Dinah’s Coffee Chat—Day 25/30

Photo by Dinah (c) Hello my friend.It’s been a while since I’ve done a coffee chat. It seems like a good time to try again.So… Come on in and make yourself comfy. Let’s chat…We had the Thanksgiving holiday yesterday in the US. Whether you celebrated the holiday or not, I hope your day was lovely.Ours …

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A Really Good Story About Angels—Day 11/30

Thanks for visiting. As a way of keeping us both interested in this 30 day blogging challenge, I’m going to tell you a story about something that happened last December. I really felt like it was a gift. And gifts are meant to be shared. Last Fall I was completely exhausted. Life events kept happening …

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Healing and Reframing the past—Day 7/30

 OK… So here goes… I’ve decided to write about things that I have learned by analyzing my memories of the dynamics of my family of origin over the years. I’ve debated this for quite some time. Wondering if it’s appropriate because they’re all gone. My parents, stepmother, and three older brothers… All deceased. I …

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NanoPoblano 2022 Starts Today-Day 1/30

So here it is… November is upon us. That means that the Nanopoblano blogging challenge is up and running once again. This is a wonderful blogging challenge and community that is facilitated by the illustrious Ra Avis. You can see her blog HERE … And I highly recommend that you do. Her writing is spectacular.Ra …

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Dinah’s Coffee Chat 11/20/21

Photo taken by Dinah on the way home from Don’s outpatient surgery! Hello my friend. Thanks for stopping by for another coffee chat. How are you? How are you adapting to the changing seasons? I hope you’re taking good care.If we were having coffee… I would be having an internal debate about whether to be …

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Happy Birthday to WA&E

Birthdays are important! I like saying Happy Birthday to friends and family….even though I’m almost always late. The sentiment is real even if it isn’t timely! True to form, I’m acknowledging another birthday with sincerity but not with timeliness….. With Angels and Elephants turned one year old in October! Yay! Thanks to Ra Avis (blogger …

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Dinah’s Chat About Horses

Photo courtesy of Sandy Sharkey Photography Not Your average coffee chat… Thanks for stopping by. Hold onto your hats, I’ve got a lot to say… I know that all of us are road weary. The pandemic, the political climate, the challenging news that we hear day in and day out… It’s exhausting. I get it. …

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9 Favorite Things ….#10minchallenge Day 7

Photo by Don (c) Prompt: 9 Favorite Things….. Nine of my favorite things in no particular order: 1-Grace—Grace, to me, is synonymous with kindness, gentleness, forgiveness…I’m always grateful when grace is visited upon me…whether through serendipity or through the openheartedness of a friend or stranger, grace helps me to believe in tomorrow. 2-Serendipity and synchronicity …

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Right Now…#10minchallenge Day 3

Prompt-Right now…. Right now…. I’m a mixture, a muddle of wonder tinted by cynicism, gratitude sprinkled with irritation, gregariousness mottled by introversion so that it has the look of Swiss cheese….making it hard to tell if I’m more hole or substance. Right now….I bless the long summer days while simultaneously resenting the 86 degree heat. …

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Wisdom Wednesday 4/7/21–Rumi

Photo by Dinah heading south on the freeway. The sky was stunning! “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,there is a field. I’ll meet you there.When the soul lies down in that grass,the world is too full to talk about.Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other”doesn’t make any sense.The breeze at dawn has secrets to …

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Wisdom Wednesday 2/17/21

Mindfulness 💜 Introducing Wisdom Wednesday! My thought is that this will be an opportunity to explore different thoughts/beliefs/insights from various Wisdom Traditions that can add to our individual peace of mind and heart. Let’s face it, the world isn't getting any easier to navigate any time soon. So, since we can’t control the outside chaos, …

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Dinah’s…If We Were Having Coffee 2/12/21….

Photo by Dinah(c) Hello my friend! Thanks so much for stopping by for a cup of coffee and a chat. I’ve missed you. How have you been? I hope you’re surviving winter and that you’re still finding things to feel happy about! If we were having coffee, I would be delighted to see you. And …

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News Year’s Day is Every Day!

Photo by Dinah (c) For last year's words belong to last year's language, and next year's words await another voice.~ T S EliotQuote compliments of:www.earthschoolharmony.comHAPPY NEW YEAR!Well my friend… Take a bow! You/we survived 2020. That was no small accomplishment. Congratulations!It occurs to me that this is the day each year that we do what …

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Holiday Insights-If We Were Having Coffee 12/26/20

Photo by Dinah (c) If we were having coffee.... Welcome back, my friend! I’m sorry that you’re only hearing from me during the weekend  coffee share group blog opportunity. I’m working on fixing this problem!  Anyway.... I’m happy to connect with you now, at least. How are you? How have you been doing during this …

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Shifting Perspectives…If we were having coffee 12/18/20

Photo by Dinah (c) If we were having coffee..... Welcome my friend! Thank goodness for these weekend coffee shares. Lately, they have been the only time that I have focused on connecting with you. I’m hoping to improve that! If we were having coffee, I would, as usual, be so happy to spend some time …

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If we were having coffee…. 12/11/20

Photo taken by Dinah (c) If we were having coffee..... Welcome back my friend. It’s so good to see you. I always enjoy these coffee get togethers. Come, sit, get comfortable.  If we were having coffee, I would want to know how you’re doing. What’s new? Tell me what you’ve been pondering this week… If …

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The Way -NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 29/30

