Sharing a poem from Maya Angelou

 

A BRAVE AND STARTLING TRUTH

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Travelling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
When battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfection
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.

“A Brave and Startling Truth” was published in a commemorative booklet in 1995 and was later included in Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry (public library).

 This poem touched me deeply. I hope you enjoy it, too.

                                                                                Love Always,

                                                                                        Kim

A New Way to look at Life

I live on the same shore, just a different town now.

     Life is always changing, we as humans are always evolving. I live in a different town but I am still close to the lake. The water is so high this year that the beach is almost non existent. There is no place to sit or lay on a blanket, there is no room for the cars to park. The water is very close to the roadway. I was actually quite shocked when we went for a drive to see the beach for the first time this year. I have spent my lifetime on this beach. I have never seen it look like this.

     Both my parents have passed away. That was an incredible change. It has been four years now. Life changed immediately after that. I have learned so much since then. I have learned about me as a person. I have a new sense of calm, a new view of the world, a new take on everything in my life. I am happy and content. I have had to redefine all of my relationships. I have cultivated some and let a lot of others go. I know that the purpose of life on this planet is to be happy, enjoy the beautiful moments and to be kind. Kindness is so important. I also know that we must connect to our deeper self, our true self.

     I am a sensitive person and I see things differently compared to most. I see beauty in a visceral way. I love detail in art, in music, in conversation. I love to be present in the moment. I am conscious of peoples feelings and their moods when they are around me. I love quiet time. I love my own company. I love to meditate. I strive to be connected to nature, beauty, truth, energy, compassion, kindness and spirit. We are spiritual beings, inhabiting a body on this beautiful blue planet in the universe. I want to enjoy ever moment possible. Love is the key; love of self, love of others, love of the planet we live on. Love...

                                                                                    Love Always, 

                                                                                         Kim

                                                                                          

New Years Eve - Wishing you a Beautiful "2017"

This has been an unbelievable year for me. My mother died in March and then my father died at the end of September. I don't think he could make it in this world without my mother. His health was faltering. He has been living on borrowed time for many years since quadruple bypass heart surgery and then in an instant he was gone.

I feel like an orphan. It is a strange world without your mother; the person that has been there, caring for and loving you, your whole life. I have so many memories that I have sifted through since my mother's death. The entire dynamic of our family has changed. All of these changes will take some more time for me to deal with.

Christmas is my favourite holiday and we spent it quietly this year. We are not planning on staying up to usher in the New Year. We will be having a nice dinner.  I have my table set for tonight's dinner.

I really love deep red to decorate with at Christmas time. These are my grandmother's dishes. On the back of the dinner plates is says; Malborough, Royal Petal, Grindley, England and the pattern is called Rosiland". I chose the deep red from the flower pattern to use as my accent colour. The red votive holders are glasses that I purchased second hand, the crystal goblets are second hand the water glasses belonged to my mother and I purchased the cut glass candle holders second hand a few years ago. The linen and cotton tablecloth I purchased at the Salvation Army. The deep red placemats I purchased at Walmart about 3 years ago. The deep red candles were a gift.

It has been snowing since we awoke this morning. It is pretty to see everything covered. The snowflakes are falling gently at the moment. It looks like the kind of snow that lasts all day and all night. The winds are calm and it would be nice to go for a walk.

Here is Simon sitting in my chair and I am not sure what he is looking for, but those little paws look so cute hanging over the arm of the chair.

Here is  Chubby, he loves little boxes. He will be 11 years old on January 6th. He is a handsome old man.

Love Always,

Kim

 

Our New Baby

It has been a long time since I posted last. So many things have happened since then. My mother died in the spring of this year. I trust that she is finally in peace.

This is our new baby. He is a rescue kitty. He was abandoned along with his mother and 3 brothers and sisters. His name is Simon and he is a lovely kitty. His fur is so soft and he has fit right in with our other babies. He loves people food and crunchy cat food. His little meow is just like a little squeak toy. He loves to talk and I love to talk back. Being a kitten he is very curious and loves to take things to play with. I guess you could say we have to kitten proof the house somewhat.

