Sailboat Race - St. Michael's, Maryland

"When we have 

accepted 

the worst, 

we have 

nothing more 

to lose. 

And that means 

we have 

everything 

to gain." 

Dale Carnegie, taken from Patches of Godlight by Jan Karon

Bridge at Callaway Gardens

If we have been pleased 

with LIFE, 

we should not be 

displeased 

with DEATH, 

since it comes from the hand 

of the same master. 

 

Michelangelo

Taken from All Shall Be Well by Jane Cavolina and Matthew Bunson

Monday Musing

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. 

Live the life you've imagined."

Henry David Thoreau, as quoted by, well, everyone.

This has long been one of my very favorite quotes. I have it copied out in innumerable places. It is emblazoned on paperweights, frames, and my favorite, a mirror. But somehow, sitting in my bedside table stack, hiding in The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin, it changed meaning for me. (The change could not have been in me - the words must have been rearranged or something.)

I had concentrated on the NOUNS all this time. 

Not the verbs. 

THE VERBS. 

GO. LIVE. 

General direction, fuzzy imaginings. Those are not the key elements that need to be nailed down and codified in a five point plan. I had been waiting for those to come into clear focus before I started off. 

Silly, Jenny. Just GO. Action is always more powerful than location.

Weekend Wanderings

Pick Two Books. 

Open at random. 

Revel in the wisdom of the ages... 

Or just wonder why I own all these books.

New varieties for the home garden are being developed each year, and catalogs are full of them. Many of them are worth trying, but before you devote your entire garden and a pile of money to something new, try it on a small scale.

 Guide to Alabama Vegetable Gardening by Walter Reeves & Felder Rushing

The world is one action-packed, motion-filled opportunity,  and choosing the right shutter speed first and then adjusting the aperture is the order of the day for capturing motion in your images. 

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

   

Quote Books

In high school I had a quote book. Multi-colored markers, magazine clippings & drawings made other people's wisdom my own. The library of Alexandria in my black and white marble notebook. I thought it was a just a childish habit. Until last night, when I realized that I am still doing it.
My bedside table is an explosion of knowledge. Ecclectic. Experts. Idiots. Sometimes I learn more from them. Some are reference books. Some histories.  Easily half the stack are really just glorified quote books like mine - but with less flair. And I am buying them instead of making them. That is simply silly.
I don't have aspirations for the NYT Bestseller list, but really, someone else should benefit from all these amazon.com purchases....

And so I introduce...

You Can Do.

A Daily Dose of Wisdom From Unexpected Sources