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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

learning grateful...

several years ago

i heard sarah van breathnach

discussing her then new book

"simple abundance."

~~~

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

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