I went to the mountains about nine years ago. It was there that I saw them, the largest pine cones my eyes have ever witnessed. I collected two dozen, each one perfectly shaped. When I got them home, I put them out on the garage floor and spray painted them gold. I have been using them for years, everywhere that they won't look ridiculous, to decorate during the holiday season. Those pine cones were full of transforming glitter. I never resisted the glitter. They have a way of giving and giving until they don't. The time has come. I believe I need another mountain to go to.
There will be no resistance to the sparkle and glitter of the season. All that deliberately glitters is gold.
One is the loneliest number. There is no denying that. It will be the season of joy, the time of the year where we give more of ourselves not only to people we know but, anyone we know that needs it. Never forget that kindness counts, especially in these times.
We decided to deliver dinner to a few people on Thanksgiving Day. We know a few people through church and other walks in our life that will be without or without people. While none really want to share germs right now, myself included, I am more than happy to put together a few extra plates and deliver them. I have just the crew that already volunteered. Keeping it simple, anything that can be done to make anothers' life better is a worthy endeavor. Something simple so as not to infringe on your family, but, something that you can do together and share in that good feeling it gives you. Most Thanksgivings, the family served Thanksgiving Dinner to others. It was family-driven, we all wanted to go, but, since have stopped doing it on such a large level and started serving those shuttered in our area. The soup kitchen is now overmanned as Thanksgiving is one of the most volunteered days of the year. We do it during the year and are happy to step back from it and allow others a place. There are so many ways to do it
A flower always, to color my world. #alwaysaflower Always. Let the sun shine in on your life, so the joy may touch your soul ❤️
In keeping with the Christmas Countdown, I give you one seasonal picture and the day count! There are only 37 Days, 00 Hours, 02 minutes and, 09 Seconds left until Christmas!
All I have are my words, armed in my mind, written in pen, stand by stand. Oh, yes. Still by hand. It has a different feel. Altered not by keys, backspace, and delete, I write, erase, tear it to pieces and start all over again. And again.
It’s my way. I walk out to the deep end of the page and dive right in.
How Do I Love Thee?
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Elizabeth Barret Browning
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But where is the picture of the spray painted pine cones, girl?
The roses are lovely and dinner ... yum ... but where are the pine cones?
Ha! In with Christmas decor. I promise when I get home, I'll pull them out for you. I should be home Friday. I thought I had a picture in my files. Maybe my external.
You just made me laugh.
Where are those pine cones? Have a great night, Pryde! 💖
Haha ... I was trying to make you laugh:) Mission acomplished:0
Totally! It wasn't until you pointed it out that I realized what a huge faux pas that was! Of course, when I get home, I will have to haul those Christmas boxes up and get them out!
Thank you for the repost @pixresteemer! Much appreciated by me!
You've decided to serve dinner to a few people on Thanksgiving Day. It's a really nice thing.
As a family, it was something we enjoyed doing. Thank you for your words, Have a great night!
As a family, it was something we enjoyed doing. Thank you for your words, Have a great night!
Depends on the viewpoint. One good hike. One good book read. One good big circle of friends. One awesome thing. Or one kind act. One hug. One smile. One laugh. Sometimes all you need to make your day better is one kind discussion.
I give you some !PIZZA. Have a nice day. All the best. Greetings from Hungary.
Well, now that is true, but, for the sake of my point... one was the loneliest number. I needed to make a point of sharing and caring, especially if you know someone is going to be alone... and especially on the holidays, but any day will do.
But, I live your take on it!
Good morning to you in Hungary! I hope you day is outstanding!
Yes. I know. I am the best example for that. This year I spent my birthday alone for the first time. Literally no one cared to visit me. Not even my own brother. I have not even bought cake, nor candles. Probably I will spend the Christmas alone too. Also for the first time.
Can you not spend Christmas with your sister and family? One night shouldnt be too impossible? I know the situation, but just Christmas?
Maybe. Or maybe with my former housemate. She lives much closer than my sister. I will talk with them. We will see.
Either sounds awesome. Talk soon so it gives you time and them too! Good luck!
This is an empowering experience, not many people could resist being alone on special occasions. You are a tough cookie, I also had years when I was alone.
The funny thing is that sometimes people prefer company even if it is bad. So being alone is not bad as long as you love being with yourself. Of course that it would be lovely to spend those days with loved ones, but if it happens to be alone then it is great to just enjoy it as it is.
Do something for your soul, it will feel good
I am not completely alone. My Harris's hawk is with me. She is recovering/healing after a leg surgery, but she is fine. I am completely alone in the terms of people. There are no people around me. Not even a neighbor. The roof of that house is collapsed, so it is inhabitable, so even if anyone would want to come here as my neighbor, he/she/they still could not do it.
Oh I see. This is tough on you, having no people around can be difficult.
Imagine if you have though and they would be loud and annoying.
Ah people. When they are not around we crave for them , when they are we want to be alone.
Having a pet can be quite nice if you have the space
You have such a kind soul and a great attitude regarding life @creativemary
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Thanks for the pizza!
