MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!

Today my favorite mail box was filled to the brim with cards, a few bills (boo hoo), and THIS wonderful necklace that I ordered from Jen Worden who lives in Nova Scotia. Jen is a talented mixed-media artist that I have been following for quite some time and I love her aesthetic. The piece is rusted, has a heart (which I am always a sucker for!) and is titled "Love Travels". It certainly does. I am thrilled with the piece and her work.
It came wrapped up in this beautiful blue paper and was tied with a blue chenille ribbon. How absolutely perfect!. This is the time of year that we think about our loved ones, near and far, and how apropos that this is titled "Love Travels". I would have to say that, yes, indeed, love does travel.

But, love can be misunderstood also. And then that love is thwarted. Having your love thwarted hurts but not anymore than being shunned or avoided. Avoidance doesn't cure anything. It only prolongs. I am reminded that as a child I could sleep with the lights on when my sister could not. We shared a bedroom and it was our "deal" that the last one in bed was responsible to turn off the lights. Sometimes (being the older sister and also a stubborn Taurus) I would crawl into bed last and just turn over. My sister would say "you have to turn out the lights". My reply (more than once) was: "I can sleep with the lights on". And, so, to those who have thwarted my love these last couple of months and refuse to see that I was being considerate and also that I was hurt by not being included, I say: "I can sleep with the lights on".

SUMMER'S BOUNTY

Starting on Friday I have to eat a low iodine diet until my radioactive tests are complete. It looks like it will be approximately 2-3 weeks before I can resume normal eating patterns (September 6th). I am the kind of person who loves breads and sweets of any kind so I am thinking this is not going to be too easy. I am not allowed to eat any bread products, no milk products, no meats that are packaged or treated in any way with any kind of brine treatment because the salt might be harboring iodine. This is going to be a strictly fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and organic meat diet. Plain and simple. What better time than summer though, to have to be restricted to fresh vegetables and fruits!

Yesterday B went over to visit our friend Bob who is the proprietor of Mighty Fine Farms and sells at our local Farmer's Market on Saturdays. Bob sent me a huge box (this is only a portion of what he sent) of vegetables from his garden--fresh picked that day--and has told B and me that he will supply ALL the veggies that I need while I am going through my treatment. He is the most considerate, generous person I know, always helping others out and will not accept anything in exchange. He told me that I would take away the pleasure he gets from giving if I offered to pay him. I just cannot thank him enough. And, I know that I will be eating all the best stuff for the next few weeks. And, the bonus is that it is grown locally. "Secret Notebooks, Wild Pages" talked awhile back about Locavore (I think that is how it is spelled) and the benefits of eating within so many miles of where you live. This is certainly local. And fresh. And filled with love.

Do you see those flowers there in the vase? Those are from his garden too! Beautiful Dahlias in every color imaginable. Each week he sells out all his flowers. People love fresh flowers. There is something about having them in the house that makes the house feel "complete". I have never grown Dahlias but I know that they require lots of good soil and water. Some of Bob's Dahlias are "dinner plate" variety...literally the size of a large dinner plate.

I am feeling a bit apprehensive about what I am in store for in the next month but I am also quite sure that when love of this kind pours in...there is no stopping the potential of that love and what it is capable of. Don't you agree?