Best Witches for a Boooootiful Halloween

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

From a fabulous Bella Pilar greeting card


Love you all





Have a safe and Bootiful Halloween
Best Witches


Movember
Where every mustache counts
My Son is participating.

If you know of anyone that would be interested please pass this along.

Thank you

APPLE DUMP CAKE (courtesy of my dear friend Shelley)

2 cans apple pie filling
1 yellow box cake mix
2 sticks butter

In a 9 x 13 inch oblong cake pan (ungreased); put in 2 cans of apple pie filling. Dump yellow cake mix on top of pie filling, then slice butter into pats and place evenly on top of cake mix. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or longer for desired brownness.

Let us all have a safe and happy Halloween
and let us all live applely ever after

Love you all♥



I love this song

The Buddha of Compassion

My son as a small child in the leaves


If you are interested my Son is participating in the fund raising for
prostate cancer


I love this

The whole world is interwoven.

Learn what it means to have an open heart

We are not put on this earth for making money or making fame
but of spreading kindness and love.


Silent Wings from the Secret Garden



My dear friend Nia's precious child in the pumpkin outfit
and all her cousins.

Nia shared great news with us the other night at dinner.
They are expecting again this Spring.

Babies are such a wonderful way to start parents and Nia and her husband are such excellent parents.
Princess K will make a most fabulous big Sister.

The Miralce is You

Bless Shoe my darlings
A photograph taken by me last week♥



The miracle is YOU

Never forget that




The Whale Said "Thank You"

If you read a front page story of the SF Chronicle,
you would have read about a female humpback whale
that had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.
She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps
that caused her to struggle to stay afloat.
She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body,
her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate ) and radioed an environmental group for help.

Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles.

She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time,
and nudged them, pushed them gently around...she was thanking them.
Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were
following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate
to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled
from the things that are binding you.

And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.
I pass this on to you, my friends, in the same spirit.

Looking forward to possibly seeing Conviction filmed in Ann Arbor Michigan
Loving the soundtrack of Ocean lab from Chel
and thanking each one of you who love me so well.
All are amazing blessings in my life♥
Life is but a dream shaboom shaboom♥


The buddha of compassion


On behalf of my son all donations go to prostate cancer

To All my Wonderful Girlfriends

Two sweethearts who joined us at dinner the other night.
I love you both
and all my friends.
I thank God for each and every one of you♥
Muahhhhhhhhhhhh♥


I am blessed with beautiful friends and family.
Blessed beyond belief.

Thank you my friend.

Not sure who wrote this verse but wanted to post it for all of you.
Each one of you is so very special and I love you all♥

Girlfriends walk through life together
whether they live close or far apart.
They know that the other one is there
to share the highs and the lows and everything else in between.

Girlfriends are connected at the heart,
and their commitment to their friendship
is permanent. They believe in each other.
They are sensitive and supportive and they can talk about things straight from their hearts.
Each of them knows the other will understand no matter what.

Girlfriends are not afraid to break the rules
defend each other, and go out of their way.
They have cried together and laughed together
and they have been there when it mattered.
Their loyalty is strong and lasting and their bond is unquestionable and unconditional.
They know that they will keep on being there
through everything life has in store for them.

No one can take the place of a girlfriend
You will always have a very special place in my heart.

I love this


Divine

The Chocolate Orange
Ingredients:
• 1.5 oz. Dark Creme de Cacao
• 0.5 oz. Grand Marnier
...• 6 mandarin orange slices
• 1 oz. cream (half & half)
Add
the orange slices to a mixing glass and using a muddler or the back of a
spoon, muddle together. Add the remaining ingredients with lots of ice
and using a cocktail shaker, shake well. Strain into a "rocks" glass
filled with fresh ice and garnish with chocolate shavings.

As seen posted on Facebook
Recipe for Chocolate Orange from The Keg
here in Windsor Ontario

The Little Things

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Most photographs taken by our darling Ahram and some by Justin
We love you both so much
We miss you both so much

Love Mom♥



The' LITTLE' Things~

As you might remember, the head of a company survived
9/11 because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
Alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
Because of an auto accident.

One of them
Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
Time to change.

One's
Car wouldn't start.


One couldn't
Get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
Took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot.
He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today..


Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator,turn back to answer a ringing telephone.. all the little things that annoy me, I think to myself, this is exactly where I'm meant to be at this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be going wrong,
The children are slow getting dressed,
You can't seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,
Don't get mad or frustrated;
It may be just that someone is watching over you.

