....Sunday Sermon from the Grocery Aisle.....

Oh how I would love to invite each of you over this morning....to share the smells of home!  As the son sleeps off his late night studying and enjoys his last night in his own bed.....I rise early and begin to cook and bake for the week ahead.  I know that when he awakes it will be to familiar smells of home. 

There is nothing like the smell of cinnamon and rum, oranges and figs simmering to know that Christmas is around the corner.  Uh huh...and this week we have a bake and craft sale at work for a very worthy cause.  So I've got the dried fruit a soaking for a very mini little fruit cake indeed...you will have to check The Mad Chemist for the recipe in the next few days.  I'm also trying a new fig pinwheel cookie which you can check back on for the results of that as well.  Bran muffins are in the oven to be ready to pack up for the son's trip back to University and a case of super sweet Mandarin Oranges are already chilled in the car to tag along and make sure Mom is satisfied that vitamin 'c' is pumped into that young man!  Grin.   Bacon and eggs anyone?  At the slightest stir from the bedroom down the hall....all baking will cease in order to start 'brunch'....and our last visit of the day before the trip back 'home' for him. I haven't posted for a few days....I knew I would be busy....but I was also a bit 'lazy' too...enjoying the adrenalin release that comes with hearing good news. I had Friday off work which was wonderful as I took my time going in to the City to pick up the son.  I stopped in Little India and picked up a special gift for someone...and absorbed all the smells and sights with great gusto.  The wind was fierce outside and the trek a bit cold between shops.  But the best part was that there was hardly anyone about so I was able to browse at leisure.  I am definitely going back real soon...now that I realize how close to one of my routes to University it is.  Spices are more plentiful and cheaper there than here in my small little town.  Next time I will take my camera and treat you all to a tour. After my nose was red enough with the chill to light my way to the north pole I got back into my little Yaris and proceeded to pick up the son.  Being the overly early bird that I always am...I knew I was about two hours toooooooo soon.  (Not anxious, eh?!) So I stopped at the most wonderful old used bookstore that I have ever had the pleasure of finding....you know...bookstores near Universities have every book you ever imagined; old classics in original bindings, poetry, philosophy, oh and on and on!  I loved it.  The ceiling high racks were stuffed with books, this way and that, you had to stand still and let your eyes wander to pick out each title.  Marvelous.  And the sliding book rack ladders took you to the top shelf to finger some old yet familiar novel....yellow pages and threadbare bindings....I was in 'heaven'.  But alas...they did not heat the store well either and I was soon numb with cold.  Stopping in for a specialty coffee I climbed back into the Yaris and made for the Residence Parking Lot.  Still one hour early I took out the pillow and blanket I brought along for the son....I know I know...silly old fashioned me...and covered up for a half snooze and coffee.  It was a picnic in the Yaris...yee haw!  It seemed like just a few minutes and a tap came on the steamed up window....it was the embarrassed son....with his bags to go home. Saturday was 'chore' day....as usual.  And with the son home the weekend flies by like nobodies business (like that expression!). A few tests at the clinic still to be done early Saturday morning, a shared breakfast and then the son was deep into the books...can you believe it that finals are in a few weeks!!!  I can't....it seems like yesterday I posted that he was going to University...how time flies.  And so did the weekend.  Here we are almost to the end and I wish I could turn back the clock.  But there are just so many things to be grateful for...this week has been a reminder to me that although I feel so in control of most of life's situations....I am not totally in control.  And no matter what your faith,  I am sure you will agree when I say that a prayer on the lips and in the heart is held constant when our loved ones are ill.  I wonder then, when all is well....why do we not feel the need to pray anymore?  I offer up thanksgiving every morning....before even tossing back the bedcovers.  And as I live for 'moments' of joy....I find moments of thanksgiving too.....so much to be thankful for.....big and small.  

I have to admit....I am not always thankful....and still I am given moments to be happy and grateful....I am humbled! After dropping the son off at home to study on Saturday I proceeded to do the grocery shopping I should have done on Friday...see The Mad Chemist here.  The son had asked for a few necessary replacement items before he left and I was busy putting them in my cart and complaining about the high prices....things have been 'tight' this year and we have really been feeling it!  And then a rush of negative thoughts filled my heart again like a stone weight...knowing there was still much ahead of us with more appointments and maybe more tests.  Suddenly, I heard an explosive 'deep from inside' chuckle...no...two chuckles.  Loud and clear.  I looked around but saw no one.  As soon as it started it stopped.  I carried on around the corner to the next aisle.  Again I heard the chuckle...two chuckles....and such merriment it made me smile.  Again, it stopped abruptly. I pushed the cart anxiously around the corner to the next aisle but was disappointed to only see two gentlemen....one in his fifties and the other perhaps in his late seventies.  They were dressed rather 'poorly' and both seemed absorbed in reading cards in the 'cards and magazine section' in the aisle.  I was about to reach for a jar from the shelf when the laughter exploded again and I shot a look down the aisle at the two men.  They were laughing uncontrollably as they each held out a card for the other to read.  Slapping their sides with laughter they would stop as suddenly as they started and place the cards back in their place. It was infectious.  I smiled from deep down inside and started to push my cart to the end of the aisle to get closer...maybe to thank them...I wasn't sure.  But I did not have a chance.  To my dismay....a store clerk sternly arrived and ushered out the men...turning to say over her shoulder...".sorry ma'am.....homeless people you know...I'll have them out of here in a jiffy".I should have stopped her...or said they were with me....I just stood there stunned.  These two men had shown me how to find joy and laughter over the simplest of things....and they had so little.
Do you find joy in the moment?  Can you be thankful in the moment?  Oh we have things in life so much better than others do...perhaps that is why we have forgotten to be grateful..   

