Natural Health and Wellness

My blue contribution to this week's Smiling Sally's Blue Monday . Blue is a always a challenge for me. Except for turquoise and the deep teals, my space doesn't come to life in the blue family. This photo, however, holds an especially fond "blue" memory. Sweet memories are balm to the soul. Before sharing a little explanation of its current use, and my sweet memory about this box, please allow me to digress for a paragraph here. It's all a part of the story. From previous posts you may know that my son and d-i-l are adopting two children from Ethiopia. The cost of adoption is quite high -- While most adoptive families are willing to make some enormous personal sacrifices to bring their children home, they just don't have big enough piggy banks to meet the financial requirements without help of family, friends, and even some they don't know. As a family we have some pretty creative fundraisers in the works. . . what you see here is just a glimpse of the...

Diane's blog, "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words," hosts Second Time Around Tuesdays . Participation requires a link to a post about something new to you, but has been around awhile -- perhaps a long time. You may have found it at a yard sale, thrift shop, by the side of the road . . . . I'll have to say, my contribution wasn't found in any of those places, and it is not even brand new to me. In fact, it's been around my whole life. The tray in this picture has become a treasured piece (at least to me) in my reflexology studio . I love the detail in the stamping and the textured look of the tray that was given to my parents as a wedding gift in 1947. It's had a very active life over all these years. My mother used it to serve indoors, outdoors, any time there was an opportunity. My bro had it for awhile, and used it all the time. Not sure how it came to be mine, but I cherish its presence and the memories it evokes in my heart and life almost everyday. ...