Hope is the thing with feathers

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“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops – at all.
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

By Emily Dickinson

Alright By Me

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You are one of those who sketches out a map to paradise and then feeds it to the hungry. 

If you are feeling lost today; I’ll make you believe in a tomorrow and then we’ll hack our way back out when the sun comes up. 

You will not be the one whose mirror is blurred, I know you recognise a strange beauty shining when others seem to throw it away. 

You were the one whose canvas was painted to last. The artist with the way; that’s enough for me, always knowing what comes first; filling every need. 

It is not just the troubled soul who needs to paint; its the genius who has been known to be a bit unsteady on their feet.  

And that’s alright by me. 

Sounds of the Sea

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I can feel the dream. And although I’ve never been there before; it is so close. I can almost grasp the wind rolling in and cloud swelling storms beckoning in my hands.   

It begins to rain. I’m at the beach and I step into the water; cold waves reach at my feet, then my knees, and then I feel myself collapsing under the waves. 

The sea swallows me in the shallows and all light and sound goes out of the world. I am reduced to the empty, forced, limp; my body swaying in the water and drifting sand. 

My feet come off the fine sand of the bottom, and the cold water flows out my hair and floods through my fingers and toes. 

While it sucks the warmth right out of my muscles, it holds me up all the same. 

Just when I think I’ve learned to breathe water, I surface and my breath has returned the air back into my lungs. 

Now I can hear the roar of the stars, the sound of the waves; the wind and the thunder and the rain. When my eyes open everything is savage and still beautiful. 
– Life With Catnip 

The Apple Orchard ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

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Come let us watch the sun go down 
and walk in twilight through the orchard’s green. 

Does it not seem as if we had for long 

collected, saved and harbored within us 

old memories? To find releases and seek 

new hopes, remembering half-forgotten joys, 

mingled with darkness coming from within, 

as we randomly voice our thoughts aloud 

wandering beneath these harvest-laden trees 

reminiscent of Durer woodcuts, branches 

which, bent under the fully ripened fruit, 

wait patiently, trying to outlast, to 

serve another season’s hundred days of toil, 

straining, uncomplaining, by not breaking 

but succeeding, even though the burden 

should at times seem almost past endurance. 

Not to falter! Not to be found wanting! 
Thus must it be, when willingly you strive 

throughout a long and uncomplaining life, 

committed to one goal: to give yourself! 

And silently to grow and to bear fruit.
by Rainer Maria Rilke

Saint Eval, Cornwall

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There is a magic about the sea. I am drawn to it. I want  to love by it, swim in it, play in it, look at it. 

It is a living thing that is so unpredictable as it’s depth and mass. 

In one moment it can be calm, gentle and welcoming, opening its arms to embrace me in one moment, but then in the next; exploding in a stormy temper.  

Sweat, Tears and Salted Sea

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“Do you know a cure for me?”

“Why yes,” he said, “I know a cure for everything. Salt water.”

“Salt water?” I asked him.

“Yes,” he said, “in one way or the other. Sweat, or tears, or the salt sea.

Karen Blixen

Copy-Cat Cinnamon Rolls

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I wish I could say your name
Just to hear how it sounds from your lips
I wonder how it taste
Like coffee, tea or spiced rain.
If you taste it; you want it again
Roll it on your lips
Whisper the delicacy of it
Its the cinnamon on your tongue. 

Did I tell you these? Copy-Cat Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Icing are crazy-good? 

My human declared them to be “the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made.” 

Maybe it’s that they’re so moist and tender, perhaps it’s the sweet cinnamony layered swirled throughout these rolls. 

Maybe or it could be the silky smooth, deep caramel icing … 

I’m not sure, but I do know that his comment made me feel good and quite pleased with my results.

Copy-Cat Cinnamon ROLLS
Dough:
* 2 cups milk

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil

* 1/2 cup sugar

* 1 packet (2-1/4 tsp) active dry yeast

* 4-1/2 cups flour (divided)

* 1/2 heaping tsp baking powder

* 1/2 scant tsp baking soda

* 1/2 Tbsp. salt
Filling:

* 1/4-1/2 cup butter, softened

* brown sugar

* cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting:

* 1/2 cup butter, softened

* 2 oz. cream cheese, softened

* 1 tsp. vanilla

* 16 oz. powdered sugar

* 3-6 Tbsp. milk
Mix milk, oil and sugar in a sauce pan.  

Scald to 150 degrees.  

Let cool until mixture is lukewarm (about 30-45 minutes).  

Sprinkle in the yeast and let sit.  

After the yeast sits and activates, add in 4 cups flour.  

Stir the mixture together.  

Cover and let sit for one hour.
Add in 1/2 cup flour, 

baking powder, 

baking soda, 

and salt.  

Stir or knead mixture together.

Divide the dough in half.  

Sprinkle surface with flour and roll dough out to form a thin rectangle.

Smear a generous amount of softened butter over surface of rolled out dough.  

Rub brown sugar over the buttered surface of rolled out dough.  

You just want a thin even layer.  

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Foll the dough toward you.  

Pinch the seam to seal it.  

Grease a  foil cake or pie pan, or do like me and grease a cookie sheet.

Cut rolls 3/4  to 1 inch think and lay on greased pans.  If you do the cookie sheet method like me, lay them in 3 rows of 3.

Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling.

Cover rolls and let sit for 30 more minutes.

Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes for cake or pie pans and 10-15 minutes for cookie sheets.

To make frosting: 

Cream softened butter and softened cream cheese together.  

Add vanilla powdered sugar and milk.  

Add more powdered sugar or milk to get it to your desired consistency. 

I like my frosting thicker so I add a little more powdered sugar.

Once Cinnamon rolls are cooled, frost and enjoy!

Makes about 3 dozen cinnamon rolls give or take.  

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Within my heart and mind there is intuition; it  is a place where there is feeling. Both are much more than just an organ. It’s the place where the creativeness of the universe speajs right through me. 

To listen to your heart is often accompanied by “allow your heart to guide you”. 

This is a meaningful for life. 

But what exactly does it mean? 

I will give my very best to explain what it really means to “go where your heart leads you.” 

How do I listen to my heart without my conscience? 

How do enhance my ability to think without following my intuition?

it’s important to understand the underlying meaning. 

What does it really mean when people are suggesting to follow where your heart leads? 

After all, the heart is not just an organ; there is a direct link to the brain. 

It is not easy for me to think and ponder without feeling or though from my heart.  

For me; I think the heart and mind are connected.  

The heart and mind is the essence of spiritual and emotional wisdom and a valuable guidance from deep within me.