Amazing mountain view. I think that is awesome how the tree grows out of the rock it seems.
Wow that food looks to be professionally made!
It is always fascinating just seeing a tree grow like that! Growing right of the rock. Or seemingly so. It's so pretty there with the rolling views.
My potato soup in my bread bowls? It's Denise made. Lol Thanks for stopping by and leaving your words!
Good night from here!
This is like a perfect definition of Thanksgiving and Christmas to me... A time to reach out to others with kindness, especially those who do not have loved ones close by. So I agree with you, one is the loneliest number and reason your soup kitchens are overmanned! Hehe, I believe everyone is feeling thankful.
I don't like to spend this joyful seasons alone. I prefer to be in the midst of family and friends.
I'm sure you have amazing things planned for Thanksgiving which comes up next Thursday, I think. Happy celebrations ahead.
37 more days to Christmas! Woohoo! Lovely pictures! ☺️🎄
That is right! In this context, one is the loneliest number, and I am grateful every day for my family and the friends that walk into and through my life. The soup kitchens are overmanned here in the Washington, DC area as many people have time off at Thanksgiving, and that is when many people have the time to donate to the better good. I leave them with it, there is nothing worse than too many cooks in the kitchen! :) That is a wonderful thing to have too many people. I am more flexible when I can volunteer, so I step back. It doesn't matter when you give your time, as a matter of fact, they become very needy for people during the non-holiday times. People get hungry all year round. ;)
I look forward to spending some time with my family during the holidays and I hope that you too will be in the midst of your family. ❤️ Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have an amazing day!
Woo hoo!!! It is getting so close! Let's start celebrating now! :)
Hive on!
You are a woman after my own heart Denise - @dswigle! My belief is that there is always room for one more particularly the someone who needs to join in for a celebration day. Kindness, compassion and giving are so important in this world and if we can just try and do these 3 simple things we are very wealthy indeed. 🙏💛
I have to agree with you. Given different circumstances in life, any one of us could become the victim of it. So, I count my blessings and give just like it would be me on the other end of that. ❤️
Do unto others... Love to you, my friend. You always have the sweetest heart.
But it can't be, because you cant have one without the other!
Three Dog Night whispered in my dreams.
One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It's the loneliest number since the number one
Good morning from here!
Pine cones make delightful decor with a sprinkle of glitter, you remind me of finding round'ish small rocks with the children when young. Bringing them home from rivers inland and painting them into ladybugs and placing them throughout the garden.
Nothing need only be used for one occasion, plenty of days in the year to spread the love around. Every so often clearing in the garden out pops a ladybug full of memories.
Putting out food is ongoing in the land we live in, never waste there are plenty of people going to bed on an empty stomach..
Hugs and yes one is a lonely number....
!LUV
@joanstewart(2/5) gave you LUV | wallet | market | connect | <><
Thanks for the Luv @joanstewart !! ❤️
You are always so polite. !LUV for the manners.
@luvshares(2/10) gave you LUV | wallet | market | connect | <><
That is so sweet! It is those surprise gifts that keep giving that are so precious. I hope you have a few that you will pass to your kids (if they move in the future, I believe you said) I can only imagine them finding them in another land twenty years from now, what a delight that would be. :)
Oh, there I go dreaming again! :)
Yes, one of the reasons I stepped back from the holiday serving is that there are too many people there (can you believe, what a problem to have!) and during the year, always short, so it matters not to me when, as long as the need is filled. Nobody should have to go to bed hungry, especially those too young and old to provide for themselves.
Love to you and yours, Joan ❤️ @joanstewart
There was a craze at one time with "Pet Rocks" being sold from stores, so when we went to the mountains it made sense to bring the pebbles back and buy some oil paints. Definitely turned out to be a gift that keep giving 😉, had about six children paint and place them, now quite a few scattered in unusual places.
At festive season younger people appear to come out to assist, old stalwarts always there throughout the year either cooking, feeding or collecting groceries. Agree too many go hungry!
Have yourself a little break and enjoy the time to be with family and friends Denise, your countdown to Christmas well on it's way once again.
My brother David gave me a giant pine cone. I've had it for years now. I always thought I would do something to it, but it is still in it's original glory.
Spray painting them and Sweet Gum balls.... and magnolia leaves was all the rage back in the 60s? My Mom was crafty back then and made Christmas decor with them.... just like everyone else at the time. :)
You probably wouldn't want to use the giant ones for this (or maybe so), but you can dip them in parafin wax (color the wax if you like) let them dry, put them in a basket and then use them for fireplace fire starters.
Starting to get a little excited about hauling out the holly soon. This weekend I will put all the other projects away and get the house ready to pull out all those Christmas boxes. Yay !
