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Awareness, Multiple Scerosis

Saturday Afternoon Reading”When The Music Stopped” by Author Bob Cafaro

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When The Music Stopped by Bob Cafaro

This is March! MS Awareness Month! I hear the wind whirling after the snowy day we had yesterday. I am home, I am staying in, I am reading, and I am giving a shout out to Bob Cafaro this afternoon.

Bob is a gentleman, who became a good friend through facebook. Got to love FB! Bob is a cellist in the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra. His book, “When The Music Stopped“! Bob conveys the strength and inspiration for creating our own miracles, and it could be with regard to illness, finance, or a relationship. In his book, Bob chronicles how he’s delivered his best personal medical performance, his Battle and Victory against MS.

Bob has given a Tedx Talk, and his second will be available soon. I am grateful Bob chose to become my friend, and a member of the facebook group, Living Mindfully with MS, CHronic Conditions, and Caregiving. He is always contributing, sharing information, and adding value to our community.

Whether your choice in medical care has been more conventional treatment, or a holistic approach, or a combination, I highly recommend reading Bob Cafaro’s book, which is available through his website, www.bobcafaro.com .

Enjoy the weekend folks!

Advocacy, Art, Cancer, MS, Narrative Writing, Poetic Medicine

14-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 7

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14-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 7

“What My Favorite Book or Movie Is, and Why”

Nature is one of the things with which I love connecting.  I’ve enjoyed learning and each year find more to learn about the birds which live in our area.  Each year I pay attention to their migration patterns.

At Horowitz Hacienda in the Pines there are birdhouses hanging on trees, the fence, shepherds hooks, and pergola.  In the garden, we also sometimes paint birdhouses for some of the birds to nest. Birdbaths and feeders have also been placed.  There’s a satisfying feeling in caring for and feeding the birds. Each day is beautiful waking to the sounds of the birds. Mourning doves cooing.  Wrens and Chick-a-dees chirping a beautiful melody. Garden Photos_Summer2007 074-1

Afternoons, relaxing on the porch, sipping iced tea or lemonade.  I watch for the birds in flight, while glancing through and reading one of my favorite books.

Sharing in this 14-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 7, one of my favorite book is “Birds in Your Backyard: A Birdlovers Guide to Creating a Garden Sanctuary” by Robert Dolezal.  For bird enthusiasts (or would be bird enthusiasts) it is a comprehensive guide, richly illustrated, and provides food for thought on planning and planting with the rewarding experience of enhancing a yard into becoming garden sanctuary. There’s lots of information about identifying birds, their markings, how they behave, and what foods they like best.  At feeding time, it’s a magnificent sight watching the birds eat.  Sometimes I’ll photograph their activity. The spectacular goldfinch fluttering to and from the thistle feeder.  Various species of birds favoring certain feeder foods.  Some eat from feeders, some even from the ground. Garden Photos_Summer2007 075-1

It’s always  a sight watching the squirrels go after the bird food and hang off the feeders,too.  I make sure there is food for them at the ground to try to keep them from the feeders. “A little something for everyone!” Squirrel a Munching at The Horowitz's Nature Center_25-Dec-2007 011

The birds at play in the birdbath and shaking off the water, or taking a sandbath are lively. They like both and they can be quite amusing.

Approaching dusk, the magnificent male cardinal in the euonymous tree.  Singing his song, the last I hear, in our garden sanctuary, to say goodnight.

I’d also love to know: What is your favorite book or movie, and why?

Art, Health Advocacy, Narrative Writing, Poetic Medicine

14-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 6

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14 Day Blogging Challenge: Day 6

“What is most important to you?”

Most important to me is to spend quality time developing and nurturing deep and personal relationships with family, friends, and community connections.  I enjoy getting to know others, deeply, learning what they consider important, what their interests are, what  inspires and encourages them.  If anyone I know has a problem, I’ll listen and hopefully in some way contribute to problem-solving.  I also like to share about our family, pets, matters of interest and importance.  Visiting, sharing conversation, innermost thoughts and feelings, over a cup of tea or coffee, lunch, dinner, a summer barbeque together, warms my heart.

Some of my favorite time is when my sister Francine and I sit together in our home art studio, which often becomes the kitchen, where we play with art, we talk, we sometimes sing.  Another one of our art studios is a room we have for crafting, and sometimes Francine’s room is our art studio, where we’ll sit and have a coffee while making potholders. FGF 073014 Art - Coaster for Dori During spring, summer, and fall our garden also becomes our art studio, a wonderful place where we can spend time outside together connecting with nature.

Throughout our years together, some of my favorite time with my husband Norman is when we spend time gardening together, and evenings taking a garden stroll, then sitting on our swing for two, and talking with eachother.  Sometimes, there’s such a wonderful feeling just snuggling, watching television together, and having the pets want to snuggle with us.

In addition, getting to know folks and connecting through social media has become a wonderful part of my life.  It’s such a blessing to make friends through social media and then get to meet eachother, socialize,  and sometimes also even collaborate together.

I, furthermore, love seeing and hearing how and what others share, and do to encourage and inspire. It’s helped me in becoming courageous in more publicly sharing about our lives and I am enjoying sharing our art through photographing and posting to my social media sites.  I’m filled with gratitude and joy to be connecting and sharing, inspiring, encouraging, and sharing love.

So, what is most important to you?