R&R For The Therapy Dog

I have a torn ligament in my left knee ... so the dog doc said (so I was told) to stay off my leg as much as possible for the next 6 to 8 weeks. As you may know, 8 weeks in a dog's life is way more than in people terms ... just think - I am six years old, but in human terms I am really in my mid 40's ... and now it all starts ... my joints are starting to give out. I have overheard Mare and Schwen talk about stuff like this, but who thinks it will ever happen to them ... until one day ... .... it happens .. a jump here .. a wrong landing there .. and everything changes ... a dog is hobbling on all threes.

So ... now ... everything has slowed down ... they keep me on leash - even in the house at times - so I don't run up and down the stairs or run for the door ... I have to wait to be carried. Now, don't get me all wrong - this has certain advantages .... I get extra cookies, I get carried up and down the stairs ... they stay at my beck and call - I just flash those big cocker eyes (especially to Schwen - I have him wrapped around my little paw) ... I sort of got it made in some ways.

The disadvantage is this ... the chippy outside I have told you about before, has the total run of the place. I am injured and out of commission for one week .. and look at what he has done ...



I think he invited more chippy's in with him because they dug a bigger entrance, evidence at hand from the large dirt mound they now have just outside their entrance ... what the heck ... in one week, they have really taken liberties.

What can a dog do ... I can only do so much, and with this whole R&R thing the doc ordered, I am at Chip's mercy.

I have a secret plan ... one night while we are out on the deck .. and Schwen and Mare have let their guard down .. then I am going to make my move. The trouble is ... I usually fall asleep before I can make my move .. this whole injury thing has really taken it's toll on me .. so I tend to need even more sleep these days (can that be possible?). I might need a Plan B.

For now - until Plan B presents itself, or until I get better .... I guess I will take this all in stride and go with the flow. Us dogs are good at that - in fact we invented it!! You have all heard .. It's A Dog Life ... and so all in all, things are good. Another great saying... there is no way to happiness, happiness is the way - and who better in life represents this than dogs.

Off I go for my nap and try to sneak a rub in - if I drag my leg just right, Schwen is all mine - I got him right where I want him ...

Love
Tundie

July 15th - Happy 21 Years

I am a few weeks late posting - but we did have a great celebration for our 21st Wedding Anniversary.

We have been going to the Ali Baba Steak House for the 22 years that we have known each other - and it is a special place for us.

We did a pretty good job of accommodating my new vegetarian life style .. for going to a Steak House :) .... they make the best ever (ever, ever ... did I mention ever?) Caesar Salad right at your table side .. so that for me was the high light of the dinner ... the wine was wonderful, but ..... best of all was the company - and of course, that is what it is all about - could life get better??

It was an amazing celebration of a great marriage - it is lovely when you know you are married to your soul mate.

Mare

Eagle Update

The day after our last Eagle post ... one of the little eaglet's died - it was the older one. It was very sad to read that.
These are some screen shots of the eaglet that we took on June 7th. We had named this little guy Pee Wee when he was first hatched, but as it seems - he has certainly grown out of that name. He is big now and .. I must saw .... has quite the voice to him as well.
It is just lovely and amazing to watch the live camera.






Mare

A Void In Our Life That Will Never Be Filled

This is a picture of our Niece, France-Anne Sweeny.
A tragic horseback riding accident happened on May 25th 2009, and France-Anne passed away May 26, 2009.
It would be impossible to post anything else without paying tribute to a beautiful girl, that lost her life far too young, but in her almost 16 years here on earth, did so much, and as it seems, has inspired and moved hundreds and hundreds of people.

This Article was published in the local newspaper:

Woolwich Girl France-Anne Sweeny, 16, Dies After Being Kicked By Horse
Mishap Stuns Family, Community, Schoolmates
By Thomas Hagey

An Unthinkable Twist Of Fate

On Monday evening, 16 year old France-Anne Sweeny took her last ride on a horse. She maneuvered the animal through and around some jumps and somehow lost her balance and was thrown to the ground where her horse unintentionally kicked her in the head. She was rushed to Grand River Hospital and on to McMaster Children's Hospital where she would eventually die.