Spiritual seekers particularly are on a quest to understand life; we want to examine our own lives and find meaning in what we do and who we are. We find meaning in the seeking itself. Every step along the way is the Way.~ Lama Surya Das 💚www.earthschoolharmony.com The above is copied from a Facebook post …

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NPE/MPE Arriving at Truth -NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 28/30

“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your …

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NPE/MPE Truths- Coming Out Of The Closet One Blog Post At A Time

Weekend Coffee Share 11/27/20 - NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 27/30 Hello my friend!Wonderful to have you drop by for coffee! I’ve come to look forward to coffee share time. These days, we have to take our socialization where we can get it! Right? So fill your cup with something you love and get comfy. I want …

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HoliDAZE Part 1 -NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 25/30

Photo taken by my husband First of all...You’re not alone! It may well feel like you are and I know how hard it is to cope with that feeling. But you’re not alone. In the U.S., tomorrow is Thanksgiving. And that lights the fuse of cascading holidays or holiDAZE. Thanksgiving, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, New Years... …

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No Certainty- NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 24/30

These days have so many embedded questions that there’s no room for casual thoughts or thrilling conversations. Casual and thrilling have been temporarily replaced with uncertainty...especially in terms of the things that were always supposed to be certain. It was a certainty that the professionals would care for the aged and infirm when the time …

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Family Photos- NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 23/30

Picture from Facebook Throughout my life, the word “family” was difficult. The word, the associated dynamics, the players...it was all stressful...still is. So I had to tweak and revise my definition multiple times. Family became about choice and ease once I realized that family isn’t just about genetics. Family is about including those who love …

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Musings- NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 22/30

Productive or not, my thoughts often wander to all kinds of “what ifs”. It’s what my brain does. Sometimes it’s useful, it’s a form of contingency planning. And when you’re dealing with disability, contingency plans are important in case things go off the rails. But today isn’t about survival planning. It’s more about life in …

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If we were having coffee 11/20/20 – NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 20/30

Photo and virtual banana bread courtesy of my husband 💜 Welcome my friend! So happy to share some virtual time and space with you!  If we were having coffee, I’d offer you coffee, tea, soda or water. I’d also offer you some of my husband’s banana bread. He’s using my mom’s recipe...and adding chocolate chips...because …

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How could this be worse – NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 19/30

How could this be worse-A strange and effective coping tool! A friend taught me this little tidbit about 30 years ago and it continues to serve me well. When I was in my late 20’s, I joined a women’s spirituality group. We were quite eclectic. There was a lot of both direct and incidental learning …

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Compassion- NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 18/30

“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” – Joan Didion Thank you to Sarah at -https://thestarsandrainbowsjournal.wordpress.com/for this quote. I read it on her blog yesterday. She’s a wonderful writer and I appreciate her blog. This quote …

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Patience Please! – NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 17/30

Photo taken, once again, by my husband! My dear friend Jo said to me years ago, “Dinah, immediate gratification is too slow for you!” And, of course he was spot on! I’m so bad at waiting.  I feel like I’m walking a razor’s edge trying to be patient AND proactive. It seems to me that …

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Living the Questions-NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 16/30

“I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live …

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We’re halfway there-NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 15/30

We’re halfway through the NaNoPoBlano monthlong blogging challenge coordinated by Ra Avis https://rarasaur.com/about/ I had only been blogging for a week when it started. And I have to say that I’m so glad that I jumped in....even though I was terrified! It’s said that, in order to develop a new habit, you need to do …

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If we were having coffee 11/14/20 -NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 14/30

Good Morning my friend! Oh so good to see you! How was your week? I’m hoping all is well in your world.  If we were having coffee I’d want you to go beyond the word “fine” and really tell me how you are. What frustrated you this week? Was it resolved, at least in your …

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Discombobulated-NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 12

Photo taken by my husband. He’s good at noticing! It’s a discombobulated kind of day. I’m taking another few “first”steps in this long journey back from the big fall. Every “first” is both momentous and trivial at the same time! And, the very fact that each big/little thing is such a huge/trivial deal, is draining! …

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Just Breathe-NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 10

I thrive on certainty. I like routine. Sameness makes me feel safe. I’m strange that way. Maybe you are too?I suspect this is a byproduct of growing up in chaos. Dysfunction is threatening. Dysfunction, by it’s very nature, is unsettling and fatiguing and makes you hold your breath as if tension and breath can protect …

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Writing Stew-NaNoPoBlano Challenge Day 8

Pensive Moments Well, I’m about 2 1/2 weeks into blogging and one week into the 4 week NaNoPoBlano Challenge. And today I’m stewing. I have about eight different blog posts started and I’m trying to decide which ones to actually finish and post.I’m realizing that blogging is an art unto itself. There is certainly a …

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If we were having coffee 11/6/20 & NaNoPoBlano Day 6

If we were having coffee 11/6/20If we were having coffee, I’d want to sit outside because we’re having shockingly warm weather for November. We need to enjoy every second of it. We could talk about surviving these stressful political times and about maintaining, not just our sanity, but our loving kindness for self and especially …

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LET THE WRITING CHALLENGE BEGIN! -NaNoPoBlano-

Facing the NaNoPoBlano Challenge And so it begins....Ok, it’s NaNoPoBlano month. I feel like there should be a trumpet or drum roll or something to mark the beginning of this auspicious occasion! Those of us who’ve joined the level 1 NaNoPoBlano Challenge have committed to blogging EVERY SINGLE DAY for the month of November. So …

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