Where does LOVE show up?
How does LOVE show up?
Why does LOVE show up?
When does LOVE show up?
What does LOVE show?

Turns out, east, west, north, south, love shows up in corners everywhere.
It colors landscapes, adds spice to lunch prep, leans in to appreciate.
Brings comfort in the middle of the night, inks encouragement and seals it with a sticker and stamp, says “I saw you.”

Offers a hand to steady across uneven steps, shares a phone charger, and laughs over coffee.
Sheds tears, holds hands a little longer, orders the drink complete with orange slices and delivers it to be savored.

Utters apologies, asks questions in misunderstandings, plays taxi service.

Wafts melody along the waterfront, adds art and beauty to the world.

Tips extra. Smiles large. Cheerleads often.
Wraps the baby doll. Plans the adventure.
Reveals selflessness.

Lifts luggage into the overhead bin. Starts a meme marathon. Releases a memoir into the world.

Sends books to a nephew. Leads storytime at the library. Plans a trip together.
Picks peonies and places them by your bedside. Buys the chocolates and grabs the check for the group.
.
LOVE seldom announces itself loudly with pomp, circumstance, drums, or air horn.
More frequently, it tiptoes in, common robes of quiet hidden acts rustle, and the humble silk of tasks and toil swish by unnoticed.

LOVE is unassuming. Cheerful, willing, responsible. Leads with gentle confidence rather than loud expectations.

LOVE says, “I’ve come because my favorite thing is time well spent with you.”

Kaleidoscope:
Combined from three Greek words:
kalos (καλός), meaning “beautiful,”
eidos (εἶδος), meaning “shape,”
and skopos (σκοπός), meaning either “watcher” or “thing looked at.”
Kaleidoscope: beautiful shapes to look at,
observer of beautiful forms.
Kaleidoscope:constantly changing pattern,
medley, mixture.

Kaleidoscope living.
An observer of beauty. Paying attention to details. Noticing shapes and nuances. Giving gratitude for aesthetics and texture.
Our lives are stories.
Our stories are a constantly changing pattern made up of a mixture of excitement and pain, new and old, adjustments and routines.
A medley of music and beauty and creativity and inspiration runs along as the soundtrack.

Kaleidoscope of Incidentals

This has been a game changer ~ Clean and dirty dishwasher magnet ~ amazing the GiGaNtIC difference small things make sometimes. Now everyone can glance at the dishwasher and know to add their dishes right in when it is dirty.

Saving my life right now………GROCERY PICKUP……… I hadn’t used this service for a while. Light bulb moment as I was looking at my week and the hours already filled. Create a pickup order, Deborah! I love the ease of ordering in the app, adding to my order, and the time saved. Thank-you, Dillons and Wal-Mart!

I finally figured out we really love the scent of Tide Pods Original coldwater clean. I knew there was one scent we especially preferred, but I couldn’t remember which type/scent of Tide pods it was. Mystery solved and we are delighted about it!

I tried this Pantene hairspray recently and so far I really like it. Mine is the Level 5 Extra Strong Hold.

These three make a fantastic gift set ~ The Donkey Principle, journal, and pen

Need a guide to help you decide what to read this summer? The Modern Mrs. Darcy has her twelfth summer reading guide right here!

“Summon the Courage to Commit to Something Outside Your Comfort Zone”
Beautiful words of inspiration

I love this beaded Beloved bag at Gracelaced.

This lidded gourd basket from Mercy House is so adorable.

A bit of beauty for our day.

Books and Reading and Podcast Listening

Kitchen Yarns by Ann Hood
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
The Marriage Journal
The Life Council: Ten Friends Every Woman Needs by Laura Tremaine
Introvert By Design Journal by Holley Gerth
Talk to Me by Dean Nelson
Episode 565 of The Holy Post
Episode 566 of The Holy Post

Gratitude + Delight

celebrating our anniversary in the Outer Banks where we honeymooned twenty-six years ago
brown pelicans
mahi-mahi
the scent of sunscreen
blueberries
coffee shop hopping
visiting new places
discoveries
home
roses blooming
gangly puppy galumphing across the lawn
open windows
fountain bubbling
beautiful spring weather
the smell of clean laundry
rain
freshly mown grass
clean kitchen counters
audiobooks
chicken on the grill

Giggles + Grins

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• Utter Delight •

Life brings loads of demands.
It often unloads unasked-for laments and lands us left field of longed-for dreams.

We lay hopes down and lean in, shoulders set, shove hard, hardly shifting anything in any good direction, it seems.

We utter desperate prayers and mutter muted tangled doubts.

Dog-tired meets distress, and despair and dread round out the foursome. They pull their metal chairs tight around the table and converse in strained, hushed, disconcerting tones.

And yet……

the thing about withstanding all the wild onslaughts life inevitably lobs is there is always the AND YETS.

In the ebb and flow, we find lift among the low.

Days may run mundane upon mundane, AND YET…….the sun rises glorious, cascading color as far as the east is from the west.

Dreams shudder and gasp, AND YET……delight shines apparent in out-of-the-way corners.

Distractions cause commotion….AND YET peace and rest buoy us up in the words from a friend.

Dismal inner voices worst-case scenario us, AND YET…..daughters and silky-eared puppy dogs bring the utmost unexpected delight into our hearts and home and remind us that THIS LIFE….
this very life, right here today, brims with Ebenezer touch-stone moments of utmost delight all along the way.

I’d love to hear the things creating a kaleidoscope of beauty and interest in your life right now!