Today she was taken off life support after donating her organs to someone else, which means a part of her will live on in our world; a small comfort in what has been an unthinkable week in the lives of her family and loved ones.

It seems that when we reflect on tragedies like this they appear to have been unavoidable. That they are indeed a date with destiny and that nothing short of the supernatural could have altered the outcome. Those individuals left behind, family, friends, school mates --and even strangers in this case--are lost for words...yet they manage to find something to say about this unusually vibrant, exceptional individual.

We are stunned, stopped in our tracks where we quietly assume some responsibility in the terrible outcome. "If only I had asked her to do something else on Monday....maybe it wouldn't have happened." This kind of reasoning is all for naught.

When accidents like this occur, it does make me believe that there is perhaps some painless explanation or a larger cosmic plan which ultimately releases us all from guilt and helps us to grasp the tremendous loss.

France-Anne's contributions to her community and the larger good in her short life are evident in the comments from teachers, schoolmates, family, and friends in her equestrian circles. She was a model human being, with enough hope and dreams to move mountains yet she will not physically do the moving. Why? How come she didn't get to live her dreams? Why was she deprived?

Maybe, if there really is a larger scheme of things, an unseen dimension we keep hearing about, just perhaps now the responsibility to "Make the world a better place" rests with all of those left behind who knew her or even those who are hearing about her for the first time. Maybe it's up to us to "finish the ride" so to speak.

Every generation lives this tragedy. We need to come away from this motivated and changed to add her dreams of change and a better world to our own personal life agenda. Take France-Anne's message forward with you and she will never be gone...you will not see her again (that is our tragedy) but the life she lived and intended to live, will never we gone.

Rest In Peace.

==================

France-Anne was involved with WAYVE (Working Against Youth Violence Everywhere) - it was a cause she was passionate about

www.wayve.ca

The saying that is printed on the back of the WAYVE t-shirts is a saying that I think of everyday:

"Never take away anyone's dignity, it means everything to them and nothing to you!"

So, as was France-Anne's mission in life "make the world a better place" .... this is up to the rest of us now to carry this on.

Through organ donations, France-Anne gave life to 6 critically ill children and sight to 2.
http://www.giftoflife.on.ca/

As the title of this post says, a void in our life that will never be filled - and we don't want to try and fill it.

France-Anne ... you will forever be a part of us, and in our hearts always!

Love,
Schwen and Mare

Eagle Watch

We have been watching this Eagle nest for a couple of months now, the eggs hatched about a month ago - and these are a few screen shots Schwen took last weekend. One chick is about 4 days older than the other. This shot was taken from the close up camera view, which is now not available - (It is available, just fogged up) but you can still peek on them from the wide angle view.

The nest is in Vancouver, and it is the Hancock Wildlife Foundation that has the live cameras set up .. here is a link - http://www.hancockwildlifechannel.org/index.php?topic=cam-sites This nest is the one on Hornby Island.

I just had a look, the Eaglets are so much bigger in just a week. We will see if we can get some screen shots later.

Mare

When I Grow Up

These Delphiniums took almost 3 weeks to germinate, I didn't think they were going to - but one day, there they all were. About 13 plants did sprout up .. here is one along side the seed package so you can see what it will look like all grown up :) They are perennials, so that makes it even more special, I can hardly wait to see them in bloom.

I just can't wait until the time comes to start planting. We have lots of work to do in our gardens actually before that happens - so in some ways I am glad we have a bit more time.

More on the plants next week.

Mare

My New Bandanna

Finally I have my new bandanna that I am suppose to wear when I am visiting my friends on Thursday nights. Schwen and Mare have new tops too, but I have to say ever so modestly, I am the spiffy looking one of the group.

