A Winterscape

A frosty winter's day...

A cup of hot chocolate...

The country house glowing from the inside with warmth...

Memories of childhood Christmases gone by...

Carols filling the winter air with the sound of holiday...

The magic of the season

can take us to Christmases of yesteryear,

thinking of loved ones

and

blissful reminiscences...

All on a frosty winter's day

while sipping my hot chocolate.

Snow is on the way,

and I can't wait to experience the magic of a true

winter wonderland...

May you have blessings of a beautiful winterscape...

Yaya

Home and Hearth at Christmas Time

Welcome Home...

Oh how I love those words

when we return from far away...

After a busy day of shopping,

wrapping presents,

it's time to slow down and relax...

Christmas music fills the air...

Hot mulled wine in hand,

candle light,

a warm fire...

It feels so go to be home by the hearth,

getting ready for Christmas

and family

to arrive at the old country house.

Blessings

Yaya

Home For Christmas

No matter where you are

out there in the big beautiful world...

Paris...

London...

Old New York...

There is no place like home at Christmas time.

Merry Christmas Blessings

Yaya

Harvest Blessings

Welcome!

It's harvest time at the country house...

I love the autumn fruits and vegetables,

and many of them will be used in our country kitchen

as Thanksgiving dinner is prepared.

Of course,

the quintessential autumn main course is roasted turkey.

Bliss is going to the Farmers Market

and coming home with baskets,

and baskets,

of sweet potatos, squash, apples, pears, pumpkins,

cabbages, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower,

eggplant...

And don't forget to pick your persimmons,

if you should be so lucky to have a tree.

Yes, the country house does have a persimmon tree...

Don't you love picking fresh sage for your dressing?!!

Ohhh so good.

May you all have a blessing of plentiful harvest!

Yaya

Savouring Autumn

Mornings start slowly, but early,

with coffee and conversation...

Country life has a rhythm and heart all its own.

Some thirty miles out of town...

I love having a place to retreat from the hectic world.

Music fills the rooms,

and flows out onto the porch.

Sounds of Mozart or Chopin,

and so much more...music from around the world.

We play Rook...we read...sip hot mulled wine.

A home is where one puts all one's favorite things...

A home is where family gathers together for the holidays...

There is no place I would rather be,

than in the countryside

savouring autumn,

and waiting on the arrival of family

and

Thanksgiving.

Blessings

Yaya

Autumnal Palette

Colors of autumn

suffused

with

beauty and warmth...

I love filling the old country house

with

vivid hues from outside my window...

Set a beautiful table with warm colors of fall...

It looks as if it would smell of spice...

It does.

The smell is cinnamon and apples...

Spice cake...

The perfect place to sip warm cider

or

hot mulled wine.

Open your home to family,

and celebrate the season of

Thanksgiving.

Blessings

Yaya

A Beautiful Mess

And oh so worth it!

"Weed, Yaya...Weed...Tay?"

Tay.

MmwahMmwah...KissesKisses

Beautiful Blessings

Yaya

Autumn Sunset

Our world is so fast, and hectic...

When I come here to the countryside,

I feel the peace start to flow.

I STOP.

I sit on my country house porch,

and

sip wine

at

sunset...

An autumn sunset.

Running here, dashing there...

We can feel so scattered and pulled in every direction.

I love sitting here...

Just being still...silence...

Every part of me starts to feel grounded to the earth's core.

The sunset looks like a brilliant, but soft light of energy.

Energy from God...

It fills me with such peace.

Find your place of peacefulness and connect to it.

Let it carry you along.

Peaceful Blessings

Yaya

Don't Forget to Live

Let go...

Stop concentrateing on work...bills...difficult people.

Give yourself a few minutes of leisure time,

if not each day,

several days a week.

Set the alarm 15 minutes early...

Program the coffee pot (you will awake feeling pampered),

when you smell the fresh coffee drifting throughout the house.

Slip into your fuzzy slippers...

Grabe your favorite throw blanket...

Take your coffee outside into the crisp autumn mist.

Breathe...

Sip your coffee...

This is your time...

Take it...

