fun stuff: khaki and capital

somewhere ... they say,  'life only gives you as much as you can handle."

well, despite everything that is causing a lot of stress in this little head of mine, 

i caught the nastiest of colds over the weekend (not fun at all...i tell ya !).

on a positive note, i got a lot of rows done on my khaki blanket,

 in between sneezes and coughs and trips to the kettle for more lemon tea.

 i was too dozy to read but i did start a new fiction before my sinuses broke loose.

a good friend of mine, a very successful real estate agent, gave me her copy
 of john lanchester's capital.

it wasn't a title i would have picked up on my own, 

(me - the anti-capitalist, the wannabe non-consumerist, and aspiring minimalist) 

but, to my surprise, it is proving to be a really good read.

there are plenty of characters to get to know 

and although i'm only a few chapters in,

 the author has presented a good grasp 

on the idea of finding true abundance in such 

a money driven-flip-your-real-estate

and move-on-to-something-bigger-and-better culture.

what are you knitting? reading? 

care to share?

erica

xoxo

joining frontier dreams and small things

magic pill

suppose you read about a pill

    that you could take once a day to

                reduce anxiety and increase your contentment.

would you take it?

 suppose further that the pill

        has a great variety of side effects,

             all of them good:  increased self-esteem,

                empathy, and trust; it even improves memory.

       suppose, finally, that the pill is 

 all natural and cost nothing.

           now would you take it? the pill exist. 

it is M E D I T A T I O N.

                                                    - jonathan haidt

i came to my meditation practice when my kids were really young and 

i found myself so anxious about everything about motherhood.

i stumbled upon the wisdom of eckhart tolle through his book the power of now 

and i was immediately convinced about taking up the practice.
i was inspired by the way he would meditate on a flower or a tree, on a park bench.

more than sixteen years later...

i'm still working hard on this daily practice of focusing my mind/thoughts/attention. 

 slowly but surely, i'm increasing my ability to maintain that focus.

do it my friends...just do it !!!

it really is a magic pill free for the taking !!!

erica

xoxo

must learn to play the guitar

                           because 
                           i have known despair
                           i value hope

                           because
                           i have tasted frustration
                           i value fulfillment

                           because
                           i have been lonely
                           i value love

                                   - leonard nimoy

where did this week go?

it has been a really tough one for me and for many of those close to me, 

so a part of me is glad it is almost over.

when things are tough...you'll find me cycling hard at the gym and picking up 
words of wisdom from my fellow cyclists, filling my grocery cart with fruit, veggies and chocolate, walking the dog, reading philosophy, (not) cleaning the house,

and listening to lennon and maisy.

aren't these girls super talented?

really wish i could play the guitar !!!! 

(i'm still working on my new years resolution list.)

wishing y'all a good day.

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: comfy cozy

have you noticed i haven't done a what i wore post in a while?

this is mainly because my mirror room became a dumping/storage zone 

while i cleared the rest of our home of clutter for the holidays.

HA... yup, i'm a hide the clutter when company's coming kind of gal.

well this is my attempt at getting back to normal routine...

except for the fact that i didn't get out of my comfy cozy sweatshirt

 and yoga pants after coming home from the gym 

(don't worry...i showered and brought clean ones to change into)

and...except for the fact that someone came home early from his second day of school 

with what looks like the beginning of a cold (ugh...)

and the worst case of anxiety.

 

like lindsey, i started these what i wore posts as motivation 

"to get out of my daily uniform of jammies or sweats".

but somedays...you just have to wear comfy cozy (thrifted) ALL day and 

snuggle under a colourful comforter (also thrifted) with a warm cup of creamy coffee 

and talk your way through a tough day.

somedays...comfy cozy takes the helm and helps to shield ourselves 

from society and all its pressures that is all about results and achieving 

and being the best and doing it right.

tomorrow...i'm bagging some of that clutter and delivering it to good will.

tomorrow...we start again!!!

erica

xoxo

fun stuff: khaki and more brene

here is my khaki scrap blanket...with hints (leftovers) of blues, pinks and purples.

i have three blankets on the go at the moment, mostly because i get so excited about

 new colour combinations and can't wait to see them on the needles.

here is my brene brown collection.

daring greatly... i got for christmas after talking about it to my family so much 

that they thought i deserved my own copy.

the gifts of imperfection...i found in a thrift shop, in perfect condition, in the 

hard covers for a dollar and  softcovers for fifty cents shelf...SCORE !!

if you haven't watched this movie documentary... you must, you must...
especially if you love history, especially if you care about education, and even more so if you are interested in understanding how the forces in society affect our thinking, our choices, our lives.
howard zinn, michael albert, and vandana shiva are my new heros!!!

what are you knitting, reading, watching?

care to share?

erica

xoxo

joining frontier dreams and small things

snoopify your day

today 

is a good day 

to have 

a good day!

                          - snoopy

i am a lover of new beginnings.

i love these chances/gifts to start again, with a fresh perspective, and renewed energy...

i love love love mondays...and today is a special one, being the first one of the new year.

but i know...with the end of the holidays, 

there are some of us who aren't quite ready to head back 

to the regular scheduled program !!!

so i'm sending all my powers of intentions 

out to the big wide void specifically for them...

i really need today to be a good day.

i need the hours, the minutes, the moments to unfold slow and easy and palatable.

i need to see clearly that the tasks before us just requires us to go one easy step at a time.

get up...

get dress...

(i'll make you some eggs and toast just the way you like it)

together, you and i and snoopy can handle anything...

erica

xoxo

happy new year

       so, i close

    my eyes 

       to old ends

     and open 

         my heart to  
new 

       beginnings.

                                              - nick frederickson

thank you for journeying with me this past year...

thank you for all your kind words and virtual hugs and kisses

2016 is here and has gotten me all excited !!!

after reading brene's book,

i've decided that my word for the year is 'vulnerable".

lets (you and me, together) see how this changes this particular space.

(p.s. the introvert in me is saying 'please, don't hold your breath')

but i'm inspired...greatly, by her urgings to claim, to use, to share 

the power of our stories.

we are spending the first day of this brand new year

kayaking to the epicentre of the 4.8 earth quake 

that hit our area two days ago.

the forecast for the day is calling for sunny but frigging cold...

so pray we don't tip over for an accidental polar bear swim.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!!

erica

xoxo