Getting Ready for Christmas in Mars.
Where else can you find a 40 foot Christmas tree
ready for lights and balls and tinsel and a star…
next to a spaceship and across from Mars Bank
in town square?
There’s no place like home
in Mars, PA…
where celebrating Christmas
is “out of this world!”
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
For the beauty of the earth… For the Glory of the Skies
A Hymn of Grateful Praise.
For the beauty of the earth…
For the glory of the skies.For the beauty of each hour…
Of the day and of the night.For the joy of human love…
A hymn of grateful praise.
Sometimes there are just no better words
than those of classic hymns.
On this Thanksgiving Day,
I am grateful for all of this and more.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Ceilng Light, Omni William Penn, Pittsburgh, PA
When I look into your eyes,
I see your heart…
and that is where
the beauty is.
It’s deep in your soul.
It’s past the superficial.
When I look into your eyes
nothing else matters.
I wonder what you see
when you look into mine.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
First Snow – 11/19/17 – Mars, PA
First Snow.
There’s just something
about the first snow of the season…
That first snow that sticks to the ground and trees –
even if just a briefly passing dusting.
Especially when it happens on
a late Sunday afternoon.
And when it appears suddenly –
as if it wanted to be a special surprise.
And when you are settling in by a warm, crackling fire
in comfy home sweet home.
Cherish the Moments.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
With Jodi’s kind permission I’m sharing some of my favourite posts from her fantastic blog, of which you could say that I’m a devoted follower. If you enjoy beauty, art and inspiration (not to mention mouth-watering food recipes) then Jodi’s blog simply has it all! I feel honoured that Jodi so generously allows me to […]
I was so honored by this beautiful post created by Liz at Exploring Color, I had to share. Thank you my sweet friend Liz from the other side of the world in New Zealand!
I hope you enjoy this beautiful post she created about the Four Seasons from my blog. My heart is so touched. I hope you will check out her lovely blog.
I’m starting with Autumn because this recent post of Jodi’s prompted me to do ‘Four Seasons with Jodi’. It touched my heart…
I watched you as you sat proud and beautiful
while the rain fell on and around you.
You didn’t need
the sun to make you shine.
In fact,
you stood out even brighter in the cloudy drizzle.
And I was reminded
true beauty comes from within.
It can’t be soaked or drenched
or washed off.
It can’t be dampened or doused
by the storms of life.
Let the rain fall.
Let the storms crash.
And continue to shine
your authentic beautiful self.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Link for original post: Let the Rain Fall
Is anything crazier or more unpredictable than the weather?!
Where I live, we went from record highs one week
to record lows the next.
From open windows and shorts and bare feet –
to snow flurries and wool socks and sweaters.
And one cold day I painted this winter scene
(inspired by a photo I saw that I cannot find credit for).
It’s funny how the cold scene
gives me a warm feeling.
Almost as crazy as the weather!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Link for original post: Snowy Pines Watercolor
Your visit is so brief….
but your memory lingers,
and it is ceremoniously revived
each Spring when you surprise me yet again.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Link for original post: A Brief Visit
On the edge of a meadow lives a bumble bee named Buzz.
He lives near his aunt and his uncle and his cuz.
Aunt Sally, Uncle Sam, and Sherman they was.
They love Buzz more than any other in Americas.
Sherman and Buzz love to play and dance because
It is what all the bumble bees in the meadow does.
So if you see dancing bees and think your eyes are a fuzz,
don’t be surprised if it’s Sherman and Buzz.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Link for original post: A Bumble Bee Named Buzz
One of Jodi’s friends left a wonderful quote in the ‘comments’ on this post:
Buzz the bumble bee is one of many cute animal characters in Jodi’s newly published children’s book Klaus The Mouse
Klaus the Mouse by Jodi McKinney – Amazon
Jodi contributed a guest post in my Where and What is Beauty? series.
Please visit Liz’s beautiful blog – Exploring Colour.
via Four Seasons with Jodi — Exploring Colour
I hope you are enjoying whatever season of weather and of life you are in!
Cherish the Moments!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Sunset, Mars, PA – Autumn 2017
Every Sunset.
May every sunrise
fill you with hope.
And every sunset
bring you peace.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Goldfinch in the Rain – Autumn, Mars, PA
Let the Rain Fall.
I watched you as you sat proud and beautiful
while the rain fell on and around you.
You didn’t need
the sun to make you shine.
In fact,
you stood out even brighter in the cloudy drizzle.
And I was reminded
true beauty comes from within.
It can’t be soaked or drenched
or washed off.
It can’t be dampened or doused
by the storms of life.
Let the rain fall.
Let the storms crash.
And continue to shine
your authentic beautiful self.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Chandelier at Omni William Penn Ballroom, Pittsburgh, PA – 11/2017
Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.Martin Luther King, Jr.
I was at a meeting this week at the beautiful Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. The Omni is a gorgeous historical classic that was built in 1915 and hailed as the “Grandest Hotel in the Nation” when it opened in 1916.
During a tour in preparation for an upcoming conference I’ll be part of, I couldn’t help but snap a picture of one of the gorgeous chandeliers that hangs in the ballroom. I thought of all of the galas and weddings and celebrations that took place under their sparkling light. I thought of all the love that was shared…. all the victories celebrated… all the accomplishments recognized. And the chandeliers became more significant. They represented over 100 years of “light.”
May we all shine as bright.
May we all be the light.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Kindness Day…. (s)
Every Act
of Kindness
Grows
the Spirit
and
Strengthens
the Soul.
–Anonymous
November 13 is World Kindness Day.
Can’t we make every day be World Kindness Day?
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Falling for Fall -Mars, PA – November 8, 2017
Falling for Fall.
The days may grow shorter with darkness coming earlier….
but then we get to enjoy the warm glow of candlelight,
and breathe in the scents of pumpkin spice and cinnamon.
The air may grow crisp and the temperatures colder….
but then we get to wear flannels and hoodies and knit sweaters,
and sit by crackling warm fires under fleece blankets.
The leaves that once brought shade may turn dry and fall from the trees….
but then we get to kick and roll in the heaped, crunchy piles
and wait for sparkling white snow to stick to the bare brown branches.
The change of each new season…
brings opportunities for us to Fall for each one,
and embrace the joy and blessings it brings.
Fall for Fall!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi*
*A Born-Anew Autumn Lover!
the creative life in between 