~~~Gratitude~~~

Our world here in Freedom is full of  piles and piles.  One could see all the work or as I choose to see ~~~ the abundance!  Every 2 or 3 days I have a cart load about this size to deal with...the literal fruits of my labors!  It does keep me busy but I can't help but smile when I think of the cold winds of winter blowing and my larder full of my summer abundance.

Other piles are accumulating as well.  It is 5 more days until our son goes to college!!  I feel very grateful to live an abundant life that allows our son to pursue his education and dreams.  So you guessed it I am grateful for abundance!  You will be hearing from me more as I find my new routine that is 180 pounds lighter!

AbundanceApr 24, 2003


You can not own
a shimmering sunset,
or crystal stars of night.
You can not own
a brilliant blowing breeze,
or the spark of sweet sunlight.

You can not keep
a fragrant floral scent,
or an infant's sleepy sigh.
You can not keep
love's first embrace,
or life's ecstatic highs.

You can not possess
that time which went by
before you were even born.
You can not possess
those memories made
long after you are gone.

So experience enjoymentin each moment,
immerse in sight, sense, and sound.
Appreciate this world
for all that it is,
that's where abundance is found.




Copywright©2006 by Laura Barrette Shannon
ToltecWarrior

http://allpoetry.com/poem/1062357-Abundance-by-ToltecWarrior

It is my intention, each Sunday, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude moments. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~

Transition Time

Sunday's Dilly Beaning

Oh where, oh where has this blogger been....Oh where, oh where can she be?

It IS a busy time of year and there are plenty of distractions.  You probably think it is all the gardening and harvesting that needs to be done right now.  Well, yes and no.  There is gardening but I have had busier years with bigger gardens.

Garlic Harvest

Things to Pick


~~~

Or maybe I am sewing up a storm getting ready for fall sales on Etsy.  Just a little bit.

Unscented Trees will be coming to InJoyEcoCutie

~~~~

Maybe, all the damp and rainy weather has fouled my blogging mood....

Never! PNW gal can love the rain~ALWAYS

~~~

Could it be that I am just goofing off and playing around in my sunflower house?

A room with a VIEW! 

This time of year, what I usually do is work all day out and about or in the sewing room.  Then after dinner I work on the computer listing Etsy items, edit photos, or write my blog.  But, lately, I have been watching a lot of movies & TV...before you start "judging" me their is more to the story!  Since my son hit his teens that has been the way we spend time together.  

Most of our watching is not what you would call very mind expanding...except NOVA...we both love NOVA!  But then again it has been pretty amazing what kind of discussions arise from watching Star Trek re-runs (I have seen them ALL...well except Voyager... something about Captain Janeway gets on my nerves).  There are human stories, science ideas, and of course adventure!  We recently watched the the movie THOR...which a comic book movie...it brought back memories for both of us of me reading aloud all the Norse Myths I could find when my son was young and an aspiring warrior.  We love any thing Sherlock Holmes..my son may have somewhat of a similar mind...at least my boyo thinks he does.  And we watch Survivor together.  This show is great for conversations with a teen about relationships~work, friends, marriage, human competition and compassion.  

I have been trying to do it "all".  Last Thursday after a very hard day of work I headed for the computer.  Then my son called, "Hey, want to watch a Star Trek?" Me, "Groan, give me one hour." 18 year old Son, "Aaaawh!"   I paused, I looked at my calender--- 1, 2, 3,....20 days LEFT until he goes to College!!  Me, "Give me 10 minutes...Do you want Popcorn?"

TV together is more than mindless entertainment.  It is the way I can lie near him like I did when he was young.  Then I read books to him that invoked discussion.  Now I watch shows with him.  We are both so ready for this transition in so many ways....but...I am going to miss him.  We banter, we discuss, we agree...more we disagree.  So blogging is on a vacation until I see my one and only child/man on his merry way.

I wonder how long I will leave his indentations in the couch after he leaves...?

And a Poem...new "favorite" poet as of last night...late reading after TV...

The Last Toast

Whether we like it or not,
We have only three choices:
Yesterday, today and tomorrow.

And not even three
Because as the philosopher says
Yesterday is yesterday
It belongs to us only in memory:
From the rose already plucked
No more petals can be drawn.

The cards to play
Are only two:
The present and the future.

And there aren't even two
Because it's a known fact
The present doesn't exist
Except as it edges past
And is consumed...,
like youth.

In the end
We are only left with tomorrow.
I raise my glass
To the day that never arrives.

But that is all
we have at our disposal. 

