Exiting May

as we part the merry month

we find ourselves renewed and refreshed

spring is almost behind us

summer just ahead

the ground is turned and flowers planted

blossoms just peeking through

displaying the garden's color aspirations

June’s prospects a sunny array

vacation plans are made

flip flops and sunglasses

the fashion of the day

sea and surf a day away

mountain hikes a drive away

BBQs for everyday

hot fun in the summertime

as we exit the month of May

Cathy

hot fun in the summertime:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tjcjF6I7qI

Forever Rose

Colors swirl

Blossoms cluster

The bouquet of the bouquet lingers

Beauty rare

Endearing floret

Today’s rose, keepsake of tomorrow

Pages pressed

Time slumbers

Memories treasured forever

*

Cathy

Happy Feet

With the delightful weather that we’ve had this past weekend, it’s for certain that the flip flops have come out of the closet. Mix that with the necessary gardening and primping of the yard and you have one regulation ‘gardener’s delight’…dirty feet! It may not be the most attractive aspect of the summer, but it’s a definite ‘perk’ to the happiness of a gardener. A little dirt between the toes, add some water and you have instant ‘happy toes’.

It’s almost as much fun as being a child and jumping in puddles. Oh, what the heck…jump in the mud puddles….go for it! When you plant the seeds, stick them into the ground with your toes. Pack down the soil around the newly planted sprouts with your bare feet. Nudge the mulch with the side of your foot. When you’re done, rinse off your feet with the watering can.

Find a nice chair to lounge in or better yet, a hammock. Watch what sprouts up around you!

Cathy

Flip Flops: http://www.kusashoes.com/buy-now.htmloset. 

Memorial Day

To those who have served

To those who continue to serve

And to those to come in the name of freedom

Honor and prayers to all.

Three Little Words

Please and Thank You.

These are words of the greatest importance. They are some of the first words we teach our children:

“I want juice.”

“I want juice, please.” replies the mother.

“I want juice, please” replies the toddler.

“Please say thank you” says the mother.

“Thank you”, replies the toddler.

“Enjoy your juice” says the mother.

Social graces start at a young age. Being polite is more than just a social habit though. It is a sign of honoring one another. With each please and thank you is an act of love. “Pass the salt” may have an implied ‘please’ when at the dinner table, but isn’t it nicer to have the ‘please’ said to you? So often a ‘please’ is accompanied with a pause, a glance, a smile and definitely a wonderful memory. It’s a moment shared…love marked in time.

A stranger opens a door…Thank you. Please pass the menu… thanks. Do you have the time please? Thanks. What time is convenient for you? See you then, thanks. These courtesies let someone know that they are of equal worth and value as yours. As each child is important to this lesson received from his parents, so is each family member, neighbor, friend and stranger alike. To honor each person with this dignity is an act of love extended and multiplied.

Please consider this act in your daily life. The recipient will thank you and hopefully pass it on, an honor to your actions.

Cathy

That Which Is New England

On this Memorial Day weekend, with the influx of tourists, vacationers and seasonal residents, please remember the common denominator….

the beauty of New England. The reason we are all here is our love for the great outdoors and the variety of land and seascapes. The scent of the ocean’s salt-spray or clean mountain air attracts our senses. From the majestic mountain peaks of pines and mountain laurel to the coastal scenes with the tidal pools and hermit crabs, we return like the swallows to Capistrano.

What we know as residents to the area is that the attention is to the details. It’s more than the scenery, it’s the ambiance of the whole packaged deal, the people, their hearts and their love for this area they call home. For home is where the heart is and our heart remains in New England.

As you travel through New England this holiday weekend, pay attention to the details…that which makes your heart happy.

Enjoy,

Cathy

Love Unconditional

What are your terms for love? Are there conditions, recommendations, demands or comparisons to the status quo?

Love is free. Love does not have attachments. It does not judge. It does not compare. Love does not make demands. Love is.

True love recognizes the love within another. Love recognizes the truth of a situation. Love does not get measured in the weights and measures of this world. It doesn’t upset the apple cart or get thrown off balance.

It just is. It is centered and always perfect. Love is harmony. Love is light.

Love is any and all who recognize its magnificence.

We are love.