I really got a lot of attention last night with wearing this, everyone I passed stopped the 3 of us to ask about me. Everyone wanted to pet me and ask about the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program. I soaked up all the attention while keeping my calm composure that I am so well known for.

This is a nice sunny day ... and I have to get back to my chipmunk watch. There is a chipmunk that seems to have moved into our backyard, although he thinks he has the upper hand while he taunts me from outside, I am forming my own plan to be carried out when he is least expecting it.

Tundie

Let The Sun Shine In

One of the Marigolds - five weeks old

Lots of leaves are coming and they are all looking healthy

We have lots of thirsty plants. It is tricky to keep up with them, but so far so good. It was a close call early this week with the sunflowers, but they rebounded back. I will get a group shot again this weekend, right now I sort of have plants spread all over the house, to get the most of the sunshine.

This is one of our Nasturtium (below). They are really doing fantastic. When I read that both the flower and leaves of this plant are edible, I planted a second batch of seeds, but none of them germinated. It was a different brand of seeds than the first ones I planted. Oh well, I think we still have about 25 of these guys, so I don't think I will try for more this year.

Now ... for the Sunflowers. This guy is looking tall and content. I have them all tied up to little bamboo skewers I happened to have. The skewers are 12 inches long, so that is about how tall these little guys are now.

Off to water!

Mare

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Veggie Recipe For the Week

Ingredients:

2 teaspoon canola oil
2 teaspoons chopped ginger root
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch broccoli (chopped)
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Directions:
In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and stir for a minute, or until fragrant. Add the broccoli and water. Cook, tossing, for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the broccoli is crisp-tender and the water is absorbed. Stir in the hoisin sauce and toss to coat.I think that I added a bit more hoisin sauce, and I ended up putting in some portabello mushrooms that I sliced up and fried ... then I put this on top of some rice pasta and I first tossed with a bit of olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon. This was a great dinner!!

(Schwen loved it and didn't miss having meat for dinner)

Mare

Plant Update

So, we are at Week 3 with the plants.

Yesterday, Schwen and I transplanted some of the plants from their little pellets to some little pots.

The idea is to plant 2 or 3 seeds in each pellet and then to weed out the smaller plants and leave one plant in each pellet. When we planted the Marigold's ... we put 2 seeds in each pellet (25 pellets). They all looked great though ... so we thought the best thing to do would be to split them and have each plant in it's own pot.

Now we 47 Marigolds.

I think you can see where I am going with this, because that seems to be the case in most of the pellets we have ... we have 2 nice plants in each. We spent hours yesterday splitting them up into their own pots .. we still have lots more to do ... but this little project has taken on a life of it's own.

I am so excited to see how all of this goes. I really want them all to flourish. We are excited about all of them, but the ones we are really interested in are the perennials we planted. One of them being this Pink Pampas Grass .. an ornamental grass - it looks so pretty ... could it be that they really will grow and flourish.

It is funny, all of these plants seem so fragile and delicate. It is so amazing to see them grow, I just keep thinking it is a little miracle how they grow with so little - a little soil, water and sun.

As you can see in the pictures we are improvising big time with flats to put the pots in ... all our cookie sheets, casserole dishes and even rubbermaid lids have been called into action.

As I said ... this project is taking on a life of it's own. Schwen just laughs saying this is only Week 3 .. we have another 6 weeks to go before these little guys venture outdoors ... oh .... this is interesting!

Mare

Earth Hour

So - Schwen, Tundie and I are all signed up for Earth Hour (click on the title to go the WWF site and read more about it).

We have candles ready, the crib board out ... and ready to spend time on Saturday night in a nice candle lit environment.

I am hoping to win the trip to Churchhill that the Canadian World Wildlife Fund is sponsoring (you enter when signing up for Earth Hour). It would be amazing to be there and see the Polar Bears in their natural habitat.

While we are on the subject of World Wildlife Fund ... I have to show you something that Schwen got for Christmas.

You can symbolically adopt an endangered animal .. Tundie and I gave him the gift of an adopted polar bear. They send a little certificate you can display and also a stuffed animal ... this is the little guy we have.

