1. Goddess
2. My father likes to do the ken ken puzzles. Lately I heard he was having trouble with them and getting frustrated. But while we were visiting together, he finished one. I found a new way to do them, he told me. I just try to complete the parts where I can figure the answer and then the rest of the puzzle gradually falls into place.
I thought of how to apply that in different tasks and challenges in my life. I don’t mind learning and relearning.
3. I noticed my father could work on the puzzle and at the same time hear my mother speak and respond to what she said. I asked him about how he could divide his attention. I usually listen when your mother speaks, he told me.
I have trouble hearing Cassie when she talks and I am absorbed in something, reading or watching TV or just thinking, and she gets annoyed with me, and my father said, I can see why she would. And it finally dawned on me that this is something I need to practice and train my attention.
4. I know A man named Brian who keeps these words posted:
“Nothing is important
Everything is essential”

He explained to me that he needed fully to be doing whatever he is doing at that moment , For example washing the dishes.
In that moment, washing the dishes is essential, and then maybe that other thing when the first thing is done, but I cannot be in both places and think of and do not things. I think that’s what he was telling me. The concept is so many words, the task is difficult.

1. God
2. Pink sunrise
3. Nothing new under it (hardly)
4. Flowers on a black background
5. Eileen’s listening ear and heart and mind
6. Invitation and affirmation
7. Courage to change

1. God
2. Microtones reverberating in the chimes’ echo
3. Man on the parkway driving behind me who blew his car horn at me and let me know my lights were off
4. Meeting new (to me) folks
5. Melissa’s generosity with her time
6. A request rather than a demand – getting to it – thinking it through
7. Cleaning windows
8. My red pork pie hat (although a warmer one necessary tomorrow – brrr)

1. God
2. Yellow finches, maybe five of them, and their song, moving about the garden flowers and then swiftly in turn flying away.
3. Down one hill and up another and back down again.
4. New pink geranium flowers
5. Going out to dinner, eating slowly, breathing, tasting, and deciding to stop when full, or maybe full. A most enjoyable experience.
6. The sun shines in the back door
7. New fuchsia notebook

1. God
2. Clothes that fit
3. Cassie having my back
4. Cooler day (maybe cooler heads)
5. Sunflowers peering through
6. Getting some weeding done
7. Iced tea with mint from the garden
8. Smell of tomato plants

1. God
2. What a perfect summer morning! Cool, clear, and calm, after a week of heat, humidity, and storms. Grateful to be within it.
3. Heidi, for her strength, calm centeredness, and generous storytelling.
4. Cleaning up at home. Cassie says to me “What a little Suzy Homemaker you are,” and “My Domestic Goddess,” and especially, “be careful, I’ve got a long list, going to put you to work.” :)
5. Eileen for her steadfastness.
6. The mystery plant. I learned from Aeron it is Mandevilla. We thought before it was some sort of hibiscus, but no stamen like those usually have. It survived the winter inside and just bloomed. Last year when Cassie was shopping, it kept falling off the shelf and landing in her cart, so it was meant to be with us, and probably doubled in size over the first summer, or maybe it’s just a really big pot.
7. The birds continue their chatter.
8. Looking forward to a day in the garden, weeding, pruning, enjoying.
9. and prayer to stay out of my own way.

1. God
2. Summer’s beauty
3. Fully foliated trees
4. Blue skies
5. Pink and fuchsia geraniums
6. Day lilies
7. Strawberries
8. Echinacea
9. Sun dried clothes
10. Big brimmed straw hat
11. The sun’s warmth

1. God
2. The pots Cassie filled, each with pairings or triplings of different flowers
3. Encouragement from Mary Ellen and Karen
4. Jane having the courage and vulnerability for a difficult conversation with me and my being open enough to listen, and somehow having the empathy to respond appropriately.
5. I have a picture of Sheelah’s pink irises, and how she takes care of the little flower bed in front of her store.
6. Welcoming and belonging
7. Prayer
8. Patience
9. Self compassion
10. Budding and flowering

1. God
2. Writing my boss when I was stuck and he had an idea that hadn’t occurred to me. I should ask for help more often.
3. Weeding progress
4. For my mother and father
5. For those I may have forgotten or have not appreciated (what they have given to me, how they have helped me, what they have meant in my life)

1. God
2. John C. For his calm presence in contrast to my agitation and hastiness
3. My feet learn by going where to go
4. In the weeds
5. Slight return
6. Pegasus showing up for cuddles
7. This moment