The Fall Equinox is today

Yay! Another season begins! And I'm alive!
Kicks imaginary leaves from the pile I just raked up in my head.


I guess that's why sunrise if so blooming late.

The good part is the chill on the morning breeze and crispness in the air after four days of humid swelter.
Mother Nature has a standard of excellence. Damn the torpedos and full speed ahead into Fall.

We all should live this way.

There are a million quotes on when the going gets tough the tough get going.

The populous test nature's resilience every day. She will survive.

Will we? Will you?

It's not about plastic bags or straws; it's about every part of everything. Co-existing.

Something we can't even do with our personal beliefs. How do we expect to save a planet that we can't even agree on how the planet should be let to exist. We want all people to be the same. We want. We want. We want.
Be like us, not you, you're wrong.
Stifle it.
Be whatever you want or what you need to be to be happy.
(Unless this entails murder.)

I watched, Emeril Eats the World, the most ridiculous title for a show in a long time, last night.
The episode in South Korea. Where he travels to meet Jeong Kwan, a Zen Buddhist nun and the show evolves to something special. A spiritual journey. 

.Listen to what the nun says.

Fall Equinox
Mabon
Thursday
This day is yours to live.

The Memory of a Friend

It has been one year since I saw my friend. The thought I will never see her again consumes my thoughts at times. There are moments I dwell in memories and it makes me smile.

We knew each other's darkest secrets and kept them like precious jewels.

She thought she was the world's biggest failure. Even in success. She had all of the positive beaten out of her by her father and all the want sucked dry by her mother. All that remained was what matters most in life, goodness, kindness, and a gentle spirit.

She soared beyond expectations. And never knew.

She dressed in a veil of humility but was the most courageous person you'd ever meet.

In awe of the beauty of nature, she walked among the flowers and trees as one.

Her weakness was the unwanted. Dogs, cats, or birds left behind or dropped off on a strange street; they soon found refuge in the blue house with the broken garage door left purposely unrepaired so that those in need might enter.  She kept all of them until their final breaths.

She never asked for favors, only gave.

Even to cancer.

When it came for her brilliant mind, she stood nobly before it and asked only the time to say goodbye.
Her call to me felt like one of our coffee talks. We talked of trips we would never take, homes we would never know, and our friendship. The thing we kept without fail. Tho at times distant but never far. And one promise we'd made long ago: live our lives as best we can and dream to make it better.

 Until the end of the conversation when she apologized for not being able to continue as her memory of all things was being erased.

It's okay dear friend, I will always remember you.

Always.
As this branch cradles the full moon, I hold my memories of a precious jewel lost.

The Diet and the demon

On March 1st, I started a diet, Weight Watchers online, to be exact. I was skeptical as this was not my first bout with WW or dieting.

As of today, I have managed to lose 54 pounds. 47 on WW and 7 before I started. My journey began with Atkins but after eating more meat than I had in six months in one week, I realized it was not going to work. The thought of chomping down on copious amounts of bacon made me gag.

Alas, being this close to my goal (15 more lbs) has caused a demon to arise. I mean why am I losing all of this weight? What difference is it going to make? What happens when I am at goal and visions of bear claws dance in my head. Along with fish and chips, oh yeah, fish and chips with mushy peas!

The unexpected catalyst for this demon rising was the trying on of my goal size pants. They fit.

Why oh why did they have to fit?

The gym closed the pool the day I tried on my skinny-sized jeans. Sweet torture. The only exercise I have been able to commit to is swimming.

On September 24th, I go on vacation.

I guess I'm blogging about this to help me get there.

Please don't say: But you can have your fish and chips and mushy peas! This isn't  a diet; it is a lifestyle. Buzz off.
It is a diet.
It is hard.
It doesn't seem to have an end.
It is a demon dressed in chocolate sauce.

Tomorrow, I start crackdown to vacation.

I will drink as much coffee as it takes to convince me time has not stopped on the corner of cookies and cream.

Special thanks to Quest high-protein bars- chocolate chip cookie dough is insanely good.

Have a wonderful holiday and drive like you want to see tomorrow.

Holly AB Sweany