yesterday the quote I reviewed was about facing the light and thus putting the shadow behind…
made me think of the juxtaposition of light and shadow which had me wandering around my plants and taking photos being sure that my shadow didn’t affect the pictures…
for each of the next 24 days I am going to read and think on one of the cards that I received last year for Advent…
I really enjoyed the process then and am looking forward to this time of reflection each day…
I am going to start each day with a time of looking at the artwork and contemplating the quote on the back…
today I was thinking about how much sunshine can affect my mood and feeling of well-being… when the sun is shining everything seems more upbeat and positive…
where I live, we used to have a lot more sunny days… they are particularly helpful during the cold winter months, as even the cold seems more bearable in sunlight and blue skies…
I was reading some data which showed we averaged 51% sunny days between 1981 and 2010… for the past few years we have noticed that there is less sunshine that’s there used to be…
this morning, as I look out the window, the sky is blue… gonna be a good day😊…
last evening I spent time on Instagram… people tend to put up their nine most liked photos of the year, but I decided to put up my nine favourite ones…
I was thinking they would be flowers, with maybe a bird or piece of chocolate included…
once I finished, there were seven with flowers, one bird and a monarch butterfly…
looking through the pictures reminded me of some wonderful times over this past year…
my orchids, which provide such joy for me all year long…
planting, growing and enjoying morning glories, datura and dahlias…
time spent, with and without cameras, viewing the birds in the garden…
a rose along the sidewalk on one of the walks I took this year, with my daughter in my ear;-)…
the amazing time I spent over the summer with eggs, caterpillars and butterflies… and the day my grandson and I watched the butterflies appear…
time with hearts and flower bouquets…
the water lily flowers that erupted in the pond… had the most blooms ever this summer… and I hope to overwinter them in the aquarium…
lovely reminders of a crazy, but wonderfully special year…
had a quiet day yesterday… spent time taking photos of ornaments on the tree and the orchids…
a friend dropped off the fixings for turkey dinner which I warmed up at supper time… it was a lovely treat and made for a relaxed and enjoyable meal… ended the day with hot lemonade in my new mug and gifted shortbread…
a parcel arrived from the kids in Ottawa… once I received text permission to open it, I discovered 3 boxes, a package that said it needed to go into the fridge, and a small chocolate bar, lol…
I had fun wrapping them and put purple ribbons on them before adding them to the growing pile under the tree… they are the first gifts for me…
it was funny to wrap my own parcels, but was a reminder of the few times I might have purchased my own gift, wrapped and put it under the tree… although usually those items would go to my beloved and he would wrap them up, lol…
fun memories… nice that now I can mostly look back on them without tears…
I added more silver and white ornaments to the tree and a bit of garland to give it depth, although I don’t like garland on the whole… many of the ornaments marked special Christmas times…
I also hung up some wreaths and brought up a teddy bear from the basement that I have always loved…
I was reminded of many previous Christmas trees and decorations… when my daughter moved away she promised to come home for Christmas and she did for many years… the first year she wasn’t able to come home she sent all of us a dragonfly glittery ornament to put on our trees… since then it has gone on the tree each year… for the rest of the year it is clipped onto a chocolate hanging in the hall… she loves chocolate;-)…
I also hung three wreaths… one I made the year my mom was in palliative care and at the same time my sister-in-law was losing her unborn baby… I spent hours at two different hospitals hand sewing the teddy bears and wreath they went on… amazingly stress filled weeks…
now I think back to those times and find great comfort in the memories;-)…