Tuesday, November 30

seeking peace and simple joy...

as i seek peace
and simple joy
this holiday season,
i will do so
in the quiet
of our home
on the prairie.
~~~
i will do so
leaving prairie pastimes
to rest
thruout the christmas season
~~~
and so i wish you
and all of yours
a very blessed
and merry christmas
and a happy and healthy 2011.
~~~~~
~~~
~
may your christmas be full of
peace and simple joy...
peggy

Thursday, November 25

thoughtful thursday...

thanksgiving
is a time
of quiet reflection
upon the past
and an annual reminder
that God has,
again,
been ever so faithful.
the solid and simple things
of life
are brought into
clear focus,
so much so
that everything else
fades into insignificance.
~~~
charles swindoll
~~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you a reflective thanksgiving...
peggy

Wednesday, November 24

making my list...

today is the day
that i'm making my list,
my list of what i am
most grateful for
this thanksgiving season.
~~~
i am most thankful for~
~~~
my husband
who works hard
and provides me
with a wonderful life,
~~~
my daughter
whose life has changed
my life
in incredibly wonderful ways,
~~~
my grandsons
who give me so much
love and joy,
~~~
my dad and mom,
brothers and sisters
and their spouses,
nieces, nephews
and their kids,
a family i looove to be part of,
~~~
my friends
that are near and far
who love and accept me
for who i am,
~~~
my home
that is cozy and warm
and full of all that i love,
~~~
my overall good health
that allows me to do
the things i love,
~~~
my animals
that amuse me
with all of their antics
and show me unconditional love
in return
for a little
something to eat,
~~~
the chance
to sponsor okiru
in uganda
thru compassion
which has brought me to
an even keener awareness
of hunger and poverty
and how i can help,
~~~
all the lessons
i have learned
thruout the year
that have made me
a better person,
~~~
a God
that always loves me,
and even delights in me,
and who provides for me
all that i need
each and every day.
~~~
i am
abundantly blessed.
~~~
and i am grateful...
~~~~~
~~~
~
have you made your list?
peggy

Monday, November 22

it's beginning to look a lot like...

it's beginning
to look a lot like...
~~~
thanksgiving
in south dakota!
~~~
it's cold and snowing
this morning,
not unusual
for a late day in november.
we've been especially blessed
this year with
a long and beautiful autumn,
full of mild days
and glorious color.
~~~
and now,
with thanksgiving
only 3 days away,
winter appears to be approaching.
~~~
i am grateful
for these days
as we approach thanksgiving.
~~~
i am grateful
for all
that i have been blessed with.
i am most especially
grateful for
family,
friends...
~~~
the barn that houses
the animals i love,
the garden shed that
holds my hopes
for spring and summer...
~~~
and
our home.
~~~
wishing you a day that looks
like thanksgiving to you!
peggy





Thursday, November 18

thoughtful thursday...

for flowers that bloom
about our feet;
for tender grass,
so fresh, so sweet;
for song of bird,
and hum of bee;
for all things fair
we hear or see,
father in heaven,
we thank thee.
~~~
ralph waldo emerson
~~~~~
~~~
~
for all our blessings,
we thank thee...
peggy



Wednesday, November 17

pretty and handy...

i like my things
to look pretty and to be handy,
and in that particular order!
~~~
i like to have my dishsoap handy
because i use it so often,
and in a pretty bottle
so i smile when i see it!
~~~
so i use
a vintage glass syrup bottle
to keep my dishsoap in!
~~~
handy and pretty!
~~~
that's what i like!
~~~
i have another
pretty and vintage
syrup bottle
in the laundry room!
~~~
they're a good thing!
~~~
i think martha would agree!
~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you a pretty handy dandy day!
peggy



Monday, November 15

go...

karen
(my best and favorite
movie-going friend)
and i
went to secretariat last nite!
all i can say,
and i know karen would agree,
is go!
~~~
go!
~~~
go to this movie!
~~~
this movie is based
on the life of secretariat,
an incredible horse
that raced in the 70's.
~~~
i remember this horse racing!
~~~
if you love horses,
if you love diane lane
who stars as secretariat's owner,
if you love a feel-good movie...
you will
love, love, love
this movie!
~~~
get your best and favorite
movie-going friend
and go!
~~~
go see secretariat!
~~~
get your buttered popcorn
and large diet pepsi
and
laugh and cry and cheer
for this incredible woman,
her incredible team,
and their incredible horse!
~~~
go!
~~~~~
~~~
~
oh happy day...
peggy