Make time for precious, quiet moments.

And,

don't forget to live...

Enjoy life.

Fill it with beauty, and grace...tenderness...

Fresh flowers...wine...sunsets...

Oh the list is long...

Don't forget to live.

Blessings

Yaya

A Countryside Haven

That is what our old country house feels like to me.

As comforting as a snuggle blanket,

or an old cashmere sweater.

And every country house in the deep south

has a front porch.

A place to have morning coffee,

an afternoon cup of tea,

wine at sunset.

Just being here soothes my soul...

Country blessings...

Yaya

Fall Flowers and a Candle

Oh so pretty...

Oh so simple...

OouLaLa...

Make your space beautiful,

One little area at a time.

Blessings

Yaya

Elixir

My fountian of youth...

My healer of disease...

There is not a better way to step into your day.

And,

what a magical afternoon cocktail...

This elixir that looks like autumn.

This elixir that nourshes and rebuilds every cell in your body...

So pure...

So healing...

So delicious...

1 pound of organic carrots

2 organic apples

1 organic pear

Place into juicer.

Enjoy your healing elixir...

May you be blessed with good health...

Yaya

Home in the Countryside

And so they arrived from far away...

It always feels so good

to

walk barefoot over the old wood floors...

Smell the smells of home...

Sip a glass of wine,

and

relax,

but,

not for long...

It's the season

of

holidays.

It is time to decorate

and

make everything beautiful...

Blessings

Yaya

A Touch of Beauty

It doesn't have to be much,

or expensive...

Just a touch...

One candle...

One crystal vase...

The ambience of the room is immediately changed.

Just a touch of beauty,

And the extraordinary is there...

Waiting just around the corner...

Only a candle and a vase away...

Oh so pretty,

Just a touch of beauty.

Beautiful blessings

Yaya

God's Artwork

Autumn in all of its glory...

Inspiring us...

How I love this time of year.

The air is now crisp,

the holidays are almost upon us,

and it's time to decorate the old country house.

One last look at our serene lake view,

before heading to the countryside

and

full speed into the holidays.

Let's get to baking and decorating!!

Autumn Blessings

Yaya

A Perfect Moment

One with Mother Nature

and

man's best friend.

That does make

A perfect moment...

May you be blessed

with many of life's

perfect moments.

Yaya

A Country Lane

A country lane will take you to a place

where

songs of birds

and gentle breeze are all around...

With little kids climbing trees

and getting scrapes on knees...

Popsicles and lemonaide...

Iron skillet fried potatos

and front porch rockers...

All of this

and

more

will be waiting at the end

of

a country lane.

It's called

home.

Country Blessings

Yaya

Through A Garden Gate...

Everyone needs a garden gate...

And a beautiful place

filled

with blooms and butterflies

and

the sweet scent of summer...

A fountain...

The peaceful sound of trickling water...

A chair in the coolness of a shade tree...

A place to sit

and

ponder upon life...

A place to renew the spirt.

Blessings

Yaya

A Summer Afternoon

If only once...

Just one

afternoon,

out of the whole entire summer,

YOU

should spend it

like this...

Doing nothing...

Nothing,

but listening to summer birdsong,

and

silence.

Renewing your soul...

Sleeping...

Reading...

Sleeping...

Bliss,

on a summer afternoon.

Summer Blessings

Yaya

Not As I Planned...

But oh so beautiful...

Like life.

Take each day as it comes,

And find the beauty and joy.

Beautiful Blessings

Yaya

Beauty Is Everywhere

Even in the tangled webs we weave...

It is there,

if only we look.

Blessings

Yaya

Escape

Close your eyes,
and in your mind's eye,
see your perfect place of beauty and tranquility.
See every little detail...
Feel the heat from the sun...
Smell the sea...
Hear the fountain in the courtyard...
Create your perfect place of escape.
Keep it locked in your mind's eye,
and go there when you need to remove yourself from the world.
Step through the gate
and close it behind you.
The ugly, harshness of the world cannot come here.
Only beauty, kindness, peace, love, gentleness.
This is my place of peace.
My hideaway.
My escape.



