A Good Beginning

Source

Looking to start the day on a positive note? A Harvard professor recommends stretching for a few minutes before you get out of bed in the morning. You can learn more here.

Hiatus

So, for my one or two readers out there, I'm back from an unscheduled two month blogging hiatus! It was completely unplanned. Life just happened and next thing I knew it was already autumn.

I took the first real vacation I've had in 12 years and went to France! More about that later.

During my blogging break, I tried to focus on things that are simple and beautiful. Out went Facebook (or most of it) and any draining activities and people. One reason I have all but abandoned Facebook is because as "friends" shared ugly and negative posts, I simply told Facebook I didn't want to see those types of things. Before I knew it, my feed rarely had posts from people I actually knew! So I started limited my reading (and rare commenting) to groups I belong to that are only focused on the positive.

After reading a bit about positivity and gratitude, I now know that what you focus tends to be what you find in life. And that's what I want to share with and spread to my readers. Tune in for more later!

Inspiring Quote

"When the flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower."

~Alexander Den Heijer

Neglect

I didn't mean to go so long without posting! Life just became busy and I kept putting off tending to my blog. I went out of town for four days so between preparing for the trip, being on the trip, then returning from the trip, I ended up with little time to even think about my blog.

This Sunday I'll be taking some me time - time to plan, organize, prepare - and making space to blog will something I'll be considering. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of Fabs - don't you wish you could be that relaxed and confident?

Inspirational Thought

 “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

~George Eliot

Sunset

I haven't been posting lately because I've been enjoying walks in the evening, sunsets, good food, etc. This is my favorite time of the year. Although we have amazing sunsets every evening, this was an especially beautiful sunset:

Spring Harvest

We had an abundance of Swiss chard this week so I found a couple of delicious recipes to make: Swiss chard pesto and lentil and Swiss chard soup. Bill and I are both very cold natured so have no problem eating soup in during warm weather. I like the simplicity of a one-pot meal this time of year, too. I froze the pesto in an ice cube tray. Once it has frozen, I'll pop out the little cubes and store them in a container in the freezer for quick meals throughout the year. (I know your skin can take on an orange cast from eating too many carrots; can it turn green from too much Swiss chard, kale, etc.?)

I didn't take photos of the food, but I did get a picture of one of the hollyhocks that has returned this year: