Summer

Hot sticky days still envelop us as the school year draws closer.

 

Before the schedule grows frantic, it's important to take the time to slow down.

To stop and smell the flowers.

To watch nature in it's abundance.

To breath in and breath out.

A/N - photos taken in a Texas community park

Rustic

Stupified from my first trans-Atlantic flight, we made our way to our B&B and then went back out in search for a meal. In the very narrow street behind us, we discovered calzones and pizzas in Rome are not the same as back home, but tasty nonetheless.

During our meal a wizened old man rode up on his bicycle and made his way into the restaurants on the street. He adjusted the chain on his bicycle in order to power the whetstone wheel, wet the stone with his bottled water, started the wheel in motion by pedaling and then began to sharpen the knives. It was at that moment that I fell in love with Roma.

Dreams

Once upon a time, a girl had dreams of traveling to far away places.

Stonehenge

But her life took her on a different path from the one she had imagined.

Tower Bridge

Even though her dreams occasionally called out to her,

she almost quit believing in them.

Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile

But her dreams had not forgotten her and one day they came for her.

It wasn't the perfect time. It wasn't the perfect situation.

How could she say "No."?

She didn't.

Dreams do come true as long as you keep them alive.

Eiffel Tower

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you have imagined.

~ Henry David Thoreau

Temptation

We were riding the Tube, a novelty for us - "Mind the gap!" - and I glanced around at the people around me. I spotted a Londoner holding a bag proclaiming "Ben's Cookies". I continued my perusal of my fellow passengers and next I spotted a box stamped with "Ben's Cookies". I'm not one to ignore signals from the universe and I was clearly receiving one. My travel companion also received the same signal and we agreed that we would not depart from London without finding this treasure.

Wandering around London the next day in a mode we like to call "off the map*" AKA "I'm not sure where we are, but let's keep wandering. Oh! Look at this lovely Church/statue/bridge/etc." We sat in a park outside the church we had stumbled upon and located the nearest metro station via the phone GPS. Then we walked through a little mall to get to the Tube discovering our holy grail along our way. There it was, Ben's Cookies.

Oh what a difficult choice to make! I base my travel food choices on two criteria:
1.  What do the locals eat?
and/or
2.  What have I not had before?
The Ginger Dark Chocolate Chunk called out to me. And it was superb.

*"Off the map" was a phrase used by two very lovely British women that dined next to us in Rome. We started talking to them during our dinner and had a fabulous time chatting and laughing with them for two hours.

Peace

"Peace is present right here and now,

in ourselves and everything we do and see.

Every breath we take, every step we take

can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.

The question is whether or not we are in touch with it.

We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment."

~ Thích Nhất Hạnh

Bounty

We moved into our current house almost a decade ago. Our previous home had a back garden overshadowed by a large oak tree. We hung up a disc swing and our children had a grand time flying through the air. But nothing grew in it's shade, not even grass.

Celeste (AKA Sugar) Figs

We moved in to home devoid of plant life in our back garden, save the boring St. Augustine grass. We mourned the loss of having a beautiful oak, but reveled in the thought of growing fruit trees. So that first year we began to plant and proceeded to add a new tree annually.

Pomegranate

Growing fruit organically is a bit of a challenge. The bugs and birds are well fed. When the figs are at their ripest, the Mockingbirds throw feasting parties in our yard. Before our cat became older and sluggish, she managed to pin a few birds down and yank out a few feathers before they escaped only slightly wiser.

Bananas

I love slipping outdoors and gathering just ripened fruit from our trees. I enjoy having organic fresh squeezed orange juice all winter. I still miss my shady oak in the midst of summer, but I think the trade-off has worked out well.

Oranges

Lewis

I remember the day he caught my eye.

I was walking through Hyde Park with a friend when I spotted him across the way.

I was enchanted, walking forward to introduce myself.

I was bold, asking permission to touch him. His hair was silky soft as I caressed him with my fingers.

His long eyelashes framed his brown eyes as he shyly looked away from my camera, while I sought to capture his beauty.

I parted from him reluctantly wishing he was mine.

Lewis is half Poodle and half Siberian Husky