Christmas Eve

Baking cookies today with people I love. Isn't it great that the holidays gives you "permission" to bake things you avoid eating every other time of the year, and even making three dozen or more, to endulge in at your every whim?  There's something about baking those homemade Christmas cookies that warms the soul, don't you think? The house is filled to the brim with wrapped gifts and the blissful smell of chocolate and butter.  Why don't we have holidays more often? I just wanted to wish you the best holidays ever. Even if you start them out on the wrong foot, I send angels to make the right foot balance the other, keeping you steady and happy.  I wish for you loving thoughts and friendship and family that love you dearly.  I send out positive energy and prayer for each soul that needs something, and for that something to arrive at their doorstep today.  I send you love and kindness and bliss. Happy New Year.

Traditions full of Love

It's passing quickly, this human-made concept of  "Time."  Before we can catch a breath, it will be Christmas Eve.  How many of us have traditions around the holiday season? Family and friends are the central core of my feelings around Christmas.  Is it yours? I guess it really doesn't matter if the gifts are perfect, the tree is up before Christmas Eve, nor if cookies are baked.  What's really at the heart of the season is filling it up with good memories, as we surround ourselves with our soul's insatiable appetite for love.  The true gifts come from deep within our hearts.  A warm bear hug that lasts forever, a sweet kiss, a smile or better yet, sharing laughter or tears together, intimate conversation, listening, really listening, caring about one another.  That is what matters, don't you think? Memories of loved ones passed become a part of the tradition, as we share what we recall about each person gone, each person we loved.  We love.  Christmas is almost here, and here I am, getting caught up in all the preparation, when all we really need to do is prepare ourselves for a most blissful holiday family time with those we truly love.  I am so happy when I think of it that way. How does it make you feel?

Two Amazing Homes for Sale

We are selling two homes at both ends of the spectrum.  On one end, a spacious estate in the most sought-after communities in Kentucky - Triple Crown Golf Community.  This beautiful home lies on a large corner lot with well-thought-out gardens and trees surrounding it, and a large covered porch that includes porch swings. A side porch off the back deck is screened in, inviting you to picnic with friends or sit quietly enjoying the view.  The house itself holds a two-story high grand room, complete with tall windows and fireplace.  The kitchen has been tastefully done within the past year, including large granite countertops, with a new cooktop, two-tiered ovens, and dishwasher.  The sunny dinette overlooks the landscaped backyard, A large dining room, living room, and study surround a large entryway, complete with chandelier.  The master suite has twin granite-topped vanities, a granite vanity table, a fireplace, and large bedroom attached.  Upstairs holds three very large bedrooms, one with sky-windows, a study, and a two full-baths, with three vanity areas.  Downstairs is the most desirable family entertainment area you will ever see.   A large storage unit the size of any average basement is attached to a very large game area, a huge 92 inch state-of-the-art home theatre, a large bar area with granite tops, a kitchen, a dinette/game table area, a bedroom, a gym, a music room, and full bath complete with a large steam shower.  Did I mention the big jacuzzi in the master suite? Or that the entire house has been painted inside and out with neutral colors?  This is truly a family/entertaining home. Yes, it's for sale!

As for the other, much smaller bungalow in desirable Mt. Lookout/Cincinnati, it is an historical "Sears Crescent Home."  One has only to enter, to fall in love with it's natural refinished wooden floors, the lovely large screened-in back porch, and a finished lower level.  The entire home has been painted inside and out with neutral colors.  New gutters. Although it is small in stature, it is enormous in warmth and charm.  It has three bedrooms with three full-baths, and a deep wooded backyard.  With a newly painted/guttered 1 /2 car garage and plenty of off-street parking, it is a short walk to Mt. Lookout Square and to Hyde Park.  The front of the house, with it's small covered front porch and beautiful landscaping invites you to come inside. Yes, it is for sale, too!

Let me know if you are interested in either gem. 

859-240-4238.

