Meri's Musings

Haiku My Heart Megata Print "Take Bamboo" Library of Congress pre-1915 Japanese print collection LC-DIG-jpd-01188  A lightning flash -- the sound of water drops falling through bamboo. Buson (1716 - 1783) For biographical information on Buson click HERE .

Today I'm finding JOY in small things - like being able to take a deep breath   without triggering a coughing spasm precipitation is falling as rain, at least right now -- though snow is in the forecast I've got some cheery garden ornaments making my garden smile. What gives you JOY? To play along and share the joy: 1. do a post that tells and shows us what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post  and paste it into the  Mr. Linky box  along with your name. 3. visit other players -- as many as possible --  and let their joy infect you.   Leave them a comment about their post. Let's start an epidemic of joy!

After all this down time I want  to get  my color back and say a little thank you for it. To reclaim my shine. I want to put on magic shoes and dance like there's no tomorrow. Because, truth be told all we ever have is now.

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into  with abandon or not at all.   Harriet Van Horne Are you a stick-to-the-recipe kind of cook or a follow-your-instincts one? Do you precisely measure ingredients or do you eyeball? And can you remember the biggest food flop you've ever created? I can. We had invited a couple over for dinner. I was making Quiche Lorraine in my 14" quiche plate with a sinfully rich press-in-butter pastry. I was also making a spinach salad (more bacon, more eggs) and a Baked Alaska (you've got it: More eggs!) Somewhere in the back of my mind, I must have worried about having my guests  and the love of my life drop dead of clogged arteries before the end of the evening but it was one of those unarticulated, free floating thoughts. The quiche usually took 1 hr 15 minutes to bake, but not that night. I checked it at an hour--- still a liquid puddle. Same after another 15 minutes. 30 minutes. 45 minutes. It was a little less sogg

Haiku My Heart at Recuerda mi Corazon Megata: Wisteria Vine (from 1870s) in Library of Congress Photo & Print Collection http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/jpd.01076 in pale moonlight the wisteria's scent comes from far away   - Buson

What gives me JOY? Seeing evidence that people are doing the work of the heart from the heart. Like Rachel Scott, the first student killed at Columbine High School 12 years ago,  Image from RachelsChallenge.org whose campaign for  kindness & compassion  survived her death Image from RachelsChallenge.org and reaches out to touch others through the work of Rachel's Challenge .  Like Ben, Jason and Laren image from InvisibleChildren.com who hopped a plane to Uganda after college, made a film about the Night Walkers, and started Invisible Children . Invisible Children: WHO WE ARE from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo . To find out about this holy work, or to contribute, follow the links. What gives you JOY? To play along and share the joy: 1. do a post that tells and shows us what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post  and paste it into the  Mr. Linky box  along with your name. 3. visit other players -- as many as possible --  and let t

he sat in the what if chair his ass affixed with glue so strong he realized he might just die there. what if I hadn't laughed when I farted out loud? he wondered. what if I'd planted daffodils instead of corn? he mused. what if I'd listened oh so closely to what you didn't say? he queried to the heat shimmering like an aura before him. what if I hadn't believed your lies when you told me nothing was wrong? he muttered to himself but more importantly what if I'd asked you how you wanted to be loved before it was too late?

still staying warm and cozy within reach of tissues and cough meds but that doesn't stop me from imagining remembering    wishing

Long conversations beside blooming irises -- joys of life on the road. - Bashö (1644 -1694) Horikiri no hanashōbu (Horikiri Iris Garden) 1857 Hiroshige Ando (1797 - 1858) Library of Congress  http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/jpd.02393 Visit Rebecca's  Haiku My Heart

What gives me JOY? Spring flowers  with all  their ruffles  and flourishes. p.s. Negative for pneumonia -- just horrible bronchitis, flu, and sinus infection, day 9. What gives you JOY? To play along and share the joy: 1. do a post that tells and shows us what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post  and paste it into the  Mr. Linky box  along with your name. 3. visit other players -- as many as possible --  and let their joy infect you.   Leave them a comment about their post. Let's start an epidemic of joy!