It’s Time To Bring Back Dysfunctional Family Bingo

It’s officially holiday season! That means it’s time to revisit the delightful diversion known as Dysfunctional Family Bingo created by author Martha Beck. If I’d known about this gem when my family of origin was still in tact, I would have had tons more fun…and I would have had a good chance of winning every …

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Going With The Flow….Day 27/30

We’re flexing. We’re rolling with the punches. This Thanksgiving holiday had 3-4 potential scenarios. I’m the one that communicates and coordinates. That’s what I did. And each scenario seemed possible….until it wasn’t. Then one of the scenarios fell into place. The time was set. The menu was planned. The food was purchased. And then it …

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Things That Make Me Smile….Day 14/30

From Facebook Well… I started a blog post at noon and then got several phone calls and never got back to it. It’s waiting for me and will hopefully become a post in the next couple of days. It’s pretty late….for me anyway… So I’m not coming up with much to say. Consequently… I decided …

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Nanopoblano23 is in the Books! -Day 30/30

And just like that…the November challenge is done. And once again, I’m so glad I said yes! I said yes to writing in community…to writing with this wonderful group of people who genuinely care about each other. I feel so lucky to have found Ra Avis and her group of Cheerpepper bright lights! Writing is …

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Dinah’s Chat About Continued Gratitude -Day 24/30

Photo by Dinah It’s the day after Thanksgiving and I’m still grateful. I’m grateful that our day was quiet and drama-free. This wasn’t always the case. I’m grateful for peace. My friends have become my family. They support me and challenge me. They help me to keep trying to be a better person. I’m grateful …

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Miracles -Day 20/30

Photo by Dinah (c) I’m looking forward to miracles the same way a child looks forward to Saturday morning. When teachers and schoolwork choreograph most of every week, there’s a kind of deliciousness in reclaiming the openness of the weekend…an excitement that comes when you can make time your own. That’s what I’m looking forward …

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Boomerang -Day 18/30

Photo by Dinah (c) I am a boomerang I almost always come back Perhaps this is my own personal Right of Return We were young and married and forgot that love can only flourish where appreciation dwells We ended our storyAnd then returned 2 years later and rebuilt everything Starting with ourselves Boomerang I worked …

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Dinah’s Chat About Dysfunctional Family Bingo -Day 17/30

Photo by Don (c) Can you feel it? It’s in the air. The HoliDAZE are coming! I decided to write about this earlier than usual because I wanted to be able to share author Martha Beck’s ingenious holiday coping game in time for Thanksgiving. And I want to be sure to stipulate that this is …

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Choosing Dreams-Day 5/30

Springtime, renewalThat’s where you’ll find me. Where trees are awake and showing off their new lion’s manes and flowers are swaying calling for more I want to sit there, learning their language of light and breeze and scentI want to hear their stories and feel their laughter The culture of nature, the manners of pollinators, …

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Exploring Procrastination-Day 3/30 (Dinah’s Wkend Chat)

Procrastination has been my companion for my entire life! We’re seemingly inseparable. The sad part though is that, even though we’re lifelong companions, we really don’t understand each other. If procrastination truly understood me, she’d realize that constantly putting things off isn’t doing me any favors. In fact, it’s actually quite anxiety provoking. Facebook Meme …

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And The Yearly Challenge Begins Again! Day 1/30

Photo by Dinah Welcome to Nanopoblano’23! This is a yearly blogging challenge that happens every November and is hosted by Ra Avis Please consider visiting her blog frequently. You’ll be glad you did. During this month, those of us that join the challenge, commit to blogging every day for 30 days. It’s a tall order, …

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Another Liminal Thought

Intuitive Creativity Class taught by Lauren Sapala… Prompt: Choose a color. Make something beautiful using that color I’ve thought about this for 2 days and I’ve decided to write something rather to try to draw/paint/create something. Writing seems to be the only medium that sparks me these days. And, for the last 6 months, that …

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The Liminal Space

Photo by Dinah (c) Years ago two dear friends of ours owned a meditation center that was about an hour south of us. My friend facilitated a regular weekly meditation in the evening. Sometimes we’d co-facilitate those gatherings. It was fun because we were so drastically different. He was far more analytical than I and …

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Dysfunctional Family Bingo—Day 23/30

I must begin by giving 100% credit to author Martha Beck. She came up with this ingenious idea. I’m only sharing it with you because I think it’s so wonderful. Those of us with dysfunctional families know that holidays can be more than challenging. Some things are predictable. Some things are not. But regardless of …

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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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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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#10minchallenge Day 5

Today’s writing prompt just didn’t resonate with me. And I’m feeling quite uninspired. So, instead of boring you with BS, I’ll wow you with garden pictures taken over the last 2 years. Flowers are always welcome and uplifting. Thanks for visiting. Enjoy your day and we’ll try again tomorrow. I’m glad you’re here 💜

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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Dinah’s Weekend Coffee Chat 6/18/21

Photo by Dinah (c) Hello my friend….It’s been a while since we’ve gotten together for coffee. How are you? I hope life is treating you well!Grab a cup of something you love and let’s chat…If we were having coffee… I would of course, tell you that I’m thrilled to see you. It’s good to connect …

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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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