Mar 31, 2018

Post-holiday blues can teach you to celebrate reality






 He’d gotten through it. Whatever hounded him now, he’d get through that. 
He’d never give this up again, this feeling of home and of hope. 
To Whiskey Beach, he thought, lifting his glass and catching Abra’s eye, Abra’s smile. He drank to it, and everything in it.

When he stood on Monday morning after helping load cars, the feeling of hope remained with him. 

He gave his grandmother a last good-bye hug. 
“I’ll remember,” she whispered in his ear. “Stay safe until I do.” 
“I will.” “And tell Abra she won’t be teaching her morning yoga class without me much longer.” 
“I’ll do that, too.” 
“Come on, Mom, let’s get you in the car.” Rob gave his son a one-armed man hug, a slap on the back. “We’ll see you soon.” 

“Summer’s coming,” Eli said, helping his grandmother. “Make time, okay?” 

“We will.” His father walked around to the driver’s seat. 
“It was good to have all the Landons in Bluff House again. Stay ready for us. We’ll be back.” 

Eli waved them off, watched them until the road curved away. 
Beside him Barbie let out a quiet whine. “You heard him. They’ll be back.” 


Whiskey Beach



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By Gemma Stiles from Sydney, Australia - 
The Great Eggscape, CC BY 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42075158




The best way to deal with this is to examine your ever-changing states—without judgement—knowing feelings and circumstances will inevitably shift again, and practice celebrating real life with all its many quirks.










Mar 28, 2018

Do you really know your Easter?






“Then there was the whole Easter thing happening.”
“The Easter Bunny came already?”
“What? No.” Now he laughed, the sound rolling down the empty street. “He hasn’t finished laying the eggs yet.”
“Eli, the Easter Chicken lays the eggs. The bunny hides them.”
“Whatever, they’re doing it at Bluff House this year.”



Whiskey Beach






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Easter, celebrated in the spring of every year in the Western world, has a great deal of trivia and interesting facts associated with it. 

Some are historical, some religious, and some just plain fun. 

Countries all over the world have their own traditions, food, and special holiday fun. In this article, you will find Easter trivia questions (some with answers), interesting Bible trivia, and Easter trivia facts. 

Use these for parties, to challenge your friends, and to learn more about this interesting celebration for yourself.











Mar 27, 2018

Throw the Ultimate Easter Brunch






The baskets, the candy, the colored eggs.

The tradition of it. And the comfort of it.


Whiskey Beach



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By Superbass - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3767798






Celebrate Easter the best way—with brunch! We're sharing a stunning setup and so-easy recipes. Featuring glittery eggs and a washi tape flower wall, this easy party proves you can throw a gorgeous Easter brunch on a budget. 








Mar 26, 2018

Sometimes, a cat just walks into your life and asks to be saved







She started to crouch, then stopped, angling her head.
“You have a cat with three legs.”
“Triad. He was hit by a car.”
“Oh, poor baby!” Instantly, she was down on the floor,
stroking and scratching the delighted cat.
“It had to be awful for both of you. Thank God you were home.”
“No, actually I was driving home from school. They—the car in front of me hit him, and just kept going. I don’t understand how anybody could do that.
When I pulled over, I thought he’d be dead, but he was lying there, in shock, I guess. The vet couldn’t save the leg, but he does okay.”
Mac continued to stroke the cat down his length as she stared at Carter. “I bet he does.”


Vision in White 



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By No machine-readable author provided. Maxo assumed (based on copyright claims). - 
No machine-readable source provided. 
Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=296512






Bonds between humans and animals often begin with a need and a desire to help. 










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“So the three-legged cat could be a metaphor for his wounded soul, 
and his determination to live with the scars.”
“That’s good. You’d get an A.”


Vision in White






Mar 24, 2018

To fall asleep





She fell asleep like a stone dropped in a pond. Up and moving one minute,
submerged the next. He was a drifter, with the movie reel of the day’s events 
and the previews of the next running through his mind 
as his body settled down. 





Bed of Roses




__________________








Evelyn De Morgan [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons







How do you fall asleep? It might happen to us every night 
- and maybe sometimes more often - 
but it's still a deeply mysterious process.













Mar 23, 2018

The vet will STILL see you now!





A trip to the vet invariably included comedy and drama, and required persistence, stamina 
and a flexible sense of humor.



