merry heart laughter, medicine for the soul,

These are bleeding hearts, they are in my flower garden. I love them.

They remind me to have a merry heart.

How to have a merry heart when you are down.

Years ago when I was in one of Anne of Green Gables depths of despair and the tunnel was so dark and seemed endless, I stumbled upon a little plaque. It was one that my youngest daughters made for me at a Bible camp, It was a little board in the shape of a bottle and it had the words of a Bible verse spelled out with outdated pills. A Merry heart doeth good like a medicine. I decided I needed a merry heart, I needed this medicine for my inner self.

I rented some of the good old video's that were funny. Danny Kaye movies, cartoons, etc.

It took a while, but I did begin to have a lighter heart. Just this morning one of my dear clients wrote me an e-mail. In it she talked about how much fun her and some girl friends had at a recent birthday party. These gals occasionally meet and they laugh their selves silly.

My client asked if I had heard of Normal Cousins , I hadn't. Here is a link that tells how he used
humor to help himself heal Normal Cousins Journal of Nursing Jocularity

Find something humorous. Learn to enjoy life, learn to laugh, then learn to let your body have freedom to heal. God's medicine, laughter, and ..a Merry Heart.

Never Miss a Sunset,

Years ago I read a book called Never Miss a Sunset.

I don't remember the author just now.

Sunsets are free, they are rich, they can lighten and refresh your spirit,

Wherever you are in the world, try not to miss the next sunset. Take a few moments, breath deeply let your cares go, and let the beauty of the original painting, which is etched in they sky
for only a few moments give you new strength.

I even take time to thank the artist. He does such marvelous work, every day.

My husband once noticed when viewing a beautiful scene in nature, as hurried people thronged all about him, none were noticing the splendor, so he felt all the beauty was just for him. No one else even seemed to care.

Let your spirit be enriched, and may you be richly blessed.

It's snowing : Time to make the donuts

Snow equates to making donuts, here on our little farm. (donut u-tube link below)

I have some wonderful new recipes to try thanks to Ed Chastain.
Ed is a professional donut maker, I loved watching him make donuts on his u-tube.

So much in fact ,I decided to purchase his professional donut course.
It is something I've considered doing for about two years , but I am not planning to be a professional donut maker, so I thought it was a bit extravagant of me to do that.

What is life anyways, but to occasionally to do something extravagant, not for any particular reason, but just because.

When our children were little I used to plan a very merry un birthday party ,just because.
Because we occasionally needed something different, a break, or something to look forward to.

I remember one dear Aunt told me to do something nice for myself occasionally.
I took her words to heart.
Why did she tell me that, you may wonder.

While I was a young stay at home mom, and my hubby was working and going to school to get his degree.
I was engulfed in childhood lingo, surrounded by sesame street "gigs" .

My Aunt reasoned ,that as stay at home moms, one seldom hears good comments about a job well done, gets a raise or a bonus , generally you get a lot of static !

To keep ones chin up sometimes the hearth nurturer needs her own nurturing, and thus sometimes one must do that for oneself.

Perhaps like me your family is all grown now. Perhaps you are going through some family struggles, financial upheaval with our economy. Perhaps you just need a change.

Perhaps (also like me) you are engulfed in your own home business: if so remember you are the "boss" so remember to reward your worker "you" occasionally

What ever your situation, depending on what your budget will allow
do something just for you, maybe stop for a moment , find a comfy chair, have a lingering cup of coffee, while you go to Ed's link and watch him make donuts.
Then why not opt in to his link to receive free donut recipes.

Ed doesn't know me, though we've e-mailed a couple of times about my donut questions.
He sounds like a hardworking ,great guy . I love to help others and share good things.
So it snowed today, it's donut weather and how best to share donuts than Ed's u-tube.

Make an occasion to make yourself , and the family some special donuts.

What about your neighbor ?

Enjoy ... Giving is special, and sometimes you need to give to yourself ,as well.

If you don't have snow, well FAKE it and make some anyhow :-)

Ed's link EXPERT DONUT MAKING

and my crazycritter part is adding this donut "course" too , I couldn't resist :-)

Muppet Show - Swedish Chef - making donut