Dirty Dolly Design

6. We always felt really comfortable

2011-12-06T19:29:00.001+11:00

Often she told us,

“A happy home is not a showpiece,

it’s a celebration

of where you have journeyed

and of

those who have journeyed

with you.”

She must have believed it

because we always felt

really comfortable coming home.

Even with eyes wide open love can be blind!

2011-11-11T22:55:00.001+11:00

You can fall in love when you lease expect it!

Just another thing to be grateful about.

2011-11-11T16:22:00.003+11:00

One Year on... still in love, more grateful!

Happy Birthday Baxter, our dashing smooocher! A lover not a fighter!

... the most valuable times.

2010-10-28T17:11:00.000+11:00

I love nights like this, when we just hang out till midnight creeps up to surprise us.

No matter how old I get I'll always remember just sitting with you,

listening to all your stories, laughing and losing track of the hours.

One day we'll be proud of ourselves for using our time so wisely.

The truth

2010-10-08T09:56:00.001+11:00

The moment you completely accept the truth,
no matter what it is,

all the bull fades to irrelevance.

And ain't that a load off!

Thank you girls......

2010-09-02T02:00:00.013+10:00

For Sally with love

2010-08-24T13:48:00.000+10:00

It is so fitting that Spring is knocking at our hearts, look at all those beautiful buds out there.... busting to burst.... new life, new starts, new hope and another chance to love life and each other all over again and again and again.

Get it over and done with!

2010-08-18T07:58:00.001+10:00

She was always living on the brink of a catastrophe.

Sometimes we found ourselves wishing one would happen,

just so it would be over and done with

and we could all start enjoying ourselves again.

Keep calm and carry on

2010-08-17T09:42:00.000+10:00

These days her heart aches pretty much all the time.

She carries on by shifting her focus away from the empty spaces.

It really works for a moment.

So she'll get through today one moment at a time.......

Now I'm waiting for Spring

2010-06-26T08:05:00.002+10:00

"I really, truly do want to start living", he said,

"but it's just so hard while I'm waiting
for that frozen still feeling to pass".

...waiting for winter

2010-06-19T13:22:00.009+10:00

The dreariest thoughts weighed me down while I was waiting for winter.

But then she saw them....

She always finds something simply extraordinary to buoy our spirits even on the bleakest days.

....and that's how I learned ...

it's hard to whinge with a smile on your face.

...a world full of individuals....

2010-06-19T08:43:00.002+10:00

I complained to her that I had taken a hard blow that day.

And all she said was: "The resilience of the human spirit never ceases to amaze me."

I know she considered this a good thing
but I just couldn't help thinking about all those
billions and billions of human spirits out there,
and about how they just kept on keeping on, in spite of all their blows.
The more I thought about a world full of individuals,
each with their very own individual hardships,
the better my life looked.

Perhaps a little birdie tells her.

2010-06-13T14:28:00.005+10:00

How is it she always seems to know?

She knows just what to say, and when to say nothing.

She knows when to hold you tight

and when to let you fly.

Perhaps a little birdie tells her.

Suddenly I'll Seem to Know a Lot More Then.

2010-06-13T14:20:00.007+10:00

Right now they don't listen to anything I have to offer.

I don't mind because I know that I won't know much at all

till they are much older and have made a few of their own mistakes.

Suddenly I'll seem to know a lot more them.

53. clogging up the paperwork....

2010-05-18T08:03:00.000+10:00

I remember him saying,

"It's better to give a little of what you have now,

rather than promise a lot of what you may not have later.

IOU's clog up the paper work and clutter the mind."

... no need to let that go too.

2010-03-08T13:12:00.014+11:00

I sat quietly with the old woman today

while she told her stories of love and loss.

She told me of war, of how it had claimed her first born son.

It had been a long, long time since she cradled him,

crooned and cuddled him.

She could fix anything then,

every tear, every pain, every fear dissolved with her very presence.

