Inspire Me Monday

Over on Create with Joy, there's something called "Inspire Me Monday." It's "a place to share your creative inspirations, sharpen your creative vision, and showcase your creative talents." The goal is to write and share a post; and - in so doing - you "inspire others and nurture your creative spirit."

Inspirations and Delights

I've been looking at recipes in preparation for the "healthy snacks" session I'm teaching the 4-H Project Day on Saturday. Came across a recipe on Eats Well With Others for a four-layer Mediterranean Tabbouleh-Hummus Dip. 

Source

I've been planting lots of flower bulbs during the past week with the hope that in the spring and early summer that parts of the front- and backyards will have lots of vivid colors.
One of the gardens I planted on Wednesday will be all red and purple tulips. 

Source

Other gardens are pink and purple flowers; yellow lilies with multi-tulips; and purple and yellow flowers. 
The bulbs are in addition to the hosta, fern, and bleeding heart gardens under the pine trees; the new rose bed I planted with roses from my parents' home; and peony garden. 
An Idea that Inspires Me
I've been thinking a lot about my parents over the Halloween weekend. This was the first holiday without both of them. (Dad died in 2012 so there have been 4 Halloweens now without him; and Mom just died in August 2015 so this was the first one without her.)

The last Halloween that we spent 

at my parents' home (October 31, 2010).

The following year, 

my dad was at the nursing home.

We used to go over each year and enjoy dinner together and 

then go trick-or-treating.

I came across a website called The Living Memories Project. On the page about them it said, "Sooner or later – if we live long enough – we will suffer the loss of a loved one. Be it a parent, a spouse, a favorite cousin or an old friend, we will feel a painful emptiness where once there was something tangible and pleasurable.

"Sometimes that emptiness simply does not go away. 'Prolonged grief disorder' – grief that lasts at least six months after a death – may affect more than a million people annually. (New York Times – 9/29/09)"

The website continued, "To help ourselves and others, we undertook the writing of this book as a way of learning and sharing how others have kept alive, in both practical and spiritual ways, their loved ones’ strength and inspiration.

"The Living Memories Project details, through interviews, anecdotes, essays, poems and photographs, the many ways that both ordinary individuals and celebrities incorporate the presence of their loved ones into their lives. Some who have shared their stories describe encounters or occurrences in which they strongly felt the loved one’s presence, while others have drawn upon rituals or recipes or created a tangible memorial."

In the pages of their book, readers can find inspiration and solace from others’ experiences.

You can even share your story here: http://thelivingmemoriesproject.com/your-story/ Your story may be included in the next edition of The Living Memories Project.

Music that Inspires Me
On Sunday, I saw the video of Stairway to Heaven sung by Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, along with Jason Bonham, playing Stairway to Heaven as a tribute for Led Zeppelin on December 2, 2012, at Kennedy Center. 
The choruses and orchestral elements make this a song that I enjoyed listening to several times.

The video below came across my Facebook feed last week. It's a young girl - Angelina Jordan - who sings "What a Difference a Day Makes." At only nine years old, her voice is impressive and sounds much older than her chronological age.

According to Wikipedia, Angelina "is a Norwegian singer who shot to fame after singing classic jazz pieces, including Gloomy Sunday and Fly Me to the Moon, which went viral on YouTube.
She won the 2014 season of Norway´s Got Talent, better known as Norske Talenter in Norway. After the Norway's Got Talent win in 2014, and with more than 40 millions combined YouTube views, she was featured in People Magazine, Time, and other news outlets all around the world."