Category: Spring

simply a moment | 6.15. 25 …

Published on by Honoré4 Comments

2:10 PM…I’ve enjoyed a very leisurely morning, punctuated by listening at least 5+ hours to my favorite Sunday Morning WSHU Baroque Music program, all the while, sitting at the table, staring out the windows at greenery that surrounds; trees; grasses; bushes; some roof tops on this grey almost first day of Summer ~ 20 June 2025 ~ just 5 days away.

I can’t stop asking, wondering : Where/When did the Spring season go? Will summer pass by as quickly? And what is the long-range forecast? This Spring, the bushes in front of my house have been selected to house the nest of three mockingbird bird eggs. I’m sure you wonder: “How do you know?”

Well, dear reader, t’is simple, sort of : about three weeks ago, I noticed that there were always several birds that managed to be perching on the bannisters on either side of the steps to the front door … whenever I opened the door to step out, “feel the temp”, pick up a package or check the mailbox. Almost simultaneously, birds, 4-5 – all the same species, would appear and land on the bannisters on either side of the steps leading up to the front door, land on the electric wires that ran to/from the house or perch on tree limbs in the front. Those birds were menacing, noisy, swooping and swarming, doing everything towards keeping me inside or from going outside. Yesterday – Saturday- as I was talking to my lawn service provider – I’m still inside the house and talking through the screen; he’s standing on the same level as the bushes in front; and there are two + birds, perched on tree limbs and electric wires ~ watching. He listens and pulls back the foliage of the bush closest to the steps.

Lo and Behold : There is a nest with THREE sizeable eggs! AHA! The mystery is solved. He lets the bushes go back to their normal state and I shake my head in awe and appreciation: A raison d’être ~ a reason for being.

The birds are still present, ever watchful and waiting whenever someone leaves or comes to the house or a package or mail delivered. My Internet searching suggests that it’s time for the mockingbirds ~ or so they appear ~ to hatch and get on with their timetable. That’s still to be determined.

In the meantime, for the most part I leave and enter the house via the back door! T’is easier for all parties involved!

On the Agenda ~ 2 April 2025

Published on by Honoré4 Comments

2:40 PM ~ ESDST: At the moment, I’m in a “quiet co-working” zoom session ~ we, currently 5, including me, are “memory keepers” or scrapbookers. Occasionally, one of us interrupts the silence to ask a question or share a project. At 1 PM-ish, two hours ago, I started the session planning to write this post. Two hours later, I finally sat down to do so. In a few minutes, we’ll all leave and move on to the other items on our individual agendas. For me, that means “time to take a walk and commune with Mother Nature.

Despite the dismal, cloudy and grey backdrop of the sky, Mother Nature’s bounty accompanies me on my walk, providing more opportunites to capture, with my iPhone camera, newly budding or blooming flowers, interesting cloud formations, and trees, that yesterday were colorful and flowering and today, are breaking forth with leaves in various shades of green.

I am trying to focus my energies on nature journaling, especially appealing this time of year. Mother Nature’s bounty and glory are at their peak . My daily walks to and through the neighborhood – and park, three blocks away, – put me smack dab in the middle of Spring.

AHHH!

Simply a Moment | 4.15.24 …

Published on by Honoré7 Comments

Monday! Monday! Mondays! are generally fairly well filled with household chores: laundry; trash out for Tuesday’s collection; planning the week’s agenda…

Today’s list also included going to the post office to mail state income tax return and walking Hazel – or rather I should say, being walked by Hazel – to/thru the park. The weather was delightful: sunshine , warm but not too hot; and the park was filled with children, caregivers – all enjoying this delightful Spring Day – not only a Monday and TAX filing day.

One neighbor delivered a bag of apples and cheeses; another – who likes to bake – a little box filled with very tasty mini-cakes. I made a long overdue list of this week’s “to do”agenda; one item included making an appointment on Friday for a mani/pedi. It’s been way too long for this treat.

We’ve had a delightful Spring day – not too hot and I’m feeling that I “done good.”

Plus, I had 4 Zoom sessions. One’s coming up in a few minutes so I guess I’ll review this post one last time and hit PUBLISH!

Cheers~

Color Makes Me Happy

Published on by Honoré8 Comments

Spring in Washington DC has arrived! Several years ago, my word was “color.” In all its glory, my daily walks -even on those days when it was a tad, ( a lot ) chilly – have been a sheer visual delight. Spring and Autumn in the nation’s capital are generally beautifully colorful. Come, join me on a quick tour .

Yesterday, Friday, was rainy and cool… t’was still the best for the work Mother Nature does to provide daily colorful journeys and happy Spring memories.

Happy Spring!

one little word | 3.28.23 …

Published on by Honoré7 Comments

3.26, was Friendstitch Sunday … the six of us always, always look forward to these monthly gatherings, now in the 9th year. This past Sunday, we met at Michelle’s and were greeted with gorgeous spring flowers: daffodils and amaryllis. For Christmas 2019, I gave Michelle (and the others, each) a bulb… Michelle has the magic green thumb. We were delighted to see the amaryllis in full bloom. In addition to being treated to a spectacularly colorful array of flowers, we had an absolutely delicious meal. Yum! The memory of Sunday makes me happier…

My walks, most days, weather permitting, I am greeted by the constant display of signs of Spring: magnolia and cherry blossoms, daffodils, maple trees and forsythia bushes. Delightful.

