have to do.

What a Wonderful World

You just have to love David Attenborough...

Longer update...

Hey everyone...

Married life is going well. At some point all of my junk will be at the apartment, where I can start unpacking it, tossing some of it, and making our place look more like a home. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to work, go over to the old house and pack some more stuff, haul it home and then do it all over again. I am tired.... but its a good tired. I am seeing some stuff that I haven't had unpacked since I left Washington... and I am happy to say that I still love the majority of it. Its a good feeling to have a lot more of myself out and about, rather than crammed into one room. I get up in the morning and look around our still fairly empty bedroom and find that, while I know that dressers and the like will fill it up more, I am also happy to have space to walk around.

Last Saturday I went out to Cynthia's and we cleaned up the small mountain of wedding stuff in her garage... some of which is currently sitting in the trunk of my car (and will have to be unloaded tonight). I am glad to have that last task done... and I am sure she and her husband appreciate getting a chunk of their garage back. I really owe them loads for all they've done in regards of the wedding.

I should call our Elders Quorum President about having the guys help move over the furniture items on Saturday, but I would rather do it the following weekend, since I will be able to rent a U-Haul then, instead of having everyone help me do multiple trips with a pick-up. It would be nicer (and much faster) for the guys to be able to get everything into one big load. So I am thinking Richard and I may grab the truck Friday night after he's off work, do a load that night of my dresser and our pantry cabinets, and then we will do one more load of my bookshelf, steamer trunk and desk on Saturday before he goes to work. That way I can clear off my kitchen table of pantry items that are nothing more than an eyesore (and a feline temptation to knock over) and Richard's clothes can finally have a home, since he's getting my dresser and I will be using an antique one I found right before his move up here (gotta love beautiful antiques on sale for a really really good price!)

As it is we hauled all of my clothes and hangers, etc etc over to the apartment, so tonight I will be pulling everything out of their boxes and hanging them up, putting them away, etc etc so I can stop pawing through a variety of boxes trying to find an outfit for the day! I figure if I also spend tonight unpacking a few of the other boxes that have been tucked into the office/craft room, then I can reuse those to pack up what little remains in my bedroom at the roommate's place... and its just less stuff sitting around making me feel guilty that its still boxed up and not put into a more permanent placement. I don't like having boxes sitting around....

The more time that I spend in our home the more I love it... but then that's also because I love everyone I share the home with (Richard.... cats.....) Richard loves the cats as much as I do.... and is very tolerant, considering there is usually a cat draped on the bed, chairs, laps at any given hour of the day. Oliver has gotten into the habit of coming in as soon as we're tucked in, just to snuggle between us and purr away contentedly. We're settling into a routine that feels very comfortable and every day finds me loving this man I married just a bit more than I had the day before. Of course its not all wine and roses.... but I know I have a very good thing with Richard. We are enough alike that we agree on what shows to watch, what music to listen to, what activities to pursue.... but we have enough differences that keeps life interesting, but not conflicting.

I'll have to post more later... I have my wedding photos, but haven't had time to do much with them yet. I will try going through a few tonight and posting them.

Gratitude....

(once again, I do not own this image but snatched it off of some unassuming website. I need to start planning ahead and snapping a few photos before these posts!)

Hooray for delivery confirmation!!!! I am happy knowing that a pair of very special items arrived at their arranged destination (sorry to be all cryptic). I just love how technology allows us to know where our stuff is and when it should land on our doorsteps.

More on that later.

Sorry I didn't post a gratitude for yesterday, but it was sort of a not happy day until the very end.... so yesterday's gratitude was for having a listening (and completely sympathetic) ear at the end of the day who really did want to know how my day went and left me feeling good about sharing just one more part of my life with them. Thanks baby....love you!

We all need a good listener on our side sometimes, don't we?

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.....

Woke up this morning to a deliciously gray morning with a hint of rain in the air....in fact we had a bit of a drizzle and I stood out by my car for a few minutes enjoying the weather change before heading in to work. I figured why not....I am not made of sugar, I won't melt and if my hair dries a little funny who cares? It was totally worth it just drinking that fresh rain-drenched earthy smell that filled the air.

Driving down to the office this morning I started thinking of all of the wonderful things the world has to offer that makes me smile and love this precious little planet all the more. I thought I'd share a few of them with you today. Yes, I am sure that I have done posts like this one before (I am much too lazy to actually check) and it probably happened the last time we got a good rain (so it makes me a bit contemplative....deal with it!)

Oh, and not to go all Julie Andrews/Rogers and Hammerstein on you but I really DO love raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Not that this is such a surprise....I think the whole family knows of my love for wool, rain, cats and how I dislike gold and rather love copper and silver instead. You'll probably also know most of the other things on this list.....but then again, maybe you will learn something new.

I still love dragonflies (man do we have a ton of them down here in Utah....except for winter you can't go a day down here without seeing at least a few of them zipping around....and we are talking BIG ones....not the cutesy tiny ones I usually saw up in Washington).

I also still love to watch crows and spend nights stargazing (though the stars are limited here in town.....I love going to my friend Cynthia's house because the light polution is much less and you can see so much more. I still can't see the Milky Way from her house though so I am looking forward to heading up to Dad's in October (if he still wants me!) and enjoying those dark skies!)

Here are a few other things:

I love quotes and poetry....and enjoy finding new ones. I stumbled upon a line of Robert Frost this morning that I don't remember reading before (funny since I have his complete works!) but found delightful: "My sorrow, when she's here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane". Funny how all of my favorite poetry pieces have to do with a love for Autumn....I really need to find time to start writing poetry again.

I love squids (not as sushi) but I find the science behind them fascinating. It ties into my love of oceanography and all things underwater but everytime I find a book on the giant squid it somehow finds its way into my shopping cart or gets hauled home from the library. I've also begun collecting some "squidy stuff" from Etsy.......bad, bad Etsy! Which reminds me I need to find someone with a boat who would be willing to take me out....I haven't been out on the water in ages and miss it. Driving out to the lake and sitting around just isn't the same thing as being out ON it...bummer its too polluted to swim in.

I love the maple tree outside my work window and the pines across the street that I can look at during the day. I miss having trees around me.... my little Norfolk pine and ficus trees are growing nicely though...for now they'll have to do. I look forward to maybe moving to Oregon someday where I can be within driving distance of the ocean and be surrounded by my beloved pines. I'm thinking about taking a "mini vacation" of just a few days in the spring and driving over to the Redwoods....if Dan and Bill can let me go for a few days that is, as our busy season starts April/May.

I love gloriously blue skies in the winter when the world is covered in a blanket of white. Typically those are your colder days but I love the contrast in colors....and its funny but the sky always seems to be the most vivid shades of blue in the winter.

Wood smoke....

The bright orange of a field full of ripening pumpkins....

The promise that Halloween (undoubtedly my favorite holiday) is just around the corner....

And with that the joy of knowing fall is nearly here!....

The taste of homemade pumpkin butter spread on my toast in the morning....

"Girls Night In" at Cynthia's house....

Finding inspiration for all new crafty designs....(finding the time to make them is another thing!)