Let me learn to live in the moment, to understand the magnitude of  miracles...big and small...and to share my joy so that others may be lifted up.

Fasting, Feasting, Cleansing and Car Pooling

I have to admit, yesterday was a bit of a 'washout...both weather wise and performance wise for me.  It was Remembrance Day here and of course, for most of us that means a day off work to attend ceremonies and hopefully truly R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R those who gave their lives so that we may continue to live in a free country such as we do.This day is also the day I usually haul up the Christmas decorations to make sure all is in order for the big 'tree' day.  If the weather is good, I usually pull out the ladder and climb the roof to put up the outside lights too.....even if we don't turn them on quite yet.  Just as Radar and I decided a little outside time would be warranted, it began to hail outside and that stopped the outside adventure...no rooftop skidding for me!  So we quickly came inside...I made soup....Radar watched....and I sipped and read through some Christmas recipes in old magazines.  To tell you the truth, after a stressful week or two of work and medical concerns at home....we just were plumb tuckered out.  'We', you ask?  Yep...Radar too.  Two weeks ago I noticed large chunks of hair falling from his beautiful coat ...HUGE!  So I brought him in to the vet.  They were concerned about his weight gain and asked to do a few tests...sigh.  $400.00 later they said he had low thyroid and had to go on permanent medication.  One more test on his liver would determine the dosage.  Two days later and when I had not yet received a call I placed one to the vet.  Oh yes, they said, did no one call you?  The liver test actually determined that there was in fact no thyroid problem!  He was just overweight......ARGH!  Well, says I....for the $400 I gave you....can you at least tell me what I originally came in for...the loss of hair?  It was suggested that perhaps it was just stress....double ARGH!

Well, to some degree I can relate.  I am not in danger of hair loss...so says my hairdresser shaking her head at my mop!  But I can so relate to the weight gain.....sigh.  To that end I think I would like to get back to my once a week day of fasting.  I used to do this all the time and it is good; for cleansing health, mind and soul...to detox the system.  Does anyone else do this?  I am thinking, cause I am always working...that fasting might not be the answer but perhaps a modified diet for one day.....Can you share your detox day and diet?  It would be great,,,thanks.  Something I would like to share with you too is a 'consideration' I am giving....to volunteering in a more regular way...with a local 'soup kitchen' by baking and cooking.  Right now this is a hobby for me...'The Mad Chemist' thing.  But there is just the hubby and I at home....and all my colleagues are getting more than well fed with my samples...so wouldn't it be nice to give a fancy dessert or entree to those who come to the soup kitchen?  Hmmm....I am so busy so it might be a bit much for me if it is needed on a regular basis...but here is the thing...nothing wrong in exploring it right?  I'll be looking into it on the weekend. Well folks, the son is coming home tomorrow!  Yee Haw.  But for now, it is off to work to the City.  The little Yaris is packed with quilts, towels, water bottles and munchies....for Radar.  Yep...he is my special car pooling buddy today as I am bringing him in for spa treatment...okay...doggie daycare.  But he will have a nice bath and a nail trim while there.  I am working late at the office tonight and he cannot stay at home alone that long.  Despite being a drooling backseat driver....I am kind of used to his ways as we car pool together.  The back and forth rocking motion as he tries to see out all windows...okay...he can't move that much really in the small Yaris....but anyway...the back and forth rocking motion is kind of soothing actually....and he certainly responds to all my chatter.  EXCEPT for the ride home...After a long day at the spa....he usually snores for the 1 1/2 hour trek back to the country.  Have fun today my friends...I surely will!

...and the word of the day is?......

The idea to post a section once a week about the 'good things' in life...the positive...the miraculous...the slightly above the mundane but tipping the scales on the 'good side' of life versus the bad....this was always there in my mind since day one.  I don't want you to think I am preaching in anyway....although heaven knows it might just come out some times.  I do come from a long line of preachers....grin!  And truly, it is not about one faith or another, the ability to look at that glass half full!  No, rather this ability to be in the moment, to have the joy of life is about you...your faith...your hopes, your strength and your courage...your contribution to the moment...these are the bubbles of joy that my hand reaches out to try and grasp, enjoy and remember.  As fleeting as they may be...they are the 'fingerholds' in the wall of life on which I climb...ever searching the tiny crevices of hope and joy to lift me up....its all I need.

