Month: June 2026

Daily Gratitude 6-8-26

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June 8th, 2026

  • “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – G.K. Chesterton
  • “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault
  • “‘Enough’ is a feast.” – Buddhist Proverb
  • “Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
  • “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” – Epictetus

My Musical Life 6-8-26

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June 8th, 2026

#57 This Magic Moment (Jay and The Americans) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
This magic moment
So different and so new
Was like any other
Until I kissed you🪄
And then it happened
It took me by surprise
I knew that you felt it too
By the look in your eyes🪄
Sweeter than wine (sweeter than wine)
Softer than a summer night (softer than a summer night)
Everything I want to have (everything, everything)
Whenever I hold you tight🪄
This magic moment (this magic moment)
While your lips are close to mine
Will last forever
Forever, till the end of time (this magic moment)🪄
Whoa, oh, (this magic moment) oh🪄
Sweeter than wine (sweeter than wine)
Softer than a summer night (softer than a summer night)
Everything I want to have (everything, everything)
Whenever I hold you tight🪄
This magic moment (this magic moment)
While your lips are close to mine
Will last forever (this magic moment)
Forever, till the end of time (magic)🪄
Whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh🪄
Magic, magic, magic

My Abundant Life 6-8-26

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June 8th, 2026

In Praise of Real-Life Dining Rooms

“When we are authentic, when we keep our spaces simple, simply beautiful living takes place.”

Alexandra Stoddard (Author & Interior Designer; November 8th, 1941)

“A dining room is a sharing of love and community and my husband and I are committed to make this a reality in a future home.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 200 to 201 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

Daily Gratitude 6-7-26

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June 7th, 2026

  • “No duty is more urgent than giving thanks.” – James Allen
  • “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson
  • “Fill the earth with your songs of gratitude.” – Charles Spurgeon
  • “At the age of 18, I made up my mind to never have another bad day in my life. I dove into a endless sea of gratitude from which I’ve never emerged.” – Patch Adams
  • “’Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” – Alice Walker

My Musical Life 6-7-26

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June 7th, 2026

#56 It’s Getting Better (Cass Elliot) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Once I believed that when love came to me
It would come with rockets, bells and poetry
But with me and you it just started quietly and grew
And believe it or not
Now there’s something groovy and good
Bout whatever we got
And it’s getting better
Growing stronger warm and wilder
Getting better everyday, better everyday
I don’t feel all turned on and starry eyed
I just feel a sweet contentment deep inside
Holding you at night just seems kind of natural and right
And it’s not hard to see
That it isn’t half of what it’s going to turn out to be
Cause it’s getting better
Growing stronger, warm and wilder
Getting better everyday, better everyday
And just like a flower that takes time to bloom
This love of ours is taking time to grow
Ba da da da da da da da da da da da
And I don’t mind waitin’, don’t mind waitin’
Cause no matter how long it takes
The two of us know
That it’s getting better
Growing stronger, warm and wilder
Getting better everyday, better everyday.

My Abundant Life 6-7-26

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June 7th, 2026

The Joy of Living Rooms

“Some of the living-rooms we see have really no right to the name; they are so unattractive they ought, instead, to be called existing rooms. I like to think of the word ‘living-rooms’ being short for the joy-of-living rooms. That is what they ought to be—full of life and happiness and beauty.”

Lucy Abbot Throop

“My living room is the room of family, community, love and belonging.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 198 to 200 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

Daily Gratitude 6-6-26

On By Heather HoustonIn 5 Daily GratitudesLeave a comment

June 6th, 2026

  • “When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree.” – Vietnamese Proverb
  • “Coming close to death you begin to know what life means, and what it means is gratitude.” – Roger Scruton
  • “I live by two words: tenacity and gratitude.” – Henry Winkler
  • “Got no checkbooks, got no banks, still I’d like to express my thanks. I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night.” – Irving Berlin
  • “For my part, I am almost contented just now, and very thankful. Gratitude is a divine emotion: it fills the heart, but not to bursting; it warms it, but not to fever.” – Charlotte Brontë

My Musical Life 6-6-26

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June 6th, 2026

#55 Traces (Classics IV) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Faded photograph
Covered now with lines and creases
Tickets torn in half
Memories in bits and pieces🪄
Traces of love long ago
That didn’t work out right
Traces of love🪄
Ribbons from her hair
Souvenirs of days together
The ring she used to wear
Pages from an old love letter🪄
Traces of love long ago
That didn’t work out right
Traces of love with me tonight🪄
I close my eyes and say a prayer
That in her heart she’ll find
A trace of love still there
Somewhere, oh, oh🪄
Traces of hope in the night
That she’ll come back and dry
These traces of tears from my eyes
Oh, yeah

My Abundant Life 6-6-26

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June 6th, 2026

The Bath: Secret Heaven of Self-Absorption

“If I were a psychiatrist, I think I would like to inspect my patients’ bathrooms before investigating any other area of their lives.”

Mark Hampton (American Interior Designer, Writer & Illustrator; June 1st, 1940 to July 23rd, 1998)

“…provide a place for private pampering for a sybaritic mood that might otherwise be frowned on. Hidden from the scrutiny of others, these rooms are secret havens of self-absorption.”

“My bathroom is a temple of renewal and meditation.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 196 to 198 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

Daily Gratitude 6-5-26

On By Heather HoustonIn 5 Daily GratitudesLeave a comment

June 5th, 2026

  • “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust
  • “Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.” – Henry Ward Beecher
  • “I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire
  • “When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.” – Tecumseh