Up Close & Personal with Flowers/Weeds in My Lawn, Mars, PA
“Weeds are flowers too…
Once you get to know them.”
— A. A. Milne, Author of Winnie the Pooh
May you see flowers in all of your “weeds.”
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth
Once upon a time
a little girl was born
to the best Grandma
in the entire universe.
As time passed,
the little girl grew,
but her admiration
for the best Grandma
in the entire universe
never waned.
The grandma knew
she wouldn’t be able
to stay forever
and share her love
with the little girl
who became a woman, a wife, and a mother
who she still so greatly adored.
So she gave the woman
a plant to remember
her everywhere she would go
wherever she went
for as long as she lived.
And every May
the little girl
who is now
soon be a Grandma herself
remembers the love
from her special Grandma.
The gift of life
The gift of love
the gift from the heart
A bleeding heart.
A heart that knows
A heart that understands
A heart that consoles
a little girl, a grand-daughter,
a mother, a soon-to-be grandmother.
With admiration
beyond compare,
with love and a bleeding heart
from one little girl, mother, grand-daughter, grandmother
to another.
I love you, Grandma
now and forever.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
(My Grandma gave me this Bleeding Heart plant before she passed away many years ago. I have moved it twice. Every Spring, I shed a tear of joy, of sorrow, of love, of loss when it blooms and reminds me of one of the greatest ladies , role models, “mothers,” I have ever known. I believe it to be the most beautiful flower on the entire planet.)
Male Goldfinch, Mars, PA
A Little Birdie told me….
Stop waiting
for tomorrow,
or the weekend
or a rainy day,
or a sunny day.
Joy is found
when you stop waiting,
and start realizing
the joy in the moments
of every day life.
Cherish the moments
of a gentle breeze,
a warm smile,
a soft embrace,
a kind word.
A little birdie told me
life is short,
grief and hatred and sorrow exist,
but love conquers all,
joy exists,
happy moments must be grasped.
Cherish the moments.
A little birdie told me.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Old Dogwood Tree, Mars, PA
You are a late bloomer,
and I worry every year
if you will make it through
and blossom and bloom.
Such a welcome site
on brittle branches,
your fragile flowers
make their appearance again.
Welcome Spring
from the Old Dogwood Tree.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Is anything better
than a walk to the park
on a sunny Saturday Spring afternoon?
Little brother and big sister
sharing the joy.
The fountain is finally on,
the tire swing is out.
—-
Every day may not be good,
but there is something good
in every day.
Look for the good –
and Cherish the Moments!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Rusty Old Bridge
Your shiny metal has weathered to shades of orange and brown
like skin that has worked and played and laughed in the sun.
Your concrete pillars are beginning to crack under pressure
like wrinkles of worry from the stress of supporting such a heavy load.
You connected two sides – one with the other
as if you had open and outstretched arms.
And now,
though your original purpose is abandoned,
you still serve,
but in subtler ways.
a shady spot for respite from the heat
or a lazy day of fishing.
It’s time to rest Rusty Old Bridge.
You’ve earned this time.
Enjoy it
while I admire you.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Bloom where you are planted.
There’s no better place to be.
Right exactly where you are
is where you’re meant to be.
Bloom where you are planted
for all the world to see.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Before I came to live here about 8 months ago, my mom used to think making the bed was a chore.
She is really glad I am hear now, because I make it a fun game!
I play “jump on the bed” when she is pulling up the bedspread or sheet or blanket, so I get a fun “ride,” and she gets a little extra upper body strengthening workout.
When she is changing the sheets, I jump on the mattress so she can fluff the sheet over me and I have to wiggle my way out.
I love to try to bite the pillows while she is trying to stuff them into fresh pillowcases.
And when it is all done, it’s a BLASSSST to grab my donut, get a really fast running start from the living room, and jump up on the bed and skid across it to the other side and jump off. This fluffs things up a bit more comfortable than having the bed covers being all flat and tucked in. That’s NOT comfortable!
It’s great fun, and there is nothing like playtime FIRST thing in the morning, before Mom has her coffee or has time to get dressed or brush her teeth. Morning is PLAY time! Well – after MY breakfast of course. But then… it is all about playtime.
Isn’t my mom lucky to have me to turn a mundane chore like making the bed into a really fun game?
She’s not so sure, but you get it – right?
Woofs & Wags,
Charlie
For More Posts by Charlie, simply type Charlie into the search bar, and enjoy his antics
Forsythia Growing Around a Split Rail Fence on a Country Road
Today is National Healthcare Decision Day. This is something quite near and dear to my heart and something I am passionate about.
National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) exists to inspire, educate and empower the public about the importance of advance care planning. NHDD is an initiative to encourage individuals to express their wishes regarding healthcare and for healthcare providers to respect those wishes, whatever they may be. The theme for 2016 is “It Always Seems Too Early, Until It’s Too Late.”
The National Healthcare Decision Day website has a multitude of resources that I highly recommend you check out at this link. I also recommend a project that I helped work on called the Journey GPS (Getting Plans Started) Guide. You can download it free at this link. It is a great resource for starting the conversation and carrying out your wishes for the way you want to experience your journey at end of life when that time comes. The #NHDD theme this year is so poignant and true: It always seems too early, until it is too late!
Take some time today to consider your choices, and let your loved ones know. You deserve to have the right care at the right time in the right place no matter where you are in this crazy journey we call life.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I created and started baking this super yummy cookie years ago by taking my old reliable base cookie recipe and adding dried blueberries and white chocolate chips.
It has become a favorite of hubby’s and some of my other cookie-lovin’ friends. I was surprised to realize I had not posted this recipe here yet, so I’m excited to share it with you.
If you are looking for a unique and delightful treat, you really should try this cookie. I have been hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like these!
Dried blueberries can be a bit pricey, but Trader Joe’s is a great source of delicious and reasonable ones. And they are sooooo worth it once you’ve taken a bite of this cookie!
Ingredients:
4 sticks (1 lb.) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 cups all purpose flour
1 12-oz bag Nestle Premier White Chocolate Chips (or your favorite)
1 8-oz bag Trader Joe’s dried blueberries (or your favorite brand)
Directions:
With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until completely incorporated. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat until light and fluffy. Add baking soda and salt, and mix another minute. Gradually add flour and beat until well incorporated, but do not overbeat.
Fold in white chocolate chips and blueberries. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. With your hands, form a cookie dough ball about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Place on baking stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Allow to cool on baking stone for 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 