No, the only thing I do with the Pines Cones was glitter them, but it's because the kids loved all things glitter! And I've never seen giant pine cones like they had except for in Northwest Florida on the Panhandle which I find really strange. The biggest pine cones I've ever seen was in the mountains and in Florida. Anyway I actually did to use pine cones for fire starters but I haven't done that for a while because now my fireplaces are all gas. The weird thing about that is when this house was built I was against gas fireplaces but the Builder talked and talked about what an advantage it was so it became a done deal. I have a real fireplace in every room at the shore because it's an old house and that was their heat. So, if I ever get a hankering for a real fireplace, I could just go there. To be honest with you, walking over to my wall and flipping a switch has been the best thing I have ever done. It heats up the house like toast and I don't even hardly ever put the heat on. I have one on each floor so it's evenly distributed if I want. Okay, enough about my fireplaces.
I am very excited about getting Christmas going and I will probably start that when I get home. I probably won't put out as much as I normally do but it'll be way more than enough. I think I'm going to change the outside a little bit this year. The world certainly needs a little bit more happy. I'm depending on you! Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have an amazing day. Love to you!
I have already been thinking today that I might start the pre-decorating cleanup tonight. Although I haven't meant to pull stuff out till next week, some of it might start this weekend. Time will tell.
Did you order a junkyard heart or did you decide against it for now? Just curious and none of my beezwax, but .... tell me anyway.
Immeasurably lovely. What a gorgeous view and lovely dish. ❤️
Amazingly present your article my dear sweet friend @dswigle
Thank you so much for your thoughtful words. Your words are always steeped in kindness.
Have a wonderful day!
Such a beautiful stories full of wisdom Denise! So many times when I am writing my recipe blog, I think about you when I get stuck, lol. I wish I had you whispering in my ear what to write. Oh well, dream on Lena! Sending lots of Love and Blessings 💖🙏💖
You just warmed my heart! Thank you so much. That is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. Also funny because you write so beautifully and right from the heart.
Truly. I love your photography and enjoy running past your page. :) Lots of love your way, my friend! I miss working with you! ❤️
Awwwwwwwwww, I am so happy to hear that and I learned a lot from you. Although, I could never claim to fame in writing, lol. But you could 💖😍💖
And you are most welcome 😘😘😘
Beautiful!! :)
37 days left and that's it? You are my Christmas counter 🙂
Is that a lens flare or the moon in your initial wilderness shot? Doesn't really matter but what a view!
I see folks are asking about the pine cones, me too. I've seen ones that are as big as a basketball. You've also got the creative touch by spray painting them gold. You soon realize where they came from when you're at the source and witness all the huge trees that produce them. Sure makes you feel small but in a good way.
Another beautiful post to lift everyone's spirits. I hope you're doing well and from the looks of it you certainly are. Take care and always a pleasure to read.
Nooo! It is a total eclipse. (oops! I looked back up to see, the eclipse was yesterday's post!) No, that was moon shot during the afternoon. :)
It's true! I was awed by the sheer size of them, and spraying them gold and tossing them with glitter makes life fun. :) I am doing well and have nothing to really complain about. How about you? I gave up that other thing, I don't have time and barely keep up here.
I like to answer all of them and try really hard, but, so many slip through the cracks! Thanks for stopping by and leaving your words!
Hive on!
I'm doing well and thank you for asking.
I understand about the other spot. I've noticed a big change for awhile now and the engagement leaves a lot to be desired. Many of the people I used to interact with left and I feel like ignoring the comments on some days.
Thank goodness for @ace108 and @old-guy-photos and a few others over there as I get a little more stimulation or at least a good laugh between our postings.
Hive is fun and overwhelming too. I think I'm still in the bottom tier on here but I've met some fun people. You're kicking butt and taking names as usual and super busy from what I see.
I'll need to post something of substance sooner rather than later on here and get back in the groove. I've been reading a lot of people's work and attempting to interact more which is fun 🙂
Great to hear from you as usual
They are fun over there but I find it I am listing you waited over there and it's become not very fun and I don't want to answer 10 + 15 spammers. So I've actually skipped a day maybe two and you know you get punished for doing that. LOL well good luck over there but I think I'm going to be hanging it up. I don't have that kind of time but I thought I would give it a try. It's just gotten too lame for me. Maybe it'll change but I doubt it.
They are fun over there but I find it I am listing you waited over there and it's become not very fun and I don't want to answer 10 + 15 spammers. So I've actually skipped a day maybe two and you know you get punished for doing that. LOL well good luck over there but I think I'm going to be hanging it up. I don't have that kind of time but I thought I would give it a try. It's just gotten too lame for me. Maybe it'll change but I doubt it. I think I've honestly found that I can only do one site well and then I just don't have time in my life to spread myself that then. I would love to know how everybody else does it unless I'm just slow. Hey you have a good night!
One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do! Beautiful captures and flashback to three dog might. I have the vinyls and saw them live!
I had to look them up once you told me that. Danny Hutton, who was an original member has been with the band for 54 years! And he is still active and playing at 79. Seriously. The band -Years active: 1967–1976, 1981–present Really? They are still performing?
I would say that I saw them in the 90's in the Northeast somewhere. I cannot believe this, but, I kept all my vinyls! I still love them.
And thank you!