Friday, May 22, 2015

A Fine Morning's This And That


"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself." ~ William Blake, 1799, The Letters

Outside my window: Spring morning with blue skies and sunshine, with barely a breeze to flutter newly unfurled leaves. The air is fragrant this week with the flowers of May Day trees. I love when you catch the fragrance on the breeze -- it's like a spritz of paradise. Mix that with the happy whistles and chatters of the birds, and you'll understand one reason why I feel so full of wonder this morning.

"He that planteth a tree is a servant of God,
he provideth a kindness for many generations,
and faces that he hath not seen shall bless him." ~ Henry Van Dyke

My happy thought: If you've been visiting my blog for a while, you no doubt recall posts where I shared about working a part-time job with my hubby these past four years cleaning at our local performing arts centre. Every morning, five mornings a week we got up at three in the morning (even earlier sometimes) to wax and clean and polish. It has never been easy to crawl from a cozy bed to get going that early.

But we had a goal. And our goal was met a couple of months ago and today I'm c-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-i-n-g that we just finished our very LAST shift. We're hanging up the brooms, dust mops and vacuum hoses. This morning, we wiped lipstick and fingerprints off walls, gave mirrors a brisk polish, tackled overflowing garbage bins, vacuumed carpets, swished toilets, and straightened dressing rooms for the very last time.  It feels good. It feels wonderful. Mmm... I wonder what it will feel like to sleep in till five or six or seven in the morning.

With this new shift, we're taking some holiday time in the mountains.  And I look forward to enjoying the long summer evenings, and to focusing on my writing, especially here on my blog. I'm also looking forward to spending more time with my loved ones, not to mention catching up on much neglected home tasks and getting the corners of my home back in order. Woo-hoo!

I'm also giddy with excitement about: Susan Branch has been writing a new book -- a sorta novel/semi-autobiography/fairy tale. It's called The Fairy Tale Girl and it's going to the printers in a couple of weeks. If you pre-order on her website, those will be out end of August. Otherwise you have to wait until October when they are available in the bookstores.

Which means you don't want to miss this opportunity! Susan is hosting a draw and giving away the first ten books as they arrive from the printers. Hop over there... read her latest post, leave a comment to enter her draw, pre-order if you want a copy, and start getting excited about her newest gift to the world. I can hardly wait!

Sending out a gently used post: I often check my blog's stats to see which posts are being clicked on and to see who is visiting from where in the world. Usually, when someone visits a post from my old archives, I will check it to ensure that it's still a post worth reading.

This morning, someone visited a post I wrote in 2009 -- on the topic of finding comfort in Nature. I was happy to see it again after all this time. It's a little like meeting up with an old friend, my younger self and my present self connecting in this small way. It was interesting to re-read what was meaningful to her in another time and season. And encouraging too, as it spoke to me all over again. Undoubtedly you find that yourself, do you, when you look at some of your older posts?

As my little gift this morning I'm offering you Nature's Comfort... and hope you won't mind reading it again if you've seen it before.

On that note, I'm cheerfully wishing you a beautiful day!
Lots of hugs and good thoughts being sent your way,
Brenda
xox






17 comments:

  1. Well done on reaching your goal! It's a new chapter for you and your dear hubs. I can see in my mind's eye, when out of habit, your eyes pop open at 3 in the morning, that you will be giggling as you remember you don't have to get up and can snuggle back into the pillow for more sleep! Cheers!

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  2. Came back to read this again and toast your 'victory' with a cup of freshly steeped lemon-mint tea:) Congrats and by all means sleep until seven at least one morning unless you can't bear not to see the sunrise;-) he-he...off to visit the 'younger you'. I like that about blogging too, it's a journal in a way, isn't it? Thank-you for the quotes you shared as well.

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  3. Congratulations on meeting your goal! How lovely it will be to peek at the clock and roll over back to sleep. Enjoy your time away in the mountains.
    The Fairy Tale Girl is a book I'm highly anticipating. However, I did pre-order A Fine Romance and was shocked to pay over $20 for shipping to Canada. So I'll wait until October when it's out on Amazon - unless I happen to win a copy in the giveaway!

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  4. What a wonderful way to celebrate! I hope you have a nice time in the mountains. Enjoy your weekend too! Hugs, Diane

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  5. All your post are timeless!

    Have a wonderful weekend.
    I've missed you.

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  6. Congratulations on meeting your goal!! All of your hard work and the sacrifice of rising in the middle of the night...it has paid off! Enjoy your little getaway and your easing of the schedule and the house-catching-up and the later setting of your alarm clock!

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  7. How wonderful to reach the goal and say goodbye to that particular job! I also cleaned for a season, two different seasons, and it is a challenging job for sure. I worked nights from 6 to 11. I don't think I could have handled rising that early all those times as you did. So glad that that season has ended and, when a season ends, it holds the promise of a new season. Oh I haven't read at Susan B's for so long that I have no idea what's been going on. Will have to visit having read this. "A Fine Romance" remains one of my favorites! Have a delightful time enjoying nature and all of God's gifts.

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  8. Enjoy lovely Springtime mornings, Brenda! Congratulations on reaching your goal! It will be wonderful to have more time for writing now. I'm so excited to read 'The Fairy Tale Girl' in August! I just had to pre-order when Susan announced that her newest book is almost ready. I'm already dreaming about reading this very special book on our front porch swing! Enjoy lovely days ahead, Brenda! ♡

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  9. Congratulations on a new chapter! Sleeping in will be such a treat for you! I hope you have a wonderful time in the mountains. Thank you for sharing about the new book, too. Hope all your mornings are sweet from now on <3 xo Karen

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  10. Another beautifully written post, Brenda. I am excited to follow your new adventures this summer, especially knowing the effort that has gone into earning them.
    Amalia
    xo

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  11. Congratulations on this new season in your life. I'm sure it will be a beautiful one, with more time to savor the essence of nature.

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  12. May this time of your life be grand. Wishing you both well.

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  13. Checking in on you...
    I hope you are enjoying your time away.

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  14. Dear Beautiful Friends, I hope you haven't given up on me. I've been away in the mountains have a rest. It was lovely!

    When I got back the other day, I went to turn on my desktop monitor, but it didn't. Whaaaa. It was working fine when I left, so who came and played with it while I was gone?!

    I could have written a small post or two using my iPhone to stay in touch, but that teeny-weeny keyboard would have had me pulling me hair out.

    All's well again, I've got a new monitor and so we're back in business... I'll be visiting you and leaving my own footprints here on It's A Beautiful Life.

    Note: If you do Facebook, I've been leaving little notes there while I've been away from my computer and blog. It's not a professional page, so you have to ask to be Friends. If you do want to friend me, then let me know you're a blog friend and I'll be happy to see your face over there too. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/brenda.leyland

    Ta for now... see you soon. Hugs, Brenda xox




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    1. Brenda, I hope you return to your blog soon. You are missed! Glad you're getting lots of rest, though! I don't do Facebook. Do you do Instagram?

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  15. I've SO missed visiting you, and your post here is just lovely. I really enjoy the way you express yourself.
    Love Helen, Darcy, Bingley and Fred x

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  16. Dear Brenda- congratulations on semi retirement. I hope you are enjoying sleeping in too. Visited your blog about finding comfort in nature. Your writing always bring beautiful thoughts. Thanks for sharing . Hugs

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To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo