a spirit of simplicity

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Isaiah 35:1-2

I went to see my grandson, Verne on Saturday. He calls me Hopie...well, he's learning to call me Hopie. He calls me Hohu right now.  Melt's my grandmother's heart. ~ ~ ~ Joe and I went out to dinner over the weekend. He got filet minion and I had scallops.  Both meals were delicious.   ~ ~ ~ We had Joe's son, Jack, with us Saturday and Sunday. His brother, Joey, was sick with strep throat so he stayed home. It was nice to have Jack to ourselves for a bit. He's a teenager now so isn't really all that talkative with us anymore.  I miss the old Jack...but I know he'll be back soon. ~ I have been doing more reading lately.  It's been a while since I've picked up a book.  ~ So... daffodils are coming up in the old church yard. I am absolutely dying for it to be spring.

daffodils in the old church yard not quite blooming yet but well on their way toward flowers.

 My beautiful grandson found himself a mud/snow puddle at the bottom of the slide! What little boy could resist such a joyful promise of spring to come! Wednesdays around the world 

t Grandchildren are the crown of the aged ~ and parents are the pride of their children. Verne is learning to say my name!! Oh my heart! I suppose if I was Nana he would have said it already but I chose to be Hopi and so he says "Ho-hu" Which just about melts every little part of me into a puddle at his sweet little feet. Speaking of puddles.. We went to the playground and Verne found himself a mud puddle to splash around in.  He loved going down the slides and climbing up and down the stairs. ...Christopher Robin woke up the next day the sneezles had vanished away and the look in his eye seemed to say to the sky now how to amuse them today... Inspire me Monday

t Do not live in fear little flock. It has pleased your father to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32

I have been reading a wonderful book called The Mindful Catholic by Dr. Gregory Bottaro. It would be a good book for any Christian believer to read. It doesn't apply strictly to Catholics. There are mindfulness exercises at the end of each chapter and I have been practicing those weekly. It talks about clearing our thoughts to make more room for God to be present in them.  Here in New England we had a winter that was much like spring and we are  having a spring that is much like winter. We've had winter storm after winter storm. This past one though, turned out to be rain and what a relief. It actually melted some of the snow that was on the ground from the last storm! My daughter sent me a sweet picture of a St. Patrick's day card that I had mailed last week and some beautiful yellow daffodils she picked up at the market.  They looked so pretty next to each other. She's been texting me a lot this week. It makes