VJ’s Weekly Challenge #106: touch

July 27, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

“Dear Grandma, We love you with all our hearts. We miss you and wish we couldtouch you and have sleepovers all the time. You are the best girlin the world and I love you so much and hate the coronavirus.” The note came in a homemade card, created and dictated by my four-year-old granddaughter. Touching […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #105: Quotation

July 20, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Deborah, from AWISEWOMANSJOURNEY, offers daily inspiration, and one particular quotation struck me last week. I’m sharing it with you here as a focal point for the upcoming week: Strive to be uncynical, to be a hope-giving force, to be a steward of substance. Maria Popova Your response may use one, or none of the words. […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #104: Next Chapter

July 13, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Sold! Next! Picture me surrounded by packing materials and boxes – I’ll be busy the next few weeks preparing for the move. Preparing for the next chapter. Some of life changes are abrupt, unexpected, and some, like our upcoming house move, are planned out. Either way, change is a given. The focus this week is: […]

Threes in Threes (or so)

July 10, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Amateur, I am, when it comes to photography. I’m excited to learn the ins and outs. This week, Nancy Merrill instructs on the rule of thirds. The featured image represents thistles leaning into the third. This daffodils are leaning outside the boundaries, but there is something interesting about this shot to me. Thanks Nancy Merrill […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #103: theme song

July 6, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Lovers like to claim a song as their own, a symbol of their passion. This never worked for me – the only partner who declared a song ours – “Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong” – dropped me shortly after. I dated a con-man once who dubbed “La Vida Loca” as my theme song. […]

Remember to Breathe

July 5, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

There’s an old black walnut tree that stands on the edge of our new property. As much as I try to not think about the next house and focus on this one – keeping it sale worthy – I can’t stop thinking about that tree. Viewed from the back deck, it is a prime model […]

Duck, Duck, Goose

July 4, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Thanks to Our Eyes Open for hosting the Bird Weekly challenge and indulging my obsession. This week’s prompt is ducks and geese. The featured mallard found himself ditched.

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #102: Pace

June 29, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

“Don’t worry Grandma; I can go at a sloth’s pace!” my granddaughter once reassured me when I confessed that I can’t keep up. So, I’m a sloth. I like to think I’m more of an old tortoise: lumbering but steady. There was a time when I was the hare: fast, but not always winning the […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #101: decisions

June 22, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

I love our home. It’s the perfect size for the two of us plus our two doggies. We have all the amenities we need. The only thing that is missing, I confide to a friend, is nature. For two years, we lived in our 41′ motor home, traversing North America and discovering many wondrous places. […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #100: Pause

June 15, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

The world is a noisy place at the moment, and rightfully so. The bubble of denial has burst when it comes to systemic racism. As people march in protest demanding change, a virus lurks, threatening further losses. And, I haven’t even mentioned the absurdity of political ranting that seems so inappropriately off base right now. […]

Resilience

Boxes are filling up around us. We’re making a dent in our to-do lists. Doubt seeps in. Are we doing the right thing? Then I remember all the reasons behind making this choice and affirm: We are dismantling one life to build another, purposeful existence.

Monday Mood: squirrely

The movers need to be arranged, and the closets sorted and packed, and when was the last time we bought groceries…. Head and attention are going in too many directions at once, and I’m exhausted before I get started. Might be a little cranky too. The stress of moving is real.