Tis the Season

Tis the season for giving...

And with the help of my fellow ukulele strummers we managed to hit 3 locations in 3 days.  

The local medical center for the Feel Good Concert series, greeting visitors with Mele Kalikimaka and really putting Silent Night into the proper perspective.  

After that we were off to one of the nursing homes, where the residents were decked out in their best holiday fashions, including blinged out wheelchairs, Santa hats and, of course, leis.

The best part of this gig was the few ladies in the front row telling me they were abit "naughty" and not sure that Santa would be stopping by!!!  LOL we did! 

Then off to the Annual Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots Drive.

Guess all the playing of "Let It Snow" did the trick, because this event went off in a full snow storm.  Good food, good cheer, good friends.  A great community event with the true spirit of Christmas at heart....the donation of toys for the children!  

So, let's continue on with the Spirit of Giving.  Practice those RAK's, (Random Acts of Kindness) throughout the holiday season.  

Bake cookies for a neighbor, shovel some snow, say "hello" to friends you know and everyone you meet!  

Fa la la...and all that jazz! 

Aloha! 

WE ARE THE WORLD BLOGFEST!

In these crazy days of angst and turmoil, hatred and negativity that seems to lead the daily newscasts of late, I choose to join in the WE ARE THE WORLD BLOGFEST to counter all of that with a message of light that brings me GREAT JOY!

I belong to a ukulele club that goes out and about to strum at the local hospital as well as for the residents of local nursing homes.  It's a "feel good" time for everyone, including the 6 - 8 strummers who all volunteer their time to spread the joyful sounds of the ukulele.

Many of the senior residents that we visit do not have family members close by, and the interaction with them brings smiles to all of our faces.  I like to take along a few extra ukes to hand out, and encourage them to just strum along, even though they don't know how to play, while the others are singing along and crooning to their long lost loved ones.  Although, a couple former guitar players were able to join in on uke for fun.  Two gentlemen come in their wheelchairs with their bongo drums to play with us, too!  It's really a grand old time.

So instead of focusing on the darkest bits of society, how about we focus on what we as individuals can do to shine the light.  Here's one individual who is doing just that... Dr. Paulo Martins of the Hospital das Clinicas in Ribeirao Preto who plays his ukulele for a young cancer patient!  

 Music truly is a universal language...

And here are some members of our ukulele group who love to strum for fun!  

WE CAN MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE...DO YOUR PART!

 The feeling you get in return for making a difference, makes it all worthwhile!
Won't you join me?

ALOHA!

Birds of a feather...

As Summer rolls right into Autumn, I find myself gathering...  I've been gathering odds and ends that have been tossed around in my studio (aka dining room), and creating these little journals.  Measuring a mere 4-1/2" x 6", I do have a collection of them that I roll out at local festivals for sale, and some are gifted to special friends.  I recently gifted one of my mini journals to a friend who teaches "Creative Writing".  And boy can she write...poetry, short stories, she's an excellent teacher. What better prompt for a great short story than this cover.  Denim, tattered lace, vintage button and papers...

turn the page...

 36 pages are all coffee stained, and I've included a couple pockets with a couple journaling cards.

yes...turn the page...tell your story...

 

back cover

It all ties up with a black suede strap to hold your secrets tight!

What story could you tell in here as you...turn the page???

 

Where does the time go?

Well, I have no idea how my last post was in May, and the summer has slipped right by me without so much as a summer swim.  Or even a getaway!!!

Being busy is a good thing, especially when it is work related.  And I do love my job.  However, I have learned that busy-ness also has to be accompanied by quiet time.  Turn off the  mind babble.  Peaceful existence requires downtime, plain and simple.

So, make the time to BE STILL...be in the NOW.  For that really is all we have available to us.  We cannot change yesterday...and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.  

Yes, time waits for no one...live each moment to the fullest...starting IN THE NOW!  

  

"Nothing is worth more than this day."    

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Kindness Challenge

Well an online friend, Deborah Weber at Temenos of the Blessing Light is quite a busy lady spreading her good intentions and positive vibrations throughout the universe for anyone who may be paying attention...

