Recipe for Xmas Cookies & Angels

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Recipe for an angelWe never forget the every day angels in our lives. In the award-winning memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, angels preside.

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One of the angels in my life left our family only a few months ago. She is now in another realm. She was my aunt, the wife of “King,” a real character in the life story of yours truly. She handed down to me the best recipe ever for sugar cookies. I share it with you now on this seventh day of Advent. I am so thankful for her long life, her gift of humor, and the time we spent together.

Dot’s Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 lb of 4X sugar (confectionary sugar)

1/2 lb butter       1/2 lb margarine

1/8 tsp salt          2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs                1/4 tsp nutmeg

4 cups of flour

Directions: 300 oven. 10 min approx – till edges are light brownCream sugar & butter – add eggs, salt, nutmeg, vanilla. Add flour. Drop by tsp on ungreased cookie sheet. Press with bottom of glass dipped in powdered sugar. Cool completely on rack.

For more information on Sue Batton Leonard’s award-winning memoir, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, follow these links:

Audio Book  http://amzn.to/1trrTl9
Paperback  http://amzn.to/1qmcEHI
e-Book  http://amzn.to/1lx7oRh

 

Roped into Helping the Help

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Advent Day #5  A piece of rope hanging from a ceiling becomes a turning point in Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. It also changed a girl’s self-definition.

Rope from ceiling

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For the sense of smell, almost more than any other, has the power to recall memories and it is a pity that we use it so little. – Rachel Carson

Rope hanging from the ceiling became one turning point in Sue Batton Leonard’s award-winning memoir. Outdoor clotheslines during the “baby boomer” era got heavy use! Our family  had a swimming pool, which meant lots of wet towels and clorine drenched bathing suits- I can remember the odors so clearly. In the Baltimore humidity, sometimes air drying took a lot of time. During the long stretches of heavy, moist summer air the towels took so long they didn’t always smell so fresh and needing laundering all over again to remove the smell of mildew. I remember how stiff the towels got – they could almost stand by themselves.

twin-girls-hanging-laundry-on-clotheslineOur beloved Fanny was usually mindful of watching the oncoming weather, knowing she had just hung the clothes out that morning. I can hear her now, “Jine, Sue, quick Miss Battoney, we needs to get dem clothes down off the da clothesline – here comes da afternoon downpour!” My mom, my sister, Fanny and I would race outside and pull the clothes off the line so as not to have them soaked all over again just when they were nearly dry.

But there was nothing like climbing into bed in spring with clean, air dried sheets. A deep, restful sleep was nearly insured. The breezy winds, with the clear blue skies not yet sated with the summer’s humidity left the best smell of all. Traces of the nearby lilacs seemed to float from the pillowcases, making for sweet dreams.

During these cold dark days of winter, memories of my childhood do much to warm my spirits. If you are interested in writing a memoir, this time of year is a great time to get started. It’s a wise use of many indoor hours.

Wishing you fulfilling days ahead and see you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.

For more information on the award-winning memoir, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link.http://amzn.to/141aW6S.

Tis the Advent Season

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Tis the Advent Season! Advent means “the coming of the greatest gift of all, the birth of Jesus.”

Traditions in many households include the use of an Advent Calendar to mark the days leading up to Christmas. Typically, these calendars, which date back to the mid-19th century, include paper doors that open up to reveal an image, a piece of chocolate or other little token or a Bible verse. Some advent calendars have become more creative and are not just made of paper. Want to know more about the history of the advent calendar? Please visit this link. http://www.gotquestions.org/advent-calendar.html.

On All Things Fulfilling, we have created our own form of an advent calendar. Each day from now until Christmas we will be giving you a little gift from the award-winning anthology Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Each day will be like opening a door on an advent calendar – a glimpse inside the book cover.

We have a little catching up to do, since today is the 4th of December. Here marks the beginning!
Day #1 Opening the Cover

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Twins….one very weak and one very strong. What will become of the little one?
Day #2

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Enter into the story two “pioneers” in pediatric heart surgery. A valuable gift.
Day #3

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After a brush with death for the little one, another “saving grace” arrives at a door.

Advent Door Day #4   Friendship or Foe? Which brings lessons that build skills of survival for a lifetime?

