Christmas In the Coffee Shops? What About Thanksgiving?

November 17, 2009

The local Starbucks coffee shop changes with the seasons. New mugs, new coffee packaging, new displays. And of course, decorations…
Yesterday Christmas decorations went in as my hubby and I sat reading, over coffee. Snow-frosted pine garlands crossed over the tops of shelves and poked their message of good cheer in and out of everywhere. Today [...]

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What is a Rascal and is it a Good Thing?

November 3, 2009

Is being a Rascal a good thing? Do I know any? Am I one?
I saw a blog post today that quoted Chris Brady — a businessman, best-selling author, speaker, and a self-proclaimed Rascal — in listing several qualities of a Rascal. According to @RascalTweets:
A Rascal is a guy or gal who makes a difference by [...]

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Think and Do in Order to Have Done Something

October 26, 2009

How important is it to you, at day’s beginning, to know what you will have done by day’s end?

I ask myself, Do I know what I want to have done by bedtime tonight? Enough that I …

Plan for it?
Dress for it?
Mark out an hour or several in my planner to tackle it? You know, the [...]

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What Would You Rather Be Doing?

July 8, 2009

Yesterday I got a survey-type email from a friend that asked what I’d rather be doing, my favorite foods, fragrances, etc. I don’t normally take such surveys. I just read them and then delete. But this one made me think a minute…
I was asked what smells really good to me?
I like to breathe in…
the early [...]

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Does Romance Outlast the Rose?

June 18, 2009

Roses say romance… but does the romance outlast the rose?
Once upon a time, eighteen years or so ago, a young man won his love’s heart with a rose every Friday.
Oh, it wasn’t always a rose. Sometimes it was a dozen roses, sometimes a teddy bear. But always a gift, and always on Friday. And always [...]

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Do We Always Do What We’ve Always Done?

June 11, 2009

Must we always do things we’ve always done just because we’ve always done them?

I used to cook. And decorate the food.
When Wes and I were first married, I learned to cook on a budget because money was definitely scarce, and much of what little we both made as teachers had to be saved to buy [...]

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When is the Art Done?

June 4, 2009

I was recently asked, When is the art done? And I gave some silly response that had nothing to do with the question.
Maybe if she’d asked, Is the art ever done? I might have answered like this:
No. It’s never done. Not really. Not if the artist uses pigments to tell a story and the lead [...]

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Do Impromptu Visits With Friends Uplift You?

May 29, 2009

My friend Donna rapped on my door one night as I sat down to read the paper before dinner.
She stood in the drizzle of rain mixed with twilight, her face barely visible under a hooded sweatshirt.
Just for a bit of conversation she said.
I was delighted!
I crave the kind of friendship [...]

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What Will You Have Done With Your Day When the Sun Sets?

May 27, 2009

The day is still fresh though the dew has dried. The cool air brushes by softly, but I’m comfortable in sweats. A few birds still sing. A neighbor starts his lawn mower somewhere in the distance…
And I have my day planned. What am I doing with it?
Out of the blocks…

Jamie VanCauwenbergh
By evening, when the sun [...]

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Do You Have a Minute, Jack?

May 23, 2009

I fell in love as soon as I opened the photos for last week’s Weekend Drawing Event at WetCanvas.
His name is Jack…
He’s so young, but I see a child who appears comfortable with who he is so far. Maybe he is loved enough to be who he is. That’s a comforting thought.
He looks as if [...]

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