Down the mountainside a gentle breeze blows Through the mighty maples and oaks so fair. Past the gold meadows where the river flows Nightingale crooning, love is in the air.
I found you sitting on the rocks alone As day faded into velvet twilight. Lost in this world, no one to call your own While distant stars illuminate the night.
Look into my eyes, I can read your mind. Hold my hands, feel the energy within. A power to bring eyesight to the blind, And I promise you’ll see the sun again.
Draw the curtains, let my love lift you higher Surrender to this passion and desire.
Hello! We drove up to Michigan yesterday for a long weekend visiting my husband’s family. Today it has been raining all day, but we got to go into Rochester for an hour of downtown shopping, and then spent the afternoon with Dan’s older brother Steve, wife Vicky, Brother Jon and his wife Connie. We had dinner at Victoria’s in Oxford this evening. Steve is doing so much better, he’s had a host of health issues for about the last 8 months. Fortunately, he is getting stronger and gaining back his mobility. Tomorrow we are getting together with all the Michigan cousins for dinner.
It has been nice to get out of town for a long weekend after a challenging tax season! It has been difficult switching gears from working many hours of overtime to virtually none. I’m sure I will find other things to do. Our firm is starting their annual fitness challenge on May 1, so I better break out my running shoes again!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. 😊
xoxo Colleen
Mood: Lovely Inspiration: “See the Sun Again” by Dido
Ecrits Blogophilia Week 43.14 Topic: Love is in the Air Hard Bonus: Incorporate a lyric from the singer Dido (“I promise you’ll see the sun again” from the song “See the Sun Again”) Easy Bonus: Mention a superpower or special talent (mind-reading)
Happy Saturday, all! I hope you are having a great weekend so far. I was a little rushed to write this, and for some reason had a hard time making this poem come together. I just started pondering on the meaning of promises throughout my life, or the different promises others may experience. How I have kept my end of a promise and been badly burned at times, or how promises just sort of erode without intention or malice. I’ve grown older, maybe a bit wiser and all I can say is “C’est la vie.” That’s life.
My week has been busy, but a good kind of busy. At my accounting firm YHB, we celebrated the April 18 tax deadline at a local Winchester brewery. It was a lovely early evening, spent raising a toast to good work done, and another tax season behind us. The rest of the week has been a flourish of activities, and I spent yesterday trading in my car (a process which I absolutely hate – anyone out there feel the same)?
Today was fun, we had a spur of the moment Girl’s Day! I went thrifting with my sister Sarah and her girls Cami and Quinn. We drove into Leesburg to buy vinyl at Dig Records, then had a quick lunch at Puccio’s Deli across the street. It was pouring, so we decided to head back to Purcellville and hit a few more thrift stores. In additional to some great $3, $5 and $8 albums, I snagged a new side desk for my home office, a cool pair of antique iron floor candleholders, and a silverplated scalloped serving plate. We had such a great time.
All the rain today was very needed, but it is making me sleepy, so I’m planning to curl up with a glass of wine in front of the tv soon. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo Colleen
Mood: Wistful Inspiration: “I Promise” by Radiohead
Ecrits Blogophilia Week 42.14 Topic: Promises, Promises Hard Bonus: Incorporate a line or lyric from “The Lion King” movie or musical (The Circle of Life) Easy Bonus: Include a pile of bills
Good morning! I wrote this this morning as a light rain fell outside. The temperature is warmer and spring is in full bloom. All around in my backyard, spring is alive. My beautiful hydrangea are sprouting beautiful chartreuse buds. These two hydrangea bushes are my best garden success, and I adore the huge softball sized flowers that sprout cream color and turn to a dusky pink in September. They are actually trees now – close to 20 feet tall and about to approach my upstairs bathroom window.
Hydrangeas have become my favorite flower. I think we got lucky and just happened to plant them in their happy place where they can thrive. I have failed at planting other hybrid blue and purple hydrangeas in other spots in the backyard, only to be burnt up by the blazing afternoon sun. This is the only northern spot where they can bask in the morning sun and shaded the rest of the day. And they have taken over the entire north side of the house, so there’s no room for more. If anyone has other suggestions on hydrangea care and placement, I’m all ears.
I am missing my Kwanzen Cherry trees and their gorgeous pink blossoms, both of which perished in the last few years. One was injured by a lawn mower mishap and died a slow death, the other was blown over in a windstorm two years ago. Dan has agreed we need to buy another one, so we will do that soon but won’t see the blossoms until next year.
Easter was so much fun – all of my siblings and Mom together at our house for a lovely gathering. I still haven’t posted pics yet, as I have been super busy at work with tax extensions. I will try to post this weekend. I did miss the grandkids dearly, though. I send them specially made Easter baskets each year, filled with non-perishable candy, treats, clothes and Easter trinkets. We FaceTimed this week as they opened up the baskets, and they were so excited. It brings me great joy to see them so happy!
Have a lovely weekend, friends and family. Enjoy the beautiful comforts of spring that you find in nature.
xoxo Colleen
Mood: Enchanted Inspiration: “Life” by Ludovico Einaudi
Ecrits Blogophilia Week 41.14 Topic: Easter Basket Hard Bonus: Include a quote about Easter or spring (“the sensuality of spring”) Easy Bonus: Mention the color “chartreuse”
Hello! I will try to keep this relatively short (for me). I was kind of stumped this week with the prompts, but it might be that I’m getting very fatigued, as my poem indicates. I decided to just use the haiku series format to let my feelings flow. The title sounds like a coffee shop, doesn’t it?
