Simple Pleasures...but Above All LOVE

“After all," Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” 

― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

I love a clothesline. 

 It's the bright colors of our wardrobe, dancing in the breeze...

 I love seeing that I'm provided for, blessed.

There are many many reasons...

 I just love a clothesline.

I love a sturdy mug, handmade and fired and smooth.

I love knowing that someone shaped it with their hands,

they were proud of it when they were done.

So proud, that they etched their name in the bottom. 

I love tea outside by my clothesline.

The cherry tree bloomed its first few flowers. 

I can see them from my clothesline, cup of tea in hand...bees buzzing about. 

My feet are tickled by the upcoming grass and a robin struts nearby,

calling out. 

It's a spring day ... nothing remarkable has happened except for the extraordinary.

Love. 

I glanced up from my garden and was overwhelmed with love,

and the knowledge that right here....right now...

everything is okay.

 In this present, even though there are parts of my mind that are troubled,

I can be okay.

Even though their are pieces of my heart that ache often,

 that sometimes struggles to let go,

to work through...

I am blessed here and now and Loved.

I have a clothesline, a tea cup, flower blossoms and smiling children. 

Everything is okay and when there is Love.

We will be gone for a bit ...taking a long road trip.

I hope to see you again soon.

Before I go, just a few glances of some of the finer things that have been going on about me...

~ Sewing machine out again...thrifted linen

~ I accomplished the teeniest of sewing projects ever (a new valance) but I felt 

very glad on the inside :)

~ my simple handmade spring wreath ... green is so very friendly...don't you think so?

~ I was at TJMaxx the other day and saw some planter boxes that I adored. I didn't so much care for the $40 tag that came with them. So, a little eyelash batting and a "baby...do you think...?"

Viola ... and a new free planter box for me (lumber was gifted)

There was love.

~ beautiful pincushion made it's way to me from Arkansas from a dear friend.

Three of them to be in fact...I'm rather swimming in homemade goodness right now.

~ Ah yea,  let's not neglect my house numbers and that handsome number on the left. 

I found this on pinterest and adored it...he created it.

He's a good man yall.

~ last but not least...I think I'm getting closer to choosing an exterior house color.

I'm pretty in love with the English Channel with white trim and our cedar siding. 

Have a lovely week friends finding your own simple pleasures. 

~Alyssa Spring

“Home isn't where you're from, it's where you find light when all grows dark.” 
― Pierce Brown, Golden Son

The Beautiful

 I looked out the window

to find the sun setting in the west...

 creating cloud mountains in the east.

Glowing purple and yellow and orange,

radiant puffy cloud mountains,

like sorbet piled up on top of the world.

Then the birds came.

Soaring high up in heaven, dipping through the air

intentionally, freely...gracefully,

they called to each other their night song.

I flew with them in my mind,

through my camera lens I flew.

Sometimes I stare at things that are beautiful...

I think because I can't quite understand it.

Then there is the part of me that stares because I know all of it.

Beauty is terrifying because when it's truly beautiful,

authentically beautiful,

it changes. 

A river rising and bubbling and freezing...changes.

Trees stand still, sometimes bend....lose their covers...them magically knit together new ones. 

They change.

The sky...sunshine breaking through black...then to blue, back to orange...and then black

glowing with moonlight.

It changes.

We do too I guess.

When you are beautiful,

you grow...in every possible way.

Your heart gets bigger, kinder, gentler...when you are truly growing towards beauty.

Your hair silvers with the natural way of things,

lines streak  away from your eyes and hug your mouth...

It's beautiful when we see it as the way it's suppose to be.

My children grow...everyday breaking my heart just a little bit more that they are almost gone.

I know there is still time and that they will always be "mine."

Things will change though...they already have.

They are taking more time to themselves then every before.

Their little bodies aren't really that little,

Brady's feet are almost the same size as mine.

In two years, he will be looking me in the eye.

I guess that will be part of the beauty though,

being able to be nose to nose,

looking in each other's freckled faces and knowing that we are friends.

I looked out the window at my world...

and knew it wasn't something to be taken for granted.

It's changing, each day equally valuable,

each moment important.

Every sunset, no matter how golden or blue or purple or nothing...

is another sunset. 

Everyday is another opportunity to find beauty in the changing,

and not stand still,

except of course...

when the soul needs to take in the splendid.

Then by all means

Be Still.

