"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark,

in the hopeless swamps of the approximate,

the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all.  

Do not let the hero in your soul perish,

in lonely frustration for the life you deserved,

but have never been able to reach.  

Check your road and the nature of your battle.  

The world you desired can be won.  

It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."

Ayn Rand

♥, Sylvia

I filled my lungs with fresh air. Clean-wilderness-delicious air. 

We spent an evening at a friend's cabin. It's just a skip-hop-and-a-jump from the Canada border.  The cabin is rustic, sits on 20 private acres bordering national forest land and is right next to a river. It is so beautiful, it's easy to forget it's grizzly and black bear country. Of course, seeing tracks on the ground is a quick reality check. 

It was a mini retreat. No cars, no sirens, no television blaring, no doorbells, no cellphones. Okay, the husbser posted two pictures on his facebook page but nothing more. It was absolute peacefulness. 

My favorite moments:

• flocks of Canadian geese flying over us and landing on the river
• sitting on the porch until dark
• the glow of the lantern
• the brilliant stars against the night sky
• a glorious sunset
• fire crackling in the wood burning stove
• waking up before daybreak to watch the sunrise
• the fog lifting as the sun grew brigther
• critters waking up and welcoming the new day

When we pay attention to the most humble moments, we feel their profound hidden beauty. 

Moment by moment, hour by hour.

♥, Sylvia

I hope you enjoy this freebie. The words "thank you" are powerful. 

Thank you for understanding.

Thank you for being there for me.

Thank you for the gift.

Thank you for making my day.

Thank you for your love.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you.

To enjoy this free download/printable click on this link, then right click on the image to save it to your computer, use as your wallpaper or print as you wish.  I'm also adding it to my Pinterest board. 

♥, Sylvia

"Family faces are magic mirros. 

Looking at people who belong to us,

we see the past,

present and future."

Gail Lumet Buckley

The hubster and I made ourselves dizzy while dancing with our nieces during a recent visit to Texas.  I forgot how much fun that was! Round and round we went.

My niece Erika doesn't walk, she skips. She loves to dance. She's spontaneous. Her enthusiasm is like a breath of fresh air. Her light shines! At 2 1/2 years old she already knows how to work an iPad. She loves to take photographs. Her vocabulary is beyond her years. She's so darn clever!

Her big sister Alex has a very different personality. She's calm, a bit reserved, thoughtful, always helpful, has a beautiful spirit and a heart of gold. She's the best big sister.

I can't help but think of their future. The dreams they'll pursue, challenges they'll face, the path they'll walk to find inner happiness, the steps they'll take to create their ideal life, the women they'll become.

Looking at these photos bring me back to the present when the only thing they want to do right now is live for today... and play and dance and make their aunt and uncle as dizzy as possible.  So we can all giggle and laugh and do it all over again.

Piglet was so right when he said "sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." 

I just remembered this other post I wrote about (to) them... straight from my heart.

♥ , Sylvia

I did something a bit different for the photo prompt this week. Went a little "outside of the box." I browsed through all the photos stored away in my cell phone gallery in search of the color red.

We all do it, we whip out our cell phones and take photos of random stuff.  It's fun to go back and look at what we've captured.

Sharing photo prompt at 52 Photos Project. 

If you're here via 52 Photos Project, I invite you to check out what I've shared since your last visit. 

Have a lovely day!

♥, Sylvia

♥, Sylvia

The sky broke like an egg

into full sunset

and the water caught fire.

Pamela Hansford Johnson

Have a fabulous week ahead!

♥, Sylvia

Can you feel the change in the air? 

Summer is starting to wave and say... so long... see ya' next year! 

The dog days of summer are coming to an end.

Well, maybe not if you live in the south (where the weather is still scorching hot) but we sure can up here in the northwest.  Seeing the sun change its pattern, the shorter days and the fast cool-down in the evening means... autumn is on its way.

Our patio and backyard look completely different now than at the beginning of summer.  Our deck is shaded earlier in the day, the sun casts different shadows and gives the yard a completely different feel.

We'll soon reach for light sweaters and scarves.  We'll be cooking yummy autumn inspired meals, visiting pumpkin patches and will have trick-or-treaters at our door. But that can wait.  Let's squeeze the last juicy drops of summer before autumn arrives.

It's been all kinds of crazy on this end so I'm looking forward to doing something fun and sneaking in a mid-day Sunday nap. :)

What will you be doing this last weekend of summer?  

Will you be leaping in the air or enjoying a lazy summer day?

♥, Sylvia

As you know, I'm a quote nerd and I find that adding quotes is a fun way of bringing life to an image.

Sharing prompt at 52 Photos Project.  Thanks Bella for yet another fun prompt!

♥, Sylvia

There's a place I go, inside myself,

Where nobody else can be,

And none of my friends can tell it's there -

Nobody knows but me.

It's hard to explain the way it feels,

Or even where I go.

It isn't a place in time or space,

But once I'm there, I know.

It's tiny, it's shiny, it can't be seen,

But it's big as the sky at night . . .

I try to explain and it hurts my brain,

But once I'm there, it's right.

There's a place I know inside myself,

And it's neither big or small,

And whenever I go, it feels as though

I never left at all.

~Dennis Lee

♥, Sylvia