Jardin de Tuileries.

A coupla photos of the tulips in Kyrie's garden from this past weekend. Some of the tulips have already bloomed and subsided, but plenty more have held on despite the whirlwind weather and vegetarian varmints.





Good to spring into spring on this Monday, no?

Speaking of veggies, this Thursday is the deadline for submitting recipes to the Kyrie Foundation cookbook! Again, we're doing really good on the desserts, but there's plenty of room for more hors d'oeuvres, soups, salads and sides. Of course, main dishes are welcome, too, as well as good kid recipes (dishes that kids can make or recipes that make kid-friendly stuff.) So I would challenge you to think of your go-to recipe:

• What is the one never-fail, always-a-winner recipe for which you are known?
• What is the dish that everyone asks you to bring?
• What is the dish that you crave when you've had a bad day or when someone needs cheering up?

Again, we'll give you (or whomever you wish) full credit and homage for bestowing upon us the treasured recipes that make you proud and semi-famous. Please send all recipes to Jan Munroe at kyriesnana@kyriefoundation.org. Can't wait to see what you feed your body & soul!

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for every last bit. Sometimes pennies and a few GoodSearches and bread crumbs and the last drops of shampoo and embers of a fading campfire and the final few Cheerios that you chase around the bowl get dismissed. Easy to do. Always searching for bigger & better, we Americans sometimes take for granted how big little bits can be.

Pennies turn into dollars. GoodSearches are fighting cancer. Bread crumbs make incredible fried green tomatoes. That last, ridiculous-sounding squeeze of shampoo still gets your hair clean. The warm ash of a campfire allows you to get really close and really toasty. And those Cheerios ... every one of 'em helps lower cholesterol.

So today I'm thankful for every last second, last morsel and last detail.

What are you thankful for today?

Did you know ...

that if you shop online using GoodShop (part of GoodSearch) or iGive, you can purchase:

• iTunes songs?
• eBay auction items?
• identity protection on LifeLock?
• used books on Barnes&Noble.com?
• audio books at Audible.com?
• the perfect match at eHarmony.com ;)?
• a new computer from Apple.com or Dell.com?
• used books, homeschool stuff and a gajillion other things at Amazon.com?
• flowers for birthdays, Mother's Day, sympathy, graduation, etc. at 1-800-Flowers.com?
• cool electronics from Sony.com?
• perfume from Sephora.com?
• collectibles from the Franklin Mint?
• Real Simple or Outdoor Living from Magazines.com?
• office supplies from Staples, Office Depot, Office Max, etc.?
• school treats/prizes from Oriental Trading Company?
• photos from Shutterfly or Snapfish?
• Father's Day gifts from Cabela's or Bass Pro?
• cell phones from T Mobile & Verizon?
• summer vacations, rental cars, business travel with Expedia, Hotels.com, Carnival Cruises, Best Western and so many more?

This is in addition to Target, Wal-Mart, QVC, HSN, Overstock.com, Home Depot, Kohl's, Petco, Avon, Land's End, Macy's, JCPenney, Old Navy, Gap and SO MANY MORE!

Just sayin'. If you're going to purchase items anyway, it might a cool, two-birds-one-stone kind of thing to look at GoodShop and iGive first, just to see if your shopping can do some good against cancer, too.

Green Good.

With today being Earth Day, it might be a good idea to think about how we can combine doing good for others with doing good with the finite resources we have been given.

Reduce. How about reducing the number of conclusions we jump to along with the number of single-serving, plastic beverage bottles?

Reuse. How about reusing old sweats for garage rags and reigniting meaningful relationships?

Recycle. How about recycling those recipes into the Kyrie Foundation cookbook?

Lots of good ways to take care of each other by way of preserving the planet. And ... perhaps there should be a Heaven Day, where we pause to note that place and all those we love there, too.

I live for those who love me,
For those who know me true,
For the Heaven that smiles above me,
And awaits my spirit too;
For the cause that lacks assistance,
For the wrong that needs resistance,
For the future in the distance,
And the good that I can do.

