Canada is “from sea to sea”.  That’s their motto and it is quite fitting.  There is so much to see in this huge country.  From gorgeous coastlines to wooded mountains it has many breathtaking views.  Ontario is so big that it is “yours to discover”. Their major cities such as Quebec and Montreal just to name two have World class dining, theater and more.

My knowledge of Canada is limited to what I’ve seen in pictures, movies and hockey.  My daughter is a die hard hockey fan and we watch every Tampa Bay Lightning game.  With Canada boasting 7 teams we have watched them played many times as well.

I have been creating colorful maps lately and was delighted to work on a piece for Canada.  The country itself has an interesting shape with all of the inlets and islands.  Vivid and alive just as the Canadians I have had…

I am talking about MEDITATION.  Can you meditate?  For years I tried to bring this practice into my life.  After all, I am a type A personality.  And I am not talking an A- either.  I excel at motivation and drive.  I do not stop until I get the job done kinda gal.  I always knew it would be good for me to learn how to mentally “check out” and just “be.  I just did not know how to accomplish it.  I read books, watched videos and listened to tapes.  But I just could not relax and I certainly could not just observe my thoughts and let them pass through like leaves in the wind without attaching myself to them.  It was frustrating which did not help me feel better.  In fact, it did the opposite.  Every time I’d try and fail I would feel like something was wrong with…

If you are unable to find the truth right where you are,

where else do you expect to find it?

Dōgen

Seems it never rains in southern California….Seems I’ve often heard that kind of talk before….
It never rains in California…  I grew up with the words of this Albert Hammond song and thought it must be really dry in that state!  It wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that I got to visit this great place. And it was anything but dry.  Lush vibrant landscapes and gentle breezes coming off of the ocean are what is in my memory banks.  I stayed in San Diego for a week and it was heavenly. The food was fabulous and the great places to walk and bike ride were perfection.  I’d like to go back and see some other cities.  The last trip was paid for by a foundation that awarded my husband for his first book.  I need to get him winning awards again!

Last night I was looking on my high school alumni page on Facebook and one person said they were looking for a specific teacher.  Another mentioned that this woman had passed away a few years back from cancer.  This person was disappointed because she really wanted to find Ms. H and tell her that she really did “make something of her life” and that she has “amounted to something”.  What a horrible chip to carry for so many years.  When someone you look up to tells you that you are not good enough, it can really stick.  But I thought about it and realized that sometimes negative people in our lives can contribute the most to our overall happiness and positivity.  You can either believe the words they say and weave them into your life so that their predictions come true.  Or you can dig deep and tell yourself that…

In Cuba, playing games is serious business and the game of dominoes is no exception!

A favorite past-time for all ages, impromptu domino games are held out in the open air, in parks, in back-yards and best of all, smack dab in the middle of a the day on the edge of a busy street.

The players, from my informal survey, are usually men of the retired age.  The setting is an assortment of make-shift stools around old wooden tables.  There’s not much talking as the strategy unfolds with each move and even the onlookers are relatively quiet in their observation and restrained in their opinions.

Traditionally, a Sino-European domino set consists of 28 dominoes aka known as bones, cards, tiles, tickets, stones, or spinners. A domino set is a generic game, similar to a deck of playing cards or a set of…