I didn't intend to have a long prolouge...this our first (still titleless-grin) Wednesday of sharing big and small moments of positive things, happy moments, joys of the day...things which spur us on.  So I won't go on and on anymore.  I like that we can come here together and share these inspirational moments.  I remember my father once used an illustration in one of his sermons...it compared blessings to a pool of water in which a steady stream of fresh sparkling water flowed.  But this pool was deep and had no streams that left its dark and murky depths.  All the fresh and beautiful water was absorbed by the pool but it was stagnant. .... why?  Beause it needed more than just the fresh water coming in...it needed air and circulation by releasing water too.  We need to understand that blessings (and not just blessings mind you) but certainly those things which bless us, the goodness of life,  needs to be shared....the reward is a beautiful life - a channel of blessing.

Okay, so now I have really gone on long enough and this does sound kinda preachy...sigh. Sorry.  So here is the deal.  I'll post on Wednesdays, something great or small which has taken me along a positive direction for the day, moment, week or whatever.  Seeking the goodness and the joy of the moment...and sharing it.  IF you want to guest post one of the Wednesdays...feel free to email me your contribution.  If you would rather remain anonymous...I can do that too....or...just comment as usual ...your words are affirmations for many who read the blog...not just for me!

Did you see the butterfly in amongst the weeds in the top picture? Such a tiny pure little creature...and this picture was zoomed in many times to try to showcase it.  It had lighted upon this little green patch on a rock and held fast, despite the great winds coming from the ocean and the rains that were falling.  I think we need to find and grasp the beauty and hang on...don't let life's storms take away our promises and rather we need to focus on what we have. I'll be honest, most of my blessings and happy moments come in small packages.  But I've learned to search them out and find them.  I am lucky.  I guess because I like to write I tend to see the world in a bit different way than many I know.  So, ...I am looking for the rise and crescendo of the music in life's play...I look for the bracketed versions of life...you know - 'said with meaning' and 'she smiled inwardly' -  and I can smile myself.  I think if you look for the smallest joy...you are rewarded in such a big way.
I thought all week...which one of these spontaneous gifts of blessings I have been given shall I share on this upcoming Wednesday?  Would it be the 'just when I needed it' gift from a dear friend which gave me more joy in choosing the item than the receiving?  Perhaps the incident in the grocery store when in my haste I rounded a corner with my cart and knocked down a whole display of condoms.  Reaching the cash register the elderly couple behind me were quietly rolling their eyes and putting their hands to their faces as I 'fished' out package after package of condoms which must have fallen into my basket after the crash.  That was certainly a hilarious moment which provided me much laughter later when I needed it!  Hmmmm....or maybe the highlight was spending two days with the son mid-week, despite the frazzled time frame in running about and the seriousness of the medical reason that caused us to be together.  That was certainly a blessing, like the 'picnics' of old....propping pillows in the car, brown bagging lunches and sitting in traffic jams in the rain and wind...warm and content inside with someone I love!

Oh there were so many little moments of joy...'rooftop' moments....which to chose?  And then, wham....yesterday I got a HUGE blessing....great news....bonus joy!  And I was humbled.  Because I was thinking gee...I am going to post about these little blessings and sound all smug and heroic that these small things carry me through...and they do.  But then I was given a big one...just to keep my faith a little stronger...See...yesterday the 'word of the day' was BENIGN!

....choices....such a simple word....such powerful action

I feel compelled today to say what has been on my mind for quite some time now.  I sit and think and rethink how I can impart this but the more I try and formalize or work the words into a coherent and logical fashion the more the message seems to disappear behind the wordsmithing.  So I won't try anymore....I know I have to just let it out because it keeps presenting itself so often in my daily life that I am impressed to speak of it.....

......choices.....

Such a simple word with such powerful action..

to change a life,

many lives or even the world about us.

Or perhaps....

just to change the moment.

When I am overwhelmed or when things feel desperately out of control I am reminded that each step in life is simply a choice.  This way...or that way....to do or not to do...to speak or not to speak...to praise and lift up or to criticize and pull down....to be happy or to despair.....these are all choices.  And the most amazing thing is realizing that there is power that comes with making a choice.....it is yours to make....only you can decide the action taken. And what power comes in living in the moment....in moving forward in the direction of the choice...in embracing the independence and freedom of having made the choice....it is yours.  When you are discouraged, don't blame others...for you are where you are by choice.

But if you feel that perhaps it is 'fate' which has brought you to where you stand today...and the place is lonely and cold....and you feel alone.  Do not despair. Because I truly believe that you will find a way 'home' again...to a safe place....a place where you can begin to make choices again.  Sometimes, it seems  we are 'thrown into' situations we could not have imagined and they are not places we would have gone to by choice.  It is important then to remember that it is the choices you make with the situation you are given...which will determine how you 'weather' it. This will give you power, purpose and action instead of overwhelming despair.

I am confident that when I decide to gain control of my situation by making simple, small and everyday choices, that I begin to control my destiny...what greater power is there than that?! .

These pictures were taken in my most favorite place in the world...on the Pacific West Coast...and are the sole property of the photographer....please do not copy these special memory photos I share with you here on my pages.