Fresh Squeezed Lemonade and Other Delights

Today was a day of yummy food. Marinated grilled chicken tenderloins with herbs from my garden, fresh squeezed homemade lemonade, corn on the cob and homemade strawberry ice cream. Oh, and watermelon! Seedless watermelon, what a wonderful invention.

Three out of four children were home for the long Memorial Day Weekend and it was marvelous. My cute little granddaughter is a joy to be around. I love how she is learning new words every day. (My goal of the week was to have her learn to say "Grammie". We got close, so I'm giving her another chance!) I love the way she laughs and covers her mouth with her hand. I love that she reaches up for me to pick her up. I love her curls. I love her uninhibited joy at the simplest of things. I love how fine tuned her ears are... she can hear a baby cry and a dog bark from a mile away. I love the way her parents love her.

I'm reading several books right now... birthday books and bargain books and found again books that had been sitting on my shelf and never read. I love books that make me think about life. I like how a quote can reach out and grab my heart and soul. Like today in a book my niece gave me by Neal A. Maxwell I read this quote:

"Our genes, circumstances, and environments matter very much, and they shape us significantly; yet, there remains an inner zone in which we are sovereign. In this zone lies the very essence of our individuality and our personal accountability."

I like the idea of an *inner zone* over which only we have command. I'm into these type of self-help books right now. I just finished Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and have started on Something More by Sarah Ban Breathnach. How on earth do you pronounce her name? She's a veritable treasure trove of quotes. Her words are great, but she also uses a lot of inspirational quotes from other sources. Like this one by Franz Kafka, the second one in her book:

"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us."

I really feel that way, and certain books do break up the ice inside me. Words do that to me. I am an official lover of words. This book Something More has got me started on a project. My kids are probably wondering why I'm cutting words and pictures out of magazines. I'm making an illustrated discovery journey. I'm on a journey of self-discovery... and boy, does she have a lot of good quotes about finding yourself. I'll have to write a post on her quotes and ideas. Oh goody, something to blog about!