Some things to think about this season and in the coming year……2009/10

May you have warm words on a cold evening,

A full moon on a dark night,

And the road downhill all the way to your door.   

 Unknown

Books are the plane, and the train, and the road.  They are the destination and the journey.  They are home. – Anna Quindlen

Contentment with a little makes happiness.  – African Proverb

There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time or order chocolate dishes:   any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.  – Sandra Boynton

You don’t always win your battles, but it’s good to know you fought. – Lauren Bacall

Life is all about how you handle Plan “B” – Unknown

The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought unique and particular to you.  Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead.  And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.  – Alan Bennett

One of the sweetest things in life:  a letter from a friend.  – Andy Rooney

Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. – Unknown

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. – John Donne

Une maison sans chat, c’est la vie sans soleil!  (A house without a cat is like life without sunshine) – Therese Asche, one of Julia Child’s friends

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. – William Arthur Ward

What you think about yourself is much more important than what others think of you.  – Marcus Anneaus Seneca

May you never forget what is worth remembering and never remember what is best forgotten.  Unknown

I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.  – Pablo Casals

Flatter me, and I may not believe you.  Criticize me, and I may not like you.  Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.  Encourage me, and I will not forget you.  – William Arthur Ward

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.  --  Anna Quindlen

Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, and the things you never want to lose.  – Kevin Arnold

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. – Danny Kaye

Happiness = Friendship

Today, I spent three hours sitting in a local restaurant, sharing lunch and gabbing with my neighbor.  We had such a good time together.   Our conversation revolved around the joys and challenges of parenting (she has three-year-old twin boys; my three kids are nearly grown), missionary work, college football, our concern for an ailing neighbor, Christmas music and the responsibility of doing our best to serve others.  I left our lunch meeting feeling uplifted, renewed and so grateful for the love and concern of my many, many dear friends, who have such an impact for good upon me.  Where would I be without my friends?  Wonderful people, of all ages, colors, shapes, sizes, interests and backgrounds, who have shaped my own perceptions.  Friends from elementary school, high school, college, Paris, church, work.......the list goes on and on.  Many of my friends know me better than my own siblings, simply because I have shared more of my life with them--17 years in Texas!  I have often felt that our relationships are the only things that matter--relationship to God, to our families, our friends, our neighbors, even strangers.  The quality of our relationships is a measure of the depth of our souls.  In this way, I have been truly blessed.  Thank you, my friends, for sharing your life with me.