For the past year, I’ve focused on s-l-o-w-l-y retelling my AmaZe – about me, A-Z – life story that I hope to publish as a memoir style photo album/book. My goal is to have completed this project close to June 1, 2023…If I meet this self imposed deadline, I’m confident I’ll be happier!

The star is a needlepoint I found as I’ve been weeding my stash of projects – a project long overdue but also one that has very tangible results. And this too, makes me happier.

You know, happier is a good place to be! What’s making you happier these days?

Cheers~

simply a moment | 4.15.22 …

Published on by Honoré8 Comments

IMG_4972

 

Spring! This day, Friday and Good Friday at that, has lived up to its name and thanks to Mother Nature’s benevolence, has been exquisite. Astronomical Spring arrived March 21, not quite a month ago.  Since, Mother Nature has treated us with all the perks and joys of SPRING (including itchy eyes … not a complaint, just a statement of fact).  Today has been no exception.  I took the above photo of the Spring  Full Pink Moon last night – not quite full…tomorrow.

I began the day as I have for nearly three decades – that fact astonishes even me – writing in various paper journals and the DayONE app on my iPad.  The former I do out of habit and for the sensory experience: feeling the pen as it glides over the paper; making and forming letters in both cursive and printed fonts; inserting a doodle or punctuation symbol or even a spot of color from a drawing pencil or a bit of washi tape. The writing is as natural as breathing and the words flow, often times surprising me when a phrase or just the right word pops in my mind and appears on the page. With handwriting, I don’t have to worry about if I do this will/does that happen? I just know for I’ve had many decades of experience.

Writing on my iPad is a different ball game. For starters, as I’ve shared before, I don’t do QWERTY (type) tho’ I must admit the more I use the keyboard, the more I am doing QWERTY …but ne’er enough for it to become my method of choice.  I either use DayONE  or the Word Press app for the inherent ability to save, move paragraphs around, add photos, take a word count, assign categories, play with fonts and insert links, etc. For example, at this point in this post, I’d typed 350+ words and 1515 characters, give or take, twice. Why twice one might wonder? Simply because for some reason, Word Press on my iPad isn’t saving! Wonderful! So, I moved to my Mac and retyped the 350+ words and more than 1500 characters… and remember, I don’t do QWERTY….

So, the sun is setting on what has been a  day filled with many gorgeous Spring moments.

IMG_4982

I leave you with this photo of #blueskyblooms taken on my morning walk.  Enjoy and have a beautiful weekend.

Cheers~

borrowing …

Published on by Honoré10 Comments

IMG_4898

I first read Gretchen Rubin’s  Happiness Project book, published in 2009.  I’ve read all her Happiness Project books and listen to  her and sister Liz’ weekly podcast  Happier with Gretchen Rubin and now More Happier, which airs twice a month…and I’ve been to see Gretchen and Liz both times when they came to Washington DC.  Am I a fan? Yeah, I think one could safely say so.

Gretchen also has a blog which she religiously keeps up to date.  Today, I’m borrowing her “5 things Making Me Happy” prompt to share here on Morning Glory Studio.blog.

IMG_4907

  1. Spring has arrived! The colors of the flowers are just delightfully uplifting – seeing them – especially the yellow tulips – adds bounce to my step on my nearly (weather permitting)  daily walks …
  2. These days, I have been focusing on my AmaZe project, compiling, writing, editing stories of my life. Over the years, I’ve shared  these stories both current and past on my blog/s.  My aim is to end 2022 with a finished product/project. What that looks like is still a mystery… but I’m enjoying the ride …
  3.  I’m feeling  the urge to pick up needles – for all sorts of stitching projects – again. One of the side effects I experienced during Covid* was a loss of the desire to spend significant time in my sewing studio…slowly, that desire is changing to positive territory. New to my list to try: cross stitch.  I have several patterns/kits and eventually, I’ll get roun’ to it.
  4.  Clearing the garage of stuff that is labeled for the dump or recycling, such as electronics, medications, etc. is another major category on my list:   Just the idea of completing this task makes me happy!
  5. Engaging in more creative art journaling play… watercoloring; acryllic stamping; drawing the sky and clouds.  – Oh the clouds – today they’ve been a study and I’d like to be able to capture them in other ways beyond photgraphy.

What’s making you happier these days?

Cheers~

P. S. One other thing that has made me happy: I got my second Covid booster shot yesterday!

simply a moment | 4.15.21 …

Published on by Honoré11 Comments

7:20 am

Morning. Quiet. Silence! Save for the always-on sounds of house creaks, static electricity, and a motor…from where? Ah, the refrigerator. Stopped. The furnace kicks on…it’s that cool?, I think out loud. A quick check of the temperature shows it’s 54 degrees F…

Time to replenish my tea, read a bit and figure out what’s on today’s agenda. Pleased that I’ve made more progress with bashing the stash in my craft room since last week Thursday. I now know what’s here and where. My goal is to move out the excess by May 1 — hoping I can locate places that will accept donations.

4:15 pm

I just returned from a brisk walk on a very windy but lovely spring day…flowers are blossoming everywhere and I see that my azalea bush – which has its own bloomin’ schedule – is putting forth blooms. My neighbor’s irises are plentiful and beautiful.

I realized today that I’d not written a simply a moment post in quite some months…understandable, since my days over this past year have truly been upside down. Today was a good one to resurrect the practice …and to share the lovely, colorful flowers I saw on my walk.