Cultivate A Peaceful Mind February 17, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Meditation, Mindfulness.comments closed
Cultivate a peaceful mind.
Visualize yourself filled with joy, light, and love.
Find things to laugh and smile about.
You cannot transform negative situations into positive ones if you see them as negative and react to them with negative emotions.
To attract positives to you . . . you must vibrate at a positive level.
You must feel yourself filled with light, love, and laughter.
It doesn’t matter WHAT you think about . . . what matters is how you FEEL as you think it.
You attract positives when you feel positive vibrations swirling through you.
Meditate.
Be at peace.
Don’t worry.
Be happy.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Tea for Tattoo February 16, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Fiction, Magick & Mystery, Word Play.comments closed
Wikipedia ~ The March Hare (in Public Domain)
The tinkling of the bell alerted me to her arrival. I glanced up from my still warm tea and drank in her silhouette.
She stood in the doorway, as sure as stone.
She cast her eyes around the tea room and headed my way, slacks whispering her approach, “Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
She did not wait for my answer before drawing back the chair and claiming the seat as her own.
I expect she saw welcome in my eyes, “It is now.”
She motioned the waitress, before returning her gaze to me, “It is always now.”
“Yes. And we are always here.”
She closed her eyes and breathed in the moment. I kept mine open, all the better to see her with.
Tousled hair framed her face, falling just to the collar of her jean jacket. I smelled a hint of jasmine as I followed her breath. Steady. Calm.
She opened her eyes and shrugged off her well-worn jacket, revealing a small tattoo on her right arm.
I nodded at the Taoist symbol, “It becomes you.”
“And you?”
I rolled up my sleeve until the mirror image of her tattoo peered out at its peer.
Satisfied, she selected a scone from the now depleted tea tray, “I knew.”
“I did too.”
Aah . . . that’s better!
A Bit of Anti-Gravity Magic February 15, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Art & Photography, Music & Dance.comments closed
LEO ~ Boat Rocker Entertainment
Have you seen LEO? Here’s what others have to say about his Anti-Gravity Magic:
LEO is a mind-bending, anti-gravity show. It’s a funny, surreal, and surprisingly touching work that challenges the senses and tests perceptions of reality through the clever interplay of live performance and video projection. Winner of many international awards including Best of Edinburgh.
Time Out New York:
“An eye-teasing, grin-inducing, deeply impressive work of sustained absurdist magic”
The Village Voice
“It’s unusual to hear so many child-like gasps of sheer delighted astonishment in a theater.”
Theatermania
“LEO is utterly delightful. You’re likely to find yourself grinning like a fool while watching LEO. The winner of the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe LEO combines acrobatics and film work to create a rather unique piece of theater.”
Aah . . . that’s better!
The Writer’s Desk ~ And The Winner Is . . . February 14, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
At long last, the votes are in and tallied, and the winner of my copy of The Writer’s Desk is . . .
7. The Mists of Writing (90 words)
For me – writing is a little like that long forgotten actress’s footsteps as she moves into droplets of perfume scented air. I hear her light step as I spray the mist of another world into the air before me and then I walk straight in, and I am gone there. The scents and stories settle around me and cling to my skin. The characters lurk about the desk, sitting on old books and sniffing at empty, long stemmed glasses. I sit at our desk for a while. Then I write.
For those of you who haven’t met Cecelia, you are in for a treat if you swing by her farm blog, The Kitchen’s Garden:
I am a New Zealander living in America. For ten years I was a High School Teacher of Drama in New Zealand. Then I travelled to work in Europe. Six years ago I relocated from my job in the film industry in London to the Midwest USA. Together my husband and I are developing our property into a small sustainable farm. We are passionate about good clean food and healthy animals and healthy land. Being frugal, and bucking the consumer trend sounds scary but is actually fun. It is simple. And we really love our simple life. It is a good life.
Celi shares the view from her window, the aromas of her kitchen, delicious recipes for onion jam and carrot cake, and the antics of the farm’s residents ~ cows, sheep, pigs, dogs, cats, chickens, roosters, peacocks, and peahens.
It’s a Full House . . . so they’re adding an addition ~ an outrageously wonderful granny flat/guest house/ writer’s retreat.
Congratulations, Celi! I’ll contact you for your Snail Mail address so I can put your prize in the post! In the meantime . . . here’s your crown!
Thanks to everyone who submitted, read, spread the word, commented, and voted! You rock.
