Godspeed Dear Friend

Max Sept 6, 2011

Today Mr. Jackson and I said goodbye to Max. He is free. No doubt Max is running in the fields of heaven, stopping only to charm food off of someone's plate...we were blessed to have him for as long as we did....we will strive to honor his memory by living as he did- with heart, compassion and joy.



Happy Thanksgiving

A Blessing

May your home be filled with laughter and the warm embrace of a summer day.

May you find peacefulness and beauty, challenge and satisfaction, humor and insight, healing and renewal,

love and wisdom, as in a quite heart.

May you always feel that what you have is enough.

Author Unknown

Best Wishes to all for a happy Thanksgiving!

Believe!

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies!


Francis P. Church--From the New York Sun, September 21, 1897.

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

My good friend sent this to me to remind me that work and all that we work for will happen..small steps...hope and positive thoughts --chill out.

One Good Thing

When eating fruit, think of the person who planted the tree.-- Vietnamese  Proverb

My dear friend, Elyce, despite an epic battle, lost her husband, Harry, to leukemia. Harry Purcell was an amazing and kind man. His spirit lives on in the people he touched.--magic happens when we all believe in the possibilities--Cherilyn Swenson from Santa Fe is running a marathon in his honor.

"For anyone who would like to to support the cause and/or follow along on my journey, you can go to my Team in Training webpage. I will continue to post updates about the training and the marathon, where I will proudly represent Harry. With gratitude and appreciation, Cherilyn Swenson"

A Raven's Call

Mr Jackson and I traveled to New Mexico last year for Indian Market and were very lucky to stay at Casa De Las Cuervas.



Located in the historic Guadalupe/Railyard District of Santa Fe, this amazing adobe was close to the Plaza so we could walk to and fro but not be in the midst of the madness that consumes Santa Fe during the market.



What made our stay extraordinary was not only the presence of Mercede Velarde's art and the collection of American Indian antiques but the presence of Mercedes and her partner, Mary Leonard checking in on us to make certain we were enjoying our visit. We spent many mornings and afternoons talking about Santa Fe, life, politics and the hope we had for the future.



Since then we have continued our garden talks via email keeping tabs on the happenings in Santa Fe.

Mr. Jackson and I hear the call of the raven and are working our way back, looking forward to experiencing the enchantment and wisdom we felt during our stay.

BFF sings the blues

Actually she is not singing but achooing! and down with the flu. After our trip to the spa we promised each other that we would continue our journey to fitness. Since we live fifty miles from each other, the goal is to email each other to keep each other on track and to schedule monthly hikes and such. Email is a new thing for her. For years, I have been sending notes to her husband’s email and he would advise her that ‘she had mail’. Pretty good deal if you can get it. This is the very same man who talked us in from his laptop and got us to the spa on time. A gem.

Anyway, when we got home she actually sat down at the computer and signed up for an email account. Ok, she probably had some help from hubby and her 16 year old daughter, but the point is…she did it. When she didn’t answer my email, I was not surprised. So I checked in and was advised by his gemness, that she was in bed sleeping away the blues that only a springtime flu can bring.

So I am writing this post knowing that tomorrow her hubby will once again advise her ‘you got mail!’

Here’s hoping you feel better and ready to move it soon, kiddo.

Take this job...

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
Walter Winchell

Last Thursday I attended a retirement party for a woman who worked for me as an assistant for nine years. She went on to work with another three or four more people for an additional five years. She is a mother, a wife, a grandmother and raised her hand when it became apparent that the company I work for would begin to make cuts saying, “Pick me.” She saved another woman’s job.

The party was small and exclusive, mainly all of the women who work in her position. These women are the support and the machine that gets it done. I was honored to be invited and in their presence. They have brought me through many tough times and always are there to give me the push, the smile needed to make it to where I wanted to go. They have a strength and sense of humor that comes from dealing with ‘type a’ personalities on a daily basis.

She completed my sentences before they were spoken and made my day. It's been almost five years since we worked together, I still and I will miss her.