This afternoon I planted more Shasta Daisies in the garden.
Checking on them afterwards, I was struck by how happy I felt looking at them.
There’s something about this perky little flower that lifts my spirits every time!
Garden blessings
We’ve got plants!
And I’m sooooo happy!
No, really. It’s a bit ridiculous how happy buying these plants made me.
Our patio is about to be transformed!
I ❤ flowers
I can’t express in words how happy I felt when I glimpsed my new plants just outside the front door this morning.
They made my heart sing!
I took more photos, simply because I can’t seem to get enough of these beauties!
Back in full challenge mode
The break between challenges was longer this time around; I think due to the founders of the program moving from LA to Hawaii.
That’s a darn good reason and I totally support them in allowing themselves that extra time, but I could definitely tell the difference in having almost a month instead of two weeks “off”.
There are many people who just keep plugging away during the breaks, but the way I’m wired it helps me to feel a little letdown of pressure, then gearing back up to be all the way “on” again.
The good news is that I mostly maintained my routines, with just a few little “break-out” moments spaced throughout the month. And I don’t feel bad about those, either!
But right at the end I could feel a part of me wanting to really cut loose, so I’m quite happy to get back into challenge mode for the next 28 days.
The Happy Wanderer
I’ve been enjoying starting my days with a walk so much that I didn’t want to miss this morning, even though I was scheduled to sing for Sunday service.
So, I left extra early — with Sunday clothes, sandals, and breakfast shake in my backpack — and walked to the amphitheater!
It felt really good being out in the beautiful morning sunshine and all of a sudden a song from childhood popped into my head: “I love to go a-wandering along the mountain track, and as I go, I love to sing, my knapsack on my back.” The only other verse I remembered was: “Oh, may I go a-wandering until the day I die! And, may I always laugh and sing, beneath God’s clear blue sky!”
I felt so happy as I sang it inwardly the whole way!
Of course, I had to look it up after I got back home. Here’s a video — in case you somehow have never heard the song — and the complete lyrics. What a wonderful example of joyfully singing while feeling at one with the world!
The Happy Wanderer
I love to go a-wandering,
Along the mountain track,
And as I go, I love to sing,
My knapsack on my back.
Chorus:
Val-deri, Val-dera,
Val-deri,
Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
Val-deri, Val-dera.
My knapsack on my back.
I love to wander by the stream
That dances in the sun,
So joyously it calls to me,
“Come! Join my happy song!”
I wave my hat to all I meet,
And they wave back to me,
And blackbirds call so loud and sweet
From ev’ry green wood tree.
High overhead, the skylarks wing,
They never rest at home
But just like me, they love to sing,
As o’er the world we roam.
Oh, may I go a-wandering
Until the day I die!
Oh, may I always laugh and sing,
Beneath God’s clear blue sky!
One down, one to go!
Yep, this is us beaming after our first shot of the COVID vaccine. Feeling both happy and relieved.
It was quite the scene today at Sierra Family Medical Center, with lots of Village residents and Ridge neighbors patiently waiting their turn to get jabbed.
There was definitely a high, upbeat energy all around. We are soooooo ready to be able to sing, to attend Sunday service in person at the Temple of Light, to visit family, and to simply put all this behind us.
We’re grateful to have taken our first step down that road and look forward to step #2 in just a few weeks.
To be able to SEE!
Oh my! This is a poem I wrote for a class assignment in the seventh grade, eons and eons ago.
Reading it, I realize I really was an optimistic child. The handwriting’s a bit hard to decipher (check out those exclamation marks😂), so I’ve typed it below…
To Be Able to See
What a privilege it is,
To be able to see.
We take it for granted,
But don’t you agree?:
To be able to see all the world,
It’s stupendous!
Each little color!
I say, it’s tremendous!
Why don’t we all take advantage of this…
This wonderful gift we are bestowed with?
Just think of all who are unable to see,
And open your eyes!
Look at land & at sea!
Look at the world,
You won’t be here that long!
Look around & be happy,
Fill your heart with a song!
Be ecstatic!
Erratic!
Go crazy with gladness!
Open your eyes, give way to madness.
Look at flowers & trees
At the birds & the bees.
Fill your heart, fill your soul!
And look! Look some more & some more!
Until you are part of the wonderful world God made for us all.
Look & be happy!
Go ahead have a ball.
Don’t wait
How often we wait, hoping to feel happy enough to start singing…when it’s singing itself that will raise our energy and make us happy!