The Search



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By Rennett Stowe from USA - Dog Peeper, CC BY 2.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26303332







Pet owners share hilarious photos of their beloved animals trying to hide from surgery staff








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She talked, rubbed, smiled, as Mai pinched some skin and slid the needle in.
Peck moaned like a dying man.
“There. All done.” Mai walked back to Peck’s head, held up her hands to show them empty of all tools of torture. Then she laid a treat on the table. He refused it.
“Could be poisoned,” Fiona pointed out. “Anything in this room is suspect.” 
She signaled the dog down, and he couldn’t jump off the table fast enough. 
Then he stood, facing the wall, ignoring both women.



The Search






Mar 21, 2018

World Poetry Day 21 March






“There’s a copy of Byron downstairs.”
Despite her determination not to, Kate looked toward him again. “Byron?”
“I bought it after you left. The words are wonderful.” He had the three buttons undone with such quick expertise, she never noticed. “But I could always hear the way you’d say them. I remember one night on the beach, when the moon was full on the water. I don’t remember the name of the poem, but I remember how it started, and how it sounded when you said it. ‘It is the hour’,” he began, then smiled at her.
“‘It is the hour’,” Kate continued, “‘when from the boughs the nightingale is heard/It is the hour when lovers’ vows seem sweet in every whisper’d word/And gentle winds, and waters near make music to the lonely ear’…” She trailed off, remembering even the scent of that night.


Treasures Lost, Treasures Found




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Mar 20, 2018

Beautiful: Ceramics Masters doing their work







The wheel hummed. The clay spun, succumbing to the pressure of her hands, 
yielding to the unrelenting demands of her imagination. 
She formed a thick-walled ring, pressing her thumb in the center of the ball, 
then slowly, very slowly, pulled it upward between her thumb and fingers to form
 a cylinder. She could flatten it into a plate now, open it into a bowl, 
perhaps close it into a sphere, according to her own pleasure. 
She was both in control and driven. 
Her hands dominated the clay as surely as 
her creativity dominated her. 



All the Possibilities
Ian @ MacGregors








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The afternoon sun poured into Megan‟s studio. 
She was oblivious to it, and to the bird song outside the windows. 
Her mind was focused on the clay her hands worked with,
 or, more precisely, 
on what she saw in the partially formed mound.   


Less of a Stranger 





Mar 19, 2018

Are newborns ugly?






Max saw photos of a newborn with a bright thatch of red hair and skin as white as cream, 
and an expression on her little face that seemed to say, 
“What the hell am I doing here?”


Remember When






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By Evan-Amos - Own work, Public Domain, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33824000



Research says newborns rated 'less cute' than older babies


t turns out that adults find the faces of babies most appealing at around the six-month mark, says new research from Brock University.









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Logan studied the tiny form bunking in a patch of dappled sunlight. 
He'd seen babies before, even had his share of personal contact with them. 
To him, newborns bore a strange resemblance to fish. Something about the eyes, he thought. 
And this one had all that black hair going for her, so she looked like a human sea creature. 
Sort of exotic and otherworldly.
If Gavin had been around, and Hayley out of hearing distance, he'd have suggested that this particular baby looked something like the offspring of Aquaman and Wonder Woman.
The kid would've gotten it.
Babies always intimidated him. 
Something about the way they looked right back at you, 
as if they knew a hell of a lot more than you did and 
were going to tolerate you until they got big enough 
to handle things on their own.



Blue Dahlia





Mar 15, 2018

"May the luck of the Irish be with you"







Whether she was feeling festive or not, Erin was swept along in her cousin's plans for the party. 
And what better day to celebrate than St. Patrick's Day? 




Irish Rose






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By Erika39 - Own work, CC BY 3.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10097314





St. Patrick's Day




'Tis the season to be Irish! 
For St. Patrick's Day, delve into our pot of golden ideas featuring holiday crafts projects, Irish-theme decorating ideas, and yummy St. Patrick's Day recipes.










Mar 14, 2018

For Now, Forever






He remembered more than the accident now. 
He remembered Anna leaning over him, talking, reassuring him as he was being wheeled on a gurney down the hospital corridor. 
He remembered the fear he'd read in her eyes, 
and before he slipped into unconsciousness, his one moment of blind, naked terror 
that he was being taken away from her. 
Oddly, he thought he remembered looking down at himself from somewhere
 while doctors and nurses scrambled around. 
Then it seemed he'd been sucked back into his body, 
but the sensation was too vague to pinpoint. 




