Spring Is On My Doorstep

Spring Has Sprung!

 "Spring has returned. The earth is like 

a child that knows poems." 

~Rainer Maria Rilke

 "Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly

 received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon 

see the results of their love!" 

~Sitting Bull

March 20th, the first day of Spring! It is also the day, in 1976, that I met

my husband Bill so it is especially sweet to us.

Wishing each of you a glorious Spring season.

Hugs,

Susie Q

Lenten Season Has Arrived

During this season of Lent, instead of just giving up chocolate or coffee, 
maybe we can also try to do something even more.

Just some ideas:

Pray for the people in your life who have disappointed you or hurt you

Walk, carpool, bike or bus ride to work and school

Don’t always flip on the car radio but spend the time is silence enjoying the world around you

Brighten someone’s day. Send a card, email, or phone a family member, friend, or acquaintance that shows you’re thinking about, and praying for, him/her

Look out of your window until you find something lovely you had not noticed before

Give items of clothing to Goodwill

Try to spend one day a week without a single complaint

Buy a few fast food gift cards to give to needy people you encounter

Call or write an old friend you haven't heard from in awhile

Pay a few sincere compliments to others

Forgive someone even if they don't deserve it. YOU deserve it

Take a no shopping day...maybe even a no shopping week! Spend that money on those who truly need the help and not on another purse or pair of shoes

Write a thank you note to your favorite teacher or spiritual person

Donate art supplies to your local elementary school or senior center

Worship at a friend’s mosque, synagogue or church and look for the beauty in other religions

Volunteer once a week. At a soup kitchen, your church, local school, whatever!

Have a family game night

Put up a bird feeder

Read a book aloud as a family

Try an eat no sugar day 

Plant a tree

Send flowers

Give $20 to a local non-profit

Take time out of Twitter, Facebook etc and instead spend time on meditation and prayer

Give up anger and be more patient. Try to be more understanding and patient with people.

Give up being judgmental.

Give up gossiping. Remember once you say it you can never take it back

Resolve to perform one random act of kindness each day. Hold a door open, let someone get in line first, do somebody’s chores for them, pay for someone else's order at a fast food drive through, pick up a stranger's tab at a restaurant...

Go to an art museum or a botanical gardens and just rejoice in the beauty

Take time to plan out and cook a healthy meal. Use your local markets and farm stands when possible.

Make cookies and give a few to people who help you every day: crossing guards, librarians, mail carriers, fire fighters, etc...Cook and deliver a meal to someone who could use it

Smile at strangers

Let someone merge in front of you 

Spend 10 minutes each night talking to God about your day–thanking Him for the good and the bad and asking for the grace to be a better person the next day

~~~~~~~~~~


May this Spring bring you joy and warm your heart as it warms your face. 
The long Winter is almost over!
And remember, we can change this world for the good 
with one act of kindness at a time.

Warmly,
Susie Q

Springing Ahead

What a lovely Spring we have had...

...and what a joy this was to see around every corner!

I wanted to share some of this seasonal beauty with you...

The ducklings and I are so glad you stopped by to see us! We hope

your Spring has been sweet!

Warmly,

Susie Q 

A Walk Into The Past

We began our Spring walk at Carillon Historical Park. The park invites you to 

sample Dayton’s rich heritage of creativity and invention! Founded by

 Colonel Edward and Edith Deeds, the Park is situated on a beautiful 65-acre

 tact of land between the Great Miami River and a glacial moraine.

The Park immerses you in the region's history - from Dayton's founding

 in 1796 through two centuries of expansion, industrialism and innovation.

Learn about these revolutionary achievements while strolling through the

 Park's 25 historical buildings and interacting with the hundreds

 of artifacts in our exhibits.

Where else can you see the original 1905 Wright Flyer III, the world's first

practical airplane and National Historic Landmark, 

the 1835 B&O (Grasshopper)

 steam locomotive, and the first automobile self-starter?

The William Morris House - 1815 stone cottage built in what is now

 Centerville (a suburb of Dayton).

Newcom Tavern, also known as the "Old Cabin", is a historic structure in

 Dayton, Ohio. It was built in 1796 by Colonel George Newcom, 

one of the first settlers in Dayton. The Newcom Tavern, was

 the first structure in the Dayton area. 

The size of the cabin was doubled two years after it was built and it 

served as Dayton's first school, first church, courthouse, council chamber

 and store. It was best known as a crossroads tavern.

The Carillon...The park is named for the 151-foot-tall  Deeds Carillon. 

The carillon tower was built in 1942.

Today, with 57 bells, the carillon is Ohio’s largest.

Carillon Park refurbished the carillon in 1988, converting it 

from an electric keyboard controlled instrument to a traditional, 

baton-keyboard mechanical carillon. It is one of the gems of Dayton!

We then headed to Oakwood, just a stone's throw from Dayton, to walk around Hawthorne Hill.

Hawthorn Hill, the Oakwood mansion that Orville Wright called home for nearly 35 years,

The building itself has had a long and colorful history of hosting distinguished visitors. Charles A. Lindbergh,

 internationally acclaimed for his 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, was invited to visit in June of that

 year on his return flight home to St. Louis. During his visit with Orville, throngs of people gathered on the 

lawns of the house, hoping for an impromptu view of this newest American hero. The unruly crowd

 dispersed only after Lindbergh and Orville appeared together on the front portico balcony for a few short 

minutes. Several years later, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and former Ohio Governor James

 Middleton Cox stopped at Hawthorn Hill to pick up Orville for a joint visit to Wright Field.

Even after Orville’s death in 1948, the mansion continued to welcome individuals from across the country 

and around the world. When efforts to find an individual to purchase the home failed, the executors of 

Orville’s estate listed the property on the real estate market. The National Cash Register Company, at the

 direction of executives Colonel Edward Deeds and Stanley Allyn, decided to purchase the property on the

 very day that the “For Sale” sign was placed in the yard. NCR meticulously cared for the home during its 

nearly 60 years of service as a corporate guest house. The company returned the property to the Wright

 family in 2006. Now the grand home is available for tours and open to anyone!

I hope you have enjoyed our little walk today and learned a bit about 
the history of my hometown!

Warmly,

Susie Q

Spring?

The calendar says it's Spring but one peek out of my 

door and it looks anything but!

But you know? I love snow...love the 

sweet quiet of a school snow day with Grace.

Love the twinkling fairy tale world Mother Nature painted...

But inside Grace and I are preparing for Spring by decorating 

for Easter!

Rabbits abound here at the cottage...

We went outside and snipped a few branches...

...then put some pretty felt pieces through Grace's die cut machine...

...added a tiny thread to each one and,

Presto! Sweet little birds flying into Spring!

Hoping that Spring is flying into your neck of the woods soon!

Warmly,

Susie Q

The 3rd month of the year is here and that 

means Spring must be right around the corner.

 Here in our part of the world, the last of the grimy, sooty remnants of snow are almost gone.

 The sun peeps out more often and stays with us longer. 

The air seems so warm and breezes so soft and fresh. 

For now the gardens remain soggy, full 

of tangled brambles and broken branches.

 Ah but soon the world will burst forth with

 color and the lovely scents of the season.

 Uh huh, Spring is right around the corner.

 Ssh...can you hear it? It's coming, gently, 

on the wings of those sweetly chirping robins. 

Listen... 

It's almost here...

Warmly,

Susie Q