My View from the Top of the World

I didn't necessarily plan to write today, but then I picked up yesterday's mail, and I had received a Christmas card from an old friend I haven't seen in a long time.  The message was so simple: Be Merry Be Grateful Be Peaceful Be Loved I sat for long minutes, repeating that message to myself. With all the dissention in our world right now, I felt the message deep down, and knew that I wanted to share it.  So today's writing is simple... We are missing a lot this holiday season, but we don't have to miss the depth of it.  What we reap from Christmas and New Year celebrations is never the same between households, even individuals, but it's my wish that you receive whatever it is that you need this year, whether it's material, physical, or spiritual.  And, if you need for nothing, my wish is that you receive the very things that you want.  💖 Decorate, Sing, Laugh, Play, Bake, Chat, Dance, Smile, Give, Nourish... For loved ones, For belongings, For enough, For...

  The tree on the left is a magnolia.  Behind it, to the left of the house wall, we squeezed our camper.  That beautiful, wooden front door was installed to replace an old, black, painted-over-and-over door.  At the time of our residence, and maybe still, the windows had leaded panes - with actual lead. The upstairs bay window was my parents' bedroom.  There was no en suite bathroom, but there was a lovely old sink so that they could wash their faces and brush their teeth in private.  The downstairs bay window was our (formal) sitting room.  Our Christmas tree would stand in that window, and even as a child, I relished the peacefulness of an empty room, lit only by tree lights.  A week or so ago, I realized that this New Year's Eve would mark the 40th anniversary of our immigration to the United States of America. December 31st, 1980, I was thirteen years old. That night, we flew with TWA into New York city, but missed our connecting flight to Pit...

  A week or so ago, my friend posted this photo to Facebook.  It's a photo he took from the boardwalk, on the sound side in Duck, NC during Thanksgiving week.  After he posted the picture, I couldn't get it out of my mind, and asked him if I could use it for one of my quote pics.  Very kindly, he sent me copies.   The problem is, I can't find the right words to go with this picture.  I looked up quotes about winter, about Christmas, about nature, and peacefulness... and it took me a while, but I finally realized why I couldn't find the right words:  Because this photo elicits emotion, not quotable words of wisdom.  Do you have the perfect quote to go with this picture? Ask yourself, what words does this picture summon to your mind?  Then ask yourself, what emotions does it elicit?  As beautiful as this photograph is, I feel mournful when I look at it.  And I've looked at it a lot...  I've stared at it, studied it, and ende...