The Wonder and Awe of It

 I would like for you to meet my baby. 

This lovely creature isn't really mine...she's the earth's...God's.

But, just for the sake of sakes, I'm going to claim her as my very special friend...

because you see...

she ate right out of my hand. 

Yes.

I was slow, she was slow...I was patient and she was brave...

and in the end she won a date (not the sit down dinner and movie variety...the nature's candy dried fruit kind) and I won an extra dose of awe and wonder.

You see, it's special moments like these that remind me that life really isn't that bad.

It's actually pretty remarkable. 

Rough though...tough.

This life can be very tough.

I was reminded today that it's okay to be small. 

It's okay to blend in and not be the one with the published books or the scores of friends or a million likes...it's okay to be small. 

It's okay to not be seen.

It's okay to not be heard.

It's okay to not be admired or thought of or envied.

It's okay to not be noticed by the universe because , in the end ... I'm noticed by the One Who Loves Me Most. Maybe I'm not so small after all. 

"Look at the birds, 

free and unfettered,

not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. 

And you count far more to Him then birds."

- Matthew 6 The Message

Free and unfettered...dancing through the sky, soaking in the warmth of the sun,

dipping in and through the clouds,

 the wind rushing over and beneath and around,

the cool air gliding off the backs...sparkling, free of expectation 

free of "description"

simply just being. 

He cares for us even more then He cares for the birds...more then I care for that little deer...

more then I care for my blue eyed babies. 

Yes, I've been reminded today that it's okay to be small, to not have a "title"

...because it's then, and only then...

I can be lifted. 

It's then and only then that I can truly be vulnerable and brave.

It's there in the smallness that I can see exactly who it is that I am,

not who I "need" to be to feel important. 

The sky has been changing a lot lately - clear and blue, then a build up of unreleased storms.

The sky never gets old....never loses it's authentic beauty and it's serenity and it's power. 

The sky is beautiful because it simply is itself .

"Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief,

your body fills up with light."

- Jesus

I am reminded to simply be.

I am reminded to simply be who I should be - 

a little person in a very big world

with wide open eyes,

viewing everything with a sense of awe...

from soft doe ears to giggling blue eyes to pink and purple sunsets -

and not taking them for granted. 

I'm a little person in a big world that knows it's all for me...

If I accept it. 

That's the gift.

Fruit and a Squirrel

Two Words :

Fruit Art

Three Words :

Sweet Blue Eyes

Four Words :

Sun Bathing Squirrel Friend 

Five Words :

The Pictures Speak for Themselves

Have a lovely Monday friends - the clouds have parted and the sun is peeking out (my squirrel friend is taking full advantage of the rays.) Our day has included coffee with Gran Jan and now learning about the insect world, adding mixed numbers, punctuating direct quotations...and a quick break to laugh at our squirrel for about 15 minutes straight and snap photos of fruit art. 

Blessings to you.

“Reflect upon your present blessings -- of which every man has many -- not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” 
― Charles Dickens

The Rat Race and Plants

A couple nights ago my little buck friend came a visitin'. 

 I called to him from my front porch with the babiest of babiest voices

"hello there you little love you, hellooooo."

I'm pretty sure he answered me back.

Such a little beauty he is...and ever so friendly. 

He's a favorite.

This last week has brought many good things into my universe -

some hard thought and some sorting through...a little recognition,

 but in the end...

very good. 

I took a bit of time considering again what it is that I want for my life, 

and where it is that I'm not practicing what speaks to me, what my soul wants. 

The world is "oh so busy" and I've been made aware that I've been filling my space with noise...

quiet noise that seeps slowly into me and fills my heart....

the noise of the ever impending "rat race."

You know the ones....the "you need this" and "if you accomplished this you would be happy."

Sometimes it disguises itself with good intention. 

In the end though - it's noise that keeps me away from my present.

So, a journal entry it was and new resolutions to continue walking down a road of gratitude,

to love others with all of me but not to invite drama into my life,

to surround myself with support and beauty...

and to give it where I can.

I reexamined where my dollars go, my time...and reinvested myself in wanting to buy less but to buy sustainable, used, and handmade. 

I reminded myself to soak in the sun when I have the opportunity instead of busying myself with the cycle of living but not living (the load of dishes that can wait...the tv show that doesn't actually have to be watched) and to listen, really really listen to music. 

It's always good to be intentional. 