My plan for the summer was to paint the cottage exterior but we have had such a long, hot and humid summer it just has not been possible. There may still be time this year. Time will tell. I wanted to continue with my furniture painting from last summer but everything looks the same as it did.

I have a couple more feeders in the yard and the bird watching has been exceptional this year. We had some kestrels making them home near by. They have since moved on. They are a very noisy bird and I am glad to have them gone. I regularly see chickadees, rose breasted nuthatches, cardinals, blue jays and goldfinches at the feeders. Occasionally the mourning doves visit. Just last week a there was a downy woodpecker at the feeder. I also saw a pleated woodpecker at the beginning of the spring. 

The northern flickers love to eat the seed off of the lawn, as do the grackles. We still have the family of ravens with two more family members. The ravens love to waddle up the road checking out things as they go. They are funny to watch.

Love Always,

Kim

New Christmas Wreath

I started with an old picture frame. I spray painted it silver with paint I already had. I had some sparkly ribbon which I purchased a couple of years ago.

I chose some ornaments that I like from my decorations. I had to purchase some ribbon that was small enough to fit through the holes on the ornaments. It cost me $1:00 at Walmart. Wow a new wreath for $1:00 because I had everything else already.

I grabbed the tools that I needed from the toolbox. I strung the ornaments with the small ribbon and spaced them across the top of the frame and fastened them. I made a bow with the sparkly ribbon and attached it as well. I found the command hook I bought and put it on the back of the door. Instructions said to wait an hour before hanging anything on the hook. So a pot of tea and some washed dishes later I hung it on the door.

I am very happy with the way it turned out. There is a glass screen door over this door so my wreath is protected from the weather and the wind.

Have a Wonderful Day

Love Always,

Kim

Before and After

Well here are my before pictures for the kitchen. These are not pretty pictures in my opinion but that is what the kitchen looked like. I knew I could not live with these colours.

In this picture you can just see the white drop leaf table that I use as my kitchen island. The table has been in the family for two generations. It will have to wait for next spring to be re-painted. The kitchen cabinets, the window trim and the baseboards were all painted in BM Cloud White. My walls are painted in BM ( Benjamin Moore ) Gray Cashmere which is a soft green with grey in it. I love the colour. I love pastels. There is a new countertop and a double stainless sink.

Now the table and chairs are painted and I had this material in my stash so the other day I re-did one seat cover to see if I liked it. I have not made my final decision as yet. I think I would like some material with some pink in  it. I am planning on painting my china cabinet a very soft pink colour. I am really very pleased with the table and chairs being white.

I guess I will have to do something about that sad looking ceiling fan. I do not really want to take it down as it has three light bulbs in it and gives me lots of light in the kitchen. Perhaps painting the blades and the hardware with white or silver would make it look better. For now it will stay like it is as painting season is over for another year.

Sorry if this picture is not clear but my hands were a little shaky when I took the picture.

Love Always,

Kim

Cute Cottage

I came across the cutest little cottage on Houzz yesterday; I had to share some of the pictures with you. If you love blue like I do you will love the decor of this little jem.

You can see more pictures here. 

Our summer seems very short this year. I am still working on my painting projects. I recently moved our table and chairs from the kitchen to the porch to fully enjoy the nice weather. We have eaten outside as much as possible and we are loving the abundance of fresh produce from our local farm market. We particularly love the corn which is in all the local stores as well.

I am looking forward to the melons and the fresh garlic. I always make our salad dressing from scratch and the lettuce is so fresh as well.

I have not done anymore sewing lately as it is just too nice to be inside on most days. I will reserve that for some cooler days. I finished my chandelier for the porch. I managed to get all of the wires out and I have it hanging above the table on the porch. My cousin came by with 5 glass votive candles holders and they fit perfectly. I also spray painted our coasters so they all match. Sometimes little things make such a difference.

I got the hostas planted at the side of the cottage.  I am pleased to have something planted where the grass did not grow and I know they will all look better next year when they have had a chance to grow. 

I hope you enjoy your day.

Love Always,

Kim