May you continue to be blessed with all those annoying little things and may you remember their possible purpose.


Justin and Ahram's wedding video

God's Voice

A friend sent this photograph to me
Not sure which program was used to put them on the cover
but she said Justin and Ahram were definitely cover of the magazines material.
Smiles

Thanks everyone for your glorious comments about Ahram and Justin.
I quite agree♥
But that is the proud Mother in me.


Subject: God's Voice
A young man had lost his job and didn't know which way to turn. So he went
to see the Parish Priest.

Pacing about the Priests study, the young man ranted about his problem.
Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, "I've begged God to say
something to help me, Father, why doesn't God answer?"

The old Priest, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply,
something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across
the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The Priest repeated himself, but
again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until
he was leaning on the Priests chair.

"Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you." With their heads bent
together, the Priest spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he
said, "So we will move closer to hear him." This time the young man heard
and he understood.

We all want God's voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our
problem. But God's is the still; small voice... the gentle whisper.
Perhaps there's a reason.

Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God's whisper means I must
stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with
His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I find
myself closer to God. And there is no better place to be.

Love that Makes you Sigh

Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter into it take with you your all. Kahlil Gibran




Autumn


Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you
sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the
caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of
cool air on a hot day. They are the sighs of God. Take the time to
stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. 'Life is not
measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our
breath away.'

I hope your life is filled with Sighs!!!
Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! Life
is too short and friends are too few.

Every picture tells a story

We all love our darling Ahram
She brings us so much joy and love
I thank you God above♥

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

all photographs taken by me except for a couple by my son.
Also pictures of him and his Dad in October when he was a small boy


Fable of the porcupine

It was the coldest winter ever. - Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other. After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.

Moral of the story: The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities

You know it is love when you walk into the room and the person you love their eyes light up like Christmas Trees♥


That is what Ahram's love does for me and Justin♥
How blessed are we with thee♥

To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.


Ralph Waldo Emerson

A song in my heart

I love this song so much

I listen to it every day.


Insight is better than eyesight when it comes to seeing an angel.
The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman

One month wedding anniversary today for Ahram and Justin

Today marks the one month anniversary of the marriage of Justin and Ahram.

The greatest thing you will ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

I love you both so very much

Only the heart knows how to find what is most precious♥

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.
~J. Brotherton



“I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it
seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that
you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things:
a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that
regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're
gone from your life. I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as
making a life. I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both
hands; you need to be able to throw some things back. I've learned that whenever
I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've
learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that
every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or
just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you
did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
~Maya Angelou

Happy Sweetest Day and Congratulations Kim

Happy Sweetest Day everyone♥


Love is a symbol of eternity
It wipes out all sense of time
destroying all memory of a beginning
and all fear
of an end
~Unknown~

And congratulations to our daughter Kim

Kim's graduation ceremony was so impressive. We are so proud of our daughter who is now officially a Honors Degree ~Environmental Mechanical Engineer♥ She next wants to work on her Masters degree.

Way to go Kim
We love you and are so proud of you and all your hard work♥

The greatest thing you will ever learn

Photograph taken by my Son.

Tammi Lee told me the name of this bird above
It is a cormorant, known in NZ as a Shag.
Thanks very much♥


Love the show MAD MEN
this is the theme song a slightly different version and I love it

The greatest thing you will ever learn is just to love and be loved in return

Cracked Pots

I love everything from Asia especially if it is from Justin and Ahram

This was a gift from my Son some years back



Cracked Pots

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends
of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and
always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked
pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home
only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was
proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of
its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what
it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the
woman one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to
leak out all the way back to your house.”

The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your
side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'”

“That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted
flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back,
you water them.'”

“For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to
decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would
not be this beauty to grace the house.'”

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we
each have that make our lives together so very interesting and
rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

So, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!




Justin and Ahram's wedding video

22 ways to make every day a great one

On the 12th of every month my husband and I exchange love cards for our monthly anniversary.
We wed on February 12th and every month on the 12th we honor and celebrate our love as we do everyday.
Treasure those you love and know how very blessed you are♥



1. Sit quietly in a chair every day for 15 minutes with NO distractions.

2. Floss. Very important this one. Not flossing linked to all kinds of unpleasant things. Keep several containers of it around the house, next to your bed, near TV/comuter, in your purse/briefcase. That way you have a better chance of getting it done. It only takes 30 seconds. Really no reason not to do it.
3. Give someone a compliment or/and do a good deed daily.