Blessings
Yaya

Simple Summer Supper

Summertime in the south...

Refreshing ocean breeze...

Golden sunsets...

Pasta Salad...

Cool watermelon...

Vine ripe tomatos...

Mix spirl vegetable pasta

with bacon, eggs, tomatos, and black olives...


Roasted red pepper Italian dressing...
Mix...
Serve with a cold, elegant Sauvignon Blanc...





Take a walk along a narrow island lane...
Along the bay...
Passed the marsh...
and into the golden sunset...
A perfect ending to a beautiful day.




Blessings
Yaya

Black Tide

The southern sky

hanging out there

clear as crystal

suspended over a summer beach...

My island in the sun...

Catch me in the sunlight

standing by the sea,

thinking,

thinking...There isn't a sound...

There are no seagulls here today...

Oh maybe...just one...

Only one.

There are no fishermen...

No, not one...

We feel let down.

I know what's happening to us

and I know why.

Outside myself I stand

looking back in amazement...

Parts of the writings are Rod McKuen...

"Seasons in the Sun"

Parts are me...

Standing in the sand,

at sunset...

Thinking...

Knowing what has happened to our mother ocean,

looking back in amazement.

As I return back to the island cottage,

I keep imagining my island in the sun,

whole,

pure,

healing...

The way she was...

Out beyond my window,
the fan palms move in the island breeze,
and the oleander puts on a colorful show...
I saw a falling star last night,
as I sat out under the night sky.
The birds were singing this morning,
and everything seemed normal...
Everything,
that is,
but
the
black tide...




Yaya

Is It Here Yet?

No, son, the oil isn't here yet...

It's just a matter of time...

Just a matter of time...

Rambling thoughts from the island cottage...

Use candle light instead of electric...

A candlelight dinner...

A candlelight bath...

Movie by candlelight...

Wine by candlelight...

Linedry clothes...

Use fans instead of airconditioning...Open the windows...

Hand wash dishes...

Just one hour a week , or...

one hour a month, or...

one hour a day...

At the end of the year,

YOU

have made a difference...

Don't drive if you can walk or ride a bike...

Drive a scooter...Making a difference can be fun!

Blessings

Yaya

Little Treasures

The Gypsy Junk Queen,

always on the hunt...

Looking, looking...

Looking for treasures.

Today I felt a 'calling'...

'Come to the lil' flea market'

I love that feeling of excitement as you arrive,

and get armed and ready.

Much like a fox hunt, I suppose.

And then you spot something!

A French style wire basket!!

ONE DOLLAR!!!

GASP!

It's mine.

A chunky silver bracelet laying among plastic beads!!

ONE DOLLAR!!!

GASP!

It's mine.

After the hunt, I bring it home,

sit it where I can see it,

and feel elated!

The only thing missing from the chunky silver bracelet is the safety chain.

One day in the future,

Sophia and Stella can serve tea from the pretty little tea set,

also a 'find' from today's hunt.

Sixteen pieces,

all perfect!

OouLaLa

Bargin Blessings

Yaya

The Language of Love...Puppy Love

Sugahbear (we're in the deep South and that's how we talk...*wink*)...

Big dreamy brown eyes...

Silky black curls...

The sweetest breath...

Kisses on the nose...

Be still my heart...

Winston, I am smitten with you!

Rambling thoughts from the country house...

Peace begins at home.

When I come from a place of inner peace,

I see peace around me.

Blessings

Yaya

Sunday Stroll

Okay, sweet Stella Donna, come with Yaya...

Let's go for a Sunday stroll.

Such happiness in simple pleasures...

Family, grandangels, springtime walks.
Strolling along...

Look, Yaya!

What was that!?

Why it's a butterfly, my dear.

Sunshine and a butterfly on your shoulder.

We are so blessed with springtime blessings.

Two roses, lots of little rose buds,

a few jasmine blooms,

and one ladybug.

Celebrating spring.

Rambling thoughts from the country house...

Earth Wisdom...

"Speak to the earth,

and it shall teach thee."

The Book of Job 12.8

Blessings

Yaya