Namaste

Cathy

http://traciecarlos.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/unconditional-love/

http://www.heavenletters.org/the-story-of-love.html

Tea Time

Salt Water Taffy Day

With our extensive history of fun and sun on Cape Cod, I can’t think of a time when we didn’t share the fun with a box of salt water taffy. The mouth waters at just the mention of its name. Sweet, salty, luscious and creamy in glorious colors, taffy tempts the sweetest tooth.

Today, May 23^rd, is National Taffy day. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to grab a box of taffy and reminisce with the fun of it all.

Cathy

http://www.hilltopcandy.com/

http://www.massbaytrading.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MBTC&Product_Code=GSC1086

http://www.capecodsaltwatertaffy.com/index.php

http://www.candyusa.com/FunStuff/content.cfm?ItemNumber=987

A Popcorn Day

I wake to the sounds of raindrops on the roof

Outside my window is the sound of wet tires on pavement

The rain is mild enough for the birds to still be chirping

No wind

There’s no need to turn on the weather channel

It’s a popcorn and movie kind of day

Cathy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ

The Lavender Forest

the cool morning mist

with the sun dappled dew

gives way to the lavender paths

*

the midday light

accents the rainbow rays

filtering through the trees

*

the evening dusk

casts protective shadows

blanketing with purple haze

*

as the new moon rises

into the night’s cool air

amethyst orbs awake

*

dancing with fireflies

as the starlights descend

fairies come out to play

Fairhaven

National Devil’s Food Cake Day

Today is National Devil’s Food Cake Day! Grab the mixer from the cabinet and get the recipe and ingredients from the pantry. For fun, grab a child to help you! There’s nothing like a decadent slice of cake to soothe the soul. Invite friends and family. Make a day of it. Don’t forget to lick the beaters and bowl!

Enjoy!

Cathy

*

Bill Cosby: Chocolate Cake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcVcRMS4ejQ&feature=related

The Mary Month of May

Last year we SMFs had our get-together in the month of May. With it we had our ‘May Procession’. The celebration was so memorable that we still speak of it with both fun and affection. This year we have moved our get-together to June. Our May Procession of this year will have to take place in our hearts.

As we have dedicated our good times together to Mary, from our school days to our current lives, so shall we do so again now. We celebrate with each and every day with our families, friends and community. With each meal shared, each child taught, each flower picked and each song sung, we continue to honor the values of Mary and the Holy Family. With each story told, and each tear shed and each laugh shared we live the lives of those around the world who know her in their hearts and mind.

Mary has appeared to many around the world in the name of love and peace. As these historic moments are recorded, preserved and embraced by all who welcome her messages of divine care, love and protection, may we continue to carry them with us into our daily lives as a means of sharing in her life of endless love and affection.

May is the month dedicated to Mary, Queen of Peace. Please carry the month of May with you year round.

Cathy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVh9FZ4zNAA

Belonging to May

As the larger blooms of spring dominate the scenery, the azaleas, the rhododendrons, the dogwoods, we must take a quiet peek between their leaves for the splendor of the month of May. “Belonging to May” is one of the titles given to the lovely lily-of-the-valley. As the lilacs fade, the scent of this delicate flower with the iron will of Thor permeates the senses. A simple stroll by a garden or along a wooded path will bring you to this treasure of May. A few sprigs in a vase will brighten your home.

Go for a stroll, the scent will find you!

Cathy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_of_the_Valley

Alleluia

I found this beautiful video on YouTube. The music “Hallelujah” is written by Leonard Cohen and sung by Susan Boyle.

Enjoy,

Cathy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DZLpdsYqi4U

Wings of Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmK91G_NfUA

Beauty Within

Picasso "Woman in Mirror"

According to one dictionary, beauty is that which is manifested with high spiritual qualities. With that said and all of us being God’s children, who among us is not beautiful? Who among us has not been ‘graced’ with His presence?

Today I saw a commercial sponsored by Dove, promoting their Self-Esteem Program for girls. This program states: “Imagine a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety.” The commercial noted a study which indicated that girls loose interest in their hobbies when they feel self-conscious and distracted about their appearance. What is it that separates our connection to God’s beauty?

We have been prepared for life with the gifts of the Spirit. If they are not lived every day, they may be forgotten. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal. 5: 22-23) Surely beauty can be found in all these gifts. When we look for the beauty in another, we will find it. This in turn will bring out the beauty in you. Beauty is a cycle that must be lived.

