Morning Folks 08 31 05

"Each blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow, grow'" The Talmud





And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight to the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin








Something I learned, perhaps too late in my life for my own good, is that I had to take risks in order to blossom. I played it very safe for a long time. It paid off for a while, and I felt secure and safe. But I didn't really accomplish much. However, when I chose to take a risk, even a small one, it made all the difference.

Looking back everything that I am proud of having accomplished required a risk of some sort. And everything that makes me happy in my life right now started out with making a choice to make a change.

"All change is psychological loss." someone once said. And I would add that all change involves risk. Yet, without change, without risk, we don't grow. Without someone whispering to us "grow" we get too comfortable in our 'spots' and we just 'go' through life instead of soaring through it. And yet, even though I am very much aware of that fact, I have to relearn it every time.

A friend of mine just registered with Match.com. That is a big risk for her, to be sure. And she'd be okay if she had never made that choice. But I know she will find her life so much fuller and she will be happy. I am so proud of her and I can't wait to hear all about the wonderful times she is going to have just because she took that risk. She is going to soar.

Another friend is wrestling with leaving her marriage to escape an alcoholic spouse. Although to some it might sound like staying in the marriage is the risk, it doesn't feel that way to her. Leaving will mean risking financial security for her and her children. It will mean moving and finding new emotional support. But if she chooses to risk it all, I know it will pay off and what she loses in financial security she will gain in peace of mind. I know.

It isn't easy to choose to risk a little or risk it all. But the Universe works with us not against us. Be it the Universe, an Angel whispering over us or God, your Higher Power is with you when you make the choice to "Grow, grow."

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Love,
Suz

PS. Dont forget Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit on Sept. 1. A little good luck never hurts, either!

Update on Becky's Friend in New Orleans

I just spoke to Becky who has not been able to contact her friend Janet since Katrina hit. But she and her husband evacuated New Orleans early Saturday morning in their motorhome with 3 cats, 2 dogs and a parrot named Pepe. They were going to be allowed to stay at any campground for free, but with no electricity and 105 degree temperatures, I am sure the "ark" was not a very comfortable place to be. Becky says that Janet's house is very near the levy that has been breached and in an area that was hit hard. Janet's husband's machine shop is on Lake Ponchartrain and she is sure that has been flooded.
She continues to try to reach Janet and we continue to send thoughts and prayers her way. L-Suz

Morning Folks 08 30 05

This was one of those perfect New England days in late summer where the spirit of autumn takes a first stealing flight, like a spy, through the ripening country-side, and, with feigned sympathy for those who droop with August heat, puts her cool cloak of bracing air about leaf and flower and human shoulders. ~Sarah Orne Jewett


Two more days of August and where did the summer go? I feel the change in the air, can't you? The still warm days followed by cool nights with windows open and one light blanket tells us that it is so.

In New England the seasons are pretty well defined. Although we certainly have some blurring around the edges, we can usually feel the change long before the calendar confirms it. Some places I have been and will be going confuse me some and I can't tell when one season begins and another ends. And I guess I will have to adapt to that change one day soon.



Knowing that this may be the last full revolution of the planet I spend here in New England, I vow to be grateful for whatever the day's weather brings. I wonder will I remember this promise when autumn's bare branches, black against November's chilling rains replace the green boughs of summer or when winter fills my driveway and dares me to escape?


It seems so far away from now, yet I know in just a blink of an eye we'll be picking apples and choosing pumpkins.








I'll not mourn the passing of summer
Nor curse the autumn's birth,
But thank God for each bright morning
I walk on God's green earth.

As each day becomes shorter and cooler
And night's portion continues to grow
I'll pull my cloak 'round my shoulders
And kick back and enjoy nature's show.

SLP 8/30/05



Have a great day today.
Love,
Suz

Morning Folks 08 29 05

For the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast...


Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.

--Rev. Wm Whiting.



O Christ, the Lord of hill and plain
O'er which our traffic runs amain,
by mountain pass or valley low,
Wherever Lord thy brethren go;
Protect them by Thy guardian hand
From every peril on the land.
--Author and date Unknown

Eternal Father, Lord of hosts,

Watch o'er the men who guard our coasts.
Protect them from the raging seas
And give them light and life and peace.
Grant them from thy great throne above
The shield and shelter of thy love.

-- Author and date unknown


God, who dost still the restless foam,
Protect the ones we love at home.
Provide that they should always be
By thine own grace both safe and free.
O Father, hear us when we pray
For those we love so far away.
-- Hugh Taylor, date unknown





"Eternal Father, Strong to Save": The Navy Hymn

The song known to United States Navy men and women as the "Navy Hymn," is a musical benediction that long has had a special appeal to seafaring men, particularly in the American Navy and the Royal Navies of the British Commonwealth.