Thursday, November 11

thoughtful thursday...

if the only prayer
you ever said
in your whole life
was,
"thank you,"
that would suffice.
~~~
meister eckhart
~~~~~
~~~
~
may your prayer be one of thanks...
peggy

Wednesday, November 10

blessings of warm and cozy...

in this season of thanks
i am being,
more than ever,
mindful
of all that i have
to be grateful for.
~~~
today,
on this cool and gray day,
i am grateful
for our fireplace
that warms me
and makes our home
warm and cozy.
~~~
being warm and cozy
is a blessing
and i am grateful.
~~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you a blessed and grateful day...
peggy



Tuesday, November 9

tasty tuesday...

it's pumpkin season!
~~~
with the baking of pumpkins
for tasty autumn treats
comes the roasting
of pumpkin seeds.
~~~
roasted pumpkin seeds
are an easy peasy
tasty autumn treat!
~~~
here's what you do~
~~~
scoop the pumpkin seeds
into a greased baking sheet,
pour on a little
olive oil,
stir,
salt,
bake at 350
for 15 minutes
and...
~~~
you have yourself
a tasty autumn treat!
~~~~
~~~
~
wishing you a tasty autumn...
peggy

Thursday, November 4

thoughtful thursday...

gratitude unlocks
the fullness of life.
it turns what we have
into enough,
and more.
it turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order,
confusion to clarity.
it can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home,
a stranger into a friend.
gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
~~~
melody beattie
~~~~~
~~~
~
may you be filled with gratitude...
peggy

Wednesday, November 3

learning grateful...

several years ago
discussing her then new book
~~~
i listened to her speak
about being grateful
and how it changes your life.
~~~
i was intrigued
and interested
in being more grateful
in my life.
~~~
shortly after,
i bought her book.
i can truly say
this is one of the books
that have changed my life!
i've read and re-read
this book.
~~~
"simple abundance"
is written as
daily readings
and each month focusing
on a particular principle
relevant to living
a simply abundant life,
~~~
one of sarah van breathnach's
suggestions is to
keep a gratitude journal.
this gratitude journal
is a journal
in which you daily list
5 things for which
you are grateful for.
~~~~
big things,
little things,
whatever you are grateful for that day.
~~~
some days
it is easy
to list 5 things (or more!)
that you are grateful for.
other days...
well...
some days really sssssssss...
stink,
and on those days,
it just isn't as easy
to be grateful.
listing 5 things that you are grateful
on a day that really stinks
isn't easy,
but it is possible.
~~~
i believe being grateful,
especially on days that really stink
is learned.
~~~
learned.
~~~
i believe i've learned
to be grateful
on good days
and on days that really stink.
and i believe
being grateful
every day,
has changed my life.
~~~
~~~~~
~~~
~
what are you grateful for today?
peggy

Monday, November 1

a season of thanks...

the season of thanks
is here.
~~~
sometimes,
it seems,
thanksgiving is forgotten.
~~~
sometimes
givings thanks
is forgotten.
~~~
my hope and prayer
for myself,
for my family and friends,
and for all of you,
is that thruout this
season of thanks
that we will all
take the time
to be mindful
to give thanks
for our many blessings.
~~~
and that in
each and every day
that follows
this thanksgiving season,
we continue
to give thanks...
~~~~~
~~~
~
give thanks...
peggy