Author Archive: Julia
Be one of the rare few
“Never despise the mundane. Embrace it. Unwrap it like a gift. And be one of the rare few who looks deeper than just the surface. See something more in the everyday. It’s there.” – Lysa TerKeurst I’m a practical person in most respects, so I tend to give gifts that are useful or inexpensive modestly …
Power to gather
…he is happiest who hath power To gather wisdom from a flower… — Mary Howitt What is your favorite flower? That’s a tough question to answer; I tend to be fondest of whatever I happen to be seeing at the moment. But if I had to choose, the delightful …
A festival season
Just after the death of the flowers, And before they are buried in snow, There comes a festival season, When nature is all aglow— Aglow with a mystical splendour That rivals the brightness of spring, Aglow with a beauty more tender Than aught which fair summer could bring…. (attributed to Emeline B. Smith, about whom …
To be wronged
“To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.”― Confucius Gardening teaches me many lessons. I love the way nurturing the flowers and pulling the weeds can make such a difference in how beautiful a small spot of ground may be. Left alone, the weeds can choke out the flowers in no time. But …
A riot to the senses
“October proved a riot a riot to the senses and climaxed those giddy last weeks before Halloween.” ― Keith Donohue Blogs are a wonderful way to connect to people all over the world, and today’s photo is one example of the fun that can result. As I write this, we aren’t yet having riots of color …
That’s when you start
“…when you realize that the story of your life could be told a thousand different ways, that you could tell it over and over as a tragedy, but you choose to call it an epic, that’s when you start to learn what celebration is.” — Shauna Niequist Let me guess: your life is fantastic, a …
Just too used to it
“I think life is staggering and we’re just too used to it. We are all like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we’re given – it’s just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral.” — Donald Miller Do you ever read the …
In the slanted light
All the feathery grasses shine in the slanted light. It’s time to bring in the lawn chairs and wind chimes, time to draw the drapes against the wind, time to hunker down. Summer’s fruits are preserved in syrup, but nothing can stopper time. — from the poem “And Now it’s October” by Barbara Crooker Just when we …
So glad
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” — L. M. Montgomery As I write this, I’m feeling sad and very tired. I’ve not been sleeping well lately, and it feels as if everything in my life is currently a source of some sort of worry. This evening, despite having many …
The land comes alive
“The land comes alive through its wild creatures.” — Charles Fergus When I was employed by the Tennessee Department of Conservation, one of the foresters with whom I worked heard me say my fiancé was from Hickman County. “Hickman County?” he said. “They got more deer there than people!” I had to agree with that. …
Invariably imagined
“…it is not surprising that paradise is invariably imagined as a garden.” — Mac Griswold Autumn is upon us, with all its promise of splendor, but it’s not too late to bid a fond farewell to the green grass and vivid blooms of summer. I hope you are able to spend a few minutes this …
Many worlds
“Thanks to art, instead of seeing one world only, our own, we see that world multiply itself and we have at our disposal as many worlds as there are original artists…” — Marcel Proust How are you feeling today? I hope it’s a happy day for you, with agreeable weather and time to enjoy a few …
Our heart is not always able
“…our heart is not always able to say what it wants to say, and frequently has to content itself with less.” — Alexander McCall Smith In spite of my ceaseless flow of words, McCall Smith’s statement quoted above (as expressed in the thoughts of the winsome Mma. Ramotswe) is more true for me now than ever. …
The noise is democracy
“Our political institutions work remarkably well. They are designed to clang against each other. The noise is democracy at work.” — Michael Novak When I first read that quote by Novak, I couldn’t help wondering when he said it, and whether he still feels that way. Everywhere I turn, I hear people complaining about the government. …
To produce some good
“I am very little inclined on any occasion to say anything unless I hope to produce some good by it.” – Abraham Lincoln To borrow some famous words of Yogi Berra, Lincoln really didn’t say everything he said, but apparently he really said this. And WOW, what a quote. Just think how much better the world …
There are no words
Dear blog readers, our wonderful Daddy passed from this life earlier today. Here is a video I made for him on Father’s Day 2014, just a token of the tremendous place he holds in the hearts of his four children. There will be no posts this week. Thanks for understanding. Update, Monday 12:15 a.m. — …
I learn by going
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I learn by going where I have to go. — Theodore Roethke I’ve never been fond of awakening from a nice dreamy sleep, and getting up (especially on cold, dark mornings) is not something I do well. I envy and wonder at Jeff’s ability to get up very early, usually …
Important decision
“The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.”― Voltaire In the grand scheme of things, it might seem that Voltaire is exaggerating to describe a mere mood as being so important. After all, there are plenty of huge and life-changing decisions that are far less transient than how we feel on …
Ingenuity and resourcefulness
“Risk brings out the ingenuity and resourcefulness which ensure success.” — Robert Rawls “There are men climbing around in the top of your tree!” Darla reported with excitement when I answered the front door that morning. She knew the tree surgeons were coming to remove our giant oak that day, but the sight of them …
Truly artistic
“The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” — Vincent Van Gogh Quick, think of your stereotype of an artist. Did you picture someone isolated, temperamental, aloof or demanding of perfection? Someone slightly out of touch with “normal” life? I have to admit, that’s …
Vitally appealing
“The emotional energy created by the critical illness of a child is unlike anything else in a family. The medical situation devours much of the family’s life and leaves its mark on everyone involved: parents and siblings, grandparents and friends. Passions are generated, enormous resources are called upon, any moment can suddenly turn into a …
A pathological nostalgia
“I had a pathological nostalgia. I grieved not only for my own rapidly receding childhood but also for the years, ‘the pasts,’ that I would never experience. The past seemed as real to me as the present, as real as another country. But unlike another country, its borders were closed…pictures felt like the next best …
Doing more
“…look for ways [that] devices or media may be making specific tasks easier or faster but at the same time making your work and life harder.” — Alex Soojung-Kim Pang “There’s no question that labor-saving devices save labor. But they also manufacture labor. The washing machine and the dryer don’t save time if you end …
A logic all their own
“Summers had a logic all their own and they always brought something out in me…they made me want to believe.” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz As incredible as it seems to me, the summer is already beginning to wind down. The days are getting shorter and there have been a few touches of cool weather here …
Defeat Despair 