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

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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

#54 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

My Musical Life 6-5-26

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June 5th, 2026

#53 Atlantis (Donovan) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
The continent of Atlantis was an island
Which lay before the great flood
In the area we now call the Atlantic Ocean.
So great an area of land,
That from her western shores
Those beautiful sailors journeyed
To the South and the North Americas with ease,
In their ships with painted sails.
To the East Africa was a neighbour,
Across a short strait of sea miles.
The great Egyptian age is🪄
But a remnant of The Atlantian culture.
The antediluvian kings colonised the world
All the Gods who play in the mythological dramas
In all legends from all lands were from far Atlantis.🪄
Knowing her fate,
Atlantis sent out ships to all corners of the Earth.
On board were the Twelve:🪄
The poet, the physician, The farmer, the scientist,
The magician and the other so-called Gods of our legends.
Though Gods they were –
And as the elders of our time choose to remain blind
Let us rejoice
And let us sing
And dance and ring in the new Hail Atlantis!🪄
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be,
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be,
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be.
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be,
Way down below the ocean where I wanna be she may be.
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah,
I wanna see you some day
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah,
My antediluvian baby,
My antediluvian baby, I love you, girl,
Girl, I wanna see you some day.
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah
I wanna see you some day, oh My antediluvian baby.
My antediluvian baby, I wanna see you
My antediluvian baby, gotta tell me where she gone
I wanna see you some day Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up,
oh yeah Oh club club, down down, yeah
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah

My Abundant Life 6-5-26

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June 5th, 2026

Your Bedroom: Cradle of Civilization

“All one really needs is a divinely attractive bed.”

Mrs. Winston Guest (American Socialite, Fashion Icon & Author; February 19th, 1920 to November 8th, 2003)

“In our bedrooms we have the ability to not just decorate a room, but to create a sacred space for self-nurturance.”

“My bedroom is a sacred space of sanctuary.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 195 to 196 of 501.

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

Daily Gratitude 6-4-26

On By Heather HoustonIn 5 Daily GratitudesLeave a comment

June 4th, 2026

  • “It’s up to us to choose contentment and thankfulness now — and to stop imagining that we have to have everything perfect before we’ll be happy.” – Joanna Gaines
  • “I think gratitude is a big thing. It puts you in a place where you’re humble.” – Andra Day
  • “This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before.” – Maya Angelou
  • “When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.” – Kristin Armstrong
  • “The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.” – Louisa May Alcott

My Musical Life 6-4-26

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June 4th, 2026

#52 Lay, Lady, Lay (Bob Dylan) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed🪄
Whatever colors you have
In your mind
I’ll show them to you
And you’ll see them shine🪄
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Stay, lady, stay
Stay with your man awhile🪄
Until the break of day
Let me see you make him smile🪄
His clothes are dirty, but his-
His hands are clean
And you’re the best thing that he’s
Ever seen🪄
Stay, lady, stay
Stay with your man awhile🪄
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
When he’s standing, in front of you🪄
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Stay, lady, stay
Stay while the night is still ahead🪄
I long to see you in the morning light
I long to reach for you in the night🪄
Stay, lady, stay
Stay while the night is still ahead

My Abundant Life 6-4-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

June 4th, 2026

Classic Chic 102

“Style has nothing to do with money. Anybody can do it with money. The true art is to do it on a shoestring.”

Tom Hogan

“There are five Simple Abundance strategies that are essential to elevating secondhand skills to new-to-you savvy: (1) Save. Seek. Find; (2) Understand scale and proportion; (3) Trust your instincts; (4) Train your eye; and (5) Take your time.”

“1. Save. Seek. Find. ..If you save while seeking what you really love, you will eventually find it and have the money to pay for it.”

“2. Scale and proportion. …the secret to a great looking room (or outfit) comes down to striving for balance. Not symmetry, so much, as the visual weight of scale and proportion.”

“3. Trust you instincts. You know what you love. Don’t be guided by ‘friends, fads and fashion.'”

“4. Train your eye.”

“5. Take your time. ‘Don’t be in a hurry to pull it all together. …The best rooms and wardrobes seem to evolve gradually.”

“…authentic style has nothing to do with money and everything to do with trusting your instincts.”

“This is encouraging to trust myslef and that my style will unfold when ready.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 193 to 195 of 501.

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