Nicanor Parra

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-last-toast/

~~~Gratitude~~~

Ok~~~I am late for my gratitude date~~~I did spend yesterday in a state of gratitude ~~~just couldn't get myself to the computer~~~the day was just too nicer than nice!  

This is the time when my winter loving self feels that the back of summer has been broken!  Nights are cool and quieter...sleep is longer and sounder...energy returns...

But that is not what I wanted to write about yesterday...this is my gratitude...

Mangoes & Avocados 

This is not just about the 2 most luscious  fruits on earth, this is about love.  The simple everyday love that often goes unnoticed.  The sort of love that sustains life much more than passion or expensive gifts.  This is about love that feeds.  Love that does not require return or notice.  You see, my most favorite food on earth is the perfectly ripe avocado and my son adores the mango.  So when these beauties are ripe they magically show up at our table.  My guy returns each week from his work away bearing more than the fruits of his labors.  He brings us love with the remembrance of our appetites.  He never touches them unless they are offered.  This week I am grateful for the many small acts in a life together that mean love and I vow to not let them go unnoticed!

avocado boat

I cut an avocado in half
and give one half to the visitor;
and I carefully scoop
the avocado
gently, gently
with a teaspoon
(the Aztec records show
this is, ahem! the fertility fruit)
and I savor each scoop
and eat like a pig
(ah well, like a graceful pig):
and at last
I have the skin left
in the palm of my hand
and it’s tough
and shaped like a boat;
and it has rained
and there’s a puddle of water
on the lawn
and an ant that’s been irritating me
wandering about on my naked foot
and I put the ant
in the avocado boat
and I set the boat in the puddle
and I give it a gentle push
and I say:
“Bon voyage, Monsieur! ”
And then I look at my visitor,
and that silly guy is still staring at his half
and I ask, ever gently,
“Do you need help
with your fertility fruit there? ”
The visitor replies, “No’ –
and I wonder if I should get him brain food
or perhaps set him off on another avocado boat… 

Raj Arumugam

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/avocado-boat/

Mango Fruits

Mango fruits are exotic fruits
They are rightly called
Mango—The King of fruits!

Mangoes are tasty fruits
The taste is “out of this world” experience
Mangoes are luscious fruits!

Mangoes are sweet fruits
Scientifically named “ Mangifera indica”
Mangoes are delicious fruits!

Mangoes are rich fruits
Rich in vitamins, minerals and anti- oxidants
Mangoes are summer fruits!

Mangoes are our childhood fruits
They bring back memories of childhood
Mangoes are comfort fruits!

Soothing to the stomach are mango fruits
They contain enzyme papain
Hence we’re better with mango fruits!

To crave for mango fruits
It’s but quite natural
Good source of fibre are mango fruits!

There are green and red mango fruits
They have an exceptional flavor
We can sniff the good mango fruits!

In orange, and yellow are mango fruits
Each has its unique texture
In a rainbow of colours exist mango fruits!

It is a great glee to eat mango fruits
They are tenderizing agents
There’s contentment in consuming mango fruits!

There are many types of mango fruits
Alphonso, Kesar, Banganapalli, Neelam
Totapuri, Malgova, Rumani, are some mango fruits!

Fruit Compote is served from mango fruits
As Sorbet, Ice-cream it takes forms
Excellent salads are made from mango fruits!

A celebration of tropics are mango fruits
In summer it is a daily ritual
And a treat to bite into mango fruits! 

chandra thiagarajan

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/mango-fruits/

 It is my intention, each Sunday, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude moments. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~

---Shop News---

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/NjA0NzQ5MnwyNzIyMjI1NDUx/stones-bones?index=7&ref=pr_favetreasuries&atr_uid=

Well is was a bit of an exciting week on Etsy for me...one of my items made the front page.  It was random luck that I even saw it at all.  Wednesday night I was taking one last look at my email/facebook/etsy before signing off for the night.  Between signing in and out of my 4 shops I noticed my trees on the front page!  I was some excited!

Well what does that mean...156 hearts, 397 page views, & one custom order.

How does it happen (for non Etsians)?  Well, someone just like me on Etsy (in this case https://www.etsy.com/shop/ManyAMoonVintage THANKS!!!) makes a treasury and then some mysterious people back at Etsy HQ decide if a treasury is front page worthy...based on beauty and what is trending...and I imagine some random luck.

Random Luck got me to thinking about....GRAB BAGS!  I love Grab Bags.  When I was a kid, out west, my family road tripped a lot.  We stopped at many roadside attractions...you know the ones with the Jack-a-lopes and Snakepits!  They were filled with all manner of souvenirs including the grab bag bin.  I was and still am a very frugal person that does not tend to gamble.  But I have to admit the lure of the grab bag was irresistible to me.  Some were great, some were a bit skunky...but it never stopped me from buying one.  Guess I like a bit of mystery in life!

It just so happens https://www.etsy.com/shop/ManyAMoonVintage has a Mystery Vintage listing.  Which reminded me that I had been meaning to add a Grab Bag to my shop, injoytreasures.  So I did!  (I promise~~~NO Skunky Grab Bags from Shop!)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/158386808/vintage-grab-bag-7-dollars-free-usa?ref=shop_home_active

Then I got the idea to make an Etsy Grab Bag Treasury...will it make the front page? 

 Who knows?  

But you can find LOTS of Fun and Mysterious Deals on Etsy!

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MzM1ODA4MTN8MjcyNDgxNDgxMg/grab-bag-fun