November 22--Thanksgiving Week

Here are the quotes for the rest of the week while I am taking a writing break:

Nov 22----Praise the bridge that carried you over.  --George Colman

Nov 23----Things do not change; we change.  --Henry David Thoreau

Nov 24----It's never too late--in fiction or in life--to revise.  --Nancy Thayer

Nov 25----Gratitude is one of the least articulate of the emotions, especially when it is deep.  --Felix Frankfurter

Nov 26----Forget injuries, never forget kindness.  --Confucius

Nov 27----The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.  --Eleanor Roosevelt

Have a superior, pleasant, bountiful Thanksgiving with safe travels if you are on the roads!

    Leta

Astronomy Picture of the Day, 11/21/22
The Butterfly Nebula

November 21--Stick a Fork in Me

Life is made up of moments; small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead, that won't happen. We have to teach ourselves how to make room for them, to love them, and to live, really live. 
--Anna Quindlen

    I've decided it is time for a break. I'm tired of the thoughts in my head, and I don't feel like writing. I have written a post every day since April 1, 2020, except for a short break in April 2021. That's over 900 posts. I'm feeling like I write the same things over and over again. My reader count is declining. I'll be back sometime. 

    In support of my break, here is the useful affirmation from today's "Daily Guide" (Science of Mind magazine) by Rev. Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones: "Today, I observe what occupies my mind, soul and body. I give myself permission to take an intentional time-out, the time necessary to rest simply in spirit, mind and body." 

    Have a great Thanksgiving!!

        Leta

November 20--Good Stuff

Adopt gratitude as the basic tenor of one's life--gratitude for being alive, for being free, healthy, and intelligent; gratitude for the senses and their pleasures, the mind and its adventures, the soul and its delights.  --Johannes A. Gaertner

    What an excellent suggestion, especially moving into the week of Thanksgiving! Gaertner makes a list of likely items to appreciate, but you can certainly add to it. Gratitude feels good!

        Leta

An estate sale "treasure" I found

November 19--Sometimes We Live Bigger, Sometimes Smaller

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.  --Anais Nin

    I'm a mixture of brave/courageous/bold and fraidy-cat. I've driven thousands of miles by myself all over the country this year. I do that without hesitation. Yet I'm terrified to back our RAV4 into the garage. I can drive it in forward just fine, but don't ask me to back it in. I can't even watch my husband do that, and he's comfortable with it. 

    This fall has hammered me, and beat up a bit on my courage. My s-i-l passed in September. I made two trips to PA and Ohio, the second ending with me coming home with Covid. I've fallen twice (only bruises, thankfully). Then on Thursday, the husband of a dear friend passed after a lengthy fight with cancer. I feel like the wind keeps getting knocked out of me. Then there's winter-time setting in, and missing my kids and grandson. 

    But there is a Jamaica trip upcoming in a couple weeks. That will re-spark expansion in my life!

        Leta

Christmas decorations in Jamaica

November 18--Kindness--More! More!

If everyone helps to hold up the sky, then one person does not become tired. 
--Tshi Proverb

    Are you contributing to the good of the whole, or living by the philosophy of "what's in it for me?" Being human, we will most likely be a mixture of those two options. It seems to me that the Trump candidacy and presidency encouraged a widespread return to rude and negative behavior, and that isn't good for anyone. 

    My daily morning prayer is "Please help all of us on the planet to be kinder to each other and kinder to our Mother Earth." 

    Let's all make kindness a continual practice. Every act of kindness matters!

        Leta

Kindness works in every season!

November 17--WOW! Cool!

Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. 
--Mary Oliver

    I note that today would have been the 81st birthday of my s-i-l Mary Ellen. She passed seven years ago and I still miss her. My Ted Bear is a constant reminder of her love. 

    As an over-the-top-lover-of-lights, we are entering my favorite time of the year. I LOVE Christmas lights!! I'm gradually getting our Christmas decorating done before I head to Jamaica for an early December vacation. Displays are beginning to appear in our neighborhood. No matter how simple or extravagant the display, I love it. I also love Botanica's annual fundraiser "Illuminations," where millions of lights shine in the winter gardens. Lights are set to music, too. It is astonishing. I can hardly wait!

    Ms. Oliver's instructions are simple and "right on." Find a "WOW!" today and tell someone you love about it!

        Leta

A fabulous avocado toast & poached egg 
breakfast prepared by my son. YUMMY!!

November 16--Give and Give

They who give have all things; they who withhold have nothing.  --Hindu Proverb

    It's a mindset--one either supports circulation and flow in life, or one dams it up. My dad was a very generous person, giving freely of his time and financial resources. He and Mom started life together with very little, so he could have been a miserly hoarder of all he earned. He taught me the "keep the flow going" lesson for which I am eternally grateful. Giving continues to bless my life every day. 

    Everything in nature gives abundantly. We would do well to follow that lead.  

       Leta

Fall leaves--now there is abundant giving!