For Now, Forever





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By Alexander P Kapp, CC BY-SA 2.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13670612






WHAT DOES DYING FEELS LIKE?



They found that even five minutes after a person's heart stops beating their brain cells, or neurons, may still function.


But a wave of 'spreading depression' marked the moment that these neurons shutdown before their final, irreversible death.









Mar 13, 2018

Hubert de Givenchy, RIP






Onscreen, the actress usually played the frothy, flighty heroine who suited her busty blond looks and guileless blue eyes. 
At first glance it was tempting to typecast her as someone who giggled and wriggled a lot. 
It took Julia less than five minutes to revise her opinion. 
Lily was a sharp, witty, ambitious woman who exploited her looks rather than being exploited by them. 
She was also very much at home in the traditional parlor of the Knightsbridge house, 
looking very cool, very British, 
and very wifely in a simple blue Givenchy. 



Genuine Lies




_______________________





By Ylenia - originally posted to Flickr as Givenchy, CC BY 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12311214





“His are the only clothes in which I am myself. 
He is far more than a couturier; he is a creator of personality.”









Mar 12, 2018

Men aren't just complaining, 'man flu' is real






“Don’t worry about that. How’s Harry?” 

“Tucked up in bed with a cold—which is one of the reasons I ran out. 
I swear you’d think he had the plague instead of the sniffles. 
He’s driving me crazy.” 





The Search






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In defense of the man in your life who seems to complain more than you do about a cold, it turns out that there is such a thing as “man flu,” and his whining might in fact be warranted.













Mar 10, 2018

Memory Games







He smelled of rain and soap and... 
Brut, she realized. 
And the aftershave had some flicker of memory 
trying to light in her brain. 


Remember When




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By Frieda Menshausen-Labriola - Offizieller Katalog 
der Münchener Jahres-Ausstellung 1900 im kgl. 
Glaspalast, 2. Ausgabe, Verlag der Münchner Künstlergenossenschaft
München, 23. Juni 1900, Public Domain, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11090195





Smelling Art with Sissel Tolaas



We’re used to looking at art, hearing art, perhaps touching it. But smelling? This artist is trying to change the way we think about using our noses.


Mar 9, 2018

Why I Run







Dawn,the awakening, promise of it, was her favorite time to run. 
The running itself was just something that had to be done, three days a week, like any other chore or responsibility. 
Rosalind Harper did what had to be done. 
She ran for her health. A woman who'd just had-she could hardly say "celebrated" at this stage of her life-her forty-seventh birthday had to mind her health. 
She ran to keep strong, as she desired and needed strength. 
And she ran for vanity. Her body would never again be what it had been at twenty, or even thirty, but, by God, it would be the best body she could manage at forty-seven. 
She had no husband, no lover, but she did have an image to uphold. She was a Harper, and Harpers had their pride.
But, Jesus, maintenance was a bitch. 


Black Rose





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By bigwavephoto / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50090597



 I run to not only keep my heart pumping to the best of its ability and maybe to burn some calories when I went crazy with pasta servings, but to ease any stress and flip any generally negative emotions, giving the phrase “run it off” another very literal meaning. I've run through breakups. I've run through disagreements with my family and friends. I've run through world conflict and affairs that keep me up at night.
It’s an opportunity to test out mindfulness practices I’ve picked up over the years, the ones I have such a hard time doing while sitting in my apartment.

Mar 8, 2018

On this day











Everything You Need to Know About International Women's Day on March 8






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Nathaniel didn't share his former shipmate's disdain of women. 
He loved them, one and all. 
He enjoyed their looks, their smells, their voices, and was more than satisfied to settle in the family parlor with six of the best-looking women it had been his pleasure to meet.

The Calhoun women were a constant delight to him. 
Suzanna, with her soft eyes, Lilah's lazy sexuality, Amanda's brisk practicality, C.C.'s cocky grin, not to mention Coco's feminine elegance. 
They made The Towers Nathaniel's little slice of heaven.


Megan's Mate

Mar 6, 2018

Perfect






Raven knew how it needed to be sung: face to face, eye to eye.  
It was a caress of a song, meant for lovers.  The audience was silent now.
Their harmony was close, intricate.  
Raven had once thought it must be like making love.  
Their voices flowed into each other.  






Once More with Feeling




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