4. Get out and WALK every day for 30 minutes, if you don't have 30 then 15.

5. Make good choices. Every good choice you make reinforces other good choices. Only you know what the better choice is.

6. Take a vitamin pill and if you live in the Northern US or in Canada pop a vitamin D.

7. Do some daydreaming

8. Call your mom or someone close to you every day just to say hi.

9. Drink a full glass of water. More is better but one is great.

10. Make sure your kitchen is clean each night.

11. Have something to look forward to. Make plans to get together with a friend.

12. Think twice before you buy anything.

13. Make your bed

14. Smile

15. Avoid comparisons.

16 Say thank-you like you MEAN it.

17. Have a goal. If you don't have any, make one, or two or three....

18 Eat some greens. Have a salad.

19. Stop and admire the things that please you.

20. Stretch

21. Suck in your belly button each time you think of it:) Hopefully it is several times a day:)

22.Try not to worry.....
“Worry is like a rocking chair--it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere."
"Worry often gives small things a BIG shadow"

Please feel free to pass this on.

As seen on my sweet friends blog.
Thank you


This brings a smile to my face each time I view it


Thank you sweet friend

22 ways to make every day a great one

1. Sit quietly in a chair every day for 15 minutes with NO distractions.

2. Floss. Very important this one. Not flossing linked to all kinds of unpleasant things. Keep several containers of it around the house, next to your bed, near TV/comuter, in your purse/briefcase. That way you have a better chance of getting it done. It only takes 30 seconds. Really no reason not to do it.
3. Give someone a compliment or/and do a good deed daily.

4. Get out and WALK every day for 30 minutes, if you don't have 30 then 15.

5. Make good choices. Every good choice you make reinforces other good choices. Only you know what the better choice is.

6. Take a vitamin pill and if you live in the Northern US or in Canada pop a vitamin D.

7. Do some daydreaming

8. Call your mom or someone close to you every day just to say hi.

9. Drink a full glass of water. More is better but one is great.

10. Make sure your kitchen is clean each night.

11. Have something to look forward to. Make plans to get together with a friend.

12. Think twice before you buy anything.

13. Make your bed

14. Smile

15. Avoid comparisons.

16 Say thank-you like you MEAN it.

17. Have a goal. If you don't have any, make one, or two or three....

18 Eat some greens. Have a salad.

19. Stop and admire the things that please you.

20. Stretch

21. Suck in your belly button each time you think of it:) Hopefully it is several times a day:)

22.Try not to worry.....
“Worry is like a rocking chair--it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere."
"Worry often gives small things a BIG shadow"

Please feel free to pass this on.

As seen on my sweet friends blog.
Thank you


Thank you sweet friend

Happy Thanksgiving

I love Bruno Mars


I love this song


Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God


For my loved ones so far away
I carry you in my heart

Every day I thank God for my many blessings
but especially today on Thanksgiving

Thank you GOD for everything

Visit my lovely friends blogs for a most fabulous
10-10-10 list.

I love you Relyn
Thank you for all you share

Her blog can be linked in my right side bar under
Come Sit by My Fire

Playing the song by Led Zepplin
Thank you

If you concentrate on finding what is good
in every situation,
you will discover that your life will suddenly be
filled with gratitude,
a feeling that nurtures the soul
{rabbi harold kushner}
Quote as read on the lovely blog
Bluebird Notes

“Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”
M. F. K. Fisher quotes

Thank you to all our relatives in Pain Court who prepared such a lovely Thanksgiving meal for us and our times shared mean so very much.

It was wonderful to spend Thanksgiving with all of you.♥

10-10-10

10-10-10 a very lucky day

Today many of us are having our Canadian Thanksgiving meal.
The holiday is actually tomorrow but many have their meal today.

Everyday I give thanks for our mulititude of blessings.

Dear Father, all good gifts come from you, for which we are so thankful today. May we also experience the joy of giving and being thankful that we can bless others out of what we ourselves have received. Amen"

Thank you for the food we eat
Thank you for the world so sweet
Thank you for the birds that sing
Thank you GOD for everything

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday.

O Lord that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
~William Shakespeare

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins


.................................................



Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed pumpkin,
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped roasted pecans
Preparation:
Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add pumpkin and beat well. Combine 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, salt and spices; mix well. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat well after each addition. Dredge pecans in remaining 1/4 cup of flour; fold into batter. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until golden. Makes about 18 muffins.

Fabulous recipe from my friend Corey
Be sure to visit her fabulous blog
Tongue in Cheek
via link on the right sidebar.

John Lennon's Tribute today

John Lennon would have been 70 today

There are world wide tributes for him.

Love is all you need.

Life is what really happens to you while you are busy making other plans.

It is also the wedding anniversary of my sweet friend Lora and her fabulous husband.
Congratulations. May you be blessed with many more wedding anninversaries.

Justin's Dad gave me my very first ring on this day in 1967.

Special moments we collect in our lives indeed.

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone
Love and blessings to you and yours.

Blessings

Thanksgiving is turkey with all the trimmings
And eating all we are able
Gathered together with bounteous plenty
Around the family table
Thanksgiving is turning our faces homeward
To join with our Fathers and Mothers
Thanksgiving is caring, and it is sharing
By spreading joy to others
Thanksgiving is time for bowing our heads
And lifting our hearts with love
In gratitude and humility too
For our blessings from above.
~Virginia Katherine Oliver

Wedding Video

Gorgeous Wedding video courtesy of my Son and his lovely wife Ahram

Love you both so much
Miss you both so much

Thank you for your love and all the joy you bring to my world.


What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

God loves it when we sing and dance

God loves it when we sing and dance
Above link via Sharon
Thank you


Vink via my dear friend Lora
October 9th John Lennon would have turned 70.


Thanks so much

Soup recipes courtesy of my Son and Ahram
Kiss the cook often and season everything with love

We had fabulous meals with them both what they made for us and at gorgeous restaurants

Pumpkin Soup:

1 whole pumpkin
1 carrot
1 onion
1 potato
1/2 cup of Sour cream
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Salt

Boil water w/ salt.
Cut all veggies into bite size chunks.
Then add veggies and simmer for about an hour or until the veggies get puree-ish.

Next let cool and use a blender to mix all the chunks. Add sour cream, cinnamon, and brown sugar to taste.

Chicken Soup:

1 preroasted whole chicken
2 bay leaves
1 can kidney beans
1/2 cup of navy beans
1/2 cup of black beans
1-2 potatoes cut into bite size chunks
1 carrot cut into bite size chunks
3 celery stalks (diced)
1 Onion (diced)
Leaves from celery stalks
Teaspoon of Salt
Teaspoon of Pepper

Cut the hearty chunks of meat off the whole roast chicken and then break the rest of the bird up and throw it in the crock pot along w/ all the other ingredients and topping up the water.

Set on low and let cook for a day and ready to serve the next day. Stir occasionally and look out for bones.

Wine: Rivercrest California White

Happy Sunday

It is a rather cool Sunday here and it poured rain all day yesterday.




The most bitter word...alone
The most reverent word....mother
The most tragic word....death
The most cruel word...revenge
The most peaceful word...tranquil
The saddest word....forgotten
The warmest word...friendship
The coldest word...no
The most comforting word....faith
The most beautiful word...love
~Dr. Wilfred Funk

Rabbit Rabbit

Photograph taken by my Son

Time is like a river
You cannot touch the same water twice
because the flow that has passed will never come again.

Enjoy every moment of your life♥
I love you Son and Ahram
and enjoy each of your photographs you share with me
I love you both so much♥



A photograph my Son took in Seoul a few autumns back

When we wake up in the morning
we have two simple choices
Go back to sleep and dream
or wake up and chase those dreams
The choice is yours♥



I am not sure of the source of this photograph but I love it♥




Bunny toys and spring things from a store window I took in April 2010


Rabbit Rabbit
Happy October First♥

Now Indian summer arrives, a change of season that is more a sense memory than a date on teh calendar. Finally the heat is passing. Gradually family surroundings don a rustic palate of jewel tones that dazzle with their beauty. Let October seduce you with her charms. "Beguile us in the way you know." Poet Robert Frost entreated the season of abundance. "Release one leaf at the break of day."

From the book
Simple Abundance
A daybook of Comfort and Joy


October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,

Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

~ George Cooper

This sweet poem I read on my dear friend Relyn's blog
Thank you.

Some more beautiful photographs


Thank you for everyone who takes such gorgeous photographs
and spreads love and beauty throughout our world


Lots of good recipes here