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For more information the memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, which has won 3 book awards,  please visit these links:

How To Order:
Audio Book  http://amzn.to/1trrTl9
Paperback  http://amzn.to/1qmcEHI
e-Book  http://amzn.to/1lx7oRh
This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard.

Insights Into the Soul

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Love unlocks doors and opens windows that were not there before. ~ Mignon McLaughlin

“There’s so much to see,” I said to my husband as we took a pace that was much too quick for both of us through the Denver Botanic Gardens. We wanted to see it all. “As much as I am enjoying the Chuhily exhibit, the structural elements and hardscapes that are incorporated into this garden are amazing. You can really see it this time of the year, without all the flowers. There is a real art to having something of interest in the garden year round  when flowers are practically non-existent or ‘bare bones.’ They’ve done an amazing job.”

“I agree,” said Terry. His father was a landscaper, and both of us have an interest and eye for design in the garden. My dad was a custom home builder so I’ve always loved architecture. I find doors and windows incorporated into any kind of structures interesting.

Today on All Things Fulfilling, travel with me through some of my favorite doors and windows that I came across in the Denver Botanic Gardens. I captured these visual images over a very fulfilling trip during the Thanksgiving weekend.

A small key opens big doors – Turkish Proverb

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Commitment opens the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the right stuff to turn our dreams into reality. ~ James Womack

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Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.~ Joseph Campbell

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There are things known and things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception – Aldous Huxley

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 All the windows of my heart I open to this day ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

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 Let there be many windows to your soul, that all the glory of the world may beautify it ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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Happiness sneaks in through a door we didn’t know we left open.” ~ Unknown

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 When one door is closed, don’t you know another is open. ~ Bob Marley

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How can I know anything about the past or the future, when the light of the Beloved shines now. ~ Rumi

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Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.  ~Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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The heart of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. ~ Audrey Hepburn

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For more insight into the soul of what makes this woman’s heart tick, check out Sue Batton Leonard’s award-winning memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.” http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.

Glassworks in the Garden

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I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape – the loneliness of it – the dead feeling of winter.  Something waits beneath it – the whole story doesn’t show.” –  Andrew Wyeth

The remains of summer, now shades of gray, ocher, umber, gold, crimson, wheat, rust and garnet lay dead and dried covering the forest floor and spaces of the outdoor gallery of the Denver Botanic Gardens. Then Pow!  Just as you rounded another corner intense spurts of color were exhibited in creative settings picking up the energy of the gardens where the plants are bedded down for their long winter’s rest.

IMG_20141128_152131_052On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, my husband and I snubbed shopping the stores and malls  and visited the Denver Botanic Gardens. Even though we were visiting during one of the darkest seasons it was filled with glory, brightly highlighted by the work of international glass artist Dale Chihuly. Color was present in the natural landscapes, in ponds and in streams. It was a sight to behold.

For more information on Dale Chihuly and the publications that chronical his education and work as a young man on a Fulbright Fellowship at the Venini glass factory in Venice, Italy and subsequent forming of the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State, please visit these sites.www.pilchuck.com and http://www.chihuly.com.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Our only regrets were that we hadn’t visited much earlier in the season also when the flowers were blooming and we could see the whole story.

Enjoy the journey through these visual images of the Chihuly exhibition, and return to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow. I will share something else that I found besides glassworks in the bare bones of the winter garden.

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This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her book Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link. http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt.

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Upping the Happiness Level

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A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing with him the image of a cathedral. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Did you know that there is scientific evidence that you can increase your own happiness level just by being grateful? Want to know more? Read this article. http://bit.ly/1yvpdSx.

Turns out all this talk about being thankful, is not a lot of bunk. There really are psychological and emotional benefits. Learning to appreciate the small things, rather than big things is even more important.

Today, I’d like to challenge you to start a year-long, daily list of small things that you are grateful for. The smaller the better! Why? Because that means you are paying attention to the little yet, important things in life.

My happiness quotient rises when I see things like these when I least expect it.

whiskers on a kitten

frog

different colored eggs

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heart shaped cloud

dandelion

iciccles

hot chocolate

Doug Adams Studio Commercial Photographer,Redmond, WA

peacock feather

dewdrop on flower

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What tiny things turn you inside out with glee when you encounter them?

