Home For The Holidays

As this gentle season may you find time
to see the beauty of each quiet moment
- Helena White

Our Christmas tree sits in the corner of our family room beside out fireplace.
Sparkles and glittering lights and ornaments fill our room with luminous beauty.
Our house has been transformed with the help of a little Christmas magic

I love filling glass cylinders with colourful ornaments

Our recollections are what

make Christmas so special…

Our many wonderful memories

are never gone, they are still there

hidden in the midst of our

childlike enthusiasm

❤  Collected Charms  ❤

I love decorating with family heirlooms which were lovingly 

passed down from my Mother and her Mother. 

It’s like wrapping our home in a loving

nostalgic embrace. These are the quiet gifts of Christmas.

Battery operated candles are amazing! 

They have a timer. They come on around 5 pm 

and stay on for five before they shut themselves off… 

How great is that? 

Tinsel and tree lights

gifts brightly tied

The happiest feelings inside

Surprise plans, hushed preparations

A mood of wonder and anticipation

Goodwill and cheer to all

For the once a year

Magic of Christmas

is here

❤

 

It was very early morning and the stillness of the dawn

was upon us while soft snow fell on the housetops

as the household awakened from Christmas Eve slumber

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Love Helena

❤ 

It's My Birthday!

Getting old ain’t for sissies.
- Betty Davis

Today is my birthday.
Wow!  How did I get to this point,
this age between being young and old?
A milestone of existence.
You'd think I’d know a little something about life by now.
Yet sometimes I still feel so naïve.
Being apart of this world, this mysterious Universe,
leaves me feeling like I have just begun to get it.
This birthday celebration is more like life reflection.

My recollections of life...
a gift of experiences; yields understanding
clearly collecting in my consciousness,
so many truths that illuminate insight.
Birthdays measure life's chapters

Of our time on earth.

A Collection of memories
Fill my daily reality

And mould my existence.

 

Born into this amazing world
Life has brought many friends...
Many are my best friends.
Today is a wonderful day
For I have lived this long lol!
This is a great day for me.
And many birthday wishes

have made it extra special.

Here I am at the beginning of my journey 

 My older sister thought it 

would be fun to dress me up in this gown

Yay, pretty cute lol!

Sweet November Skies

The crisp air drifted in

with November's sweet arrival.

The drizzle has ended

leaving a crystal-clear view.

I stood on the deck watching

the November sky

recede into the distance

...into the vault of Heaven

…into the azure night.

Each breath heals like a

balm for my restless spirit.

November's horizon beckons

... come, let us rest awhile.

I will always remember,

when it comes ‘round to November

Sunset from our deck

A Goldilocks Day

“The perfect weather of Indian Summer lengthened and 
lingered, warm sunny days were followed by brisk nights 
with Halloween a presentiment in the air.”
― Wallace Stegner 

Where I live fall and winter often arrive far too quickly on the 

heels of summer.  I am always sad when the warm weather and 

sunshine of summer are gone for another year. However some 

years late in the fall, the weather would have a surprising change 

and the warmth of summer would return if only for a brief stay.

This short "Indian Summer" is how we describe the unexpected
respite from the arrival of winter. I am always totally exhilarated 
and grateful to be able to bask in an "Indian Summer" 
even if only for a short time…..

I love taking a walk on these gilded Autumn afternoons as 

they are always a perfect way to drink in the remnants of Summer. 

The warm vibrant golden sunshine garnishes the falling leaves 

and adorns the seasons many hues. I personally call the warm

summer days in autumn, "A Goldilocks kind of day" 

Not too cold, not to hot...just right.

"A Goldilocks Day"

Forever Loved ❤ Never Forgotten

 Disquieting tears
From the past
Rise from my soul
And pool in my eyes
♥ Helena White 

 For Chantelle 

Today I am reminded how fleeting our time here on earth  truly is.  It has been twenty years since my daughter Chantelle passed away…I recall a conversation with Chantelle weeks before her accident where she thought that people just forget about you after we die. Her viewpoint came from the loss of a friend, who only weeks before died from injuries suffered in a car accident.  She was troubled by how seemingly everyone just continued on after the funeral.  Soon after Chantelle’s accident, I vowed that I would keep her memory alive.

   
❤

I’m often asked how I continue to cope after the unthinkable happens.   It is impossible to convey how lost I felt at the time, however  the  way that I’ve been able to break free from the bottomless pit of grief is to trust the wisdom of my intuition – my ability to know something without rational evidence that proves it to be so.  Life after life. To be so sure of something, yet unable to articulate it in words.  I consider that to be my greatest spiritual gift. While searching for the need to find meaning in all that happened, I have learned to also respect the mystery of it all.

❤

Throughout this journey I have taken many backward glances. The past is such a delicate thing. Most of the time memories are fragmented, like shards of broken glass. Then there are other times I recall moments with breathtaking clarity. These memory moments hold the beauty, the joy and the love we are all here to experience.  My life is certainly different from the one I thought I would be living.  Through it all I have come to realize we are here to love certain souls, unconditionally.  Some we give birth to, others we meet in a serendipitous way, others are family. It is these soulful connections that I consider sacred moments that will live within us forever...like my precious angel, Chantelle Lee Lace.

Lacy ♥ Always Loved  ♥ Never Forgotten

 

 

November 25, 1975  ♥  October 2,  1992

Amazing photo - credit unknown - Poem written by Helena White 

Blueberry Peach Crisp

As the golden light of fall burnishes all it touches
...our autumn appetite awakens ~ Helena



This is a desert for anyone who is crazy about blueberries and fresh peaches.
I love crisps! All that oatmeal and brown sugar..delish!

Blueberry Peach Crisp

Ingredients: 2 cups fresh, rinsed blueberries
4 peaches peeled and chopped (~2 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
zest and juice of one lemon

For Topping: 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 sugar
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 stick room temp butter

Directions: Mix the blueberries, peaches, cornstarch, sugar, lemon zest and juice together in a 1 1/2 qt. baking dish. Mix topping ingredients together until crumbly and pour it onto the blueberry and peach mixture, make sure you cover all of the fruit. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Serve ice cream or cool whip.

Delicious Autumn Delights 

September Splendor

Autumn Splendor reveals

Gentle melancholy mood

All felt through spirit 

As sunset gilded our Fall 

~ Helena White

In September as the air changes, we begin a
bittersweet farewell to summer.  The days
grow shorter and the leaves begin to fall.  The 
golden sun sets lower, creating a vibrant fairy-like
enchanted landscape.  

While under the blue moon, the shimmering
Fall orb illuminates the summer garden.
Soon all blooms will fade as cool nights arrive.  
The garden will soon slumber in the arms
of Autumns haunting blaze.

 

Our local Farmers Market treasures

My favorite season  

A bouquet of golden sunflowers

September splendor for sure... 

 Sharing with dversepoets/poetics-autumn 

Shades of Summer

If the fragrance of flowers were palpable,
the summer garden would be canopied
with rainbow hues ~ Helena White

 Painting by Linda Land

 My Red Rose looks Pink!

 Strawberry Sundae Peony

 Pretty Petunias

French Silk Lilac Tree

Carpet Roses

Pinky Winky Hydrangia

White Petunias

White Carpet Roses

I hope you enjoy all The Beautiful shades of Summer

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*.♥.✿´´¯`•.¸⁀°ღ¸¸↗⁀☆
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