As she inhaled deeply she spoke of the warm scent of her new born boy;

his softness, his need, his love.

I could see in her misty eye that she still felt where his warmth had been so very long ago.

She told me she can still feel that first flutter in her belly and hiccup at her breast.

It's a private bliss, hers to recall forever.

She'll keep that fragment, there's no need to let that go too.

... love life all over again ... anyway.

2010-03-08T12:11:00.016+11:00

Some memories are cold and hard and sharp,
and no amount of sunny thoughts can erase the chill completely.

And that's just the way it is.

So you have to get out there and love life all over again ... anyway.

... easier to love.

2009-10-24T12:22:00.012+11:00

She saw the best in us, all of us, no matter what!

So naturally she brought out the best in us.

I guess that made us easier to love.

...the way to happiness.

2009-10-09T11:39:00.008+11:00

She knows the way to happiness.

She has it all mapped out.

But right now she's just way too busy

fussing with the details of every one elses lives.

So she can't seem to find time to follow her map.

Private magic ....

2009-10-06T12:23:00.013+11:00

When she is sure no one is watching,

she'll stand slowly in her long, straight way.

Poised on tippy toes she'll unfurl her gossamer wings.

It's a sight to see their full span stretch and flutter.

With effortless poise she leaps into the air.

And off she soars! Gliding gracefully on a breeze.

Singing her happy song.

The sight of her will steal my breath away, time and time again.

She has a lot of private magic like that!

Who can resist beautiful David Delamare fairy images.

http://www.daviddelamare.com/

If you had magic for just one day ...

2009-10-03T09:44:00.015+10:00

If you had magic for just one day,

and you could magic away all the things in your life

that did not bring you a scrap of joy.

What are the things that you would be left with?

No one is watching ....

2009-10-02T11:48:00.011+10:00

They're watching.

They're listening.

You've been hurt before and you will be again.

Now dance, sing and love anyway!

... one of your good days?

2009-09-30T10:40:00.008+10:00

Don't you just love it when you have

one of your good days and you are grinning and skipping - full of beans?

Have you ever noticed that those are the days

when nothing but ordinary stuff happens?

It's just seems that with a heart wide open

every thing seems lighter and brighter

and whole lot less serious.

Letting the Muddy Waters Settle ...

2009-09-30T09:54:00.013+10:00

"Sit back and find the discipline not to react;
let the muddy waters settle till the appropriate action becomes clear?"

She always appeared so graceful with her emotions and with mine,

so she must have practised this technique time and time again.

Catch a moment .....

2009-08-25T11:48:00.010+10:00

Sometimes, for a split second,

the world stops whirring and whirling,

and you get a chance to just catch a moment

and privately savour it a second longer

before someone presses the fast forward button again.

Our bright star...

2009-07-22T16:53:00.004+10:00

When they'd ask me if it was cold in her shadow,

I'd tell them that I knew there was a shadow

but we were always kept playing on the sunny side.

Keep your eye on the shiny bits.

2009-07-11T13:20:00.011+10:00

I told her I liked him because he was

a "what you see is what you get" kind of guy.

And she said, " Everybody has shiny bits and murky shadows

that you can't see from the outside.

And, you usually see what you look for, at first.

But eventually it all gets a turn to bubble up to the surface

and you can't help but glimpse it then."

So I decided, right then and there,

that if I was going to live happily every after,

I had better keep my eye on the shiny bits.

Her kind little message.

2009-07-02T04:36:00.006+10:00

She just knew which kind little message to give each and everyone,

so they could tuck it into their heart pocket and keep it safe there, forever and ever.

I take mine out on cold days when I get lonely.

It's a bit tattered these days but it still makes me feel warm and special.

...life's journey.

2009-06-21T13:40:00.015+10:00

"I have not lost my passion for life's journey!" she exclaimed fearlessly.

"But now, without a sense of urgency," she went on,
"I get a new perspective with every step I take".