It’s tax season, and once again Dan and I are both working extremely hard. Or at least it feels like it – probably has something to do with our age LOL! It doesn’t seem as if retirement for either of us is likely in the near future. We both truly believe in keeping our minds active and having a purpose, but there are days when I am just SO tired. (Of course, it could be that I have not had a complete day off since January 1.) We both love what we do, and I guess that is what keeps us going. I love my job, my clients and my company makes me feel valued and appreciated every day. I am grateful for the flexibility to have a hybrid work schedule and for the first time in a long while, I am being paid fairly.
Most of our friends that are our age have already retired. We can’t really imagine that, with the state of the economy and how our 401K funds have taken a major slide. Though I would love to retire and travel, we simply can’t risk doing that just yet. I don’t honestly know how long I will hold out before deciding to retire. Time will tell.
The good news is that I am taking off the entire weekend for Easter. I have all my siblings coming to our home for the holiday, and I have preparations for Easter dinner and a Capitals-Panthers hockey game tonight, which will be fun. I can’t wait to see everyone Sunday, as it has been a very long time since we’ve all been together. Wishing you and yours a Happy Easter or Passover, or whatever you celebrate!
xoxo Colleen
Mood: Tired Inspiration: “I’m So Tired” by The Beatles (love John Lennon’s voice!)
Blogophilia Week 40.14 Topic: Chances Are… Hard Bonus: Include a mode of transportation without wheels (Feet) Easy Bonus: Incorporate a list
Warm promise summer days wake to birdsong chalk art on sidewalks hopscotch and roller skates watching thunderclouds roll by seventies love songs on the porch wafting through our humble neighborhoods baseball cards, clothespins, aluminum spokes zooming down the alleys, hair flying free running with glee through the cool sprinklers blueberry snowcones at twilight star gazing in my backyard sweet childhood memories such innocent times and I wonder just where have they all gone?
Happy Sunday! I am a day late posting this for the Blogophilia – and for good reason. Last night I was sitting here at my computer working a storm came up. I had finished my double etheree and was writing up the content for my blog, when a windstorm of wild proportions descended. We’d had warnings for high winds, and to be honest, we get them quite frequently where I live in Virginia. As I was on a writing roll, I paid no attention to it, typing away and suddenly – whoosh, the power was gone! It was pitch black, and we scrambled in the dark to find our lanterns, flashlights and candles.
Scrabble in the dark!
We could tell this one was not a mere flicker of the lights, so we reported the outage, and it was the exact same area that ALWAYS goes out. However, it must have been serious because Dominion Power was reporting it was not coming back until 3 am at the earliest. So I had to modify my evening workout to a leg and abs workout in the dark (no cardio). Then I washed my face with bottled water and put my pjs on – we live on a well and therefore, have no running water when the power goes out. (Which is a major pain!) The cats were a little freaked out, following us around and wondering why we were sitting there at 9 pm drinking wine and playing Scrabble by candlelight, instead of watching television!
Who’s the boss? Rudy stepping on Bobby’s head…
Since it was relatively cool outside, there was no problem sleeping (temperature wise, that is). However, we both kept waking up, peering up at the ceiling fan in the darkness to see if power had come back on. And of course, our luck would have it that still no power restored at 8 am when we crawled out of bed. The cats were a bit out of sorts. So Dan went into hurricane survival mode, drove to get us bagels and hot coffee. He also salvaged our Easter hams and took them to his office refrigerator (which fortunately still had power).
This was quite inconvenient for us both, as we are both working under the April 18 tax deadline and have LOTS of client work to do. Plus I was in need of a shower and a functional bathroom, so like I did for the past 3 power outages, I packed up the necessities, my computer, phone, chargers and we headed to his office. (Which conveniently has a functional shower, as luck would have it!) I told Dan, hey – it worked like a charm the last 3 times we headed to your office in a power outage, so why not? He got a chance to work while I had a decadent shower in an old but clean bathroom (who cares, I felt like a million bucks after)! And no sooner did I step out, fresh and fully dressed, than Dan said “Power’s back on!” Our neighbors had texted us. Maybe I should have done this last night, lol.
Curling up on the recliner with Dad
So we were out of power for a total of 18 hours. This evening I will have to determine what needs to be thrown out. The freezer still looked good, no ice had melted and the ice cream and meats were solid. I will toss eggs, mayonnaise, sour cream, dairy type things and any leftovers. It’s an inconvenience, but nothing like what we used to experience in South Florida with the frequent hurricanes. It kind of derailed my weekend a bit, as I did not get the amount of work done I wanted to. I’d planned on a nice 6 mile run this afternoon, but I’m just too exhausted today. So I’ll listen to my body and just take things as they come. The cats are tired out and catnapping as usual!
I was afraid my poem was completely lost – I didn’t remember saving it. Fortunate, when our power returned, the poem was still intact, but the blog verbiage was not. I think I was just musing on how many memories and blessings I have from my childhood in the very early 70’s – such a carefree time on Guilford Avenue, cruising the alleys (Keller Alley as we deemed it), dodgeball under the porch, reading books on the front porch, baseball in the gravel driveway, tag, freeze, Simon Says, playing in the cool basement, watching fireworks from the playroom window…. I have so many engrained in my mind and heart, and I am so grateful for them!
Catnip dreams! (Bobby Moonlight)
The takeaway this week? Be grateful for what you have, look at them as blessings, and take things in stride. I am so glad this power outage did not happen next weekend, as we have a hockey game Saturday night and are hosting Easter dinner on Sunday. So listen up …. Aeolus, oh God of Storms, please be kind to us next weekend! Have a great week, everyone.
xoxo Colleen
Mood: Nostalgic Inspiration: “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts
Ecrits Blogophilia Week 39.14 Topic: Where Have They All Gone? Hard Bonus: Use a song title by the singer Pink (Humble Neighborhoods) Easy Bonus: Include a baseball card
Colleen Keller Breuning 