Aah . . . that’s better!
This Bud’s For YOU! February 14, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Art & Photography, Blogging, Gratitude.comments closed
Thanks for swinging by . . .
Commenting . . .
Brightening my day . . .
And making me laugh out loud . . .
You ROCK!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Aah . . . that’s better!
An Island Shuttle February 13, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Art & Photography, Travel & Leisure.comments closed
Anna Maria Island has a new taxi plying its waters . . . the Island Pearl.
The just-initiated shuttle service is FREE on Mondays this month.
So we hopped aboard to see the island from a different perspective.
We crossed under the Cortez Bridge as it yawned to admit a sailboat.
First shuttle stop, the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach.
The pier houses Rotten Ralph’s where beer is always FREE . . . tomorrow.
From the pier, we continued south through the Intercoastal Waterway.
Next stop, the Mar Vista restaurant on AMI’s sister island of Long Boat Key ~ I half expected to see Gilligan and the Professor counting coconuts on the sand.
On the way back, we swung in close to the southern tip of the island.
Where fisherman fish and families enjoy picnics in the pavilion.
We caught sight of our neighborhood as we headed north to Holmes Beach.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Sea Notes Jazz Band February 12, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Exercise & Fitness, Music & Dance.comments closed
Wednesday afternoons, the Sea Notes Jazz Band brightens the beach scene with music from the 20s, 30s, 40s, and Dixieland.
As Sea Notes fill the air, beach goers kick back and soak up a few last rays.
Others kick up soccer balls with sandy heels while practicing plays.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Crowley Heritage Festival February 10, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Animals, Art & Photography, Nature.comments closed
We headed down, Myakka way
And paused to hear musicians play
Our path meandered through the glade
High above, the canopy swayed
We passed grazing cows, intent on lunch
And lazing cows, huddled in a bunch
Metallic cocks crowed in colored splendor
As car lovers drooled over hood and fender
Flowers shared brilliant blooms with buzzing bees
Shade cooled the shadows ‘neath the trees
We wandered on, keeping pace with the path
Until the promised tower appeared at last
We climbed the steps and inhaled the view
A lovely day . . . through and through
* * * * *
Now . . . can you make heads or tails of this UFO (Unidentified Fowl Object)?
Hint: Birds of a feather flock together . . .
Even fowl with far more fluff than feather
Hmm . . . if that was MY chicken, I would call it H.R. Fluff ‘n’ stuff!
Aah . . . that’s better!
Would You Answer THIS Ad? February 9, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Nature, People, Travel & Leisure.comments closed
Wikipedia ~ Ernest Shackleton (in Public Domain)
The year is 1914.
Sir Ernest Shackleton needs a crew for an expedition to Antarctica.
To entice able-bodied men to join him, he places the following ad in the London Times:
Men Wanted: For hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.
Due to his stellar reputation, Shackleton received 5,000 applications from would be explorers. From that number, he chose a crew of 28.
As expected, the journey hit a few rough patches. The Endurance became trapped in ice which crushed its hull. The crew had to abandon ship, taking as many supplies as possible. For the next five months, the crew camped on an ice floe next to the sinking ship . . . until the ice started to break apart.
Wikipedia ~ Ernest Shackleton (in Public Domain)
Evicted from their frigid campsite, the crew spent five grueling days in three lifeboats to cross icy seas to Elephant Island, a barren and frozen rock.
From there, Shackleton, with a crew of five, navigated another 800 miles of stormy seas in a single lifeboat to seek rescue from a whaling outpost on South Georgia Island.
After landing on the far side of the island, 3 of the 6 hiked 32 miles and 36 hours in sub-zero temperatures over frigid mountainous terrain to reach the outpost.
Finally, on August 30, 1916, after almost two years in Antarctica, Shackleton arrived at Elephant Island to rescue his crew.
All twenty eight crew members survived.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Now that you know they all survived, want to change your answer?
Begone Foul Weeds! February 8, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Home & Garden, Nature, Writing & Writers.comments closed
As is often the case . . . one thing led to the other.
So I’m purging my filing space of extraneous paper and clutter.
The shredder’s earning its keep as I utter and sputter . . .
“Begone foul weeds!”
Per BlueBee’s request: My writing desk, space, and room . . . with a view.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Votes cast in The Writer’s Deck Contest . . . 175! If you haven’t voted yet, there’s still time to swing by and cast your ballot.
Spirit Lights The Way 