Would this be a Challenge for You?

Winters in Sweden

Learning to live with the light & the darkness

 & loving the differences in the seasons

This Amazing video captures so much beauty.

Her soothing voice & story lets us come along and feel the love in her for the mountains, rivers, stars and forests.

The world offers us so much variety in nature, climate and lifestyles choices in the different locations. 

I didn't know about all the information she shared and I'm glad to have seen this and wanted to share it with you.

Her view of the stars and northern lights are wonderful. I wonder what people centuries ago thought about them. 

PS. I think I'd have a really hard time doing an ice bath but they're suppose to be good.  Burr ....

Thanks for your visit and links for sharing below.

I wonder where in the World we'll travel to this week,  

perhaps Sweden! 

Take care and have a great day.

New posts on Tuesdays

Not done Yet - a Song video to send you off to Dream.

Our snow a few weeks ago.

Loss & Rebuilding

 So much heartbreak.

Dona Anderson

Struggling new parents and then this. 

The Loss 

We had a fire that took the first home in our married life.

We were young, poor and bought an older home because the mortgage payments back then were less than paying rent to live in someone's basement.

We borrowed the money for the down payment from a relative, got some used furniture and set up house in March. 

On Good Friday the following year it was  gone.

In a post last month, I wrote about waking up Christmas morning and  our oil tank being empty and this happened 3 months later. 

We were out most of the day as family was in town for the Easter weekend and the oil furnace didn't shut off and started a fire.

We had our baby daughter and leaving home that day with just the diaper bag was all we had left. 

Suddenly our lives had a major change.

Sometimes life gives us a setback that offers a bigger struggle than before.

But the best gift was that we were ok.

Rebuilding

Thankfully we were able to spend some time at my parents before moving on and starting over again. 

In looking back I guess that's maybe the reason I had to go straight home everyday from work, or seeing that first glimpse of our home still there after a vacation was always a huge weight to let go of.

Often it takes years to find out & notice the little changes and things we do unconsciously after a crisis, illness or whatever it was.

but, How do you rebuild a neighborhood.

Luckily we had no loss of life and a home can change locations, or be rebuilt but how do you rebuild a neighborhood that is made up of many memories, families, friends, neighbors schools and more ...

Every time I see the fires, storms, or other disasters in the news I think about all the terrible loss, about being there, the survivors and what they will go through over the days & years ahead.

How do they start over ...

PS. I hope this wasn't a sad post today but I know a lot of us are stressed and feeling the stress of others.  

Let's help when we can by donating & supporting shops and other places that assist in providing free or low cost items that are needed especially in emergency situations. 

And don't forget the animals who lost their home too.

Last years winter pansies.
Love the face on the top one.

Please support the emergency responders who run towards helping and not away from ...

Thanks for you visit today. 

New posts every Tuesday.

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Over 650 past posts in the Archives that you can view & share.

Bye for today.  

Let's get Back together again next Tuesday or any day in the Archives. 

Here's a post from last summer to help you relax and enjoy 9 beautiful places from around the world

Lucy & Kelsie on neighborhood watch.

Discover your simple Lullaby of Peace

 A True Treasures post for you today.

Let's focus on stuff we can change.

Today We're connecting to the 

meditation, Lullaby of Peace.

Moving Forward from the heart,  # 42, page 105. 

Dona Anderson

Hi and thank You for your visit today. 

As the colder weather of winter is upon us it becomes that time of year when we settle into our homes and catch up on reading, TV shows, and enjoy those jams, pickles, pies and other freezer goodies we made to enjoy over the winter.

It's also a time for letting ourselves observe our day to day lives, our health, wellness and outlook on life.  

It may even be about what  we take out into the World and what we bring back -  is it what we need.

Things are uncertain still and changing for us and it will take time to process these last 2+ years ... what it all meant, what we lost, and what we'll take into the future.

Each one of us will have different things, different memories, feelings, stresses, loss  & more. 

Are you staying at home too much and not wanting to go out.

Are you still feeling the loss of income, friendships, activities, community or those  simple smiles and hello's when you go for a walk.

Are you still wondering if it will start all over again or get worse. 

To Help, I want to share with you today this short Meditation.

I hope it will soften your day, and spread good 

feelings throughout  your whole body & mind.

Lullaby of Peace 

"A musician brings music to life,

it starts from silence, to build, unfold,

reach and release when silence is returned again. 

You bring your breath to life ...

Each breath starts from a place of silence; it builds, unfolds, reaches, and releases when silence again returns.

Let this magical circle of breath go deeper to fill and hold even more ...imagine your organs, bones, skin and muscles all experiencing the different patterns of our breathing ... listen as these patterns become beautiful notes of music being played by your own orchestra.

As you begin to prepare for meditation, allow the music to fade and change slightly as you create soft inner waves of breathing... feel the rhythm of your inhalations and exhalations deepen to become the notes in a smooth, soft lullaby of peace ... 

Settle a bit more and surrender into feelings of being protected within the rhythm of you, your life, your knowing, your stillness and your breath ..."

Listen to these beautiful notes softly

playing your lullaby, your smooth,

soft, sweet notes of peace ..."

Moving Forward from the heart © 2015

PS. I hope you enjoyed these moments to relax, 

Take a few more minutes to be still and observe how your body feels, where your thoughts are.

Enjoy just being still for a few minutes to rest and notice your breaths as your body relaxes.

When you feel ready to restart your day wiggle your toes, stretch out your fingers,  and you may feel like you need a stretch or a big yawn.

Take a couple more breaths and slowly begin to return to your day. 💖

Lastly here's the ending to the meditation

"The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear ~ Rumi

Namaste.

Thanks for your visit.

PS. This is a good post to save and share at the links below.

Have you started building up your Wellness toolbox.

Don't forget the over 650 posts in the Archives for you to view, save & share.

New post on Tuesdays.

Have a good week full of fun, laughter, love and Self Care 

You can link to more True Treasures posts at the

 label True Treasures Below. 😌

Santa's home safe

 The new year has arrived.

Dona Anderson

Welcome to 2022.

It's been crazy weather here and lots of other places so I hope this weeks post finds you safe and well.

The Christmas decorations are down and boxed up again which as much as I love them is always a joy to get it all put away and hopefully a little less each year.

These pictures are of what I have left of my winter bear collection plus a few others and they will stay on the beds upstairs for a few more weeks.  

My office/computer is up here so I like to bring my friends of many years out to join me.  

A few years ago a young family was visiting and the older daughter asked it she could check out the house - she was about 9. Of course and later she appeared and told me I had too may stuffy's  

To my amazement and defense I replied, I used to have More.

Her voice sounded like the the Mother hoping to let go of old stuff.  I also wanted to say You haven't seen my Christmas ones yet. 

It seemed that in past times of my life when I wasn't well or stressed out, seeing the teddies helped bring some comfort and the blankets fit in nicely with them. 

Glad I have spare rooms to decorate.

What are some of your collections? 

PS. I'm working on new posts for this year but somehow the time flies by so fast my few ahead are soon next in line.

Stay safe and warm. 

Looking forward to the days getting longer with the sun. 

Take Care. 

Stuck in the house & too cold and slippery to go out the mind starts to wander.

SO

I got the dish on the left as a gift. It's actually a candle and smells lovely so for FUN I copied it and made the one on the right with yogurt, orange slice, strawberry & a couple of bay leaves.. 

Candle still safe in kitchen window.

 I had the yogurt the next morning for breakfast

 minus the bay leaves.

Before You go check out the link below.

Here's a post from a couple years ago with beautiful guitar music that I love and hope You will too.  

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. 😊

I'm Dreaming of a ... You know the rest.

You know the Rest!

Michael Bublé & Bing Crosby - White Christmas

Yes, I had to share.

It's like watching the old movies on TV - those Christmas Traditions.

Hi, how are you?

Hope you aren't too tired and busy.

