Today you can Bundle up, relax and let someone else drive.

A short music video for this last week of 2021.

"Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson & His Pops Concert Orchestra

How many words in the Song did You remember?

Love the old pictures and I felt like being in the middle of a Norman Rockwell magazine about even older times. 

We enjoyed a few winter sleigh rides many years ago (but really they were on wagons). It was fun to get out of the house for an activity on a winter night in a park with the kids and then enjoy a campfire.  

It's funny how old memories resurface at Christmas time.

That's it for 2021.

See you soon in 2022.

PS. Thank You for connecting with me through another year.

Happy New Year!!!!

Cheers 🍷 !!

Dona Anderson 

Mom & me, must be early 1960's.
Big tree & crazy curtains.

Thanks for sharing with others at the links below.

Keep being safe on your winter or summer travels wherever you may live.

If you have Nothing to do over the Holidays, Visit the archives anytime for over 650 posts to explore.

If you're in the mood for some peaceful time here's my 2021 Summer of Music posts all in one place.  Great post to keep close to enjoy nature and our beautiful World.

Here's a post from last year about older times past in

 one of my old Christmas letters. 

Bye for now, Happy New year. 😊

 

One Rose Wellness Message

Who's the Celebration for?

It's for You!

Dona Anderson   
from Simply, One Breath At a Time

A Roots to Breath Wellness moment!

I picked this One Rose message to share with you today.

"Celebrate your presence as you
encourage the breath to help you
breathe freely ... "

Celebrate You!

Thank You for sharing these messages to help others!

PS. How often do you take time to celebrate you, who you are as you are right now?

Allow your next breath to fill your whole wonderful being.  

Let it remove barriers, roadblocks and open up new pathways for the breath to travel. 

We all need reminders and help from time to time to shine a bit brighter. 

Think about each new breath filling you with joy!

What a Celebration!

There's more on Facebook, Dona Anderson, Roots to Breath

Info on One Rose Wellness Cards and more here.

Dona's Dream - to help others and send wellness out into the world.  

  

Links for sharing with others below.

Thank You for helping me spread Wellness out into the World.

Thanks for your visit, 

new posts every Tuesday.

Check the Archives for past posts.

Over 650 for you to view and share.

Love the colors of these winter pansies.  

"Celebrate your presence as you

encourage the breath to help

you breathe freely ... "

It doesn't have to be Perfect

what looks good

what's art 

beauty 

and ... 

Dona Anderson
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Those seconds in time
capture so much.

Story Time.

The last several years I've taken lots of pictures and although I didn't know much about what I was doing, most seem to turn out pretty good for a point & shoot person. 

I still don't know what
I'm doing and that's OK.

As time went on I tried adding words from my books to some of them and seeing it all come together is Fun and very rewarding for me - My Art.

So now when taking pictures I think more about the colors, positioning or whatever it is.

If I added words where would they go, would it look good here or there ...

Decisions we learn as we go along.

What's wonderful for me is when people at the various shows I go to ask if I'm a professional photographer. 

One time a lady took about an hour or more and went through all my photo's and commented on them, also saying her Mom was a Professional Photographer and what I was doing was really good,

She told me not to take  lessons(??)

Another thing that's wonderful for me is the noticing of life nature, gardens, water & the sky.



The awareness of the moment fills me
with contentment and gratitude.


Each one seems to become a gift from the season or location which mostly now are from our yard, garden neighborhood and province. 

I don't need or even want them to be perfect, just to be natural and beautiful as they are on their own that day. 

I've loved travelling and living in various places and enjoyed each for their differences and gifts in the landscape, birds, flowers, crops, people, opportunities and of course the Food.

It's all taught me to appreciate and enjoy wherever Home is at the time and to notice all that it offers. 

Home is, 

where the Heart is

& beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

The photo's have also become another way

to send Gifts to You.

Thanks for your visit today and

for Sharing with others around
the World at the Links below.

If you'd like to see some other photo's
go to the label below, Photo Message.

Don't miss new posts.
Click on the link below to receive an email
each Tuesday that takes you to the new post.