Mare

Veggie Recipe For the Week

Kale Soup

1 large onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups veggie broth
28oz can plum tomatoes
19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 cups chopped kale
2 bay leaves
1 tsp each dried thyme and oregano leaves

Add onion and garlic to a large saucepan. Simmer approx 5 minutes.

Add broth and tomatoes, including juice from tomatoes.
Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, using a fork, break up tomatoes. Rinse and drain chickpeas, then stir in kale and seasonings. (You could add carrots here as well - I didn't yesterday because we were out of carrots).

When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender (about 10 minutes).
Discard bay leaves and serve :)

I don't have a picture of the soup ... I made this yesterday and forgot to take a picture ... but, doesn't this picture of kale make you want to try it :)

I have been on a soup kick lately ... maybe I am getting it all in now while it is still cool .. because Summer is coming, it is, it really is :)

Mare

Plant Update

Since last week we sort of expanded on the plants ... we now have 325 little plants.

The Marigolds are humming along while the Sunflowers and the Nasturtiums graduated to larger pots already .. their roots were way too long to keep just in the little pellets.

I don't think when we started this we thought we would be planting so many seeds. Schwen and I always seem to do this, get carried away with what we are doing.

Although - I guess 325 plants is still manageable, and as tempting as it is to plant more, we are resisting. This is our first attempt at this, so we will see how it goes. If it goes well, who knows, maybe next spring we will have a little stand at the end our driveway selling off little pots of plants :) We can be beside Tundie with his lemonade stand ... I can just picture it.

I just hope they live until May when it is time to go outside.

Mare

Tundie At Work

This is a picture of Tundie while visiting at Lutherwood on Thursday night. This would be one of Tundie's favourite people to visit (and as bad as it is to have favourites, I think this might be true for Schwen and I as well). Having said that, everyone we visit with is special, and we take away something different and special from each person we see.

We have been visiting at Lutherwood (The Sunshine Centre) now for 5 months. It is hard to believe that it has been that long - time does go so fast.

The three of us visiting each week is wonderful. We have a great time .... and the people we see are lovely. We are really building relationships/friendships - the visits are special and meaningful to us, and it also has an impact on those we visit.

Schwen and Mare

Taking In The Sun

These are all the plants (260 little guys). I moved them all here by the window now to get the sun. Some still have their covers on because they have not germinated yet.

The marigolds are in the top left corner - and the plants beside them are nasturtium. They are amazing ... they germinated and sprang up so fast.

I am going to get another package of nasturtium seeds and some more ornamental grass (we planted pink pampas grass seeds).

Tonight is visiting with Thunder .. and tomorrow - it is official ..... it is Spring. What a great week.

Enjoy the day!!

Mare

Dear Marigolds ... Happy Birthday To You!!

So .. in the scheme of things ... maybe wishing annuals "birthday wishes" on their first week of life isn't silly ... they live for a season, so every week is a celebration .... and these marigolds are special to us - we planted them 7 days ago. Just look at what nature can do in 7 days ... a bit of sun, water (and yes, they might have had some Reiki sessions to0 .. I sent lots of love and great intentions for them to grow and flourish).

Here they are ......

We will post new plant pictures every Sunday with their update .... you can watch along while they grow and flourish and then take their first adventure outside in the garden :)

We sort of got carried away with planting more seeds this week ... we have close to 300 pellets in flats like the one above.

Schwen and Mare

Veggie Recipe For the Week

Well, in keeping with my whole spring to coming theme with planting seeds .... maybe this recipe isn't so far fetched ... a salad that reminds me of summer. I love summer ... and it is on it's way!! This salad makes a great lunch with a nice crusty bun.

