Chasing the Blues {and a Giveaway!}

I used to treasure the 

 conversations that I

had with my Gigi.

Like many grandmas,

she was an excellent listener,

cheerleader of my life's

activities and best of

all, she loved to laugh.

I miss that.

Despite some significant

losses in her lifetime, Gigi

was always able to focus

on the positive things 

that made up her days.

I remarked on this one

time and she explained:

Some mornings, when

I wake up alone in

my little bed and I 

think of all the people

that I loved, who are

no longer here, I make

a list of all the good

things that I do have....

My family

My friends

My church

My health
My apartment

My garden

My car 

And then I usually

feel much better.  

But, if I am particularly

blue, I know it is best

that I not be alone.

So I get dressed and

head to the shopping

mall.  The lights, the

pretty merchandise and

being around other people

always helps to get me

out of my funk.

Most times, she 

never bought 

a thing.

But if she did, it was

likely to be one of her

favorite items, next to

clothes:  accessories.

No one could wear

them like Gigi!

And even now, as she

sails away from us with

Dementia at age 94, she

is still accessorizing ~

her true essence shining

through.

How I miss you.

Which brings me to my

giveaway, from an

amazing on-line company,

NOVICA.com.  
{Very few things fill me
with as much joy as
gift-giving, especially
when it benefits others!}

NOVICA is one of the leading

fair trade artisan websites,

working with the National

Geographic Society to give

talented artisans around the

globe a place to express

their talents and access

to the world marketplace.

Sacred Blue Lotus

NOVICA also makes 0% interest,

micro-credit loans to artisans, which

not only helps them to succeed,

but also supports the preservation

of ancient craft techniques for

future generations.

The Jimenez Family, from Central America,
makes jade and sterling jewelry.

In addition to their fair-trade

corporate gifts and home decor

items, NOVICA also sells amazing

 accessories

such as.... 

Alpaca wool gloves

Silk shawls from India

Pendant bracelets

Onyx dangle earrings

Beaded bracelets

Men's silver cufflinks from India

....just to name a few of their

beautiful, unique and very

reasonably-priced offerings.


Accessories made from
the heart.

I know Gigi would approve : )

Azure Bliss....Even the names are lovely.

To win one of two $50 gift

certificates for NOVICA.com,
simply leave me a comment
about one of your own
favorite accessories, or
what you do to chase
away the blues.


To learn more about
NOVICA, click here.

The giveaway will run 
through midnight on
Thursday, May 3rd


Maybe the best any of us
can do is not quit, play
the hand we've been dealt,
 and accessorize what 
we've got.


~ Sex and the City

xx

Suzanne

So close and yet....

Hi sweet friends!

Just a quick note to say

thank you for all of

the wonderful comments,

e-mails, texts and phone

calls that I received for

my {big}birthday.

I was truly 
touched 

beyond

measure.

I am noticing as I

attempt to respond to

these wonderful b-day

 comments, that many

of you have not enabled

your e-mail setting 

on Blogger.

Which means there is

no way for me to 

answer you.

I wrote about this very

subject, last year, but

I think it is worth 

an update.

This time, I'm going

to keep these directions at
 the top of my blog page,
under Communicate.

{If you receive my

posts by e-mail and

send me a note, I am

able to write you back.

Feel free to skip over

the next few paragraphs.}

To enable e-mail:

Log into your

Blogger dashboard.

Click on the arrow next to your

Blogger name {right-had corner.}

Select Blogger profile.

Under Edit User Profile, Privacy,

check Show My E-mail Address.

At the bottom of the page, click

the orange Save Profile button.

This way, your comments

 don't land in my in-box

with the address 

noreply-comment@blogger.com,

which means any reply that I 

send you will float around 

forever in the ether and 

never,

ever

reach you.

{If you aren't 100%

certain, please, please

double check.}

Communication is

so important, isn't it?

The ability to connect

with one another ~

listen

share thoughts

validate

laugh

cry

be heard.

And when only half

of the equation works,

it feels like a vital

connection has been lost.

I am so passionate

about this topic that

I will donate $5 to 

Dogs for the Deaf, a

fantastic charity that

trains service dogs for

those with disabilities, for

each registered Blogger

member who leaves me

a comment that they have

changed their e-mail

settings.

When I reply back,

you will know that 

it's working!

I've had a crazy busy week,

writing thank you notes and

juggling baseball practices,

College Day and many other

activities in addition to 

my normal responsibilities.

I will be back next week

with more thoughts to

share with you, as well

as a lovely giveaway!