Only a couple of steps and 
you're ready for next week.

Subscribe to Dona Anderson by Email

What's your Art about?

Take care and Have a great week.

PS. In the past I'd sometimes send my Grandchildren a photo message when I sent a card to them.

I forgot one time - and that seemed more important to my granddaughter than the Birthday cheque.  You just never know ... 💚

Amazing Music by the Birds on a Wire

birds on a wire

seeing a common sight in a different way 

Dona Anderson

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we see this all the time - birds

resting, taking a break, watching, 

waiting for something to happen.

They would never have imagined This Story.

A normal everyday sighting that
one day was looked at differently.

Wonderful 

What do You see that

others may not notice?

Help encourage yourself or others to imagine,

dream and be inspired to see things differently.

Wonderful things are happening
all the time.

Thank You for helping me spread

Wellness around the World with

your shares 😊

Take Care!

We're back next week with ... I'm not telling.
You'll have to come back to find out.
Make it easy by Subscribing.🠞

Subscribe to Dona Anderson by Email

& check your email inbox on Tuesdays
 for the link to my new post.
My Gift to YOU. 

Thank You for your visit.  

New posts every Tuesday

Links for sharing below.

PS. What's your favorite Bird -

let us know in the comments.

Birds on a Log.

Old Christmas Letter Found

what's in the letter?

what ... does it Say?

New posts every Tuesday connect us to Stories,

 Gratitude, Life, Happy Hearts and more.

Do you need any of this?

Dona Anderson

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Last Spring I found a few old Christmas Letters
in a binder when I was going through a cabinet.

They brought up so many memories for me in times less Busy. 

Simpler times, that we'll all have our own stories about.

As I read them over again I thought I'd share this one with you.

It's an old letter about even older Christmas memories and when reading it I immediately went back in time - it felt like watching an old Movie just missing the sleigh ride.

Here goes - wishing now it was shorter

it starts with

Good Tidings to You

Each year the holiday season is a special time that provides us with opportunities for creating memories, wonder, connection, reflection and if you let it, stillness.

Growing up on the Canadian prairies, the holidays offered moments to walk in the crisp new snow, bundle up with many layers of soft warm clothes, mittens and scarves, listen to the squeaky sounds of winter, and be able to see your breath so you knew it was right there with you.

I remember walking on a milder evening with a friend while beautiful snowflakes fell and talking for hours about nothing important but it felt the Best. 

I remember being able to walk over to relatives to drop off presents instead of mailing them and getting to see them thankfully placed under their tree, and then having a cup of warm cocoa and some homemade cookies.  I got to go along to the store to buy the big turkey, and help pick out the most beautiful Christmas tree to decorate. 

It was always the best when I got to place the angel on top, and then to feel the pause in the air when the tree lights were first turned on.  

And, there was nothing better than helping fill tins with freshly baked cookies and getting to eat the ones that were not quite perfect.

I remember anxiously waiting for family to return home for the holidays, and sitting at the long decorated dinner table for hours with our best china and silverware over second and third helpings, and then the finale - Mom's Christmas pudding for dessert!

Photo by S. Anderson

If it was possible, one of my wishes has always been to sit at Mom's Christmas table again but as an adult with all the same people instead of the young child I was.

I would like to be able to again listen to their stories so I could remember them, to see and hear what my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles other relatives and dearest family friends talked about then, how they all laughed and connected and most of all, to learn more about who they were.

As a child we often get little glimpses inside the people around us without the opportunity to really know them and their stories.  We think there will be lots of time later but unfortunately life and time always changes our world and those in it.  

Our daily lives are different from back then to now, but in so many ways the same.  

Even with all the changes and differences, I think the important things, the hope and the desserts of our life are the same, to love and to be loved, to laugh and smile, be happy and healthy and know that someone is there to notice, to see us and be part of our lives.

My wish list this season is to share and connect with others, to be part of their life and to let them be part of mine.

To make new memories and joy through our laughter and smiles, enjoy each bite of the food we eat together, and just sit and talk for awhile about nothing important but it will be the best.

