quote of the day

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do however virtuous can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

Happy Spring

Every spring is the only spring — a perpetual astonishment.
~Ellis Peters

When a new season rolls around, it instantly becomes my favorite. In the Pacific Northwest, even though the calendar officially announces the arrival of spring today, we have been in it's grasp for weeks already.  It's been a very mild winter, with not a single snowfall of any measurable accumulation. Rather disappointing, as I love the crispness and cold of the snow. The mountains, as well, are low on their usual reserve, which will make for good early summer hiking, but poor water supply.

Since this is my first spring in the new rental, it is such a joy to see what plants and flowers are coming up in the beds. I have a little hydrangea bush, peonies, a whole boatload of lilies which will need to be culled this fall, and an assortment of other small plants for which I need to find names and care instructions.

This weekend my goal is to pull together some sort of springy/summery décor. Pictures to follow. There, that obligates me.

Quote of the Day

I love following little rabbit trails of information. I find such interesting little tidbits about history that way. One such trail led me to this quote today:

 

I want everyone to be smart. As smart as they can be. A world of ignorant people is too dangerous to live in.

  ~Screenwriter Garson Kanin, from Born Yesterday, 1950

Go Have an Adventure!

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”

~ William G.T. Shedd ~

Word of the Year for 2013

This year I do not want to make resolutions at which I inevitibly fail, or at the very least, fall short.

 

This year I want to make changes in my lifestyle.

 

My word for the year is: CREATE

 

Things I want to CREATE:

• deeper friendships with a select group of ladies.
• a peaceful refuge for my man.
• an organized and useful space for my artistic endeavors and projects.
• all of my Christmas gifts.
• a repetoire of recipes for both of our dietary needs.

The world is but a canvas to the imagination.
~Henry David Thoreau

Happy 100th, Julia Child

Julia Child would have turned 100 today. As it was, with her butter and cream-filled diet, both she and her beloved husband Paul both lived well into their 90s. No comment about that, here!

I, like many people of my generation, really became interested in Julia when I watched the movie Julie and Julia. Then I read My Life in France. And I fell in love with their love story as much as with her cookery.

Let's face it, she was no raving beauty. Tall, rather ungainly, yet they had a passion for each other that is not exaggerated in the movie. Sure, looks are great. But they fade. The passion doesn't have to. That is the marriage I want!

A couple of Julia-isms:

Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.

The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. You know they're right if you love to be with them all the time.

That must have been a really long tub!

Quote of the Day: Jack London

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
~Jack London

Mom and I have been  dealing with this all week, and we are going to have to buckle down today to get-er-done. She has been working on the most beautiful gourds, and we are going to create an etsy shop for her (sparrowinthetree.etsy.com) but need to crack the whip on taking pics and doing our visual layouts for her future photos. So we shall go after that inspiration with a club...right now.

Quote(s) of the Day: Mario Andretti

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
~Mario Andretti

...and on a completely unrelated note...but it popped into my head...

"I wanna go fast." ~Ricky Bobby

Sorry, couldn't help it.

Quote of the Day: Oscar Wilde

Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
~Oscar Wilde

Quote of the Day: Judy Garland

For it was not into my ear you whispered,
But into my heart.
It was not my lips you kissed,
But my soul.

~Judy Garland

I find myself missing you lots today. Can't wait to be home with you.

Thoughts From Anne (with an E) Shirley

Look at that sea, girls--all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds.

Quote of the Day: Voltaire

Appreciation is a wonderful thing, it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.

From the Trees in My Yard

The earth laughs in flowers. ~e.e. cummings

Quote of the Day: Abraham Lincoln

In honor of Memorial Day:

Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Familiarize yourslves with the chains of bondage, and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them.

Abraham Lincoln

Racism in America: Just One White Man's Perspective

Adam Carolla: Well, it’s (racism) never going to be an issue that goes away as long as there are people who don’t want it to go away. So as long as there’s a group of folks that profit from it or believe to gain power and popularity from it or damage other people by calling them a racist, it’s never going to go away. We can have people say this is a racist nation, but we have a black president – the most powerful person. The richest person on television, Oprah, is a black woman, the second most powerful star on television or in the media is probably Will Smith, and he is a black man. The richest athlete on the planet, at least pre-divorce, is a black man – Tiger Woods. And the highest paid singer is Beyonce. At what point do we get to stop calling ourselves a racist nation? If we are [racist] we aren’t doing a very good job at it.

Soylent Green is People: or, Why I am Against Government Healthcare

The reason I am against government run and/or mandated health care is simple. I don't trust (our) government to make decisions based on a moral and ethical code. Let's be realistic. If we as a nation are currently trillions of dollars in debt, an amount that is rising second by second, and the American people are already screaming for less spending, lower taxes, etc, what is to stop the "powers that be" from making end-of-life decisions based on solely financial reasons. There are those who will argue that the elderly and sick don't improve the GNP and that we should warehouse them somewhere, make them comfortable, and essentially provide hospice care until they die.

Consider the following quote:

"We now have 10,000 Boomers a day retiring, and will for 20 years. It's demographic, which is inexorable…The reason is the medical technology. In the old days, you died of pneumonia or heart attack. It’s a terrible way to go, but from a societal perspective, it's cheap. Today you live in to old age and we die of cancers and dementias, and they are extremely expensive and intensive care… We welcome the medical advances, but the costs are astronomical…Unless we find a way to deal with the healthcare issue, we will go over a cliff.”

-- Charles Krauthammer on “Special Report with Bret Baier” discussing the new report that shows government assistance accounted for 18.3 percent of all U.S. income in 2010, an all-time high.

I think Soylent Green should be re-watched with an open mind. It's a bit of  science fiction that could be fact sooner than we realize.

Quote of the Day: Ben Stein

On Obamacare:

Fathom the odd hypocrisy that the government wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens.
~Ben Stein

Quote of the Day: Jane Austen

Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.

~Jane Austen, Emma

Quote of the Day: Cicero

Even if you have nothing to write, write and say so. ~Marcus Tullius Cicero

I haven't a creative bone in my body today.  So I will post a link to The Pioneer Woman on her blogging tips. If you don't read her website regularly, check it out. There's a bit of something for everyone.

The Pioneer Woman: 10 Things I've Learned about Blogging

Love

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.

~A. A. Milne