Chickpea Salad

1 can chickpeas rinsed
1 cucumber
2 medium tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 carrot shredded (optional)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup pitted black olives (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 clove garlic
1 teaspoon honey

1. Cut the cucumber and tomatoes into small cubes, just around the size of the chickpeas. Finely chop the onion. Combine the chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, onion, carrot, parsley and olives in a serving bowl.
2. Place the lemon juice, oil, garlic and honey in a small screw top jar and shake well. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss lightly to combine. Serve at room temperature.

Mare

Reiki

This past weekend (March 8th 2009) I had my Reiki II Attunement.

OK .. let's back up.

I first heard about Reiki when Schwen and I went to Grail Springs in 2006 - that is where we each had our first Reiki session. It made an impact on both of us ... very insightful and thought provoking.

What is Reiki .....
Reiki, a Japanese word pronounced ray-key, can be translated to mean universal life force, or universally guided light. It is a very simple system of healing, carried out by placing hands on or over a person, or animal or plant, with the intent to channel Reiki. It can also be sent, as absent healing, over distance and even through time. You don't need to commit to a belief system in order to channel Reiki, or to enjoy its benefits; all you need is the desire to heal and to be healed.

The Five Spiritual Principles
The five principles are really a guide to living with a happy heart, whatever your path in life, and promoting harmony with the world around you, and they can be considered a healing treatment in themselves.

Just for today do not worry
Just for today do not anger
Honour your parents, teachers and elders
Earn your living honestly
Show gratitude in everything

When did I take Reiki I .....
I took Reiki I in November 2008. I have no idea why I didn't post anything about it, because really it had an impact on my life.

What will I do with it now .....
I will try and use Reiki as much as I can ... of course Tundie and Schwen are my obvious targets for the most part. My intention in the very near future is to volunteer at the local Cancer Unit, I had heard somewhere that they offer free Reiki to cancer patients. I would be honoured to volunteer there and try and make a difference in someone's life.

Mare

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Rekindle The Light

Another great exert from my library book - Five Good Minutes is the following:

I just opened the book today because I was feeling a bit low ... I don't know why, nothing awful - just out of sorts. I thought of the book Five Good Minutes and thought I would have a look at it. I opened it - and this is the page it opened up to ... it felt like a good message for me; and it is also something I wanted to share with a friend of mine has been feeling down for awhile now and is having a hard time pulling out of it.

#18

Rekindle The Light

Each of us has a radiant inner fire, beauty, strength and wisdom. The problem is we forget how to keep the embers glowing. In the dampness of boredom or just forgetfulness, we burn out and turn off. We may not notice at first, but over time our light of hope gets extinguished by neglect. Use the following candle meditation as a guide to rekindle your inner light.

1. Start by lighting a candle by your beside or at your table to accompany you in your morning routine.
2. Stare into the flickering flame and imagine the same flame igniting in the center of your soul.
3. Imagine this fire as the source of your hope, your dreams, your blessings, and your happiness.
4. Feed the flame by offering it protection, compassion and understanding.
5. Remember to acknowledge your inner light daily :)

Mare

The Beginning of a Marigold

Spring Has Almost Sprung :)

New life of all kinds start in the spring - and it is really starting to feel hopeful that spring is soon.

Today is my Dad's birthday - he would have been 86. Actually he would have been a very young 86 year old, as my dad lived a full life, kept himself busy ... and loved to laugh. He was one of the most fortunate men in the world .. he had in his life as his wife 2 of the most amazing, wonderful women you could ever meet. First my mom, who he was married to for 54 years, and then my step mother .. who he was married to for 6 years. My father passed away unexpectedly 5 years ago.

So ... this day when I am remembering and the season of new beginnings approaching - it is a perfect day for planting seeds and being hopeful that spring is on it's way.

Above are Marigold seeds .... Schwen and I planted these seeds last night: Nasturtium, Sweet pea, Marigold, Sunflower (4 kinds), Pink Pompas Grass and Canary Bird Vine.

This is very exciting and we will be posting their progress.

Here is the Marigold's home for the next 4 weeks or so .... since this is the first time I have tried this, this is all new ... so we will just see how it goes.

I can hardly wait to see all these flowers on our deck and in hanging baskets in May.

Mare

Veggie Recipe For the Week

This soup is great ... I made it last week - I doubled everything except the coconut milk and it was fantastic. I also didn't have coriander seed - I will try and have that next time - but without that it was still wonderful :) The next time I try it, I am going to just use water instead of vegetable broth because of the sodium ... I couldn't find a veggie broth low enough in sodium.
Let me know what you think when you make it .... but I know you will love it!!

Mulligatawny Soup

2 teaspoons canola oil

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 onions chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

3 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 teaspoons curry powder

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

6 cups low-sodium, fat free veggie broth

1 medium baking potato (peeled and coarsely chopped)

¾ cup light coconut milk

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the carrots, onions, celery, ginger and garlic.

Cook until vegetables are softened, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and coriander; cook 1 minute. Add the veggie broth and potato. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 25 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.

2. Puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor. Return soup to the pot, and add the coconut milk and lime juice. Simmer gently over medium-low heat until hot, 8-10 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro

Enjoy!!

Mare

Four Virtues

Schwen and I listen to Dr. Wayne Dyer a lot. We went to see him March 2008 in Toronto. During that time, Dr. Dyer mentioned the 4 Virtues as stated by Lao-Tzu, who is credited as writing the Tao Te Ching (The Way). Dr. Dyer wrote a book .. Living the Wisdom of the Tao - his translation of The Tao. This is when I first heard the 4 Virtues - Wayne Dyer talked about them in March 2008.

So .. just now we are listening to a pod cast that Wayne Dyer does (a podcast of his weekly radio program), and he mentioned the 4 Virtues. We also just heard them again in his new movie that we saw a few weeks ago - Ambition to Meaning .. it just came out in January 2009. It is wonderful .. please order it (http://www.hayhouse.com).

So .. back to the 4 Virtues - here they are:

1. Be Gentle
2. Be Kind
3. Be in a space of service .. "How May I Serve"
4. Reverence for all Life

Enlightenment is the process of recovery and returning to your "self". Let go of your ego and live a life of peace, kindness and joy .. this is our true nature .... once we let go of the ego.

This is really great stuff .. and real .. and key.

Mare

Chickpea Curry

I am going to be posting one vegetarian recipe a week. Wouldn't it be great if everyone just for one day ate vegetarian.
I think there are a lot of people that think about it and want to, but they think it is not possible - the thought that comes to mind, is that it would be denying ourselves of something. I am reading a great book again that I got in the summer - Dr. Andrew Weil - 8 Weeks to Optimum Health. Dr. Weil speaks about changing habits - his thinking is that we do not take things away, but gradually replace them with better, healthy alternatives. It isn't about what you can not have, but more about adding positive behaviors - to strengthen and extend habits we have that are already positive. Speaking for myself, I couldn't imagine a year ago how I would ever be vegetarian, but March 30th 2008 I had a shift .. very sudden and not planned .. and here I am - coming up on one year. I have had some small slips over the year ... really not very many at all - but I celebrate my accomplishment and new way of thinking and not dwell on a set back.

I make this recipe a lot ... try it on rice and with some broccoli on the side (or even add baby spinach in with it and just have that on rice) ... it is great!

CHICKPEA CURRY

2 onions
4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt (I leave this out)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 cans chickpeas (14 oz ea)
1 can tomato pieces (14 oz)
1 teaspoon garam masala

Slice onions finely, crush the garlic. Heat oil in a medium pan. Add onion, garlic to pan; cook over medium heat, stirring until soft.
Add the chilli powder, salt :), turmeric, paprika, cumin and coriander. Stir over heat for 1 minute.
Add chickpeas and undrained tomatoes, stir until combined. Simmer, covered, over low heat 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garam masala. Simmer uncovered another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Mare

Say Thank You

OK ... so, this is a book I just borrowed from the library Feb 14th. One of many I found on Saturday - I came across it looking for a different book (that seems to be the way I find most of the books I end up signing out, looking for something else). This one really caught my eye - there are many in the series, but all based on Five Good Minutes. This one is 100 morning practices to help you stay calm and focused all day long.

