How can I raise the level of gratitude in my life? Let me count the ways.
My hubby, Lucas, was in NYC on Tuesday while attending Market Week. He and the folks who make our bed linens and towels went to Ground Zero to pay tribute. I made some comment about how crowded it must have been. He said, “Yes, but it was quiet; even the cabbies were subdued.”
Here’s a one-minute time-lapse video of the rebirth of downtown New York City. The One World Trade Center is also known as the Freedom Tower.
Thanks for stopping by.
Y-O-U just made my day. And I happen to know you look absolutely gorgeous right now.
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Now, tell me the truth, how did you react to my compliment?
I’m hoping you felt a little flower of joy bloom inside your chest.
I’d love it if you thought, “She’s right, I DO look great today.”
The thing that troubles me is the possibility that you flinched, fidgeted, and started shooting down that compliment before it even got the chance to make you smile …
Winnie Nielsen says: I am so guilty of this. Sometimes I think it has to do with the values we were taught on the 1950s about nice girls are not boastful or go around”tooting” their own horn. As a result, you never learn to accept a compliment. Today, I think girls and young women have been duped by the media image of what is perfect. Not only is it shallow and not realistic, it has made the plastic surgery industry a gold mine in medicine. And if you don’t look like you are ready for prime time, you feel less than acceptable and that makes it harder to even acknowledge a compliment . In my opinion , America has a lot to do to change this crazy measurement of female success. Till then, I sadly predict more compliments will be falling on deaf ears!
First of all, THANK YOU for the compliment! I do look good. 🙂 You are looking pretty good yourself!
I love what you are saying. We should get pleasure both giving and receiving a compliment and “Thank you” really is the polite and right thing to say.
Another easy response that I don’t hear in So. California very often is “You’re welcome.” What happened to that simple reply? Every time someone replies to “Thank you” with “No problem” or “It was nothing” or (God help me) “Whatever” it sort of negates what they did for you. They might as well say, “I wouldn’t have done it if it took any real effort on my part.”
While I think humility is important, you are so right about being a gracious receiver of a kind compliment and praise. We so need encouragement every day. I’m guilty of the response you describe. Trying to get better :o)
Kelly Billings from Oregon says: THANK YOU, for noticing. I feel great too. I’m working on gratitude and sharing. Your pictures are inspiring to always find the goodness in a day. So thank you too.
Lea was born the morning of May 22, 2011. Louise, one of my farmhand photographers, started training her little gray filly that very day. Aside from an unusual nervousness about her feet, Lea was easy to train. First a bit, then a saddle, and eventually she let Louise rest across her back.
Recently, Louise received a call from her friends who board Lea to say they’d …
JustB says: Beautiful story – go Louise! Louise’s respect for Lea is very touching. One of my dogs went blind a year ago and I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from him since! Louise and Lea are in for a wonderful journey.
Laurie Dimino says: What a sweet and touching story for a good Sunday morning read. It soulnds like Lea and Louise are partners for life and are already on their way to a wonderful future. I think they are lucky to have each other, for they sound like a perfect match!
Hugs,
Laurie
Having imprinted nearly 40 foals that we bred and then followed through with the after birth training – sometimes to the saddle (they usually sold before that), I feel such empathy for Louise. There are no shortcuts in training horses, no substitutes for quality time. Before the filly was a year old, ** I KNOW** what kind of time she’d already invested. Then, to learn that her lovely filly is blind had to be devastating. Love is the only thing that will help them both overcome the massive undertaking that lies ahead. In truth, the Vet is right if all you look at is logic. However, love can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. I hope for both their sakes that they succeed. Louise will have a good life anyway, but for Lea … Louise is her only hope. My heart aches and hopes for them as they go forward.
I met Dr. Bob Miller, DVM, via a mutual friend and went to a few of his seminars. Ya know he made imprinting foals a farily common practice in the breeding and raising of horses. Revolutionized training. But, he is an animal behaviorist in the general sense and has THEE most amazing stories about LOVE between animals and their owners. The most amazing is the incredible bond between an alligator and a little old lady. LOVE is absolutely the most powerful force in the universe and SOMEtimes it melts and then molds the word impossible into a new word … MIRACLE. :o) You Go Louise.
Roy Chance says: This story has special meaning for me because I have a lot of love for, and fond memories with, these two girls. There is a certain irony in this photo in that Louise’s sighted eyes are closed while Lea’s unsighted eyes are open. Thus, in this photo, they are on equal footing and are communicating through the touch of Louise’s hands and their faces… Those subtleties may go unnoticed to the casual observer, but knowing the whole story and being so close to the subjects makes it very meaningful to me. Though this is heart-breaking, I couldn’t be more proud of Lou and her determination to stand by Lea.
It’s hard to believe that our little StellaJane started school this morning! To all of you embarking on the same, we hope your first day of school is a perfectly beautiful one!
Winnie Nielsen says: What an adorable photo of little StellaJane’s first day! It is so exciting for both Mom and daughter. A true milestone.
Oh, my goodness! Time has flown. I still have her height on the wall in my dining room from when you were here. She was just a bit of a thing then. 🙂 I hope she had a fabulous day!
CHECKED! glamper girls.
I found this photo of a woman’s trailer disaster on the Internet. She said she was waiting for roadside assistance to show up. A glamper needs her wheels … TO BE CHECKED before she hits the road! Wheel bearings? Checked. (And greased or replaced.) Brakes? Checked. (And replaced if worn out.)
My first reaction was, “This is why I took my Airstream in last week to get my wheel bearings packed (greased) and the brakes checked.”
Terry Steinmetz says: Poor girl! I hope she still had time to go glamping.
Ok … so I bet you are wondering what the H-E double hockey sticks is going on here.
You’re probably saying,
“Nice, but, I ain’t no fool, you can put away the stuffed hummingbird now.”