She may have grinned with her tongue in her cheek when she told me;
" Sometimes the texture and beauty along the way will
take my breath away and I'll miss my footing on the stepping stones."

.... all this time I thought it was arthritis and sherry that took her balance.

Discover a new perspective on your own life journey. From my book
Your Shelter and the Soul Within
http://www.annieedelman.com.au

Today's post was inspired by http://danceofapaintedlady.blogspot.com/

June 19. Stepping Stones.

... nothing left to say.

2009-06-18T11:18:00.009+10:00

Some times at an ending,

there's just a great big space,

and it's not sad,

it's just that there's nothing left to say.

Don't tell the grown ups .....

2009-06-15T22:12:00.005+10:00

It's days like this when my head is a whirl with pirates and pearls

and golden treasure with milky chocolate inside,

and my heart is dancing to songs of dandelions on a breeze.....

yes it's days like this when it is really really hard to get on with the serious stuff.
Don't tell the grown ups but these are my favourite days.

Room for some new good stuff...

2009-06-10T10:32:00.005+10:00

It’s pretty sad to know

that it is all the bad stuff that holds us together.
Sometimes I wonder if we let some of it go

there might be room for some new good stuff.

I was always a sure bet ...

2009-06-08T11:42:00.010+10:00

For a someone who didn't have much use for material things,

she certainly gave up a lot for a little security.

I'm sure she confused security with love

and I'm not sure if she ever did work out the difference.

If she did manage to figure it out, it was a lifetime too late for us.

...security can trap you in a place that love can't get to
but love will set you free,

I loved her,

but that just set her free from me.

...she was dearly loved by so many
but the love of many can't touch you till you can be touched by the love of yourself.

I know she loved me ... just not enough to gamble with ....
shame, I was always a sure bet!

Demons from the past ....

2009-06-06T18:02:00.002+10:00

We all have demons from the the past.

The trick is not to let their musty fumes hijack you

from the moment you could be enjoying right now.

Her mother should have warned her about days like that ...

2009-05-08T10:18:00.002+10:00

My mum would get very annoyed when she had one of her bad days.

She'd run late and get all flustered and put her g-string on side ways.

She said her mother should have warned her about days like that,

but I guess Grand Ma only ever wore sensible bloomers.

Burst bubble syndrome ...

2009-04-04T20:06:00.002+11:00

"Why do I get so nervous when everything in life is so perfect." She asked.

"You've just got burst bubble syndrome." I told her,

"Its the thing that keeps us from taking all the good stuff for granted."

Keep enjoying the magic .....

2009-03-30T22:14:00.003+11:00

I was really self disciplined when I was younger.Whenever my galloping heart was light and giddy with a carosel of shiny distractions I'd focus hard, be all serious, and do the grown up stuff anyway.

Now that I'm older I know it's better to keep enjoying the magic and save some for later because there will be days when you forget where you put your pixie dust.

36. We don't need to search for something we already have...

2009-03-29T10:23:00.003+11:00

She warned me,
“Don’t be swept up by the feeling that we have to keep on pushing

and rushing and working and toiling really, really, really hard to be successful and happy.”

She told me, “Happiness is simple and it is always there.

We don’t need to search for something that we already have,

we just need to notice and enjoy."

Through all the changes in life, the things that bring me comfort and joy remain pretty much the same, maybe it's time I climbed up into the attic and dusted of some of those simple pleasures.

35. All the amour I'll ever need...

2009-03-24T18:03:00.002+11:00

Self respect sometimes came at a price

but it was one of the few things worth fighting for.

That was what he told me.

He also said to wear my self respect always

because it would be all the amour I would ever need.

But he never got round to telling me where to get it.

When I'm a Grandma ....

2009-03-21T06:04:00.002+11:00

When I'm a Grandma there'll be special times when I'll sit with the children under the moon light and I'll tell them stories. Tales of pirates and princesses.

They'll know that Daddy was a hero and we never quite figured out how he came to be so clever but we think it's because of his old soul that's been around learning stuff before he was even born.

