Cherish and protect time with family and friends, remember what is important!

'kid gloves ...' (2012) eggshells, feathers, kid gloves, chicken wire

We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. 

It would be wise to use 

that time adoring our families, 

cherishing our friends and living our lives.

Maya Angelou

love, mom

if you have received this post as an email

click below to visit the entire blog, blog link

or click below to join the book of motherlove group on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookofmotherlove/

may this dress remind us to be authentic!!

 "Live your life for YOU

not for anyone else. 

Don't let the fear of being 

judged, rejected or disliked 

stop you from being yourself." 

Sonya Parker

if you have received this post as an email

click below to visit the entire blog, blog link

or click below to join the book of motherlove group on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookofmotherlove/

Accept your IS-NESS, avoid suffering! love, mom

Accepting means you allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling at that moment. 

It is part of the is-ness of the NOW. 

You can't argue with what is. 

Well, you can, but if you do, you will suffer.

Eckhart Tolle

if you have received this post as an email

click below to visit the entire blog, blog link

or click below to join the book of motherlove group on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookofmotherlove/

Let the light bring peace ... Happy Solstice.

'red alert cocktail dress ...' (2006)

If there is light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
Chinese Proverb

Here, in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the Winter Solstice ~ the shortest day of the year and the longest night. It is the point in the year at which the days begin to lengthen and the light begins to weave its way back into our lives. It's officially the first day of winter and one of the oldest-known holidays in human history. Anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years, before humans even began farming on a large scale. Many of the most ancient stone structures made by human beings were designed to pinpoint the precise date of the solstice. The stone circles of Stonehenge were arranged to receive the first rays of midwinter sun.

For me it is the December holiday that feels the most authentic as it has been celebrated for thousands of years by many people all around the world and stems from the cycles of Mother Nature. As our lives are more and more connected to and dependent on technology and electronics I feel there is this dire need to reconnect with the cycles and wisdom of nature.

The Winter Solstice is a celebration of light going back thousands of years when people were not sure if the sun and warmth would come back, a time before scientists explained the earth's orbit. So they lit huge bonfires to tempt the sun to come back which lead to our tradition of decorating our houses and our trees with lights at this time of year.

The Winter Solstice can be traced back thousands of years and is associated with numerous religious and philosophical beliefs:

• In ancient Japan the winter solstice was believed to be the time when the sun goddess Amaterasu emerged from her cave bringing light to the darkness. 
• The Incas held winter solstice celebrations in honor of Init, the sun god. 
• In ancient Egypt and Syria, people celebrated the winter solstice as the sun's birthday
• In Germany, the winter solstice was a time to celebrate Hertha, the Norse goddess of light. 
• In ancient Rome, the winter solstice was celebrated with the festival of Saturnalia, during which all business transactions and even wars were suspended, and slaves were waited upon by their masters.
• The Roman celebration of Sol Invictus, the Roman deity of the sun, was held on December 25th and represented the rebirth of the sun. 
• Interestingly, there are many parallels between these celebrations and Christmas. Traditionally, Christians celebrate Christmas as the day of the birth of the Son of God while other traditions were celebrating the rebirth of the Sun. (interesting play with phonics).

if you have received this post as an email

click below to visit the entire blog, blog link

or click below to join the book of motherlove group on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookofmotherlove/

Today, DO something!!!

'do they know ...' (2008)

The only thing necessary 

for the triumph of evil is 

for good men (and good women)

 to do nothing. 

Edmund Burke

if you have received this post as an email

click below to visit the entire blog, blog link

or click below to join the book of motherlove group on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookofmotherlove/

day28: happy fall, a magical season

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Fall has always been my favorite season with all its colors and sounds and smells!!! For me fall offers a fresh start, as Fitzgerald says, there is a freshness, a newness.

A favorite memory of mine is visiting my grandparents, Gommie and Irish, and joining Irish as he tended to the burning leaves that we, the grandchildren, had raked up earlier that day.  

 Make sure you take a moment to enjoy these crisp, bright days as we prepare to hunker down for winter.  

Below are some more quotes/passages that capture some of the magic of the season!! love, mom

Somewhere along the way, I realized that the new year doesn't begin for me in January. The new and fresh has always come for me in the Fall. Ironically, as leaves are falling like rain, crunching beneath my feet with finality, I am vibrating with the excitement of birth and new beginnings.... My year begins in Autumn. ~Betsy Cañas Garmon, "On birthday cake and pouring oil," 2013 November 5th,

It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life. The rich colours of grass and earth were intensified by the mellow light of a sun almost warm enough for spring... P.D. James, A Taste for Death

.... September is dressing herself in showy dahlias and splendid marigolds and starry zinnias. October, the extravagant sister, has ordered an immense amount of the most gorgeous forest tapestry for her grand reception. Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894), "Autumn," The Atlantic Almanac, 1868

The days may not be so bright and balmy—yet the quiet and melancholy that linger around them is fraught with glory. Over everything connected with autumn there lingers some golden spell—some unseen influence that penetrates the soul with its mysterious power.  Northern Advocate

if you have received this post as an email

click below to visit the entire blog, blog link

or click below to visit FB daily dress inspiration group FB link

may this dress help us to pursue the things that we love . . .

“You can only become truly accomplished 

at something you love. 

Don’t make money your goal. 

Instead pursue the things you love doing 

and then do them so well 

that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”

maya angelou

photo credit: Cathy Taylor
taken during my presentation at Wake up and Smell the Poetry,
where I got to talk about something that I LOVE!!!! my 'dressproject'!!! heart emoticon

if you have received this post as an email
click below to visit the entire blog, blog link
or click below to visit FB daily dress inspiration group FB link

may this dress remind us to be compassionate . . .'

'pussy-willow dress . . .  for harriet' 

“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

if you have received this post as an email

click below to visit the entire blog, blog link

or click below to visit FB daily dress inspiration group FB link

may this dress show u your divine beauty ~

“By our trust 

in the divine beauty 

in every person, 

we develop that 

beauty in ourselves.”

Hazrat Inayat Khan 

if you have received this post as an email 

you can click here to visit the entire blog, 

 thank you & peace 

may this dress remind you that U are WORTHY!!!!

 you are worthy of so much ~ 

love, belonging, peace, ...... xxx

'wired' (wire dress) (2007)
“You are imperfect,you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”Brené Brown 

                             

if you have received this post as an email click here to visit the entire blog, thank you & peace 

may this dress bring you zest and enthusiasm!

If you have zest and enthusiasm 

you attract zest and enthusiasm.

Life does give back in kind.

Norman Vincent Peale

if you have received this post as an email

 click here to visit the entire blog, 

 thank you & peace 

may this dress remind you of your inner strength!

'spark of the divine'

“You are one thing only. 

You are a Divine Being. 

An all-powerful Creator. 

You are a Deity in jeans 

and a t-shirt, and 

within you dwells 

the infinite wisdom of the ages 

and the sacred creative force of 

All that is, 

will be and ever was.” 

Anthon St. Maarten, 

Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny

if you have received this post as an email
click here to visit the entire blog, 
thank you & peace