“… or the plastic mannequin hand with a 10-foot extension.”
“Ok, well, really then, Photoshop is soooo overused these days.”
Really? None of those?
…
“Ok, so the bird hit a window and you picked it up stunned. Big deal.”
Again. Wrong!
Terry Steinmetz says: How awesome! I watched the hummingbirds perch on our deck railings all the time. They even fly & “hover” over my head when I’m in the garden. But I’ve never had them come close to my hands. How cool!!
Winnie Nielsen says: Totally amazing!!!!!!
Liz Taylor says: My hubby has had them land on him. He can sit still
Laurie Dimino says: Wow! Here I am trying to just get them to come to my flowers/feeders, and y’all have them eating out of your hand..literally! What an amazing photo and once in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you for sharing with us!
HUgs,
Laurie
Elizabeth says: Thanks a lot, I can see me out in the garden all day now trying to get a hummingbird to land on my finger too:-) Not a bad prospect considering it’s my favorite place to be. Seriously though ladies, kudos to you both; your pictures are outstanding & the concept delightful! Looks like a juvenile male hummingbird landed on your hand? And he looks damp, do you have a bubbler/sprinkler near by? Your Zinnia’s look great too! I especially like the double decker effect on the Zinnia’s in your first picture. I’m so glad I visited this website for the first time this morning, now you’ve got me hooked. Well done.
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Darlene Ricotta says: Oh how beautiful that is. She was so lucky to hold one that way.
Awesome.
darlene
nan roberts says: So *how* do you get them on your hand in the first place? Just stand near red flowers with your hand up? I want to do this!
Paula says: About 7 years ago, I found a hummingbird caught in a spider web on my back porch. I got him out of the web, and he was so exhausted from trying to fight his way out of the web that he just sat in my hand. I had one of those children’s bug boxes, and I put him in it. I put a small bottle cap of nectar in there, and just kept putting his head in it. I called my vet, and he said to bring him inside the house overnight, but I felt that wouldn’t be his normal environment, so I left him in the bug box overnight on my porch. I didn’t expect him to make it, but next morning, he was still doing ok. He was so sticky from the nectar, so I took a small straw cleaning brush and tried to dilute the sticky nectar off of him. I sat him on the edge of the lid with the nectar, and he started eating. I left him sitting there and went to get my camera. When I came back, he had flown off. It was a lovely experience, but I’m so sad I didn’t get a picture of him!
For those of you who have children, grandchildren, and neighborhood kiddos, I’d like to pass along some parenting advice. Often, it’s the small, in-passing tidbits that are the biggest help. Here’s one I can’t wait to share …
It’s a Strider … a no-pedal balance bike.
Debbie christin says: Age 55 and I can still remember the thrill of dad running along the bike and then letting go….then you trimble a little, then suddenly you’re doing all by yourself!
National Thrift Shop Day is just around the corner, August 17. I can always come up with reasons to go thrifting. This year, I’m celebrating the day in a different fashion.
About 90% of my glamper goodies are “used” items … including the camper! I’ve purchased a lot of vintage items to accessorize it (aesthetics); many of the utility goods were purchased at thrifts stores or yard sales too – like a single burner Coleman, 1940s cannisters, a wool granny squares afghan, lanterns, silverware and various kitchen items etc. I’ve been haunting 2nd stores since I was in High School (1970s) and I don’t want the cure :o) Over the years, I’ve found some AMAZING things … one of my all-time best finds was a gorgeous Cashmere coat for my father — it still had a handsewn tag on the sleeve. Cost: $5. ‘Thrifting’ is good for both the seller and the buyer and it is especially FUN for the buyer when you SCORE a treasure.
I am busy doing the same thing….letting go of all the unused stuff. I love thrift stores and consignment shops and get most of my things that I need, only when I find them at thrift stores. By the way, I am dying over that cherry dress. If I lived in your neck of the woods, I would be there to snatch it up when you dropped it at your consignment shop! I live in Emmett, ID where we are known for our cherries and I just cannot get enough of cherry everything!
Winnie Nielsen says: I agree with you, Meg. Get those clothes out to the stores when they will be of use to someone else. Most thrift stores have limited storage capacity and current wares help them generate sales. Not much they can do with donations of summer stuff in December! I am coveting that cute red and white strip jumper you donated! Florida is a bit far to get to the shop to buy it!! I just took some things this past weekend to my favorite thrift store. You are right in that if you just keeping saying, not that today, for an entire season, it pretty much means the time has come for a trip to the thrift store!!
bobbie calgaro says: Just took a pile of stuff to Goodwill. I recently had my colors redone and decided this is the way to get my wardrobe organized and on track. Maybe it finally will all go together in a cohesive way. The only way to make way for the new is to get rid of the old which I did. didn’t think twice. it’ll be worth it.
Terry Steinmetz says: I love to thrift shop & rummage sale. It is so much fun to see what others have/want to get rid of. Recently I purchased a milk glass pedestal bowl with grape vines & grapes on it. A perfect match to redecorate in my kitchen that I finally painted & am redoing. And for a bargain price. When the kids lives home, we went to rummage sales once a month to collect whatever we needed. Now my girls love to rummage sale whenever they can. It is so-o-o relaxing. I also purge things we don’t use or haven’t used in 6 months. I take them to Goodwill.
Heather says: I want to rummage your thrift bags!!! 😉 xoxox
Megan Rae says: Ha! I love it! The items above are all actually the adorable things I found while dropping my wares off. 🙂 I so wanted to bring that cherry dress home, but it wasn’t my size. 🙁 But I did find some fabulous tea cups for my collection over the weekend too. So much for just dropping stuff off. Oops!
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
Beautiful! My husband works in a factory that help build that tower. It is a humbling experience.