Die with a Smile...and...Face the Fire

The first time I listened to this song it took me back to the final big scene of "Face the Fire". What a perfect soundtrack it would make...

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 “I’m working on that, Mia, but this wasn’t your fight. It was ours.”

“I wasn’t sure of that. I wanted to be, but I wasn’t sure, until you stepped out of the circle in front of me. And what you felt for me . . . telling me you love me, paled with the feeling it burst out of you in that one moment. I knew you’d come after me. I knew then, without question, that we had to finish it together.”

Face the Fire

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If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you

Summer Solstice

“Last year I went to Ireland for the solstice,” he told her. “There’s a small

stone dance there, in County Cork. It’s more intimate than Stonehenge. The

sky stays light until nearly ten, and when it begins to fade, toward the end of

the longest day, the stones sing.”

Face the Fire

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By Herb Roe - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79023974

things to know about the longest day of the year

Why do we have a summer solstice, anyway? Friday, June 21 will be the longest day of 2019 for anyone living north of the equator. If pagan rituals are your thing, this is probably a big moment for you. If not, the solstice is still pretty neat.

VOX

Lovers ~ Heroes and Saints

She lifted his head, looked into his eyes. And gave him her magic. 

“Share with me,” she said, drawing him down into the kiss. “Share all.” 

Her light was gilded red against his deepening blue. 

The brilliant thrill flooded her, swamped her as their powers entwined and merged. 

And merged, streamed inside them both. She let herself fly on it, rose to him as he filled her. 

There was a rush like the wind, a stream of sound like a 

hundred harpstrings plucked at once. 

The air swelled. All she was, and all he was, laid open. The air shimmered, 

light against light building to a radiant glow. Even as he moved in her, long, 

slow thrusts that savored the gift, he took her hands. 

Linked fingers curled tight and sparks swirled from them to dance in the air. 

As they climbed, the light brightened, building, 

building toward a flash that burst like lightning. 

And on that burst, he met her mouth with his, and flew with her.

Face The Fire 

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Guide to a Dog-Friendly Backyard

Mia arrived with a bouquet of freshly clipped daffodils, 
and helped herself relax by sitting on the floor playing 
tug-the-rope with Mulder.

“I think of getting a dog now and then.” 
She laughed as Mulder lost his toothy grip on the rope 
and went tumbling ears over tail. “Then I think about my gardens.” 
She snatched the puppy up, holding him high. 
“You’d just love digging up all my flowers, wouldn’t you?”

Face the Fire

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Dogs are your best buds, honorary members of the family and protectors of the pack. But as they rambunctiously romp around the backyard, they may be wreaking havoc on your outdoor space. Live peacefully with your beloved doggos by following these simple tips for a delightfully dog-friendly backyard.

Birds & Blooms

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In the spill of light from the windows, she noted 
that a bed of petunias had been recently and ruthlessly dug up.

"I think Ivan has been to work," Mikhail commented, 
noting the direction of Sydney's gaze. "If he is smart, he hides 
until it's time to go home again."

Luring a Lady

A Garden Story

He walked to the windows, looked out over her gardens. “It’s like an illustration out of a book of fairy tales.” 

Face the Fire

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A landscape can be a narrative offering a beginning, a middle, and an end

FINE GARDENING

Fill Your Garden With Visions of Serenity

At times she thought of the gardens as her children. 

She had created them, taking the time to plant, to nurture, to discipline. 

And they brought her joy.

Face the Fire

____________________

Photo by Lore Patterson - More landscaping ideas

These 9 ideas can make your garden feel like a sanctuary designed just for you

HOUZZ

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But as he walked he glanced around, then stopped, staggered. Her gardens were a world.

Arches and arbors, slopes and flows. Stone paths softened by moss spreading through the cracks meandered through rivers and floods of flowers. Some were tender with spring, some already reigned. Not just blooms, he realized, but the green. 

There were so many tones and textures of it that each spill or shimmer of pink or white, yellow or blue against it added a wonder. 

There were pools of water, the glint of copper from a sundial, the charm of a dancing faerie twirling in the shrubbery. 

He could see benches tucked here and there, some in sun, some in shade, inviting visitors to sit, to enjoy. 

He couldn’t imagine what it would be like when the young plants burst into full summer bloom, when the vines finished their climb up the arbors. 

Couldn’t conceive of the color and shape, the perfume. 

Unable to resist, he wandered along some of the stone paths, trying to imagine how she had done it. 

How she had turned what had been a pretty, if pedestrian, garden, a stretch of manicured lawn, and the single formal terrace he remembered into a celebration. 

Face the Fire

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."

He glanced over, studied a small group of people on the opposite side of the street. They were decked in flowing robes and weighed down with silver chains and crystal pendants.

“Amateurs,” he commented.

“They’re harmless.”

“We could call up a storm, turn the street into a meadow. Give them a real thrill.”

Face the Fire

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The history of Halloween

By Cindy - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3019244

ABC NEWS

things to Know About the Summer Solstice

In the dark green shadows of the deep woods, an hour before moonrise, they met in secret. Soon the longest day would become the shortest night of the solstice.

Dance Upon The Air

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Raymond Norris [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], 

via Wikimedia Commons

This year, the summer solstice falls on June 20 in the northern hemisphere and is celebrated across the world. In the northern hemisphere, the solstice heralds the beginning of summer and in the southern hemisphere, the beginning of winter. Here are some interesting facts about the day when the Earth is actually the farthest from the Sun.

MSN

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The moon was nearly full. It would be fat and round by the weekend, and the solstice.

And a full moon on the solstice meant bounty, and promise. 

And the rites of fertility that lead to harvest.

“Last year I went to Ireland for the solstice,” he told her. “There’s a small stone dance there, in County Cork. It’s more intimate than Stonehenge. The sky stays light until nearly ten, and when it begins to fade, toward the end of the longest day, the stones sing.”

Face The Fire

set fire to the rain

One of the choices was Sam Logan. 

But to what extent did she trust her instincts there, 

weighing them with logic and past history?

A misstep with him could crush her a second time. 

She might not survive it whole.

Face The Fire

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He opened his hand, and where her tear had lain was a slice of light.
Grinning at her, he tossed it high, and stars fountained from it, raining down like
little sparks of flame.
“A symbol,” he said, plucking one of the lights from the air.

“A promise. I’ll give you the stars, Mia.”

Face The Fire