And while the earth in this part of the world is preparing to rest now for the winter and we say bye to 2011 and welcome 2012, I will take some time to pause for awhile and celebrate with gratitude all that is in my present life, my hopes for the future, and I'll bring along other wonderful memories of the past to enjoy again!

And to you, a Happy New Year ...

now can I have some more pudding please!

Thank You for visiting today.

PS.

That was the last time I wrote a big Christmas letter  - later I just wrote little notes in the cards and sadly the cards and notes got less and less each year. 

Looking back now, I wonder if I should have continued a few years longer.(?)

Have You ever revisited some old letters you wrote - 
for me, it was a wonderful way to connect to who I
 was in that time of  my life.

Links for sharing below and comments welcomed.

Photo's added for this post.

Photo of Barn was taken by Sandra Anderson.

B&W copy is in Simply, One Breath At a Time

Feel part of a global community as

these posts are shared with others and 

travel the world.

cookies, I saw the word cookies somewhere - YUM.

what's your favorite kind of Cookie

73 Ways to Support You going Forward

It's Birthday Time
5th Birthday 

Celebration Time 💚

Dona Anderson

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Wow, five years ago tomorrow I was picking up the boxes of Moving Forward from the Heart and had to open one quickly to see it for real.

And, then I got to go through the pages on the drive home. (Nope, I wasn't driving)

It seems that it has always been with me - at least longer than 5 years since and the time I worked on it.

Sometimes you have to write the 1st book to get to the second so I guess that's what I did. 

It's fun to have previous buyers of Simply, One Breath At a t time stop to tell me how they enjoy my work and one lady last fall came by to tell me she had bought Simply,10 years ago and still uses it all the time.

Moving Forward from the Heart is also helping others and lots of comments from shoppers and readers why are listed below and on the Wellwishers page.

- help a new empty nester

- help me heal my heart

- learn more about myself
- for relaxation
- figure out this time of my life
- lovely words and charming prose
- want all your stuff
- it leaves time and space to dream
- emphasis on breath

Link to the Wellwishers page 

Here's one you'll see ...

"In just a few words, it's a lovely book. It's obvious that a lot of care and thought went into your presentation. The are many books out there on meditation but I would say "Moving Forward..." is one of the best, so readable, so accessible, so uplifting".

Our World and lives are full of stuff, being busy, emotions, fake and troubling news, storms, tragedies and more.

Stress seems to be a normal part of our conversations.

It's getting harder and harder to make ends meet, enjoy life and have some time to get to know who we are or even have a moment to be still and think about it.

These 73 meditations help us to relax, breathe, visit nature and figure some of that out along the way.

The first meditation is titled, So Much More to See.

The last is, You Became the Beauty. 

Between the two are 71 other titles ...

Some of the others you'll meet are,

  Message in Dona's photo is on page 52

A Place for Messages

Words from a Friend

Practicing Calm

Breathe Happy

Garden in your Dreams

Possibilities Gently Drift in

Special places

Begin again

Visions for the Future

Letting Life be Easy

Tree House

Earth Angel

Rise and Shine

One Hug

Live your Dreams

Lullaby of Peace

    

Open yourself up to wonder and dream ...

A post I did July 14, 2015 a few months before I got my hands on a real copy started with ...

It's always a bit scary to let your work out for everyone to see.  I've been working on this baby for over 4 years and it's time to let it go so I can find out what is next for me.

The following is in the book and talks about

What Moving Forward from the Heart means to me!

When I wrote Simply, One Breath At a Time I had the title right away, and then with  this book I only had a few ideas for the title until Moving Forward from the Heart came to me at the end, long after all the writing was done. 

It was in one of those still, quiet times and it made perfect sense.

Since completing this book, I can see now that I was unknowingly writing from my Heart and Soul, and my Heart wanted to know more about compassion, hope, the ability to change, and forgiveness.

My Heart wanted to know more about how to heal, open, love and most of all how to move on and forward.

I’m always sharing things on my Blog as I learn from life and time, and now I am also learning from all the meditations in this book.

They nudge me to let go of what I need to and remind me to live my life now, celebrate all that I am, have and can be.  They remind me to celebrate others and our beautiful earth.  

They give me strength and courage, and ask me to think, to see, explore and to share.

Does this sound like a book for You'd like ...

Message in this photo is on page 119.

Welcome with gratitude this

 special time to be with yourself 

and all that you are ...

More information on the
 Resources Page 

Thanks for sharing at the links below. 

PS. Love this message on the front cover -
Sweetness lies inside the spaces where
you free your body, mind and spirit to
fully celebrate life!

Pictures for post only.


Thanks for your visit and have a great day.

 Find out more from this book

at the label below - Moving Forward.

What's your Female Story about

The Female Journey.

A look at the Ladies today.

Dona Anderson

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Marianne Williamson wrote in her book The Age of Miracles ...

"Denying care to oneself doesn't translate into care for others. A women taking care of herself - both in body and in spirit - is part of her participation in a wild and wonderful female adventure.  That adventure is emotional, intellectual, spiritual and sexual."

Each one of you will have your own memories and story about being a daughter, perhaps a sister, a teenager, friend, cousin, aunt, girlfriend, fiancee, wife, mother, grandmother.

And you may have also been part of these - Health Care, Education, Science, Art, Music, Retail, Service, Construction, Farming, Restaurants, Fashion, Finance, Computers, Essential Services, Government, Acting, Inventor and the many others.

Living life means you learn, grow and become.

You learn about your inside self - what makes you tick, be happy, comfortable and excited,

You learn how to interact with others, what to say, how to dress, be yourself.

You learn about your body and all it's changes as you grow and age.

You'll learn about your feelings, emotions and thoughts - what they are and how to manage them. 

You learn about the many different hats you'll wear while exploring your passions and even the things you're good at or not.

And as time goes on you'll also learn about what you like & don't like, how you love and what to believe in.  

This is your unique adventure.

A huge part of this one is that your feelings, emotions, thoughts and beliefs also change over time.

That gives you thoughts and memories of Then and Now. 

This is the journey of life.

The adventure and journey in each of us is unique, remarkable and built on how and where we find places to breathe, learn, share & help others.  

Looking back on my adventure and journey I'm happy that life was full and now is a quiet time to reflect and breathe more deeply.

There's much to share and opportunities to create my life doing things I want to do.

This is another between time - time before whatever it is that comes later ...

and I'm going to Enjoy it.

Please enjoy Your Now time too.

💚

Visit the Resources page for
ways to Relax, be inspired
reduce Stress & Breathe.

Subscribe to Dona Anderson by Email

new posts every Tuesday,

My Gifts to You.

PS. this seemed liked a perfect place

 to share this quote with you.

“The real gift in life is in giving to others. 

We have the power and the  means to make a positive difference in someone else's life every single day. 

Whether you offer a smile to a passer-by, or pay for a stranger's coffee or donate your time to help others, giving makes us feel so good!”

– Louise Hay

Thank you Louise Hay.

Our sharing helps spread gifts of Wellness 

to others around the world everyday.

Take Care

Links for sharing below.

What is Your Stress level telling You.

Please Take Care of YOU

What does that mean to you.

How do You take care of yourself ...

Stress even affects how we look and age. 

Another post for your
Wellness Toolbox.

Dona Anderson

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Let's start today with a 
few moments to Relax.  

Soften your shoulders,

your back ... your hands ... and face ...

Soften your breath to allow it to move 
through your whole body and mind
 letting go of Stress and moving
towards Relaxation.

A One Rose and message is waiting for you when

you feel ready.

   

A November Rose from 2 years ago.

Feel the Simplicity of this time  to rest and be with your breath a simple precious gift ...

Each Breath is our most precious Gift.

It's with us every day, every hour, every minute ...

 it becomes our friend, our teacher, our companion.

Please take care of You as your whole body breathes

 in Gratitude, Patience and Love.

Wellness Resources

Feel the Simplicity of this time  to rest

 and be with your breath

 a simple precious gift ...

One Rose Wellness cards is a set

of 105 messages all from the pages

of Simply, One Breath At a Time.

Thank You for your visit and
for sharing with others as we
spread Wellness around the
World. Links below.
   

Where in the World will we travel to this week?

Use the label One Rose Cards below

to find more similar posts.

PS. I hope you'll subscribe to get your

email link for these weekly posts. 

They'll help You easily make a
Wellness folder for the posts you
want to see or share again.

Quick access.

Subscribe to Dona Anderson by Email

Only one email a week, no cost no hassel.

You're part of my 107,600 + Reasons

2 Birthdays this Fall,

the other is coming in November.

Dona Anderson

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Thanks to You 

My Blog turns 10 this month

You're my 107,600 + reasons - each one of You.💚😊

You and the other viewers around the World inspire me to keep going every week.

Over 600 Posts

Your sharing with others around the World helps me know we all have the same wants and needs to be happy, healthy and enjoy our lives the best we can. 

I never imagined all that it

has become over the years.

It  was initially created for the 100 travelling books I sent out in 2010.

I just remember reading the instructions to create the Blog and I got to the point where they told me to just write something and hit the publish button - I was so scared. 

Those first posts were not great and it took a few years to figure out the how and what - what I could do, how and the when.

I never imagined I would still be here 10 years later writing and sharing with all of you.

When I look back over the pages of titles, I have forgotten what lots are about, some bring up memories and a few bring tears.  

Here's some info on the travelling books.

Take a look at this last post I wrote about

the 100 Travelling Books

Links for Sharing below.

Take Care

I hope you'll continue  to

visit and be part of my

Dream to send everyday

Wellness around the World.

Get your email link to next weeks post,

just a few steps & watch for the email next Tuesday.

Subscribe to Dona Anderson by Email

Working on the next 100,000 views!

Bye for now.

PS. Hop on over to the 

Archives & take a look.
Have Fun.

No - I don't want to Say Goodbye to Summer

September 1.

Seems like overnight 

Summer came & went

but now it's time to look forward to the colors of Fall.

Dona Anderson

Summer is almost over and for me it always feels done once September begins. 

It's kind of the timetable for getting back to our regular life again but 2020 has not been normal for any of us.

We don't know what normal activities will return or what they will look like. 

Our lives have been changed and we will need to be patient and hope for the best.

I do hope you enjoyed the selections for this years Summer of Music.

It's always FUN for me to pick them.

Did You have a favorite?

if so, Please share with us 

in the comments below.

Photos and messages by Dona

I'm sharing these  photos to help remind us of Summer life, the rhythm, colors, fragrances - all its Gifts.

Your Time spent outside enjoying 

*all the beautiful flowers, fruit, vegetables

*walks in the woods, gardens, parks, at the beach

* or maybe this year it was just sitting outside reading or doing nothing

*watching & listening to the birds and the bees buzzing around

or perhaps just staying close to home 

*watching the sunrise or sunsets ...

Feeding the Body Mind & Soul with

the Beauty of Summer.

Summer is our time in nature enjoying Blue & Green spaces that help us all by reducing stress and creating feelings of wellness and happiness.

Thank You Summer

Links for sharing below,
together we're sending 
Wellness around the World.

Thanks for Helping!

   
Messages in photos were taken

from the pages of 

Simply, One Breath At a Time,

link here to all Resources

Summer of Music posts live on in the archives for
July & August 2020,

You can visit anytime.

Thank You for visiting today.

If you're a first time visitor Welcome & Thank You. 

New posts published every Tuesday, 
and over 600 in the archives for everyone to 
view and share at their leisure. 

My weekly Wellness gifts to You. 

Sign up to follow by email.
Just a couple of steps and you'll receive the
weekly email link to new posts.

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PS. One of my Summer favorite things to do is have my breakfast on the back deck around 8:30 as the sun comes over the trees.

I'm Hoping to get a few more weeks.  

Still - Keeping Life Simple.

What are some of the things you love to do in the summer?

More info more often on Facebook

Dona Anderson, Roots to Breath

@rootstobreathwellness

 

 · Health & Wellness Website