List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?
What fears have you overcome and how?
The worst! Flying!
I overcame it the first time when I flew to Florida to swim with dolphins! Was so worth it!
The next was for petting a real 5 month old tiger named Noah with my daughter! So exciting!
Next just a vacay away from the stress of life with hubby!
Will I still fly? That’s a question for later!!
Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.
Only one? That’s not fair!
I like to read to venture into a different reality.
There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island!
`Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well.” — Mark Haddon
Reading isn’t just a passive activity; it’s a journey. This slogan implies that every book is an expedition, a voyage into the realms of words and ideas, and each word is a step along the way.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.” – George R.R. Martin
“Books are uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King
I especially enjoy reading a novel near the lake or just outside my home while the breeze surrounds me.
How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?
I tend to know when my head starts to hurt or my eyes get tired.
I then unplug from tv and/or phone to read, take a walk or listen to ocean sounds from my sound machine,
I also take extra time to unplug by going to the lake or a neaby lighthouse( unfortunately an hour away-2 technically because I do have to come back!- or do I? 🤣)
I believe that you can find happiness in the little things in life if you just open your mind.
Do something silly that reminds you of being a child such as ride a carousel.
Life is like a carousel: sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, but the ride is always worth it.
I had so much fun that I did it twice at different locations and it was wonderful!
Take a trip to the zoo and climb into a cage!
A trip to the zoo is always an adventure filled with fun, learning, and a chance to connect with nature’s incredible creatures. Whether you’re snapping a selfie with the tigers, marveling at the elegance of flamingos, or enjoying a day out with family and friends.
Pretend that you’re capturing the beacon standing tall!
Follow the yellow brick road along your journey through this life!
Have that race up the mountain!
Watch the butterflies flutter by and land on you in trust!
The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
A butterfly always reminds us that there is always beauty at the end of all the pain.”: The Dodo – For Animal People
Dance as if no one is watching! Twirl those hips and just let loose!
Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance,
Enjoy your favorite meal! (Wear a bib)🤪
Feed a baby cow!
Sit next to a pumpkin person on a spooky evening!
Go to an apple orchard and pick some of those yummies!
Feed those nutty seagulls that are always hungry!
They are brazen and never shut up, I can relate to that, they’re my kind of bird.
Climb to the top of the lighthouse!
I wish to spend a lifetime near a lighthouse where loneliness will be the glimmer of luminous prancing upon ocean waves… rising and falling only for my breathing. I feel that we’re all lighthouses, and my job is to shine my light as brightly as I can to the darkness.
Enjoy a lollipop watching your favorite tv show!
Life is like a candy. Sometimes it’s sweet, sometimes it’s sour, but it always goes bad.
Keep calm and eat candy. It’s a piece of cake!”
Remember that life is shorter than you think and the best thing to do is find the simple joys!
In your hardest days try to smile and trudge on by thinking of what is great in this life.
Read a book and let it help you escape to another world!
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.
Draw or paint something creative or what you enjoy.
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,” – Pablo Picasso
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time,” – Thomas Merton
Take your camera and take photos of nature, lighthouses or anything that captures your fancy!
“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange
Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.
Be goofy and silly! Find the laughter in what’s around you!
“We don’t laugh because we’re happy – we’re happy because we laugh.” – William James
If you don’t learn to laugh at troubles, you won’t have anything to laugh at when you grow old.
Basically, enjoy the life you have and find those small things to make you smile! They are all around you, all you have to do is open your eyes and mind.
“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.”
I am slowly learning for myself that I may not be able to do the BIG things again that I already have, ( I was blessed to have been able to at that time) and I can admit that it can be hard to find that joy when life is hard and it is extremely hard.
I have opened my mind and eyes every day and do the best I can to find even the tiniest ray of happy!
What quality do you value most in a friend?
A good friend possesses traits like trustworthiness, reliability, supportiveness, and the ability to connect with you on a deeper level. They are dependable, respectful, and non-judgmental, creating a space where you can be your true self.
