Category Archives: Travel

Sunshine

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Sunshine is a wonderful thing…it warms, it encourages, it grows, it inspires, it lights.  And spreading sunshine to others is a contagious and wonderful thing also.  I want to thank Cate over at http://wingedprisms.com/2013/10/05/sunshine/ for nominating me for a Sunshine Award.  You cheered and encouraged my day!  🙂

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Here are 10 little snippets about me:

1.  I love love.  Loving God, loving my husband and family, loving my friends, loving my dog, loving travel, loving the ocean….well, you get the idea.

2.  I love Ireland.  If I could live anywhere else but here in beautiful Virginia, that would be the place.  Preferably on the west coast in a little village near the sea.

3.  I love music.  I enjoy playing the piano, hammered dulcimer, tin whistle, and singing.   And sometimes, I write songs…..great way to express yourself when you feel like you can’t any other way.

4.  I love writing this blog and reading others I enjoy.  It starts my day off right.

5.  I love to read.  Preferably fiction filled with quirky, funny characters.  Also anything that makes me laugh is always good.

6.  I love to laugh, but I don’t do it enough.  But I’ve been trying to laugh more and often, and it feels great!

7.  I love petting my furry dog.  He’s a cockapoo, and he’s awesome.

8.  I love learning new things….new words, new languages (although I never master any of them!!), new places, new instruments.  I don’t like to be bored.

9.  I love to talk to people who have interesting, deep ideas and thoughts.   Long discussions about cool things make me happy!

10.  I love trying to come up with 10 things for this list….although now I am scraping the bottom of the barrel, and this is not even a real thing.  😉

I decided to nominate some photography bloggers who have put some sunshine into my days…check out their beautiful and inspiring photographs.   Blessings, Lisa

http://nigelborrington.com/2013/10/04/jerpoint-abbey-county-kilkenny/

http://smackedpentax.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/sailing-away/

http://strassenfotojournal.com/2013/10/07/chateuaneuf-en-auxois/

Thank you to these blogs for keeping my eyes open to all the beauty that God has placed around us.

The Castle-Builder

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THE CASTLE-BUILDER        

A gentle boy, with soft and silken locks

A dreamy boy, with brown and tender eyes, 

 A castle-builder, with his wooden blocks,

 And towers that touch imaginary skies.

A fearless rider on his father’s knee,  

An eager listener unto stories told

At the Round Table of the nursery,    

Of heroes and adventures manifold.

There will be other towers for thee to build;    

There will be other steeds for thee to ride;    

There will be other legends, and all filled    

 With greater marvels and more glorified.

Build on, and make thy castles high and fair,  

 Rising and reaching upward to the skies;   

 Listen to voices in the upper air,      

 Nor lose thy simple faith in mysteries.

 ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Blessings on your day, and build your castles!  🙂  Lisa

Goals and Dreams

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I was asking someone the other day if they were working on any goals.  A bit of laughter ensued, as we both realized that we were a little tired of goals.  But I prefer to think of them as action steps.  What I am going to do to get where I need to go.  Like this picture….off far in the misty distance is the beautiful island that I would love to see one day.  But right in front of me is the path with the beautiful black gate and lovely flowers.  I may or may not reach that island, but there is a good pathway right in front of me, right now.  And all I can do is what is in front of me, no worrying about yesterday, trying not to fret about all the things that may or may not happen tomorrow.  Putting a smile on my face, now.  Taking a couple deep breaths, and appreciate the fact that I’m alive, now.  Watching my fuzzy dog puttering about, now.  Inhaling my coffee, now.  Being thankful for all the good things God has blessed me with, now.  Love and blessings to you, Lisa.

 

Secret Garden

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“She was inside the wonderful garden and she could come through the door under the ivy any time and she felt as if she had found a world all her own.” ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

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“The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old walls shut her in no one knew where she was. It seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place.”  ~Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

My plan for the day?  Look for the beauty of my secret garden…because it’s there if I look hard enough.  Beauty, joy, peace, stillness, God.  And when I find it, I will turn the key and go inside.  Blessings, Lisa

Official Notification of a Hermit Crab

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Rightly so, you should be asking yourself, “what in the world is she talking about?”  Yes, I am a hermit crab when it comes to my living preferences.  Exhibit A for your consideration:  This lovely village in St. Lucia where many people are probably happily aboding upon the steep inclines of the terrain.

Village in St. Lucia

Village in St. Lucia

But this little hermit crab feels rather claustrophobic at the thought of living so close together, and also I would be more than a bit nervous that my little house would just fall right off the side of the hill.  😉  I think that there is definitely truth to the whole country mouse/city mouse tale, and I am happy to be a country mouse for sure!

This manifests itself when we travel; my husband and I are instantly drawn to the country, to the space, to the rural scenes of the area.  When we get to the cities, we look quickly, enjoy a good meal in a nice restaurant, and move on.  Isn’t it amazing and marvelous how people are so different and unique?  I have a good friend who’s very much the opposite.  The thought of hanging out in the country is almost physically painful; she adores the city, the bustle, the activities.  God is cool; He makes things for all of us different people to enjoy.  Enjoy your country or your city to the fullest today!  🙂  Slainte, Lisa

Open water with nary a house in sight...ah yes :)

Open water with nary a house in sight…ah yes 🙂