365 Inspirations—201: Dinner on the Dock

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky."—Rabindranath Tagore

Our spontaneous trip to the lake is almost over. We leave early tomorrow morning! The weather has been perfect and I haven't felt like being inside, so I'm typing this post late at night.

We had a barbecue in the afternoon with our friend and then she had to leave for a concert in the city. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading, swimming and floating on the lake.

To end our evening, we had dinner on the dock.

It was the perfect ending to a spontaneous getaway. We sat out there for a very long time and watched as the sun slowly sank behind the trees and the sky changed to deeper colors of pink and crimson.

Sparrows glided along the surface on of the lake and every now and then would dip down for a little drink or to catch insects. We watched them for a good hour. Now the moon and stars are out on the dock, so it's time to go out once again.

How's the weather in your part of the world? Have you enjoyed the summer?

365 Inspirations—189: Purple Clematis

 "In a month there will be purple stars on the clematis, and year after year the green night of its leaves will hold its purple stars."—Oscar Wilde

The clematis vine on my fence gave birth to a purple bloom yesterday. We planted it a few years ago, but it really took off this year. The vines run along our fence arbor all the way to the top. There are buds just waiting to burst out in purple, but this one was the first to make its move.

There always has to be a first. I sat there touching its velvety petals of deep purple and stared at the intricate mandala of colors in this beauty's center. I was lost in the world of this flower for a few minutes. 

My favorite color is blue, but purple is a color I'm spiritually drawn to and often wear. It's a majestic color which combines fiery red with cool blue. It's also a very tranquil color.

Clematis, in Russia and Bulgaria, is known as the "traveling flower" because it travels and moves in many directions before it starts to bloom. I love this.

Purple Clematis growing on our the arbor of our fence

The two together combined symbolize to me the majestic traveler. There's mystery and intrigue behind this beauty. I'm about to set off on many mysterious adventures. You'll hear more about that here on this blog in the months to come.

I've seen many white and pink clematis adorning fences and trellises, but I have yet to see one in purple.

It's unique, this flower. And today I'm going to celebrate its beauty and what it symbolizes. Can't wait to see the trellis explode in purple. That is coming soon....

What is your favorite flower and what does it symbolize to you?

365 Inspirations—112: Breaking Patterns and Feeling What's Right

Observatory at Mauna Kea

"The sky is closer than I've ever seen it, ready to spill its secrets."—Peter Fish

I'm a night teacher, so I tend to get up a little later than most people. I usually eat breakfast with my husband at 8:00AM or so. We have a nice, leisurely breakfast together. It's my favorite part of the day. While most people are rushing out the door and barely have time for a bite to eat, my husband is often humming in the kitchen to a song on the radio while cooking up eggs or slicing fruit and making coffee.

Sometimes I'm the breakfast person, but he usually wanders into the kitchen before I do in the morning, so he becomes the breakfast person.

Not today.

Something happened today.

I woke up at 7:00AM wide awake. I quietly got dressed and told my husband I was heading out for a walk around Greenlake, Seattle's equivalent of Central Park, and that he was welcome to come with me.

He said, "No, that's okay. You go ahead. I've got class at 9:45AM." I never miss breakfast with my husband, but the lake, sun and water were calling me quite loudly and I was listening.

I got to the lake and a huge smile spread across my face when I saw a gaggle of Canadian geese and their babies. It was so precious and something I rarely see.

At Greenlake in Seattle this morning

I walked at a brisk pace and found myself humming "Home" by Mumford and Sons. Before long, I burst into song, and didn't even seem to recognize how loud I was. I sang this:

"Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home..."


This was my theme song while walking and it made so much sense to me at this time in my life when nothing is making sense. I'm starting to break patterns. I'm just doing what feels right.

I looked down on the path in front of me and could have sworn I saw a Hawaiian lei just waiting for me to put it on. It turned out to be a cherry blossom branch. Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

When I got home, I flipped through my new Sunset Magazine for May and right before putting it down I flipped to the back page which has a picture of millions of stars and all the telescopes at the observatory on top of Mauna Kea, on the big island of Hawaii.

Peter Fish, the author of the story, said, "The sky is closer than I've ever seen it, ready to spill its secrets."

I'm listening....I'm REALLY listening and feeling this time. I am ready to discover those secrets!

Have you recently done something you don't usually do because it felt right?