Namaste,

Cathy

*

http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/Our-Vision/default.aspx

http://www.facebook.com/dove

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIe0FSvnycY

http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/our_partners/corporations_foundations/uniquelyme.asp

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/beauty?s=t

"The spirit in me respects the spirit in you," "the divinity in me bows to the divinity in you," and others, are modern interpretations, extrapolated from the Sanskrit root of namaste.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste

Happy Mother's Day

The Butterfly Spirit

The sun and sky paint the picture

The water and earth frame it

We dance through life

To define ourselves

Finding our butterfly spirit

Cathy

To Be Tolerant

To see through another’s eyes

To feel through another’s heart

To understand a different mind

To work through another’s hands

To walk in another’s footsteps

To love with a child’s hug

To accept without judgment

To wonder the glory of the world

To taste and know the bitter and sweet cup

To embrace the difference…

…and find your reflection within it

Cathy

Dew Catchers

A Million Wishes

What can be more wonderful than a wish in the making? It is reported that a genie grants three wishes. What can be more wonderful than three wishes in the making?

With the abundance of dandelions gone to fluff, what better way to spend them than to send them out with a wish. If you make a single wish on a single bit of fluff, then you can allow the other bits to be cast off into the wind anonymously to find the future owners of each potential wish.

This past week, my grandson and I met a nice young man of approximately six years of age at the playground. The two of them played tag and frozen statues until suppertime called us home. As we prepared to leave, they proceeded to pluck all the dandelions from the ground, make wishes and blow till all the fluff was airborne. I didn’t suggest this to them. It seemed to be instinctive.

“One last wish and off we go” I said.

This new friend said “I have made enough wishes for myself. I will now make a wish for you” as he looked at my grandson. “I wish you a plentiful college fund.”

I’m not sure I’ve heard of a more genuine and generous wish from a child. I looked over at his mother and said “That’s quite the boy you’ve got there!” I could only pick a dandelion, make a wish of “Ditto” for him, and send the wish upwards to the ears of heaven.

That day, more than one handful of dandelions was picked and about a million wishes were made as the three of us scattered them with a wave. I like to think that they floated above those in need of a wish and that they were all granted. As good fortune’s tales are told in the future, I will continue to think of that day and of wishes fulfilled.

A million wishes to you.

Cathy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj-74SWs0A8&feature=related

Choose God, Choose Love

Choose God, as He has chosen you.

http://www.heavenletters.org/gods-highest-creation.html

Cape Cod

The season is upon us

And the shores we know so well

Where sea spray greats our every move

And salty air cleanses our thoughts

Sunlight warms us and moonlight romances us

Along the beaches of Cape Cod

Our youth blossomed there

Our memories linger there

As we are called back over and over

To rejuvenate there

The sand beneath our feet

The shells collected in our hands

The roses along the footpaths

All tell us we are home

Terns, seagulls and plovers

Serenade our ears

Tides washing against the shores

Relax the senses

Sky meeting the ocean soothes the soul

As we harmonize with its nature

The company you keep along the way

Stimulates the friendships for all times

For these are the paths we have walked

And the memories that we share

Invisible footprints on the beach

Etched in timeless tales

Stories told and untold

For this journey of the heart

Cathy

In Balance

This weekend the announcement was made that Shaquille O’Neal was named Dr. O’Neal. “NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal received his doctoral degree in Education from Barry University Saturday morning alongside another 1,100 students during multiple commencement ceremonies at the James L. Knight Center.” Chicago Tribune

His doctoral project was titled:  "How Leaders Utilize Humor or Seriousness in Leadership Styles." I was impressed. Without knowing the body of work, I was impressed with the title and concept. It indicates that balance is the key to a good leader. There’s a time for humor and a time for seriousness when being a leader. Personally I lean towards humor, but both keep you in balance.

It’s always best to look on the light side. Examples from your own life can be the best way to relate to others. Examples cited from other’s experiences can be made from the same point of view of levity being the best path as we all have similar circumstances in life. Laughter is the best medicine. It helps to balance us especially when we can’t find the words to express ourselves. It’s wonderful to bring a smile to someone’s face. It’s the sign of a true leader.

Cathy                                                                                                                                    

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Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-mct-shaq-becomes-dr.-oneal-graduates-from-barry-20120505,0,5291789.story

Bill Cosby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bputeFGXEjA

Terry Fator: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMl-fXxeuzk&feature=related

Johnny Carson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpOGB4SkcM4

Loretta LaRoche: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH0nshGIKwQ&feature=related