LOVE & COMPASSiON

"At the end of the day LOVE and COMPASSION will win." -Terry Waite


"All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness. The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives." 
-Dalai Lama

Valentine gifts of LOVE and COMPASSiON! 

A special outing for coffee at "The Roastery"
 this morning with my two Girlies...
Daughter, JANA and Grandaughter, MARiAH.
It was a morning of LOVE filled sweetness!
 

Mariah with her hot chocolate topped with fluff and sprinkles...
What's not to LOVE about that?!!! 

A little GRANDKID crafted Valentine
for Jana and Nels of their kids!
I LOVE to craft... especially with pics of my cuties! 

A GRAMMiE D VALENTINE for
MARIAH! 

A GRAMMiE D VALENTINE
for BEAU! 

Yesterday I gave into a couple of
cravings...
homemade chocolate chip cookies
and a Starbucks chai tea latte...
A combination of LOVE! 

Jana's bedroom still has her
WHITNEY HOUSTON Banner
from a concert we went to in 1991 hanging on her wall.
Mariah LOVES to play in her mommy's old bedroom. 

Another WHITNEY HOUSTON Memory...
Jana did a small jazz group in 1993
with five of her dance studio buddies to
"I'M EVERY WOMAN"
You gotta LOVE the styles of the 90's!!!

My blog wouldn't be complete without a pic of me and my
VALENTINE and LOVE of my LIFE...
My hubby Brian
Every day I am grateful for his
LOVE and COMPASSION.


Today's blog is all about LOVE
with tomorrow being
VALENTINE'S DAY!

This past weekend the world
was saddened by the sudden death
of another musical icon and legend...
WHITNEY HOUSTON.
I had done my previous blog in tribute
to the GRAMMYS which aired on TV
last night. I wrote that blog just hours
before hearing the news of
Whitney's untimely passing.

From last night's Grammy show,
it was obvious how much
LOVE and COMPASSION
surrounded the loss of this
amazing iconic performer.

I truly enjoyed the whole show
last night and it made me realize just how much I LOVE music of so many genres.

It was nice to see my childhood idol,
PAUL McCARTNEY of THE BEATLES,
honored and see him perform
a couple of numbers in
the three and a half hour broadcast.
His final song was the show closer
ending with the famous words off their
 Abby Road album...
"And in the end, the LOVE you take,
is equal to the LOVE you make."
Paul also sang a new tune written in
a jazz styling for this valentine's day,
and performed with another
one of my iconic favorites...
JAZZ PIANIST, DIANA KRALL.

The evening was jam packed with talents
and all very entertaining,
with the GRAMMY big winner of the year
being a 24 year old singer from England
who goes by the name ADELE.
She won all 6 awards
she was nominated for.

JENNIFER HUDSON did a
stunning tribute to
WHITNEY HOUSTON
by singing her biggest hit of all time...
"I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU"
from the classic movie
"The Body Guard".
It is so ironic that Whitney's
body guard discovered her dead
just this past saturday.
The world will always love
Whitney even though she had a bit
of a troubled life.

Today they were featuring a tribute
to her life on Serius XM radio,
which I have access to in my car only.
The announcers made a good point,
in that we often wait until someone is gone before we really get caught up
in sharing the love.
How very true that is.
I was once again reminded what an
amazing voice WHITNEY had
as I listened to her many great
hits played as I was
driving along in my car.
I have some of those record albums
in my garage from the days
when we still used turntables!

Jana and I went to a WHITNEY HOUSTON concert in the summer of 1991
and absolutely LOVED it.
Now that is such a cherished
memory for us. The souvenir banner
we purchased at that concert
still hangs on Jana's old bedroom wall!

This morning I received an inbox
facebook message from one of the dancers
in Jana's 1993 small jazz group
reminding me of what fond memories,
those girls shared dancing to
Whitney's "IM EVERY WOMAN".
Thanks KIM for reminding us of 
that fun time again!

This morning I received a very
sweet phone call from MARIAH saying
she missed me and wanted to see me.
I ended up meeting her and her mommy
for a special pre valentine coffee at the Roastery, a locally owned coffee place.
I LOVE when things like that happen...
it made me feel so LOVED
and proud to be a GRAMMIE!

I spent some time crafting some
valentines for my grandkiddies yesterday
... I LOVE getting a chance to utilize
some of the many photos I take
along with my many crafts into some cards!
I delivered those to Jana and Mariah this morning, too, with some roses
for my two girlies for Valentine's day.

Yesterday I had a craving for
chocolate chip cookies,
and finally broke down and made some...
I LOVE them... they are my fav!
We had my brother Brian over for supper
last night, so I sent the remainder home
with him so I didn't end up
eating the entire batch!
I always LOVE when he drops over,
too... we had a nice visit!

Saturday we enjoyed a great meal out
with friends, JOAN and GERRY.
I LOVE when we get the chance
to do things with friends!

Tomorrow my good friend from Regina,
LYNNE, is coming to the city
for a little VALENTINE'S DAY
girlfriend bond!
I LOVE connecting with her as
 we always have fun whenever
we get together, too!

I feel grateful for having a LOVING family
and so many great friends in my life
to share the
LOVE and COMPASSION
with always...
and although I do not always say it
I need to share the LOVE more often!

Yesterday my next door neighbor, Cheryl posted this on her facebook page...
"Live without pretending.
Love without depending.
Listen without defending.
And speak without offending."
-Author Unknown

I thought those were great
words of wisdom and wanted to share!

I have been thinking a lot, too,
about how without COMPASSION...
it is hard to have PASSION...
so on that note...
continue to be COMPASSIONATE
about all that you LOVE,
and TAP into your PASSIONS in life!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
to all my blog readers
out there whoever you are!
 I hope to keep on spreading
lots of LOVE & COMPASSION
through my blog!

It's fun to share
with the ones who care,
And to live each day with
LOVE and FLAIR!
Live each day from the very start,
With all the LOVE you have in your heart,
Let your PASSION shine right through,
With all the things you say and do.
You really cannot go far wrong,
When sharing some LOVE
through a little song...
Sing and Dance in your own fashion...
And live your life with
LOVE & COMPASSION!