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An End-Of-The-Year Pause...

12/28/2022

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Hello blog friends,

Winter is upon us in the northern hemisphere, and yet it seems like summer was just last week. How did the months fly past so quickly? Though I don't have the answer, I want to share a theory.

For much of this year, various threats populated our days. Breaking News warned us of dangers real and potential. Because of this, I think the miracles of life often slipped by unnoticed. If you check your calendar, I suspect you'll find all the must-dos that kept you busy. At least that is how my calendar looks. What you won't find, probably, are the miracles. I think it's time for us to claim them. 

I've walked back through my year and rescued some of the miracles. I'd like to share a few of them with you, and I'd love to know some of yours as well. Here goes...  
                                 *
My year began with the news of my daughter's marriage. She and her new husband arranged for a private ceremony in Connecticut. Their smiles tell a story of happiness that is now embraced throughout the family.

When I visited during the early summer, I spent time with the two lovers and my sons and my grandchildren. The week together was precious beyond description and brought back the blessings of life. 
​
                                 *
​Before and after the flight to New York, my husband and I visited 
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Sedona. It's just a little more than an hour from where we live and is one of my favorite places on this beautiful earth. 

In addition to being geographically breathtaking, the area is magical. The red rocks calm the soul and draw a person into reverence. The area is a mecca for hikers, for nature lovers, for all those who seek peace. For me, it feels like home.   

​                        *
Over the summer, my sisters and I met up at the Carlsbad beach near San Diego. We took long walks by the water's edge and also explored the nearby botanical gardens with our husbands. 

Truly, there's nothing quite like an ocean breeze to wash away the anxiety of the day. 

Larry's children and grandchildren live nearby, but because a few of them had tested positive for Covid, we visited from afar. Nevertheless, even seeing them from our car window was a joy.  

                               *
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In an earlier post, I mentioned that two of my sons traveled to Patagonia -- the tall one on the left and the middle one wearing shorts. They ventured south in November, joining a few friends along the way, and hiked over 75 miles into this vast area that most of us will never see.

This past Christmas week, I met up with one of my sons in Southern California. We talked about the trip and a new possibility -- a hike in the Pyrenees mountains. ​Oh to be young again! ​

​This simple exercise shifted my thoughts from the latest catastrophe to the beauty that surrounds us all. I hope you enjoyed the highlights, and I also hope you'll share some of yours. We all need to pause and consider the wonder of life. Let's do it together.

My simple New Year's resolution is to intentionally claim 2023 as the Year of Miracles.  ❤️
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25 Comments

Holiday blessings...

12/14/2022

 
Happy holidays, dear friends!

Through the simple poem below, I try to capture the gratitude and respect I hold for each of you. Your stories and blogs have transformed the year. Thank you.❤️

I'll be traveling this coming week and will miss visiting your blogs. But on the upside, I'll be reading some of the many books buried in my kindle. Hopefully, yours is top on the list. 

Blessings to you and yours. I hope you stay healthy -- and warm. The forecast is for chilly weather, so let's bundle up.  ❄️☃️❄️

​Hugs,
​Gwen

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

12/5/2022

39 Comments

 
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Hello blog friends, 

Our neighborhoods shine brighter every day with outside lights and colorful decorations. Spirits grow happier as the holidays approach. It's that time of the year, and Andy Williams says it better than anyone: the most wonderful time of the year. 

If you're like me, you want to be with family. I live a long flight away from my adult children. Phone calls bring us close, but not close enough for a hug or three. In the absence of immediacy, though, I've discovered an expanded family. 

You are the reason for this new definition of family. Most of us have never met (and never will), and yet, we claim one another as friends, because the written word has brought us together. When we read, we weep, celebrate, fall in love, dance, dream, and sometimes scream. It sounds like a family, doesn't it?

Today I share a few, and only a few, of those whom I now recognize as family. I've spotlighted eight books that earned five-stars from me this year, and I'd like to share them with you. 

Harmony Kent's Sorrowful Soul ripped open my heart and brought me to tears. Jill Weatherholt's Searching for Home helped me see all that is beautiful in life. D.L. Finn's A Voice in the Silence drew me into the forest and mystery. Pete Springer's They Call Me Mom warmed my heart immensely and gave me hope for our children. The anthology Distant Flickers kept me turning the pages wanting more. Dan Antion's The Evil You Choose revealed the choices of a hero and those of the deceitful. D. Wallace Peach's The Necromancer's Daughter exposed good and evil and left me in awe of the story itself. Mae Clair's and Staci Troilo's The Haunting of Chatham Hollow brought the past into the present powerfully, via a generational mystery. 

Family? I think so. When our kindles are full, so are our hearts. Thank you, all, for being part of my reading family.

I hope your holiday preparations go perfectly. And I hope you and your families (near and far), find time to be with each other. May gratitude and laughter abound! Happy Holidays to all. ❤️

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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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