Ms. Keegan's Reading Corner: A Poem A Day by Helen H. Moore

Ms. Keegan's Reading Corner: A Poem A Day by Helen H. Moore: This book is a compilation of poems covering a range of topics from adjectives to friendships. Not only does this book have a poem that can ...

Going Forward

You can never go home again.

True words.

Once you have pried yourself from your comfortable spot there is no turning back. You are propelled into a swirl of unknowns with only a small tool kit to help you navigate. You do your best. The allure of excitement and the prospect of discovery sustains you for a period but your heart never forgets. The tug for the familiar becomes so great that your memory changes all that is past into some glory days of wonder and greatness.  You know the truth but you cannot escape .Around and around you go in your quest to be safe again or think that you are. How is that possible? There is only now and what consequences have been brought must now be answered. So again a choice. The old and familiar? Or continue on into what may be? Is there really a choice? 

There is no certainty that is certain. I have accepted my journey as one that will always be unknown. In that there must be comfort. I do not want to go back – there is no back-only forward. I want to find peace with all that has happened so that there can be calm. Calm in my mind, in my heart and in my soul.

Happy New Year!

What am I Doing?

I received a comment from a reader of an old blog post in my email the other day. It was disturbing for several reasons. The comment was very negative and filled with many disparaging remarks concerning an organization I support. It was difficult to read and hard to shake off but once I realized that it was one persons' opinion and experience, I had to let it go. But it led me to other thoughts.... such as what am I doing with this blog?

The only answer I came up with is, I don't know. After re-reading some of my previous posts I became inspired to at least make contact again and get some creative writing juices going if for no other reason then it's good for my mental health. On New Year's Eve in 2012,  I vowed to post cool sites....which I did but it was short-lived. On the eve of  New Years Eve 2013, I vow to make contact, one way or another.
So, here I sit in the Joshua Tree Library using their antiquated PC and keyboard because I have no Internet at home and I am making my first entry on my resolution list. No big promises but a stab at saving Serendipity West from obscurity!!!!

So, Happy New Year blog friends. I hope to hear from you to help encourage me along the way. Please feel free to let your opinions flow.

Chillin'

I haven't blogged in a very long time. It's been a challenge for various reasons. However, I felt inspired to share this recipe and photos. I love coffee in all forms..... especially iced. Considering most of the country is experiencing record high temperatures, I felt it was time to be reminded of the cool......... So enjoy the taste of this delicious drink and take a few deep cooling breaths and remember that life is fleeting and all will change soon enough. In the meantime chill out....

This Mexican Iced Coffee from Girl Cooks World is spiked with cinnamon, cloves and anise. If you're feeling sassy you can add chocolate syrup and a shot of coffee liquor. Hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

Read more: http://www.coolmompicks.com/2012/04/6_amazing_iced_coffee_drinks.php#ixzz20zP5W600

Vanilla-Almond Iced Coffee | hungrygirlporvida.com

Bittersweet

There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go.  ~Author Unknown

This day is to remember those who have fought and died for our country. It is also a weekend filled with bittersweet memories for me. My mother died on Memorial Day weekend. My husband became ill and went into his death bed and died a week later on this weekend too. These events are inextricably entwined with a solemn celebration of remembering things we wish never happened. 

However, as difficult as remembering can sometimes be I think of the alternative. Had I never had such an interesting Mom who taught me so much about art and gardening and cooking, I wouldn't be the person I am today. With sad there is always happy. That is the balance of life. If I had never met my husband John, I would not have had such a wonderful person in my life who taught me about living, about laughter and about being a good person no matter what. 

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.  ~From the television show The Wonder Years

So it is always with a bittersweet heart that I remember and honor all of our loved ones who made sacrifices for freedom and for family. How fortunate for those who live on to have such love in their lives. Live well

.

As long as I can I will look at this world for both of us.  As long as I can I will laugh with the birds, I will sing with the flowers, I will pray to the stars, for both of us.  ~Sascha

for all of us.

 

The Importance of Being

Today is the anniversary of my Dad's death. Although a day does not go by that I don't think about him, talk to him or remember something he taught me, I want to honor him on this day.
I usually associate my Dad with horses. After all he loved them and spent a great deal of his life watching them and following them in the races . He certainly was responsible for my own adoration for the creatures but there were so many other dad things that need mentioning, it's hard to pick just one.
For instance, the beach. As a very young child we lived near Jone Beach in Long Island and every Sunday when the weather was warm my Dad would pack us into the car at sunrise with a hibachi grill and eggs and off we would go for breakfast on the beach!! It's a vague memory but still one that evokes good feelings. Years after we would spend many weekends or vacations at the Jersey beach combing the sand for shells or learning how to maneuver the large waves.My Dad's love of the outdoors became mine and I didn't realize how lucky I was until much later in life. Road trips, reading maps, hiking in the mountains of West Virginia to find a "safe" camping site, houseboat trips on the Mississippi, long ferry boat rides on Lake Michigan, and taking the road less traveled......all my Dads influence and now a part of me.
Funny how life goes.....I think, no I am sure my Dad's influence continues to guide me!

 NJ Beach at sunset

 The great Mississippi River

Rhythm of the Home

Feeling Very Lemony!!

This past year and a half I have spent traveling from one corner of the country to the next. I have had to learn to improvise, leave behind and give away many many things. It's all good as they say because certainly I needed to let go of a lot. It isn't an easy road, some habits are down right difficult to break. Which leads me to this post. It has been challenging enough traveling with 2 cats in tow but for some bizarre reason I had the crazy notion that I could schlep my plants along with me as well. I can't seem to live without the flora and the fauna. Unfortunately not many have survived but the ones that have I am very fond of like my Lemon Tree and my Rex Begonia as well as my little pot of Lemon Thyme.I accept the fact that this habit is not so practical and hopefully when I settle down in one spot long enough I can start a little garden again but until then I will have faith in these few trusty souls that have stuck by my side! The following recipe is from Baked Bree.com.....I plan to make them this weekend!

 Lemon Thyme Cupcakes with Honey Cream