Pumpkin Eyes

Our cat Sugar is such a curious little kitty and always has to be smack dab in the middle of things whenever there’s any action going on.  Last night while we were carving pumpkins she hopped up onto a chair so she could get a closer look at what we were doing.   She looked so cute sitting there that I wanted to snap a picture of her.  Well, much to my amusement the “red-eye” effect from the flash turned her eyes orange.  Just like the pumpkin guts!  Haha perfect!  And kinda spooky.  Now that’s really getting into the spirit of things!   😉

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Oh and incidentally, I carved out a cat on my pumpkin…

Meow!

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But lest you be inclined to compliment my expert pumpkin carving abilities… not my artwork, I cheated and used a pattern.  😉

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Peace & love…

And happy Halloween!  😀

Buzzing Mums

One of my favorite fall-time blooms are Chrysanthemums.  They come in a lovely array of colors and seem to be the perfect flowering companion and accent to go with the gorgeous colors of the autumn leaves on the trees.  I don’t have any growing in my garden here (yet), but I have been enjoying all the mums I’ve seen while I’m out and about at various places.

I happened upon a lovely patch of them one day while out running errands, it was a beautiful sunny day and I had my camera with me, so I stopped to take a few photos.  They were not only abundant in blooms, but were also buzzing with the lively hum of bumblebees.

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Such a delight to come across in the midst of my busy day.  😀

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Autumn is progressing here and the temps are dipping down low, but there is still so much beauty all around.  I’m thankful for eyes to see, and for a heart to feel it with.  ♥

Peace and love…

Thirty Days of Thanks

Today I’m beginning a little Thirty Days of Thanks challenge and happened to remember this post I wrote about being grateful last year around this same time. Thought I’d reblog it to share it again. 😀
Finding something to be grateful for every day is such a powerful practice and can really shift your perspective and way of thinking. Especially when you’re going through something particularly difficult.
Today I am thankful for so many things, but if I have to pick just one ~ I’m thankful that the heart palpitations I was having have gone away. It’s been a few days now since I’ve felt any, and although I’m not feeling 100%, I am feeling better, and I’m very grateful for that.
What are you grateful for today…?

Ramblings From Jewels

November seems like the perfect time to share with you about the thankfulness journal that I started a while ago.  The concept of writing down the things you are thankful for each day is not new by any means, so I’m not proposing this is something I came up with entirely on my own, but nonetheless it is a wonderful practice and makes a huge difference in ones frame of mind, attitude, and sense of well being.

I have always been an optimistic type of person, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned a time or two before, and it usually comes quite easily for me to see the good in things.  I am often delighted and find joy in the very simplest of things, and I believe this has helped me tremendously as I’ve went through various things in my life, some of which have been very difficult.  You know how life…

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Golden Cascade

 

 A cascade of gold flows gently from her branches

showering the world in the riches of her beauty

© Julie Rehnelt 2013

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Grounded

I just finished watching this interesting documentary and had to share it.  It is well worth the watch.  I happened upon it through a daily email newsletter I subscribe to from Mercola.com, a natural health information website.

The title of the email caught my attention because it said “How to have thinner blood and lower inflammation,” and if you read my post from yesterday you know I’m having a few health concerns about some heart palpitations I’ve been experiencing over the past week.

But once I clicked the link and started reading I got much more than I bargained for!  Click <here> to read this interesting article by Dr. Mercola where he writes about a few of the health benefits of “Grounding” or “Earthing,” including helping to relieve chronic pain, reduce inflammation, improve sleep, thin your blood, and enhance well-being.

And definitely take the time to watch this documentary…

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Being such a nature freak, all of this was right “up my alley” and I fully intend on going outside as soon as I click “Publish” to go and walk barefoot in my garden ~ even though it’s only 40 degrees out today!  😀

Here’s to good health!  Peace and love…

In Health News Today…

I’m on my way to the doctor this morning.  Apparently I’ve worked myself into a bit of a health issue here by not managing my stress well enough, in addition to not taking care of myself by eating well.  At least this is my diagnoses.  I’ve been experiencing heart palpitations for the past week.  I blame that blasted garage sale that I’ve been gearing up for and which finally came to a head last weekend.  That thing had been hanging over me like a dark cloud for the past year.  I should be awash with relief right now instead of sitting here with heart palpitations.  Ugh.

So now I have to go to the doctor.  I don’t really care for most doctors, it seems all they want to do is cut you open or medicate you, and I’m not so keen on either.  Not to mention I don’t have any health insurance at the moment so I’m sure it’s going to cost me a pretty penny, and my pennies are ever so dwindling over here.  I’m angry with myself for not taking better care of my health.  I know all the proper ways of doing so, and I do make an effort, but I think my brain gets in the way sometimes, darn thing is always thinking an’ stuff.  😉  But my brain can’t take all the blame, I have had quite a number of external circumstances going on here that have been very difficult to deal with.

I’m just hoping they don’t find anything seriously wrong with me today.  I reeeally don’t need to add health problems to my plate.   I’m sure they’ll want to put me on some sort of blood pressure meds as it’s been quite high whenever I’ve checked it.  Twice now I’ve avoided having to go on medications for blood pressure by simply modifying my lifestyle a bit, and I hope that will be the case again, but I’m feeling tempted to take the meds in the meantime while I work on making things more manageable, because these darn palpitations are freaking scary.  It happens mostly at night when I’m going to bed, making it difficult to sleep, and oh how I do love my sleep.  I try deep breathing and douse myself in lavender oils, and that helps a little, but not enough.

