spring is bursting out all over!

at my favorite connecticut farm....ashlawn farm in old lyme....so much beauty....understated and lovely everywhere i turn!  it's always fun to stop in for my coffee...it's got that general store type of atmosphere!

it's always got people stopping in for coffee and a quick chat...sometimes folks sit and stay awhile share stories and a cup o joe....or java....or coffee...or cafe'....latte'....iced coffee...

the coffees are from around the world, roasted right here in connecticut!  it's the only coffee roaster from mystic to guilford, quite a bit of the shoreline!

just fun!  i look forward to stopping in! 

this farm has been owned by the same family for 100 plus years.  the family today do the roasting to update the way a connecticut farm can survive! 

they're a young family working...taking time to stop and say hello....jumping, stomping, singing, talking and galloping through the coffee bar from time to time is their little boy who we've all watched grow up there!  when they're not at school, we see his older brother and sister.....stopping in for milk or a smoothie....and talking to the locals...and passers through.

it's got a certain magic at the farm....there's a wonderful peacefulness....with all of the animals and barns and acres and acres of sprawling land.... always with friendly faces and welcome smiles.

where in the world do you know like this?  go there!  today! find your place...where people stop and say hello....get to know someone new...at the grocery store....the newspaper store....the kids' school....

below is tiffany farm, also in old lyme!  i love to see if the cows are lying down...i know it's going to rain....that's wht my mom said...so i know it must be true....she was an old school yankee, far from a farmer, but she must have read the farmer's almanac!  she also told me that when you can see the back of the leaves on the trees, it will rain.  massachusetts born and bread, my mom loved the beach....i think that's why she had such an interest in the weather!  she always said,"every day at the beach is a good day!" 

that's so true!  for me, the beach and the ocean is where i go for peace and strength and energy and warmth...even on the coldest day, the sun can warm me like nowhere else!  there's no other place that gives me the spiritual boost and grateful spirit!  where do you go for that kind of joy and peace....alone or with someone you love...

where is your place?

find it!  go there!  breathe the air!  really be there!  listen. be quiet. take time....just for you. be alone. don't get twitchy in the aloneness....enjoy it moment by moment!  look. pray. be thoughtful. take a moment to really listen.

clara, our wonderful family maid, more of a loving family member....really loving and good to her core....used to tell me to listen to the plants drink up the water.  listen.  as you water your plants, shhhhh! quiet.  listen to the marvel of nature.  

be somewhere....and really be there.  go somewhere and really think about where you're going....not about what you'll be doing when you get there.....just enjoy the trip!  look at the flowers.  look at all of the new babies in the world!  they are everywhere....tis the season for new moms to be out with their new babies.  say hello to a new mom.  encourage her. look at the gift of new life....look at the miracle of life.  if you have your own living miracles, be thankful....tell your living miracles, big or small, that you

LOVE THEM LIKE CRAZY!

 wave to a baby in the grocery store. call someone you love....ask them how they are....really how they are.  not what they do, not what they accomplished today, not how much they travel, no the itinerary.....just ask how the friend or family is.  maybe they'll tell you that they're busy!  maybe they'll tell you they have no time.....but, ask them...how they really are.  for real.  the work, the travel, the party, the traffic is not real. be real.  now. with everyone you see. 

 little by little, your day will change. you'll listen....so you will actually hear people. you may make them smile.  maybe even laugh.

 look at this...tell someone like me that my lipstick looks like an old lady, it's smeared up above my lip!! tell some one they have toilet paper on their shoe....or maybe not!

start by smiling....just for fun.  see who smiles back.  it's amazing. it's contagious!  say hello to someone older...a little older or a lot, a lot older. offer a hand. not a big deal to you.  just a little help.  maybe to a neighbor.

let someone "cut" the line in front of you at the grocery store. people are amazingly grateful....such a teeny amount of kindness.  

talk to your check out lady.  if you're buying hershey kisses, open the bag....offer one.  i always offer....mostly, they are thrilled and embarrassed....and then they say,"YES, I'D LOVE ONE!" give them more...for later!  just think...how much you can change someone's day!

little things. miniscule things. call the check out person by name....it makes them smile!

one little bit at a time! it's really fun.  take some of that time today....just for you...to be....thoughtful....alone....quiet.  maybe you won't even tell anyone you did that good deed...it will be your little secret!  bake cookies and mail them.  put cut flowers at your neighbors' front door!

   leave candy or lollipops for your mail carrier! 

 buy yourself some bubbles! yes....bubbles. blow bubbles!

laugh.  alone.  just feel the fun. 

 listen. hear. give. sing. jump. dance. laugh. breathe. dream. write. call someone and share some joy!

 if all of this seems uncomfortable and crazy and kooky, all the more reason for you to go out. run, don't walk.  we all need to lighten up. enjoy the world around us....one little bit at a time....start today. wait. really. start NOW. we get one life....LIVE IT YOUR BEST!

SPRING IS BURSTING OUT ALL OVER!

SHARE SOME JOY!

XOXOXO