I decided to go back downtown near the lake to stroll around the lake and the shops.
I munched on a cookie butter pastry to start.
I walked around the lake before returning around to the antique shop to purchase a shell necklace that I saw the other day.
Also found some neat artwork.
I then went into 3 local shops where I found 2 pretty dresses, t-shirt, hat and bracelet and necklace.
I love the Octagon house in Watertown, Wisconsin and I shopped at an antique store today with my Mom and Aunt and I found this book!
It describes the house and the background of that time.
I have not read it as of yet due to just purchasing today but I will be very soon!🌷
A little verse written inside:
“An octagon upon the hill
Dear bride for you I haste to make
With mighty rock to turn my mill
As we our claim to land do stake.
The swallow oft beneath our eaves
Shall twitter from her clay-built nest,
Oft shall the pilgrim not take leave
Til he has supped, a welcome guesr.
Around our ivied porch shall spring
Each fragrant herb that drinks the dew;
And Eliza, at her wheel, shall sing
In russet gown and apron blue.
Sea glass is often admired for its symbolism of transformation and renewal, making it a popular metaphor for life’s journey. Quotes related to sea glass often explore themes of aging gracefully, finding beauty in the imperfections of life, and the power of the ocean to reshape and refine.
“Life’s little treasures are only visible to the ones who are open enough to see them.”
Sea glass generally symbolizes renewal, transformation, and healing. It’s a metaphor for life, representing how broken or discarded things can be transformed and become something beautiful and valuable. The ocean’s action in smoothing and rounding the glass over time is seen as a metaphor for weathering life’s challenges and emerging stronger.
I want to age like Sea Glass by Bernadette Noll
I want to age like sea glass I want to age like sea glass. Smoothed by tides, not broken. I want the currents of life to toss me around, shake me up and leave me feeling washed clean. I want my hard edges to soften as the years pass—made not weak but supple. I want to ride the waves, go with the flow, feel the impact of the surging tides rolling in and out.
When I am thrown against the shore and caught between the rocks and a hard place, I want to rest there until I can find the strength to do what is next. Not stuck—just waiting, pondering, feeling what it feels like to pause. And when I am ready, I will catch a wave and let it carry me along to the next place that I am supposed to be.
I want to be picked up on occasion by an unsuspected soul and carried along—just for the connection, just for the sake of appreciation and wonder. And with each encounter, new possibilities of collaboration are presented, and new ideas are born.
I want to age like sea glass so that when people see the old woman I’ll become, they’ll embrace all that I am. They’ll marvel at my exquisite nature, hold me gently in their hands and be awed by my well-earned patina. Neither flashy nor dull, just a perfect luster. And they’ll wonder, if just for a second, what it is exactly I am made of and how I got to this very here and now. And we’ll both feel lucky to be in that perfectly right place at that profoundly right time.
I want to age like sea glass. I want to enjoy the journey and let my preciousness be, not in spite of the impacts of life, but because of them.
[Humble,simple,simile – and my love for sea glass collection makes this poem hit home everytime I read it]
A lot of you despise me,
And I don’t understand why.
I am not ugly or deserving of your hate.
I survive every day on the streets,
That used to be fields and seas.
There are no tasty seeds,
Because you turned beaches into buildings.
I eat what you throw on the ground,
Because I have no choice.
Water is harder and harder to find.
Do you know what it takes to survive in a world that is not mine anymore?
Please don’t scare me or hurt me,
Just let me live –
Live in your world that was once mine..
Words by Amey James of The Happy Pants Animal Sanctuary Charity
They are beautiful in my eyes and deserve to live in peace.
I enjoy hearing their sound and watch them fly and dive into the water.
Don’t consider them as vemin, they are fellow living beings just trying to survive in a hell of a world, same as the rest of us.
Live life to the fullest! Explore your world!