View Outside My Window - June

♫Somewhere in Time♫

 This view is outside a guest room window taken through the dollhouse's nursery window. . . .

Surreybrooke

♫The Secret Garden♫

My most favorite garden center is just 3 miles from my house.  It's more than just a plant nursery, it's a nursery of wonderful ideas for your garden.  Nancy Walz's Surreybrooke is located in Middletown, Maryland and has been a place I go to purchase some of my most unique flowers each year.  I made my first visit of the season last week and wanted to share the photos I took.  Nancy's Surreybrooke is a place you can wander to see the plants in their natural setting.  I just need to tell her where I saw the plant in her garden and she'll show me where to find it in one of her greenhouses.  Throughout the grounds you will find historic log cabins moved to her farm and reconstructed.....

First Steps

♫First Steps♫

Usually I choose the songs for my posts by their titles after I've written the post.  I figure if the title matches my theme, then the composer, who titled his piece, probably felt what I hope my post conveys.  This one, Primi Passi, translates to First Steps.  It's headed a blank post for over a year now because the words to match have not come..... until today..... because today, I'm in a mood.....  A north wind is blowing in colder air after having 80 degree temperatures the first two days of the week.  Rain has been falling since last night greening everything up overnight it seems.  This is certainly the First Steps of Spring.  I just hope the impending frost tonight won't damage the flowers already in bloom....  

TA-DAH! Week 1

♫When You're Smiling♫

I'm reading a book entitled RELAX--You May Only Have a Few Minutes Left" by Loretta LaRoche.    She is described as an Erma Bombeck with a wellness agenda.  She writes, "A childlike TA-DAH! blesses the moment you're in.  It permits you to enjoy wherever you are and to realize, more often than not, that you choose to be there."  I thought it would be fun to make Tuesdays the day I share one of her TA-DAH suggestions (10 in all) and hopefully we will all make a conscious effort to practice it for the week.  I'd love for you to report back to me how you practiced it and the results.  OK?

#1 - Trade Frowns For Smiles

This is something I already practice, but not nearly enough.  There is a theory called "Facial Feedback" that proposes that if you smile you'll begin to experience the pleasant feelings associated with it.  If I am proof enough, then it should be called a "law" instead of just a theory.  What happens is you breathe through your nose when you smile which lowers the temperature of your blood.  When this cooler blood reaches your brain certain chemicals are released which suppress pain and help you feel better.

Just the other day I was walking into the library when a mother and her two young children were exiting.  The little boy, probably about 4 years old, looked up at me and smiled which immediately elicited a smile from me.  I can't say enough about how great that made me feel!  So next time you notice you need a mood boost, just smile--whether you feel like it or not.  And if you do it in the presence of someone else you may just be surprised how the benefit is multiplied exponentially!

An Early Morning Walk

An early morning walk in my garden after the rain.....

♫Background Music♫