George Linnaeus Banks

Good dialogue this week. Good to let simple thoughts settle into our bones, to let simple ideas take on great value. And perhaps that's the key to making things more simple at your house this weekend: give simplicity value. Make simplicity more important that acquiring or impressing or having, and soon you won't have to launder so much or dust so much or de-clutter so much or schedule so much. Interesting, huh?

Another interesting thing is that we're nearing our May 1 deadline for recipes! Lacie says that we're doing really well in the dessert arena but could use more recipes for sides/vegetables and appetizers. So ... calling all nibblers and side dish lovers! Do you have a fav way to prepare veggies for the kiddos? What is the never-fail snack that you take to the office or Bunco night to share? What side dish do you take to family & church potlucks? If you have something you'd like to share, please send to Jan Munroe at kyriesnana@kyriefoundation.org.

(A little butterfly told me that Kyrie's great nana and my mother-in-law are submitting some of their yummy recipes to the cookbook. Lucky us!)

Oh! Found this--a nice way of explaining our ever-present Do Good philosophy, and something to ponder this weekend ...

We are here to do;
and through doing to learn;
and through learning to know;
and through knowing to experience wonder;
and through wonder to attain wisdom;
and through wisdom to find simplicity;
and through simplicity to give attention;
and through attention to see what needs to be done.

From the 'Pirke Avot'

Simply.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” - Cicero

And I would add loving people, Cicero. People you love who love you intertwined with your passionate purpose is sheer bliss. So simple. So good.

Here are a few words from simple living expert, Leo Babauta:

Count your blessings. When you find yourself unhappy with something, or with what you don’t have, take a moment to count all the good things in your life. And I would bet there are many. It puts the focus on what you do have rather than what you don’t.
Stop, and remind yourself. When you find yourself unhappy with someone, or trying to change them, stop yourself. Take a deep breath, and remind yourself that you should try to be happy with that person for who he/she is. Take a moment to think about the good things about that person, the reasons you love that person. Then accept their faults as part of their entire package.
Stop, and consider why you want something. When you feel the urge to buy something, think about whether it’s a need or a want. If it’s a want, take a pause. It’s good to wait 30 days — keep a 30-day list … when you want something, put it on the list with the date, and if you still want it in 30 days, you can buy it). Consider why you want something. Are you not content with what you already have? Why not?
Take time to appreciate your life! I like to reflect on my life, and all the good things in it, on a regular basis. I do this when I run, or when I watch the sunset or sunrise, or when I’m out in nature. Another great method is a morning gratitude session — think of all the things and people you’re thankful for, and thank them silently.
Show people you appreciate them. It’s good to appreciate people, but it’s even better to show them. Give them a hug, smile, spend time with them, thank them out loud, thank them publicly.
Breathe, and smile. Once again, advice from one of my favorite monks, but it works in this context. Sometimes when we take the time to breathe, and smile, it can change our outlook on life.
Learn to enjoy the simple things. Instead of wanting to buy expensive things, and spend money on doing things like eating out or entertainment, learn to enjoy stuff that’s free. Conversations and walks with other people. Spending time outdoors. Watching a DVD or playing board games. Going to the beach. Playing sports. Running. These things don’t cost much, and they are awesome.

Today's gift.

A while back Jordan commented on a post, and it's been sticking with me every since. The gift of life is living.

So simple, yet we've made it so complicated, haven't we? We complain about never having time, never having energy, not being satisfied, having hurt feelings, being tired, being so busy and then--POOF!--another week, another month, another year is gone. Those days of irk can string together quite a good chunk of life, can't they?

And we've taken nearly all the living out of lives with our TVs, our iPods, our video games, our SUVs with DVDs. Since when did we let actors and little buttons do our living for us? And we're so worn out with our busy-ness that all we can muster is sitting on the couch watching other people garden, volunteer, cook, renovate, explore, etc. Someday, right? Retirement, right? That's when we'll have time to really live.

Meanwhile, we still have today. So simple: today. So perhaps today we can focus on simplicity, on simply living and living simply, and how to find the peace in our responsibilities that gives us the energy to live today with gratitude and joy, to roll with it. Much easier typed than done, I realize. More to come tomorrow.

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein