Mrs. Rogers Neighborhood

I rarely finish books.  I wish that weren't true.  I have been working on not starting 10 books at once and then leaving them all with bookmarks somewhere around page 75.  I hope this book marks the beginning of a new era for me.  Bill, my loving wonderful boyfriend, got me this book about an elderly couple driving across the country on their last trip together before the end of their days.  It made me smile and cry, mostly because I was picturing it being me and Bill - which is why he got it for me... that little sneak.   I do not want you to think I am going to start writing book reviews.  Quite the contrary.  However, I will write about stories and expressions that touch my heart.  This was one of them.  Identifying with the elderly is not something that consistently crosses my path - although, it is easy to connect with people who have been in my life and in that time entered the new stage of their life.  This book brought me into the reality of their day to day.  It opened m

I love Anthropologie.   When I walk in the door the smells rush over me in a relaxing way.   The colors and textures are vibrant and exciting, while being understated and sophisticated.   They take everyday items and make them into art and make grand displays that do not overwhelm.   The clothing is a wonderful combination of fabrics and prints and ruffles and bows that is reminiscent of older times.   Even the furniture and wood flooring adds to the already developed interior design to make it feel rustic and elegant.   I can only hope to afford many items from here one day, and in the meantime I will wander the displays and daydream.

  There is something about this picture that stops me in my tracks.  I imagine what this man is thinking as he bakes in the sweet sunset next to the calm water.  I will never know anything about him, but I do know that his life has effected others lives.  We all effect others, whether we intend to or not.  I guess it makes me consider my own life; knowing that he is in the winter and I am still in the spring.   He seems at peace watching the ducks float by and reflecting in one way or another.  I feel relaxed just resting in the warmth this photo brings.  I hope to take more photos that bring out this energy in me.  This day was pure perfection - it centered me and reminded me that the simpleness of life is what matters most to me.  Feeling grateful for life itself is something that should be my first thought in the mornings.  I won't wait until the final season of my time on this earth to sit and reflect and become aware of the way I am effecting others.   I believe this man was

I often wonder what it would be like to be someone else... to have someone else's thoughts and dreams and life and goals.  It is so strange to me that not everyone wants exactly what I want and that they do not think exactly like I do.  Is it egotistical?  I don't think so, because I do not know another way.  I love hearing why people think like they do and why they want what they want.  I think it would be egotistical if I heard what they think and why they do what they do, and then walked away completely disregarding everything they just said as invalid because my way is best.  Believe it or not, I know people like that - I am sure someone came to your mind as well.   It always fascinates me to hear someone who has been through what I have been through 30 years prior, to hear a teenagers limited understanding who has no idea what they are entering into, to hear my siblings perspectives on anything I am going through, and to hear an elderly view point that knows it all and ca

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have always resisted the term “nesting” as most people use it.   I think I want to avoid typical “womanly” domesticity.   I do not want to fall into this feminine role – I think life can be tackled in many different ways and none of them need to be while wearing an apron and a hoop skirt.   I don’t mind cleaning, I love cooking, flowers make me happy, and I love looking nice for my boy.   However, I do not think these are roles a woman has to fill necessarily, I just think they are things that people accept and are a part of life.   With all this in mind, I approach my new found love for home design.   I find myself on hundreds of home design sites and I can’t stop thinking about how I would decorate my own house – What colors do I love? What unique elements do I want to incorporate? What flowers would I put in the garden?   I can picture it.   I can actually smell it, I can feel the fresh breeze blowing against my face from the kitchen window, I know exactly where my puppy will lov

These paintings are my newest creation for my kitchen (one day)… I have so much yarn from my crocheting days and such a passion for creating on a canvas that I wanted to blend the 2 loves and creating something wonderful out of an item that has so much meaning in my life – yarn!   I love how these turned out.   They are bright and happy and make me smile.   Below are a few past creations I made before I entered the blogging world.   I hope they will cause you joy J A painting for my sister - and a reminder for me. A Christmas present for Heather - and a chance for me to try something different. The first of many hand designed greeting cards - I'm obsessed with using Buttons.

Lately I am literally taken aback by language.   I am putting a combination of lines and dots on a page and you are skimming your eyes over them and comprehending a semblance of meaning out of these squiggles against a contrasting background.   Words can destroy someone or bring them back to life.   Words can be all we needed to hear and can break us down in the midst of a tragedy.   Words can articulate emotion. I once asked a tri-lingual gentleman in my life how he thought?    Did he think in Spanish or in English or in Italian?   He said he just thought and then he spoke in the language he chose.   Fascinating! I would not know what it is like to be truly fluent in another language and have the option of how you want to express your thoughts, but it must be amazing.   He would often be in the middle of a sentence in English and then start speaking the rest of it in Italian.   It was so odd.   We would have to stop him and have him repeat in English.   In his brain it was all the s

It's funny because I have lived here in California for 3 1/2 years, but Maryland still feels like home.   When I go to Maryland, I have my family, my home church, my dad's restaurant.  People have known me since I was very small and I am familiar with everything around me.  I always know my way around and I have nostalgic memories of a million different places.  I have friends that I rarely have to explain myself too, they know me inside and out.  I breathe in the cool air and experience the seasons.  I curl up next to the fire and love the smells and feeling of the house I grew up in and the warped wood that creaks as I walk around the living room.  It is all so familiar. When I am in California I have amazing friends who spur me on in the person who I have become and they have seen that growth since the time they met me.  I am surrounded by art and the sunshine.  The man I have fallen for is here and his family has welcomed into their lives.  I have my first full time job

Articulating can be tough for most people, but generally not for me.  I pride myself on always being able to clearly speak my mind, but getting my thoughts out has been a mess lately.  Have you ever felt emotional for no reason?  Honestly, I have no more problems than anyone else - in fact, I live a pretty privileged existence!  There is no reason for me to complain and be exhausted and to constantly wish for something else or somewhere else, but I still find myself wishing and wanting something - anything else.  The grass is always greener right?  I really do think that is true. I feel like my life is a library, there are millions of emotions on the shelf, and I'm throwing them around and picking them up and not committing to one.  I read a few pages and then pick up another one and my library is a disaster and the books are all over the floor and pages are torn out and there are words strewn about and the mess of it all frustrates me so much that instead of picking up and making