As we end this week of Thanksgiving go into the next holiday of the year with your heart wide open looking for the little things that mean a lot during the Christmas season.

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, and her award-winning memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

 

 

 

 

 

A Multitude of Blessings

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thanksgiving quote It’s been a very exciting and busy year. Publishing an award-winning memoir has been just one of many things I am grateful for this day. And for family and friends and so many others who have been so supportive of my efforts.

Thank you readers, I appreciate your interest and patronage! See you back here on All Things Fulfilling on Friday – tomorrow! This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard.

 

Integrating Gratefulness

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Does this simple prayer sound familiar to any of our readers? It is one of several easy to remember prayers that my brothers, sister and I said around the family dinner table. If you are interested in integrating more “gratefulness” into your family life or having a conversation with your grandchildren about being appreciative, here is a good article.http://bit.ly/11kgIPd.

 

We are living in an age of consumerism so teaching children to be grateful for all they’ve got is an especially important concept. The most meaningful prayers for children are those that they can relate to. The exercise of going around the table asking children what they are thankful for is a good practice. Warning: be prepared for some very endearing responses!

As we age, we see loved ones passing. We become acutely aware that taking time to be grateful for our lives and all it’s blessings is important. If you can instill this concept in children, they will live with greater purpose and meaning. Gratefulness is defined not by religion but by an individuals value of life. Have the conversation, it is never too early or too late!

prayer 3This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of the award-winning book Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. For more information on the publication, please visit this link. http://amzn.to/141aW6S. The audio book enables families to read together as a family. It humorously and warm-heartedly gets across the concept of thanksgiving.

 

Keeping the Child Inside Me

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 “The soul is healed by being with children.” ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky 1821 – 1881

If you are a mom with an adult child you will understand what I am talking about. Frequently I see an image, a word, another child’s actions, a book or a song that reminds me of when my son was little. It fills me up! There is no telling what will set off my flashbacks, but I am grateful that the memories keep coming back.

fairy talesThe other day, I saw this image and thought of all the books my son and I read together during his growing up years. He devoured books of any kind as quickly as the food I put on his plate. To him, it was all good, every kind of food and all books. Greek mythology and Indian lore were some of his favorites.

“Read me a VERY tale tonight, Mom, please!” he used to say. That was an instance where I never bothered to correct him. A VERY tale, I thought worked quite well to describe what was inside the book cover of “a children’s story about magical and imaginary beings and lands.”

Just sayin’……..kids, “they be so very dear!”

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If you love kids and books, check out this TED talk about the entertaining world of books brought to you by Greystroke Creative.

http://www.greystrokecreative.com/greystroke-theatre.html.

This blog is brought you by Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on her memoir, an anthology of stories, please visit this link. http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt. Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected is available in the award-winning audio book, paperback and e-book.

 

Film Friday: Sleep Walk with Me

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“The greatest enemy of the spiritual life is the human tendency to sleepwalk through life.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

sleepwalk-with-me-blu-ray-cover-99From the producers of This American Life comes a film that has been critically acclaimed by some of the top film festivals in the country. Released in 2012, Sleep Walk with Me, a film from Mike Birbiglia, is about a stand-up comic whose anxiety causes a sleepwalking habit that becomes both a problem and a source of hilarity.

The film is a Sundance Film Festival top favorite among the audiences. And also a “Winner” in the SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival a few years back.

To watch the trailer and to read more about this film, please visit this website http://watch.sleepwalkmovie.com/

To learn more about the radio show This American Life, which is broadcast in more than 500 stations around the country, and has a following of 2.1 million listeners,please follow this link http://www.thisamericanlife.org/listen/stations. You can find information on how to tune listen in from your area on the website. Archived broadcasts of this American Life radio show are also available to download through podcasts or  on an phone app. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/listen/mobile.

What are you doing this weekend? How are you living this American life? Going through the days sleepwalking or fully engaged in all the good things life has to offer? See you back here on All Things Fulfilling on Monday. Until then, check out these sites:

http://personalexcellence.co/blog/sleepwalking/

Are you Sleepwalking through life?


http://bit.ly/1uJBTGy
This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on her memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link http://amzn.to/141aW6S.