It's amazing how they put 2 singers together.

Love it.

Anyway, I don't want to keep you,

I know you're busy.  

If you don't have time now, save it for when it's tea or coffee time.  Then you can rest and enjoy it.

I hope you'll click on the share to FB or other links below.

Let's reach out & share with others so they can enjoy it too ...🎄

Thanks for your visit today. 

  

       Will work for Cookies

PS. I still have a couple of days to get some Cookies made for Santa.

What's your favorite kind of cookie?

Have a great week ahead.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or whatever your holiday is, Enjoy.

Next week is our last post for 2021. 

I don't know why when you get older

the time goes by so ... fast. 

Where did the time go - What makes your hours pass like minutes

 Here's a quote for us to think about ...

"What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? 
Here lies the key to your Earthly Pursuits."  Carl Jung

Hi & Welcome

It's that time of year for creating new memories and remembering some past ones, even maybe one of those You totally forgot about ... 

Those things we did as kids or later often came from Santa's delivery or other gifts you got for Christmas.

The books, bikes, dolls, paint kits, microscope skates clothes tools and more.

Did you make clothes for your doll and learn to sew.

Did you paint by number or learn on your own.

Did you ride your bike to check out the neighborhood or find new friends.

Did you get a musical instrument and learn to play or find out you like to sing or maybe start up a band ...

Did those tools create new hobbies or open up other opportunities. 

I still remember those toy trucks, wagons and tiny cars our son got and he's still driving - now big machinery.

I remember my daughter setting her dolls up to teach them something, she's still teaching.

Warning - You may remember lots of things and now have to go shopping.

PS. What are those things where time passes by for You, that doesn't feel like work even if it is ?

Gardening painting baking writing walking drawing pottery reading knitting playing music ... Share some of yours in the comments below. 

Have a great day and thank you for your visit.

Dona Anderson

Links for sharing with others below. 

💖This was one gift of many from a best friend 
so I make sure it's part of every Christmas. 

                                                           

New posts on Tuesdays.

Can't Wait - visit the archives.

Not just 1 but 2 good endings to this story.

Old Christmas memories.

We all have them ...

Dona Anderson

Seems funny that the ones when we  were broke or had problems seem to be  the ones that get remembered years later. 

Those remember when stories ... 

This is one of those.

It was the first Christmas we were married.

We only had one set of little lights so my husband got a small board and put holes in it the shape of a tree for the lights to go in and it lit up our front window. 

It looked great and was our only decoration that year. 

I remember being so happy he made it for us and we didn't need anything else. 

Then on Christmas day we woke up freezing to find out the oil tank for our furnace was empty.  

We were suppose to get an auto refill but obviously that didn't happen.

Finding someone to come out with a special delivery on Christmas Day 52 years ago was difficult, but it happened.  

We got our oil that afternoon.

While waiting we had the oven on for some heat but living on the prairies, it was still very ... very cold.

Luckily we were going to my parents for supper so all was good, another Happy Ending. 

PS. Take care and have a wonderful week ahead.

Do you have some of your own remember when stories to share?

Maybe this one really had 3 happy endings.

Thanks for sharing these posts at the links below.

Over 650 posts in the Archives for

 you to view, save and share.

If you need some cuddle up time to relax over the winter check out this link to my 9 posts from my 2021 Summer of Music. and all are in the Archives for July and August 2021.

Let the sparkles of Christmas begin with this favorite song.

A great video for you today.

Bobby McFerrin  

Ave Maria & Bach together.

This is always a Christmas time favorite and this version is a wonderful mix of sounds and voices. Enjoy!

The glacier - so beautiful

Did you sing along too?

That's it for this week.

PS.  here's a link to a Christmas combo 

I shared back in 2019.  

Thanks for your visit today and please visit anytime. 

New Weekly posts on Tuesday and over 600 past posts available

to view save or share in the Archives. 

One of my good friends calls them her Tuesday gifts. 💖

New posts every Tuesday.

Links for sharing below. 

Have a great week ahead.

Bye for now.