I've been falling in love all over again with my babies, my playlist, my incense burner, my cup of hot tea in the evenings. My discontentment this week was short lived when I turned that frown upside down and remembered that I have everything i need to be joyful...my soul.

“When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” 
― Kahlil Gibran

Anyways, to end this teeny tiny post I just wanted to mention how deeply grateful I am to be part of a plant based community - even if it's online.

 I still haven't met my soul friend that delights in greens and mangoes the way I do (or spotty bananas!), but I feel so fortunate that in this BUSY techno world there is a space to create friendships with like minded people. The online world has been tricky for me to navigate in the past, but I've been enjoying the ability to encourage others and to delight in what delights them. 

Simply put...It's been awesome.

Living plant based is a lifestyle choice I made 5 years ago, and it has brought a lot of healing into my life. My eyes were opened to beauty and texture and color that I never appreciated before. I've been brought so much closer to my Creator through this journey and I think it's come from a place of compassion, a place of being kind, a place of delighting in what He has made perfect for the human body - plants! It's been a journey of learning to be brave and following my heart. 

It's been a journey of being okay that others don't understand me, 

but always having hope that someday they can respect my choice and see it as "good."

It's been a journey of not taking part in death but instead embracing life. 

It's been a journey of awareness and cherishing every little calf or chicken the same way I would puppy or a robin or hamster. God made all of them, with the same feelings and emotions...but for some reason society values some more then others. 

It's been a journey of health and healing my adrenal fatigue and thyroid with nutrients.

 It's been a journey of spreading light and love to all sentient beings...

the cashier with achy feet and a tired mind,

 the homeless man on the corner...longing for love and inclusion,

 the strong mother in Kenya making necklaces to sell fairtrade,

 or the beautiful calf being yanked away from his mother and kept in a little cage so his muscles can't develop so that man can gulp down veal. 

It's good to be intentional

Have a lovely weekend dear reader. 

You are more beautiful then you ever thought, 

You are valued more then you will ever know, 

You are a light in this world that can shine... and should. 

May your soul be nourished deeply by the One who knows you best. 

“Do you know I don't know how one can walk by a tree and not be happy at the sight of it? How can one talk to a man and not be happy in loving him! Oh, it's only that I'm not able to express it...And what beautiful things there are at every step, that even the most hopeless man must feel to be beautiful! Look at a child! Look at God's sunrise! Look at the grass, how it grows! Look at the eyes that gaze at you and love you!...” 
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Pictures of a Thursday

Everything Helps

Sunday feels like the end of the week to me...

I guess it's the beginning. 

Interesting how that is -

some see new, some see old,

some see extraordinary, others ordinary. 

Endings , Beginnings, black, white

glittery, dull.

It's okay to view the world differently, 

but oh my, it's such a wonderful journey

when you search for the art, the beauty, the wonders

that are

"This Life."

The secret is....it's all for something. 

There was a man on the corner the other day,

he was dark and had the most beautiful wrinkled face.

He wore a dark green coat with faux fur edging his face.

His worn hands held a cardboard sign that said :

To Honest to Lie

To Ugly to Prostitute

His humble sign gave me and Zac a laugh.

We rolled down our window and gave him whatever cash and coins we could find...

it was a pitiful amount.

"Sorry man," Zac said "this is all I got on me."

That beautiful face, glowing eyes in the cold, smiled and said

"Thank you so much, everything helps."

Everything Helps.

I know he helped me.

I thought of him for the rest of the day, his picture perfect self.

I wished I had had a camera - I would love someday to travel and take pictures of faces...

faces like his.

 Honest. Authentic. Humble. Kind.

Just thinking of his smile in his hardship, inspired me.

Everything Helps. 

Everyone has the freedom to choose how they respond to life.

Rice can be a feast,

traffic can be a blessing (extra time to listen to the radio?)

wind can be a song. 

"Life happens not in Brightness,

not in Darkness, 

but in the Medium Light of a Regular Day."

~ Emily Freeman

Sunday for me is wrapping up my week, 

slowly in the medium light.

I've been painting, enjoying simple things like changing blues,

sipping tea in a new mug,

the pink glow from my salt lamp. 

I remember the extraordinary parts of "normal" days this past week, 

 like the man and his inspiring sense of humor,

taking a picture of a cloudy sky when I was wishing for sun,

making deodorant for Trinity's dolls ( yes...)

and I tell my soul :

Everything Helps 

~Blessings~