Not only do I receive wonderful notes of love and joy and harmony from her via good old fashioned snail mail, she is always online with some wonderful folks around the globe doing her part to help reach those who may be in darkness, seeking the light.  Of course, she always inspires me to join in.

My way of spreading some light and joy through kindness is by strumming my ukulele at some of the nursing homes in our area.  When I get together with my ukulele ensemble, it is always the best time ever, with plenty of laughs.  Laughter is truly the best medicine!  Especially in a nursing home!

 

I have to tell you, that not only are the residents feeling the love, but I am warmed so much by the very same emotion when I see them swaying, and smiling and hearing them sing along, is just the icing on the cake.

So get out there and see if you can't spread some wonderful love and joy through your own act of Kindness...the feeling you get from doing so, will be your just reward!  We are connected!  Sing along...

Stop by for more info on the Kindness Challenge.  

 Thanks for stopping by!

Aloha!

When will it be Spring?

The deer have come in from the woods to take advantage of the food set out for the birds.   And when they have gone...here comes the rest of the wild ones looking for their fair share!  

I love watching the wild turkeys.  And some of these guys stayed for a good 45 minutes digging and scraping through the remains of our recent winter madness.  

This drove the dog crazy from indoors... let me at 'em!

Oh, to live in the country! 

Love is all there is...

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

 

Political Correctness

So what's the deal with all this "political correctness"?  You can't say this, you can't say that...oh but the first amendment is all about freedom of speech.  Right?

Well how about if the press is pushing it's own agenda?  Hello?  How is it that they can get out there and say whatever they want, truth or not?  

Alot of propoganda out there from the so-called press.  And while our family watched the 45th President of these United States, and his family attend the Inter-Faith National Prayer service, which included a Muslim prayer, on the day after the inauguration, the mainstream media is covering Madonna and others, who have disgraced themselves in the name of women!  What a sham!  And what a crying shame!  Yes, I am a woman, and those people do not speak for me on any score.  Especially with that nasty, vile tone they use!

And while I know people who attended the Women's March, I respect their right to do so, I would never allow my daughter to listen to the garbage that some of those celebrity hate mongers spewed that day.  It is shameful how they have used women as a means to keep dividing the country even further.....and for what?

We are all born of the same life force.  You can call it by any name you choose.  And some of the great divide comes from organized religion. There is only one judge.  And I am not talking about the one with a gavel, who throws your butt in jail for wreaking havoc on our otherwise civilized society.  Get a grip.   And take a look in the mirror.  Is this what your mother intended you do with your life?  Raise hell, cause trouble?  Really! 

This is not a Christian or Muslim issue.  This is not a gender issue...and it is certainly not a race issue, which is very bad in our great land, thanks to the press who loves this type of conflict.

WE ARE ONE...YES, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE ARE ALL HUMANS! 

To each his own! It is so!  Let us not try to divide and conquer ~ let us love and nurture and give of ourselves to try and save what is left of humanity!  For it is humanity that is killing itself.  And it has nothing to do with guns!

Oh, I am woman, a proud, hard-working woman.  A wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter...and I am blessed with the Grace of God...just like everyone else.  The difference between me and them is quite simple...I am letting my light shine!  It is bright, and it is beautiful, and it is a gift, and nobody can take that away from me.

Not even a man!

A Brand New Day

It's a brand new day, a brand new month, in a brand new year...2017!  And as I sit here at my window, looking out through the woods at the squirrels scurrying around for hidden acorns in the snow I am tuned into the very frequency that brings all of this natural beauty to me.

The Christmas season is glorious in its own right.  Add to that, the beauty of Mother Nature at her finest, well, what could be more spectacular!

While the black bears have gone into hibernation, the deer and the wild turkeys are still out and about looking for food.  

The birds are well taken care of.  And soon, the Christmas tree will be hauled out into the woods to be decorated once again with strings of popcorn and fruit for the winter creatures that are one with me:)

I wish you all Love, and Peace and Great Joy for 2017...Health and Prosperity, too..in abundance!

ALOHA...