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A “Woohoo” Journey

/ Jodi / 32 Comments

A Woohoo Journey.

I was talking to a friend the other day
whose family just returned from their annual weekend amusement park vacation.

It made me think about how many “rides”…. how many difficult situations… how many journeys…
I closed my eyes and waited until it was over.

Instead of enjoying the ride… Instead of appreciating the journey,
and shouting “Woohoo!”

Roller Coasters…
literally and figuratively.

I think of all the things I missed….
just waiting to get to the end – the destination.

No more!
No more closing my eyes and waiting.

Eyes are now wide open.
I am watching.  I am appreciating.  I am enjoying the journey!

(Just please don’t hold me to this on the Thunderbolt at Kennywood!)

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Broken

/ Jodi / 45 Comments
"Broken" - Abstract Watercolor 11x14 140lb Saunders Waterford Cold Press

“Broken” – Abstract Watercolor 11×14 140lb Saunders Waterford Cold Press

The broken
will always
be able
to love harder
than most.

Once you have been
in the dark,
you learn
to appreciate
everything
that shines.

–Zachry K. Douglas

Embrace
the brokenness
and let
your light
shine.

Cheers & Hugs
Jodi

"Broken" - Abstract Watercolor 11x14 Matted and Framed

“Broken” – Abstract Watercolor 11×14 Matted and Framed

 

Let’s Face It

/ Jodi / 37 Comments
Red Rocks of Sedona, Arizona - July, 2017 - Do you see the face?

Red Rocks of Sedona, Arizona – July, 2017 – Do you see the face?

Let’s Face It…

We must
all face the choice
between
what is
Right
and
what is
Easy.

– Professor Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Do you see the face in the rock?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS  Seems Professor Dumbledore has some pretty profound things to say….  After all these years of my boys telling me I really should read the Harry Potter series, maybe I should……..

Stars Don’t Only Shine at Night

/ Jodi / 24 Comments
Purple Petunias

Purple Petunias

Stars don’t only shine at night.

Attract what you expect.
Reflect what you desire.
Become what you respect.
Mirror what you admire.

Author Unknown
InspirationQuotesMagazine.com

Shine on Stars…
Shine on!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Into the Woods

/ Jodi / 47 Comments
Into the Woods in our Backyard June 25, 2017 Mars, PA

Into the Woods in our Backyard June 25, 2017 Mars, PA

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Yesterday was one of those
most amazingly glorious
Summer Sundays.

No agenda,
bright sunshine,
cool breeze.

I woke early,
sipped my coffee on the deck
with the birds and the rising sun.

I made old-fashioned macaroni salad
to chill and be just right
to accompany grilled burgers for dinner.

I took my watercolors
out onto the patio,
and I painted for hours.

And when it was time to move a bit,
Charlie and I headed to the woods
in our backyard.

We hiked until we got lost,
and then we found our way out through a neighbor’s backyard
on an intersecting street to ours.

It was a sauntering walk
with stops to breathe it all in, smell the fresh air,
and commune with nature.

The woods are a great place
to learn how truly small you
and your problems really are.

It’s a place to be small,
but come out feeling bigger
and better and complete.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

*Transient

Sometimes I Wonder

/ Jodi / 19 Comments
Goldfinch and Grosbeak at the feeder - Mars, PA - June, 2017

Goldfinch and Grosbeak at the feeder – Mars, PA – June, 2017

Sometimes
I wonder
how you put up
with me.
Then I remember,
oh I put up with you.
So we’re even.

Author unknown

Lovingly dedicated to a guy I call “Merv.”
He calls me “Gert.”
I put up with him.
He puts up with me.
Let’s do it until eternity. ❤

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Caught in the Net

/ Jodi / 48 Comments
Caught in the Net - Fishing Net in Black & White - Lake Arthur - May 2017

Caught in the Net – Fishing Net in Black & White – Lake Arthur – May 2017

Caught in the Net.

I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. . . . There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?

― John Steinbeck, East of Eden

 

A good question to ask ourselves at the end of each day … “Have I done well?”

And if not…  tomorrow is  another day.

Keep on trying.

Be caught in the net of good.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Even if no one bothers to look…

/ Jodi / 63 Comments
Sunrise on Forsythe - Mars, PA 5/8/17

Sunrise on Forsythe – Mars, PA – 5/8/17

Even if no one bothers to look…

The sunrise, of course, doesn’t care if we watch it or not.
It will keep on being beautiful,
even if no one bothers to look at it.

Gene Amole

Yesterday morning I was on the road very early
and couldn’t resist driving down one of my favorite roads in our little community.

It was a cold, but sunny morning
with a nip in the air and frost on the grass.

As the warmth of the sun shone,
the steam and fog rose from the ice crystal-kissed earth and cold creeks and ponds.

I drove home slowly on my way back from my early morning run,
sipping my steaming coffee, but drinking in the beginning of a new day.

I wish I took time to notice it more often….
It’s there – just waiting for me to enjoy its beauty.

And with or without me –
that sunrise just keeps on being beautiful!

It made me think a bit too…
About being beautiful.

No – not Hollywood beauty…
not Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition beauty.

But about being a beautiful person –
in my heart and in my thoughts and in my character and in my actions.

And I want to make an effort to be a beautiful person…
even if no one bothers to look.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Gene Amole also wrote a book I just bought on Amazon called “The Last Chapter.”  I look forward to reading it and will share my thoughts.

March Madness Ambiguity

/ Jodi / 30 Comments
Earth, Light, & Wind Abstract Brusho Watercolor

Earth, Light, & Wind Abstract Brusho Watercolor

Like the ambiguity of the weather in March,
do you ever wonder why…

there is no ham in hamburger,
or no egg in eggplant?

Do you ever wonder why…

Chili is hot
and being hot is cool?

and if we say, “She sees a lot,”
does she see much or a piece of land?

Have you considered why…

when the stars come out, they are visible,
but when we turn the lights out, they are invisible?

The ambiguity of this existence
we call life.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Abstract Watercolor done with Brusho Crystal Colours:  Earth, Light & Wind

 

It only takes a spark

/ Jodi / 25 Comments
comfort-candle-bereavement-gift-only-takes-a-spark

Comfort Candle Bereavement Gift

It only takes a spark
to get a fire going.

Create a spark today.
Be the spark today.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

(PS – thank you JH for the beautiful comfort candle bereavement gift – it touched my heart – you lit a spark)