And Mummy was an exotic soldier who's ancestors once ruled the world. They'll be proud to know of her secret shiny sword with the power to slay the meanest dragon of all.

I'll tell them about the magic fairy that lives in their Aunty's ear and shows her how to look deep into the hearts of people and understand the stuff she sees there.

I'll tell them our stories of love and broken hearts, of power and success, of our journeys and celebrations.

When we go inside to make cupcakes and blow bubbles we'll all feel deep in our hearts that we are part of something big and sound and special.

33. Just like you always did ...

2009-03-20T07:31:00.008+11:00

It's really hard to believe all the stuff people say when a special person dies, like them never really being gone and they'll always be with you ... blah blah blah.

Then I catch myself chating to you, and you are solving my problems, making me feel like I came up with the answers all by myself, just like you always did.

32. A broken heart keeps on beating...

2009-03-15T10:41:00.008+11:00

I know how much a broken heart hurts while it just keeps on beating.

Even now the scar feels so cruel.

But I’ve heard that light passes most easily through shattered things,

so I guess that’s why a broken heart can leave us just that little bit more enlightened.

Maybe that's why we feel compelled to shield the hearts of our babies

but if we lock them away how will their love ever shine through again?

31. It's just not your turn....

2009-03-15T10:20:00.005+11:00

When I told her about my longings. She explained,
“It’s just not your turn at the moment, one day your turn will come.”

And suddenly my sadness was gone and my yearning was eased. That‘s when I knew that I must throw myself into loving my life, right now, as it is today, because when my turn did come along I wanted to be ready. I even felt happy for all the others to have their turn.

30. The stuff heros do...

2009-03-15T10:06:00.006+11:00

I understand that the stuff heros do is tough and everything.
But mostly it’s the everyday things

that take the most courage.
Going into the world day after day
forgiving and loving all over again and again and again.

29. life was so beautiful...

2008-05-24T18:29:00.008+10:00

She cried almost everyday.
Sure on some days there was sadness,
but mostly there were happy tears.
Because life was so beautiful
and she was so lucky.

28. Freedom

2008-05-24T18:23:00.006+10:00

Few of us are free to do whatever we like.

Our freedom comes when we like whatever we do.

27. The sound of her giggle ...

2008-05-24T18:16:00.007+10:00

"There are many sweet memories that return to me with the sound of her giggle.

I'm grateful for magic like that. "

26. ...the meaning of life ...

2008-05-24T18:07:00.011+10:00

Have you ever done something that made no money and made no sense but felt just right? Could that be the meaning of life that everyone is talking about?

25. She was always told to act her age...

2008-05-24T17:00:00.009+10:00

She was always told to act her age.
Which she usually did, but not for long because she would bore herself silly. So she would reinvent herself. Then she became my new friend who I already knew quite well.

24. The forest and the trees ....

2008-01-23T20:49:00.004+11:00

She was just one of those people

who could see the forest and the trees

all at the same time.
But then everything about her

was just a little bit magic.

23. Holding a memory for a moment

2008-01-23T20:41:00.005+11:00

Sometimes I experience fragments

of childhood recollections

like pieces of a picture,

or smell or sound that I can’t quite hold.

But if I could catch a few

and hold them together for a moment

I know it would be delicious.

22. Nothing is as dreadful as it seems.

2008-01-23T20:19:00.012+11:00

Dear old Dad always said,
“Nothing is as dreadful as it seems.”
But he went to live in heaven
before things got really messed up down here.

21. And she set herself free ...

2008-01-23T20:19:00.011+11:00

She realized that we all
deserve to travel our journey
of change and evolution without
interference or judgment.
And she set herself
free.

20. What She Wished For

2007-10-20T10:14:00.003+10:00

Her wings were weary from the search,

but her heart was glad to discover

that what she wished for could be found

right there in her own nest.

19. There's no disgrace in going back.

2007-10-16T07:59:00.002+10:00

“There’s no disgrace in going back”, she told me.

