The google doodle often sets the tone for my day...I like to figure out what the doodle is about, especially if it is not obvious.

Today is the 50th anniversary of JFK's inaugural address; a speech that I will never tire of listening too.

Yesterday, Sargent Shriver, first director of the Peace Corps, died.

So many good programs have grown out of the Peace Corps, all with the idea:

"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can for your country" JFK

Peace Corps - " a program that builds peace and friendship by sending Americans to work for human dignity and human welfare in the third world." Peace Corps website

So today, a nod to the spirit of volunteerism.

pencil tip sculptures

perfect for September 1, 2010

found via pencil revolution

September always feels like the beginning of the year for me, so I decided to make a few resolutions: slow life, balance, rest, determination, hope,

and I must remember the feathers,

those that fall in my path, and one of my favorite poems.

HOPE

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune -- without the words,

and never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me

Emily Dickinson

there is always the possibility of hope in the midst of difficulty

Not April fool's day

but

April Food Day

This is the second annual April Food Day

It was started in 2009 by Easy Elegant Life and Pigtown Design

Remember the old adage

can you spare a dime

how about a few dollars?

Donate here

Donate to a soup kitchen

Volunteer in a soup kitchen

There are a lot of folks out there who need our help

Hop over to April Food Day to read more: click here

Pigtown Design and Easy and Elegant Life have teamed up

to focus the blogging community 

on the needs of so many people who are suffering 

from lack of jobs, money and food.

The time is now.

Help replenish Food Banks.

More and more people are having difficulty making ends meet.

The Foods Banks are serving record numbers of people.

Please consider a donation to Feeding America, formerly Second Harvest.

200 Food Banks belong to Feeding America.

$1.00 will buy 10 lbs of food or seven meals for a family in need.

$25 will provide 75 meals.

click here to donate

Please put April Food Day in the comments section

if you make a donation.

The time to help is now.

WHERE WE HAVE BEEN

The theme for Inauguration Day is "A New Birth of Freedom"

in honor of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth

Obama has been studying FDR's presidency, his first 100 days specifically.

This history is important as we navigate tough times. 

HERE WE ARE

"The road ahead will be long.

Our climb will be steep. 

We may not get there in one year

or even in one term.

But, America, I have never been more hopeful

 than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there."

Barack Obama

Grant Park, Chicago, August 2008

I am baking a lemon tart to celebrate the Inauguration

"Lemon is considered the fruit that gives you the energy of the sun.

Some believe that when you eat a lemon, 

your body discharges an electric, positive force."

from Patricia Wells, At Home in Provence

LEMON = SUN = HOPE = OBAMA

Images: 

Lincoln: Maira Kalman

FDR: Wikipedia

Obama: Elect Obama Campaign

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

and never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird 

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me

Emily Dickinson

art credit:

birds in tree print 

 for sale on etsy

the key

Dreams

by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow

image from design*sponge, i think.

I don't remember the artist unfortunately

there is always hope

this post is for someone special to me

I checked the Hall's Dictionary of Subjects & Symbols in Art

there are many attributes of hope, among them, flowers, 

"in flowers, the hope of fruit to come is implicit"

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

and never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson

Here are the pure and honest comments of Marketa Irglova, winner with Glen Hansard of the Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song, 2008

Ms. Irglova was forced off the the stage when time was up but host, Jon Stewart, brought her back to finish speaking - a wonderful gesture and she had a beautiful message that everyone who is trying and maybe not yet succeeding should remember.  Here it is:

"This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up.  And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all no matter how different we are."  Marketa Irglova