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...

___________________

 “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

___________________

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

Birthday 🍸

"Happy birthday."
The sweetness of the gesture made up for being caught off guard, 
as she rarely was. 
Mia's smile bloomed —absolute delight. "Thank you. Cake?" 
She lifted a brow as she picked up a flute.
 "Mimosas, and presents."



Dance Upon The Air

_____________________

Never Celebrate Anything Again Without Birthday Cake Mimosas

Whether it's actually your birthday or you just want to
get drunk off of cake, sprinkles,  and rosé
— birthday cake mimosas are here for you.

Cosmopolitan

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 

_________________

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

_________________

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

_________________

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

Halloween Displays to Inspire

Mia treated a young space explorer. The bookstore was one of the most popular spots on Halloween.

She had dancing skeletons, grinning pumpkins, flying ghosts, and, of course, a coven of witches.
 Her usual store music had been replaced with howls and shrieks and rattling chains.

She was having the time of her life.

Dance Upon the Air

__________________

By A P Monblat - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48094637

If you don’t have some kind of Halloween display ideas, you might want to put your thinking cap on. Here’s some inspiration to help you come up with a Halloween retail display to boost sales for your small business this fall.

Small Business Trends

Quoting Nora

'Blood moon' eclipse will be century's longest

If there was a red haze over the moon, it was due to some atmospheric quirk and had nothing to do with her.

She would leave the omens and portents to Mia since she enjoyed them so much. 

Dance Upon the Air

_____________________

By Marcel Oosterwijk from Amsterdam, The Netherlands - 

Super Blood Moon over Amsterdam I, CC BY-SA 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69664064

If you happen to be in Europe, Africa, Australia or anywhere else in the Eastern Hemisphere on July 27, you just might find yourself standing under this century's longest lunar eclipse.

mother nature network

Those outside the viewing area for July's eclipse won't have to wait long for their own chance to peer up at a full blood moon. The next total eclipse, visible over northwest Africa, Europe and the Americas, will take place on Jan. 21, 2019.

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

___________________________

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

____________________

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

___________________

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

___________________

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

___________________

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

Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

"Mia, I can't tell you how much I appreciate that, but—"

"You want to do it yourself, and blah, blah, blah." With a flick of the wrist, Mia swatted Nell's protest aside. "Please, let's behave like grown-ups."

"Are you trying to irritate or intimidate me into accepting a loan?"

"I don't generally try to irritate or intimidate, though I've been told I'm good at both. And I didn't say anything about a loan. We're discussing an investment."

Dance Upon the Air

________________

A 32-year-old CEO who sold her startup for more than $250 million reveals her one piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

Alexa von Tobel is a startup founder, a New York Times best-selling author, and a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.

And her advice to other young entrepreneurs is simple: "Get mentors."

YAHOO!

________________

"I don't need ten thousand," Nell said, giving the bottle cap an annoyed twist. "And twelve percent is ridiculous."

"A bank would charge less, but I'm not a bank and I wouldn't ask those pesky questions."

Mia's lips curved, red and shapely over the mouth of the bottle. "But I prefer an investment. I'm a

businesswoman who likes profit. You have a skill, a marketable one, which has already proven itself of interest on the island. With working capital, you can establish a viable business, which, I feel, will enhance rather than compete with my own. I've some ideas on that, actually, but we can get into that later. I make a ten K investment, become your silent partner, for a reasonable compensation of, say, eight percent of gross profits."

"I don't need ten." It had been a very long time, Nell thought as she tapped her fingers on the desk, since she'd negotiated fees, contracts. Amazing how quickly it came back.

Dance Upon the Air

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

___________________________________

_________________________________________________

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