Sunday Morning Quote (9/14/14)
“Summer should get a speeding ticket.”
Am I getting Really Old, or is the heat Really Getting to me SEVERELY this summer? I walk outside here in Savannah, and simply wilt. Sort of like the Kardashians at the library.
I mean, seriously, just look at today’s temperature progression:
Come on now, really?
So stay cool this weekend!
Okay, okay, so I write a happiness blog. But just look at today here in Slo-vannah:
I desire to be happy, I intend it, but for the life of me, I’m sweating up a storm and trying to see the joy in 102 degrees.
Help!
Give me a few hot, happy reasons.
Who made it August all of a sudden? Goodness. Didn’t summer just begin … like yesterday?!
But August, what a great name. Just look:
au·gust (as an adjective): 1. Inspiring awe or admiration; majestic: “the august presence of the monarch.” 2. Venerable for reasons of age or high rank.
Well, I have an august Word for all you blog readers this first day of August, and if you accept it into your being, into your life, your awareness, your attention, you will see great rewards. The word? SIMPLICITY.
Lazy, hazy late summer is a time for you (and me) to discover ways to make our lives More Simple (can you put “more” in front of “simple?), less stressful. How? Idk, maybe by throwing away (or giving away) everything you haven’t used or worn or listened to, etc, in Five Years. Maybe by deciding that you will OHIO (only handle it once), when it comes to snail mail or email. Maybe by deleting every app you don’t really use on your smart phone. Maybe by getting up thirty minutes early to simply Sit Still.
Augustly speaking, I’m a Happy Man. Why? Because I CHOOSE to be (a great, powerful secret of continuing joy).
Here are Five More Reasons:
1. Ice cream.
Butter pecan, to be specific.
2. Summer salads.
Grandtwins Matthew and Madison, well, in a storage box:
Grandtwins walking into “school” this morning:
Matthew: “Seriously, is she gonna have that silly pink blankie wrapped around her all day? Huh, what’s in my hands, you ask?”
4. Gandson Daniel performing in the Savannah Children’s Choir end-of camp concert.
Choir co-founder and friend, Roger Moss:
Proud mom and dad:
And, of course, the traditional after-the-concert gift … a sword:
(Amelia Island, FL)
Go forth augustly into a grand weekend!”
Another beautiful Spring Friday here in Savannah! And there’s just so very much to be thankful for. Here’s what’s bringing me happiness:
1. On Tuesday, my ESL 680 (Research, Reading and Writing) grad students and I hosting a little informal Open House to showcase their Visual Component projects. We have been working on research papers based on some specific aspect of their master’s program, and a part of their work included “creating” someTHING to illustrate their research. Examples of their research topics include: “Gothic Elements in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride,” “Contemporary Sustainable Building Design,” “Interface Design in Modern Media Production,” and “The Influence of 1980’s Chinese Daily Wear on Western Fashion.” So much fun! I keep learning SO MUCH from these incredible SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) international students.
Some pics from our Open House:
(I have this ability to sneak into pictures.)
And here are their Visual Component projects. (Please note that some are videos, thus the iPads and laptops.)
What a creative, intelligent group of students!
2. And along the same line, last night was our final class for SCAD’s spring quarter. So, of course we had to take a few more photos, including a Class Pic!
And eat a little more:
3. The Promise of Summer.
4. This great (I think) Quote from the folks at Abraham-Hicks publications.
“Do I have a responsibility to make the whole world beat to my drum? No, nor could you. You beat your own drum, and the universe will respond to the drum that you are beating. There as many different worlds being lived by as many different perceivers of the world as there are perceivers of the world.”
5. Black kale salad with candied zucchini (who knew?!) and spiced walnuts.
Have a glorious last weekend of May 2014! And look for the good! (You’ll find it.)
It’s Friday, and I’m having a rather yucky medical test/procedure done this morning (don’t ask!). But I’m still happy. Here are five reasons why.
1. Preventative medical procedures.
2. Grandtwins Matthew and Madison on their first birthday.
3. I love this big ole rocking chair.
4. This sweet, docile new pet.
I’m naming him Stiff.
5. Delicious Summer Salads.
Have a Weekend of Good!
To me, the perfect picture of summer happiness is this …
… vine-ripened tomatoes. The color, the smell, the taste and the memories of tomato summers gone by.
The above beauties went into my okra-tomato gumbo.
Come on over!