Well I better get a move on here and try to fix up this drowsy-looking face of mine, don’t want the doc to think I’m worse off than I really am by showing up with my “just crawled out of bed look.”  😉  Wish me luck and please do send some healing thoughts and prayers my way.

And while you do, here’s a pretty butterfly to look at…

I snapped this the other day and was so pleased to finally see a Monarch in my garden.  ♥

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Peace and love…

In Autumn’s Embrace

 

Two souls disguised as colorful leaves, entwine in the caress of a gentle breeze

Swaying together under the autumn sun, the two harmonize and become as one.

© Julie Rehnelt 2013

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Fields of Gold

I came upon the most wonderful, lovely field of yellow flowers while out running errands the other day, and I pulled the car over to get a closer look and take a few photos.  It was so unexpected and out of place, if I hadn’t been already watching for and looking at the autumn colors along the road, I may have missed it altogether.

I’m a huge fan of the color yellow, as a child it was my favorite color.  Now my favorite color is purple.  🙂  I love all colors though actually.  Blue is so dreamy and peaceful, and green is so living, but all colors have their own beauty, and yellow is such a delight, so cheerful, it always draws my attention.

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As I was taking pictures of the masses of yellow glory, I noticed a path and followed it.  It wound around a short way and ended at a small pond.  The yellow was so pretty against the blue of the water.

It was all quite wonderful and such a nice little detour from my errands.  We must always keep our eyes open to the beauty that surrounds us, it’s there, even amidst the most mundane of tasks.

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As I was going through my photos I kept hearing the song Fields of Gold playing in my head.  There’s always a song playing in my head.  😉  Anyway, this is such a beautiful song, do have yourself a listen…

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These are the lyrics…

You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
Among the fields of the barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold

So she took her love for to gaze awhile
Among the fields of the barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold

Will you stay with me will you be my love
Among the fields of the barley
And you can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I’ve broken
But I swear in the days still left
We will walk in fields of gold
We’ll walk in fields of gold

I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I’ve broken
But I swear in the days still left
We will walk in fields of gold
We’ll walk in fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of the barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
As you lie in fields of gold

You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
Among the fields of the barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold

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And with that, I’m off to partake in more of the mundane, working at putting my garage sale together.  Ugh.  But even in that I will be keeping my eyes and heart open to the beauty that is surely around me if I only look for it…

Peace & love…

Morning Moon

Morning moon adorning a sky of azure

wispy clouds waft by sweetening your allure

An entity of the night yet in daylight you endure

all the more enchanting displaying your grandeur

© Julie Rehnelt 2013

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Hi moon!  ♥

Sorry my humble lens cannot truly do you justice…

Garden Update

We’ve had a few pretty chilly days here recently, a clear indication that the green and growing things are coming to an end, but my tiny garden is still hanging in there.  Here’s a little update…

My peppers are doing fan-freaking-tastic and producing away like champs! Keeping life spicy.  😉

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And although my yellow bell peppers are not turning yellow, I’ve still been enjoying them green, and there are tons of them of them out there!

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I’m sure nothing will come from them at this point in the season, but my tomato plants are still flowering…

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I harvested one of my last two remaining celery bundles the other day, and even though they’re a bit spindly and a little more bitter than I’d like them to be, we chopped some up and put it in a salad and it tasted great!

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Oh, and my little red strawberry pot ~ still doing its thing! ♥

Is it just me, or are strawberries one of the most delightful and cheerful little fruits?!  😀

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My herbs are all doing really well.  I’ve let most of them go to bloom now, and my pineapple sage is so pretty…

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  Other things are blooming out there too, like the hydrangea I bought for my mom this past spring.  I have yet to put it in the ground though, because it got too hot too quickly outside for planting, so I left it in its pot until fall.  Well, it’s most definitely fall now, so I better get it planted before it snows.  October is not unheard of for having snowfall here in Minnesota, and with the weird weather we’ve had this year, it could snow tomorrow.  But lets not go there just yet, lets stay in the moment and enjoy the beautiful blooming things at present.  Look at this gorgeous color…

It will be interesting to see what the color does once I get it in the ground because this particular variety changes color depending on how acidic or alkaline the soil is.

Just look at how the spent blooms become a completely different color…

Still quite lovely, in my opinion.

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The bees are still busy out there gathering nectar like their lives depend on it.  Which I suppose they actually do.  😉  I snapped this photo of our dog Teddy when he took some time to “stop and smell the roses” er um I mean marigolds, and we were afraid the bumble bee who was there might sting his little nose, but thankfully it didn’t.  So cute, looks like they’re saying hello…

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And not only the bees, but the tiny hoverflies are busy out there too, I captured this one visiting my Alyssum that I have in a pot on the patio…

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The squirrels are busy as well.  I’ve seen this little guy scurrying around all over the place, digging frantically in search of buried treasure.

And then munching on his treasures amidst the branches of my tree…

Aside from a few instances, I’m so glad the squirrels haven’t been a problem in my garden this year.  Although, they did completely obliterate my sunflowers as they began producing seeds, but for some reason I didn’t really mind.  Hey, as long as they leave my veggies alone.

😉

Speaking of leaving, let me leave you with this…

Pumpkin!  ♥  I adore pumpkins!

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✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿

Peace and love…

And pumpkins!  😉