Until then, have a 

beautiful,

blessed 

weekend.

What's the point of 

being alive, she said,

if you're not going to

communicate?

~ Kurt Vonnegut

xo

Suzanne

THAT Birthday

Although autumn

is my soul sister in

terms of the seasons, 

I have always had a

special spot in my

heart for the month

of April.

My birthday month.

This particular year is

that birthday ~

The one I've rehearsed

saying in my mind ever

since the calendar turned

on the last one, 

which ended 

in

a 

nine.

And here it is.

Thinking back to the

weeks that preceded

my last milestone

birthday, I remember

questions such as,

Are you ready for this?

Can you believe it?

How does it feel?

Yes.  

Yes.

Great!

Was my response.

How could it not be,

when we had a friend 

struggling with brain 

cancer and a colleague 

of my husband's who

had just died from 

ovarian cancer?

To be honest, I've racked

up my share of wrinkles

in the last decade and my

energy level isn't always

where I'd like it to be. 

But instead of injections

in my face or plastic surgery,

I choose to celebrate the 

fact that I, like the beautiful

month of April, 

am

here.

Here to watch a sunset.

Here to hold my husband's hand.

Here to receive hugs.

Here to laugh.

Here to remember the past.

Here to dream about the future.

Here to celebrate.

As my sweet friend Fiona,

whose mother died at age 46,

wisely confided,

I have a different perspective

on aging.  To me, aging is....

living.

So, bring it on.

How do I feel?

Wonderful.

With mirth and laughter,

let old wrinkles come.

~ William Shakespeare

xx

Suzanne

Living Lightly

With the exception

of the last decade, I

have moved nearly

every three years or

less my entire life.

One big benefit that

came with a nomadic

existence was the necessity

to take a thoughtful look

at my {and then, our} 

possessions and decide 

what really needed to 

move with us and what 

really did not.

When my husband and

I made our first move,

from a tiny one-bedroom

rental apartment into a

bit bigger, first mortgage,

one-bedroom condo, all

of our worldly goods fit

inside a U-haul trailer.

That was the last time

that it only took one trip.

Each subsequent move

was preceded by a process

that we dubbed the Big Zing.

Bulb digger attachment

for the electric drill that

we never used?

Zing!

Five year's worth of

Family Handyman and

Victoria magazines?

Zing!

Basic blah dishes

with chippy edges?

Zing!

Methodically, we'd go

through the inventory

of our lives and determine

 what we really wanted

to pay to have moved.

{Or, if it was a company

move, what we actually

desired to unwrap and

put away on the 

other end.}

Because we haven't moved

in 11 years, we haven't

had the Big Zings like we

used to.

So, things have piled up.

Cupboards and drawers

are full of zing-ables.

Oh, I have my mini-zings

from time to time.  But

without the pressure of a

move and preparing to sell 

our home, it's been easy

to avoid staying on top 

of it all.

I recently read this quote

in a magazine and it had

me hungering for a 

Big Zing.

Keep only what you

use, make peace with

imperfection and help

those in need.

I want to live like that:

lightly.

Because really, beyond

pictures and family 

memorabilia, the rest 

is just stuff.

My aunt and uncle moved

to London last summer for

my uncle's job and were

limited as to how much his

company would pay for

personal belongings to be

sent across the ocean.

They had to be certain that

what they chose to move was

genuinely meaningful

and necessary.

That must be freeing.

In 2012 I have participated

in my friend Lisa's monthly

blogging challenge called

Before and After.  I am going

to combine the April and May

challenges and begin a

Big Zing, going through

drawers

cupboards

closets

basement

garage

and more ~

the Before,

in an attempt to

live

more

lightly. 

The timing couldn't be better,

as our church begins collecting

items for its annual rummage

sale on June first.  It is always

a lot easier to part with a Zing

if I know it is going to be used

and appreciated.

Lest you think that I am

oblivious to how very lucky I

am to have such a problem as

too much stuff, believe me, I

am not.  With every item that

I set aside ~ zing ~ into our

charity bin, I realize what a

privilege it is to have a life

abundant enough to share.

How about you?  Are you a

regular zinger or a periodic one?

Do you enjoy living with a lot

of things, or, like me, do you

hear a voice whispering in your

ear, nudging you to live more 

lightly, too?

Stay tuned for my After post

at the end of May.  It will be

here, before we know it.  


Now, I've got a drawer 
to clear out....

Cultivate generosity.  

Delight in giving.

Learn to live lightly.

~ Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

xx

Suzanne