I was especially drawn to this book because I seem to have a block with meditating. I want to and I know I should - meditate each day for at least 20 minutes. In reality, I have the time, but maybe it comes down to the discipline to start - I really can't put my finger on it. So .. When I saw this book, Five Good Minutes - well, that doesn't seem so intimidating. Of course I have five minutes.

I thought I could just post a sample from this book, I read this one today, and I love the message .... gratitude. This book is really inspiring me to get started.

#64
Say Thank You

This practice is simple, yet profound - and possibly difficult. It invites you to explore and to experience more fully the power of gratitude.

1. Sit comfortably either indoors or outdoors, breathe mindfully for about a minute.
2. Set your intention. For example, "May this practice give me peace and joy."
3. Close your eyes and breathe mindfully for a few more breaths.
4. Open your eyes and look around. As your gaze falls on each thing, silently say thank you (even if it makes no sense!). For example, to a plant - thank you. To a chair - thank you. To a tree - thank you. To a computer - thank you.
5. As you do this, gently let go of any additional thoughts or stories that your mind creates about the objects. Just do the practice: say thank you.
6. Continue for a few more minutes, noticing your own thoughts and feelings without
judgment.
7. End with a few mindful breaths.

So, I am hopeful that this book will keep inspiring me to start on my path to meditation each day ...ooooommmmm. See, it is working already!

Mare

My New Library Card

It has been so long since we posted ... and funny enough - I am starting with my pride and joy ... my brand new Library Card!!

Well, I obtained this card on Dec 31, 2008. I got in right at the deadline of the year .... it was one of my goals for 2008 - so like a lot of things I do, I waited for the last minute. It was not really planned that way. I had chatted with my brother John the night before and he talked about 2 books I should read. I wrote the names down so I could go buy them the next day at a Chapters. Next day, there I am, on my way to Chapters - and I have to drive past our library to get there ... it all just fell into place right then. I talked all year about wanting to join the library .. I was just about to pass the library (another one of my goals made in 2008 for going forward was not to spend money on anything I don't need) it was so perfect. It was like the Universe brought me to that place.

I went in ... such a warm, inviting space. I love books, I used to read so much as a young girl and into my teens - then it sort of dwindled down to... well, not so much.

I signed up - very quick process ... I didn't have to pay anything :) She gave me my card and said "there you go". I was thinking .. "there I go what" ... what do I do now. I kind of smirked and laughed and said (in my quiet library voice), well .. the last time I belonged to a library was when they had card catalogues to look up books - and I am talking about a library in a small town ... so this being in the city where the library is actually 2 floors, this was a bit intimidating for me. The woman laughed .. she said - oh, you are going to love it here. She was telling me about movies, and audio books, CD's .... all the things I could sign out. She showed my where the computers were to look up the books. I was on my way ... putting my tax dollars to great use!! I can pick any book ... almost unlimited ... and just walk out with them ... wow!

The funny thing to this whole exercise .. is that in the end I couldn't find the 2 books that my brother told me to get - although one was there, I saw it on the computer, but that did not translate into finding it on the shelf (I was a newbie at it then, I am sure now I could spot it right away).

I didn't go home empty handed .. in fact, lesson one at the library ... bring a bag. I signed out more than I could carry (well, almost .. it was a juggling act back to the car). I felt like I won the lottery ... I got 9 books and 2 DVD's in total .. knitting, crocheting, 2 vegetarian cook books, Reiki, Massage, bead weaving, card making ... mystery movies on DVD .. and last but not least ... the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar (a new post all on it's own ... that is next).

Well, that is my exciting library story ... I think everyone should join the library .... I have no idea why it took me so long to do that!! Now the fear of all fears ... it came back to me about a week later ... dun dun dun dun ... can I find all the books in time to take back to the library so I don't get fined.

Mare