Have Yourselves a Merry, Little Christmas

It is Christmas Eve and the year is almost over....
This has been a whirlwind year for me.
I've purchased and renovated a house.
I've taken in a half a dozen wayward teens
and I found my sweet, loving better half!

Life is rich and full
and I am happy and grateful.

My wish for the few who read this:
Have yourselves a Merry Little Christmas!

Peace and Love from my heart and home to yours,
Dixiebelle

I

Art in All Things

I see art in everything.......

From colorful router bits........

To the Christmas tree shaped wood pile.......

A mossy brick path.......

and even a winter's sky

It is all around us if we only choose to see.....

Life is art!

More from my Grand Adventure

New Mexico

Bridge over the Hoover Dam

Vegas

Border Patrol

Acorns in holes on a pine tree in California

Mt Laguna hike

Mt. Laguna

Mt. Laguna

Jamul, CA old abandoned house 

Angels leave them behind for us to find

Windswept sky

Sunshine and More

Today I felt the sun warm my face
as I turned towards the heat of it's fire.
It has gently caressed me
while the rays swept across the day.

I am fortunate.
I can escape the confines of the building where I work
slip quietly into the day unnoticed
but for a few moments stolen,
only to return to the shadows within......

Pictures from my Grand Adventure

These pics don't even begin to tell the tale of my two week Grand Adventure out West but only scratch the surface of the 1,200 plus pics I took on the journey. America is so much more vast than I had ever dreamed and this once in a lifetime trip was the perfect way to see some of it! 

The Grand Canyon

Calico California

Steven shooting pics

The Hoover Dam

The Meteor Crater

Hiking in Mt. Laguna

Somewhere in New Mexico

Our newest friend Taylor who hiked with us and slept on our bed!

Embarking on a Grand Adventure

This weekend, I will be traveling.
Next week, I will be traveling.
I will be traveling across the country
via automobile.

The idea seems so whimsically fun.
To see the wonders of America
from the windows of an automobile
rather than
the windows of an airplane,
which I have done.

As I embark on this grand adventure,
I contemplate the time it takes
to get from here to there,
and the moments that make up
the in between.

I will be living in the moment.
Knowing my destination looms closer
every day.
Yet, enjoying the moments
as they present themselves
to me,
searching roadside America
for it's treasures......

Color in Motion

I do love this time of year
and the burst of color
the season gives.....

Sunny days laced with cooling breezes
and autumns unequivocal orange glow.....

It is passing us quickly
only to be replaced
by the shorter days of a bare winter....

Happy November to one and All

Tis the First of November and soon we will fall back in time
as completely as we have done for many falls.
I do not really like this springing forward and falling back.
Measuring my days......as man insists we do...
I have learned to accept that time is.
But really, what does it mean?
It's time to do this.....it's time to do that.....
it's time to go here and there,
time to wander every little where.

Time exsists independent of man
and yet measuring time is something only man does
to keep track
of the lives we lead......
I will grow old regardless of the clock
or the calendar
if I am so fortunate

tick, tick, tick......

Happy Samhein

Getting ready for the hordes of children that come begging for candy this evening! My pumpkin is carved and my candles are ready....are you???

Reading Heinlein

I was asked by a 19 year old young man to read a book as old as myself. Science fiction has never been my first choice for reading but over the years I have enjoyed some of it. This book, Stranger in a Strange Land, is a great read. Easy to digest and with the exception of a few minor little things like guys calling gals "doll" and such, this book could have been written today. Wait, I did date a guy for a brief period of time that called me "doll". I think he did it because he couldn't remember my name. All gals were dolls to him.... I digress......

The idea behind this fascinating story is a human named Michael Valentine Smith who was born and reared on Mars by the Martians and is reunited with Earthlings. He comes back to live on Earth. He has to "grok" the ways of us humans as his learned ways are Martian. In the book, he says "Thou art God" to everyone because to the Martians, everyone is the "God" of their own life. Not to get involved in a one sided theological discussion here but WOW! The impact of this one statement "Thou art God" has really made me more aware of, well, me. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an open mind about themselves and their life in general. Now I understand why my Grandmother, a published writer, avid science fiction reader, Sunday school leader, backbone of her small community and overall great lady (a southern belle in a dress always) used to tell me you are God. She always said we come from God and God is within us all. Now I get it....."Thou art God".

Bunnies

The bunnies hide in the darkest crevices and corners
only to be discovered
and discarded
by the swish of my broom....

Not to be confused with the real bunny Houdini
who has come to live with me temporarily
in his little hutch out back.
He is a big soft scrumptious bunny.
Not at all like his under the bed counterparts
which really are not his counterparts at all except in name only.....

Driving Autumn

Yesterday I drove. Over the river and through the woods I returned to my humble abode but not before passing through the veritable frenzy of autumn's glory in a swirl of golden leaves. The winds were high as I piloted my automobile down the two lane country road. Thirty to forty miles an hour winds buffeted me and the leaves that were falling became a display so beautiful it was hard to stay focused on the mechanics of the machinery that I was in control of. I love driving autumn.....

Postscript: This was written Sunday 10/15/12 with thoughts of adding to it but after reading it today decided to leave it the way it was written.

The Ugh of being Sick

Ugh....

pretty much sums up the way I feel at the present time.

It's a lot better than yesterday when the moaning, groaning and gnashing of teeth were commencing over the porcelain bowl.

I do not do sick at all. Avoid it like the plague. But obviously not this time as some decrepit little germ found it's way into my body and basically destroyed me for a day and a half.

So here I sit complaining about my little buggie. Poor me. Gross. I don't like me when I'm like this.

Ugh....

Cable TV

I don't watch television much less all the varied offerings that my cable service provides me and yet I spend an enormous amount of money just for the pleasure of doing so. The gamut runs from Honey Boo Boo (some poor big little girl who's family have exploited their lack of social graces and ineptness as a pageant family) to Paranormal Activity or some such ghastly, ghoulish, ghostly drivel served with screams and shivers to make the experience oh so much more real.....

The cost is skyrocketing towards the next universe and I've decided that the time is ripe for divesting myself from the weakness of having cable television available 24/7 should I so desire. The children have been warned....the script has been rewritten and we will no longer live with the click of a remote to entertain our brains to mushiness.

And before I go further, there are some good points to be mentioned in favor of the vast offerings that cable provides but who has the time? Certainly not me....life is way too short to spend it in front of the squawk box as my daddy used to call it. Maybe someday when I'm old and frail and need some company, I'll look to the television to guide my days but God I hope not. I hope I die with a book in my hand instead!

Alas, I am still at the mercy of the cable company if I wish to be connected to the world of high speed internet. Some say the internet will replace television in years to come. At least I do use my brain in order to communicate with the world via the computer instead of just grunting affirmations to the latest visual offerings my cable company provides me with. I do not ever wish to be one of the masses of sheeple waiting to be spoon fed the dribble the God's of Cable televison provide for my viewing pleasure/nightmare.....

Living in The Moment

My philosophy.....
Living in the moment.
It seems so easy
and yet those of us who enjoy
the power of words
tend not to live this way
as we see beyond the moment
with our imaginings
and the stories we create
within....

Chilly Morn....

I stepped out into the chilly darkness of an early morn,
No birds were singing yet and
the sliver of moon was just hanging in the sky
as if from a string unnoticed.
Morning it surely is.
but night's calm still lingers...,

On Death and Dying

Today I lost another friend....
she was old and tired and ready to move on.
It does not lessen the sting of her departure from this physical world.

Another friend is in the hospital and will pass this week.
He had a major stroke that sent him there and soon to the beyond.

On days like today, my job wearies me.
I work with the elderly,
and as precious as they are to me,
my heart breaks every time one goes home...

I must turn on the power of a positive smile,
keep moral up and continue my job
with those of us who are so casually left behind
when death comes.

It is so easy to make friends
and so hard to loose them.....

Gardening in a Cold Rain

Must remember not to wear my heart on my sleeve while gardening in a cold rain.....it has gotten wet and it feels as if it has shrunken like forgotten cotton clothes in a hot dryer. sigh..... at least the sun is making an appearance now. That always helps warm the soul and the dirty fingers....

Big Scary Meetings and Such....

I have to do this....be brave and functional while sharing my ideas and viewpoints with my peers. It is not always easy but I will persevere and then it will be done. My nerves get the better of me most times but I have a secret weapon this time........ someone who believes in me....

The Coming Autumn

Autumn is nearly upon us. The days are beginning to show shorter. Just a touch of color is making it's presence known on leaves that dance in the afternoon breeze. Sunlight filters the changes we see and makes autumn's haze a delight to the visual senses. Tomorrow I will drive north towards Kentucky and look around to see what has changed since my last drive that way a week ago.

I love the cool nights and early mornings. The nights were made to snuggle under covers. The mornings are for stepping out barefoot to see the sun rise with a steaming cup of coffee and a good book to keep me company. Soon, I will have to tuck myself away in a blanket, wool socks and boots then lastly, inside, as I won't be able to withstand the cold of winter from my porch.

Change is the only constant in life as is evident by the seasons......

The Dance

Let the dancing begin...
We were together, spinning and turning,
this way and that,
joyful in the moment
paws on toes

as we stepped out into the day.

Mornings...

The morning quivers with quietness soon to be broken by the business of the day...
As the stars begin to fade away and the day begins to break.
I stepped out into the faintest light of dawn
to hear the cricket song....

A New Beginning

A New Beginning:

start slow they say

as it takes time to grow a day

seconds become minutes

minutes become hours

and hours become days....

I am counting time....