The original words were written as a hymn by a schoolmaster and clergyman of the Church of England, the Rev. William Whiting. Reverand Whiting (1825-1878) resided on the English coast near the sea and had once survived a furious storm in the Mediterranean. His experiences inspired him to pen the ode, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save." Over the years, people have written verses for each branch of the service and for the folks at home. The tune is familiar to some and was played as President John F. Kennedy's body was carried up the steps of the capitol to lie in state.

For today, I would like to dedicate these words and my prayers to those folks in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Becky's best friend, Janet, is in New Orleans. I am thinking of her and I pray that she and all those in Katrina's path are kept safe from harm; and when the sun rises over the Mississipi when it is all over, that they have the strength and courage they need to overcome whatever they might face. I know you join me in these thoughts this morning. Please add a comment if you have friends or loved ones in the path of the hurricane so that we can also think of them. Or just add a comment to share your thoughts as we all hold our collective breath while Katrina rages. Have a good day and let's be thankful that we are safe.
Love,
Suz

Morning Folks 08 27 05

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Morning Folks 08 26 05

Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun.
But I have never been able to make out the numbers.










That was a joke Dad sent in his list on Thursday and it just tickled me so much that it inspired today's blog. Thanks Dad!



Did you know?

Until the end of the 19th century, all time was local and related to the sun. Noon in Boston was not the same time as noon in New York. With the development of railroads and telegraphs widely spaced locations became linked to each other more closely in time and, there was a need to standardize time areas. In 1884 an international convention in Washington D.C. agreed on a worldwide system of time zones of 15° each. Local adjustments were allowed, as necessary, to keep political subdivisions in a single zone.

Did you know?


That the science of time, clocks, watches and timekeeping is called Horology? Who knew? Hmmm...there is a joke in there somewhere.

Did you know?


The Egyptians and Babylonians divided the hours of the night and the hours of the day each into 12 hours. So at certain times of the year, an hour was long as 75 minutes during the night and as low as 45 minutes during the day, and vice versa, depending on the seasons.

Did you know?


Native Americans used a small boat as a water clock. There was a small hole to let the water drip out and graduated lines on the inside of the boat to show the passing of time.

Did you know?


That the candle was used in ancient times as a device to measure time by marking intervals along the length of the candle. The candle was used as an alarm clock by putting a nail in the candle. When the candle wax melted down the nail fell into a tin pan making a noise.








Go to this site if you want to find out how to tell time by the sun: http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/sunclock.html




Hope you learned something about horology. According to the sun it is Friday. Sleep late tomorrow. You don't need to set those nails!

Have a great Friday.
Love,
Suz

Morning Folks 08 25 05

In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~Abram L. Urban





















I can't adequately explain in words how I feel when I see a garden full of asters. From the first time I saw them I was smitten. I guess partly because they are my colors ranging from white to blues, purples, pinks and magentas. But I really think I am so taken by them because they come bursting out late in August as one last summer finale before the golds of fall's chrysanthemums take over. There is so much anticipation from the moment they are planted in the spring throughout May and June as they grow taller and fuller and into July when the buds appear in abundance covering each plant uniformly. Each day I check them almost losing my patience until a tiny bit of color appears in one green bud and I know I can wait a little longer. Then, just when the sadness that a waning summer brings starts to creep in around the edges of each late August morning, they are here. Like "purple asterisks for autumn" they tell you, ah...it is not quite over and there is this wonderful relief that comes over you.
Like some dreams they are vivid, yet so fleeting that one is left wondering if they were real. Yet, the lasting feeling that beauty such as this leaves within makes it matter not if they are real or not. I am left with the certainty that though summer is winding down, I am alive and well and life is good. Next spring, into my garden they go.



Have a beautiful Thursday.
Love,
Suz.

Morning Folks 08 24 05

Today's blog might best be read tonight. Or maybe on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Better get a second cup of coffee if you find yourself nodding off. Until tomorrow...Love Suz.




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No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap. ~Carrie Snow






People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. ~Leo J. Burke








Now, blessings light on him that first invented sleep! It covers a man all over, thoughts and all, like a cloak; it is meat for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, heat for the cold, and cold for the hot. It is the current coin that purchases all the pleasures of the world cheap, and the balance that sets the king and the shepherd, the fool and the wise man, even. ~Cervantes, Don Quixote


If I didn't wake up, I'd still be sleeping. --Yogi Berra



Sleeping alone, except under doctor's orders, does much harm. Children will tell you how lonely it is sleeping alone. If possible, you should always sleep with someone you love. You both recharge your mutual batteries free of charge.
--Marlene Dietrich Marlene Dietrich's ABC, 1962




And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.
~D.H. Lawrence



O bed! O bed! delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head.
~Thomas Hood, Miss Kilmansegg - Her Dream


The bed is a bundle of paradoxes: we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late. ~Charles Caleb Colton


I'm not asleep... but that doesn't mean I'm awake. ~Author Unknown



The day was made for laziness, and lying on one's back in green places, and staring at the sky till its brightness forced one to shut one's eyes and go to sleep . . .Charles Dickens

Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up
all night anyway. ~Mary C. Crowley