Texas Sage

One of the famous Texan sayings is "Nobody ever drowns in sweat!" It is so true when it comes to this beautiful and mysterious (to me) flower named the Texas Sage.

I have studied this flower for a few years now and it blooms happily in the hot sun and literally disappears when the raindrops come down on it! Took me a few months to find its name and boy was I happy to realize that I have a little Texas in my garden!

I haven't quite decided on what is the true color of a Texas Sage flower because it appears purple at one angle and at other angles, it could be lilac or magenta or dark pink. Whatever it is...this flower represents majesty, royalty and mystery...a pure beauty...I LOVE IT!

September has been all about hard work and stress and last minute responsibilities piled onto my shoulders...just my luck!

Texas Sage teaches me ...  Every day do something that will inch me closer to a better tomorrow.

Texas Sage points out to me...when we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.

Texas Sage reminds me...that for every disciplined effort, there is a multiple reward.

Texas Sage advices me...that we are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Texas Sage points out to me...that the difference between try and triumph is a little umph!

I am making a pact with myself today...to not be defined by my past. Sometimes the greatest thing to come out of all my hard work is not what I get for it, but what I become for it!

My wonderful Texas Sage tree in my front garden... I get to look out my window and admire it and it reminds me every day that I am one tough cookie, just like itself :)

Lantern Flower

Faith means living with uncertainty .. feeling your way through life .. letting your heart guide you .. like a lantern in the dark. (Dan Millman)

The Lantern Flower...exotic and delicate...one of God's cutest detailed work of art.

Do you see it?

Endearing and joyful emblem of warmth... of life and love.

Are you embracing it?

The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage...

Are you captivated?

The truth is that life is delicious, horrible, charming, frightful, sweet, bitter...a little of everything.

Are you inspired by it?

Life is full of beauty...

DO YOU notice it, feel it, smell it, touch it...live it?

Life is filled with questions...

Are you courageous enough to seek the answers and continue to give meaning to your life?

Thoughts...

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, education, money ... than circumstances, failure, successes ... than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a person.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change people. We cannot change the inevitable.

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. I have one confirmed answer in living my life:

I am not a has-been. I am a will be!

Portulaca

The Portulaca, also known as the Japanese Rose, are miniature beauties. Although these little roses look vulnerable, "strength" is their middle name! 

This month turned out to be such a pleasant one! Just last weekend, I enjoyed a mini reunion with cousins from California and London. Have not met them for donkey years so it was wonderful to catch up again.

Cousins are different beautiful flowers in the same garden

These lovely Portulacas are perfect symbols of my cousins. Hardy, adaptable, colorful, and very loving! We grew up together and now we live in different countries. Even though we don't see each other often, the minute we got together, it was like childhood all over again! 

A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost
 - Marion C. Garetty -

The bond we share, to me is dear

When we are together, I have no fear

Special cousins, dearest friends

My deepest love and appreciation, I hope to send

Through that many joys and many tears

Do know you are always in my heart, throughout the years

Chinese Plumbago

Blue is the coolest color...the skies, the sea... all that represents serenity, inspiration, and spirituality. Peaceful and tranquil for me....

Somewhere...over the rainbow...skies are blue...and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true....

Celebrating the months of June and July 2012...Father's Day, Bloomsday in Dublin (until I actually get to visit Dublin one 16th June!!), Canada Day, 4 July in America, Summer Olympics in London, Ramadhan in Malaysia.

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has the power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand...REJOICE! For your soul is alive! (Eleanora Duse)

As for me...some things I enjoyed during these 2 months: Getting to tease Dad for being goofy at times...being able to enjoy occasional dinners with my bestie...laughed out loud several times when I saw my neighbor chasing after her stubborn dog...watching my flowers bloom at unexpected moments...having my doggie on my lap when I was watching the TV or doing my work on my laptop...THANK YOU GOD, sweet miracles are never-ending when you stop and ponder in the midst of being busy.

I have been crazily busy with a literary paper which involved literary figures of the 19th Century America and their works, these 2 months. Then, there's the famous Bloomsday in Dublin, Ireland in June, which will be my dream come true. One day....I will be there...to witness how Dubliners celebrate the famous and amazing James Joyce (one of my favorite writers) and his world-known book "Ulysses".  But for now...I can only dream and wish.... 

Robert Frost wrote: "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."

So my dearest friends, as we all go on living and continue to celebrate sweet little miracles of life:

May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along your way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through. (Irish Blessing)