901 Caitlin Drive
Triple Crown Golfing Community
Union, Kentucky

 





Great Room, Triple Crown Home

 


Kitchen/Granite Countertops
Triple Crown Home

 





Home Theatre
Triple Crown Home

 




Family Room/Kitchen/Bar Lower Level
Triple Crown Home

 


Home Gym
Triple Crown Home

 


Finished Lower Level, with Bar

Master Bedroom Suite

Dining Room

Dinette overlooking landscaped backlot

Master Bedroom Suite with Gas Fireplace



 

Master Bath w/ Jacuzzi Tub
Triple Crown Home

 

Mt. Lookout, Cincinnati, Ohio                 " Historical Kroger Crescent Home"
3570 Kroger Avenue



Natural Refinished Wood Floors
Living Room



Mt. Lookout


Living Room Mt. Lookout Home





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lower level /Kroger home



Half of Master Bedroom with full bath/sky window

Other half of master bedroom with full bath

Kroger Avenue bedroom, Mt. Lookout

 

Mt. Lookout



 








Pond complete with fish - Mt. Lookout



view from backporch of backyard in Mt. Lookout

back of house on Kroger







view from backporch on Kroger



Giving Thanks

How often do you feel gratitude for what you have? Personally, I keep forgetting. I remember all those things I don't have: time, money, a ten-minute ride to work, energy.   Sound familiar? When reading the Celestine Prophecy, I would run into nature (yes, I was running then..), and feel such incredible gratitude to the trees. Gratitude for their beauty, their fortitude to withstand the elements over so many years, the homes they provide for animals, the shade they give to anyone who stops long enough to enjoy it, their colorful leaves in summer and fall. Now, I wonder why I don't give gratitude for the long car ride to work so that I can listen to a book on CD, think deeply, clear my mind.  I wonder why I don't release my focus on time, and both enjoy and appreciate the time I do have.  I wonder why I can't stop thinking about what money can buy for me, when I have so much already to be grateful for.  Why don't I think about the energy I do have, and feel appreciative of my ability to do so much?  So maybe it is time to stop again, notice the trees, appreciate my life. We are so like trees, we human beings.  We live through so many storms that come our way, so many changes that hit us when we least expect them.  We provide shelter, love, and color to those who love us.  It's time for me to begin again to appreciate all the gifts I have been given and to share them with others.  What do you appreciate?

Carolina Woods

My husband took an unexpected turn onto a dirt path that looked no bigger than a foot trail.  We were on our way home after a 30-year reunion and a great visit with his mom and Uncle Ray (Dad), with an eight hour drive ahead of us, when our adventure deep into the woods left me breathless with laughter. Camera in hand, I escaped from the car before our two little dogs could follow.  Looking around, it was such a delight to see fall colors intertwined with a pine forest full of quiet, peaceful beauty. What we experienced could only prove that there is a greater spirit that created this splash of perfect color and design.  Each leaf, pine needle, branch was amazingly synchronized into one perfect picture. I have attempted to capture these moments to share with you. When you double click on each picture, it will fill your screen with color:)

Changes

Venice at the Rialto Bridge

Butterfly on the Cinque Terre Trail

Monterosso from the cliff trail

Monterosso del Mare, Italy

Vernazza in Cinque Terre at Night

Vernazza

Life is tricky business.  Have you noticed that just as you get used to things being status quo, sure enough, something big changes everything? Sometimes, we make it happen: a new job, a divorse, a marriage, a baby, a new car, going back to school, or a thousand other possibilities.  More often, it comes unexpectantly: loss of a job, illness, injury, breakup of a relationship, a surprise pregnancy, a bad economy, new love in our life, and the list goes on and on.  I guess it's not that each change is good or bad, but how we decide to handle it.  If we see change as a natural part of life, and with each change is an opportunity to grow, will that make it more tolerable? Each time I have had a major change in my life, I have grown from it.  I have tried to look at who has it worse than me, and felt appreciation for what I did have.  I am so fortunate to be surrounded by love of my new husband, my sweet children and family, my friends, and my students.  That love has helped me to survive many changes, and embrace each change with a new perspective on life.  We can deny, regret, feel guilt, and live in torment over each new change, or, we can thank Goddess for what we do have in this precious life we have been given.  What do you choose?