“Often we journey and return to discover

what we truly need is right there at home.”

There’s no place like it, I thought.

18. Empowering them for their journey

2007-09-28T17:32:00.002+10:00

She knew that letting them go would empower them
to take responsibility for the journey
that their choices would lead them.
But she couldn’t help but wonder where that might be.

17. ...her view of the world tickled me.

2007-09-20T14:20:00.002+10:00

She had a way of seeing all the everyday things with fresh delight.
Her view of the world tickled me.
It was contagious and I wanted to be
set adrift with her forever.

16. .... it doesn't matter what you believe

2007-09-20T14:13:00.002+10:00

Her wide eyes were full of life and passion,

and they held his attention for a moment,

so she told him,
“It doesn’t matter what you believe,

just that you believe.”

15. .. take your breath away.

2007-08-24T07:22:00.004+10:00

She bend down and whispered,

“You know you are living in the present moment

when the little things take your breath away,”

and she squeezed my hand.

14. ... he created her fairy tale kingdom

2007-08-21T16:56:00.002+10:00

She was a princess and he had created her fairy tale kingdom. She cried for a long long time after she learned that this is just not the way it is in the really truly grown up world. But then she remembered that the jewels may have been plastic but the love was authentic.

13. Perfection just wasn't so important

2007-08-12T11:17:00.003+10:00

On the day she was finally rescued from her tower,

the princess was disappointed to notice that

her knight in shining amour

was showing signs of tarnish.

She considered replacing

him but she had waited oh so long,

she thought about scrubbing and polishing him,

but maybe perfection just wasn’t so important after all.

12. And it was love ......

2007-08-05T10:08:00.002+10:00

She saw him clearly, without denial,
and she accepted him completely just as he was.
And it was love.

11. ... change itself is constant and reliable

2007-07-27T10:01:00.002+10:00

It seemed that you just couldn’t rely on anything.

Everything was always changing.
Her childhood had seemingly evaporated

and her memories were fragile shadows

changing with the morning light.

Then it occurred to her,

"Change itself is very constant and reliable."

10. ....chance to start anew.

2007-07-20T09:48:00.003+10:00

Once upon a time the sun rose over the earth

and spilled a bright new day into the sky.

That was the moment she realized this was

her chance to start anew.

9. "How come life washes up ....

2007-07-13T20:38:00.002+10:00

“How come life washes up all kinds

of lovely surprises for some people.”

he asked her.
“Oh they are the people who are present enough to notice.”

she answered.

8. Once I ached to be...

2007-07-13T20:13:00.003+10:00

“Once I ached to be OK in your eyes”,
she confessed, “Now it’s OK I’m not.”

7. If I don't catch you ...

2007-07-13T19:41:00.003+10:00

"If I don't catch you when you fall,"

she whispered into the wind,

"It's because I believe you can fly."

5. The more you focus on a matter

2007-07-08T13:11:00.002+10:00

“The more you focus on a matter,

the more it matters to you.”

And he took my hand and led me

toward the things that did matter.

4. It's what i see that matters

2007-07-08T12:58:00.002+10:00

“What I am looking at is not important,
it’s what I see that matters”, she thought.

It was then she realized

that she saw all kinds of things

that most people missed.

3. ..and she was the richest little girl

2007-07-08T12:30:00.003+10:00

He held her tiny hand close to his heart,

and he told her,

“All the riches of universe are worthless,

love is our only treasure.”

And she was richest little girl in the land.

2. "What is left of my dream....

2007-07-08T12:20:00.004+10:00

“What is left of my dream could fit in a matchbox,”

she didn’t mean to complain to him

but the words had escaped

from a crack in her broken heart.
“Sounds like a cozy little future after all,”
he said with a wink and a grin.

1. "Shh", she hushed

2007-07-08T11:04:00.003+10:00

“Shhh”, she hushed, “Listen”.
That’s when I heard it. The answer.
It came right from my very own heart.