Dear Reader:

It was such a beautiful day yesterday that I decided to open the doors of my bedroom (wide-open) that lead onto the deck. The sunlight came filtering through the door slants… filling the bedroom with warm rays of sunshine. I grabbed my latest novel I am completely immersed in…propped up on a pillow with natural light falling on the book… and promptly fell asleep for a short nap.

When I awoke I began staring at the wonderful painting of flowers and leaves in front of me on my bedroom wall. Oranges and yellows always capture my attention and interest first. I have recently discovered too…that the scent of fruits…primarily orange and lemon scents work best on my body metabolism. It is strange how the combination of scents and sights go hand-in-hand if we use our senses to discover our own secret scent.

The blue leaves in the painting also captured my imagination…I would love to run through a forest filled with blue leaves…I can visualize it in my mind….a snowy winter forest and blue leaves falling from the trees onto the snow. I am running around picking up the leaves as fast as I can until my basket overflows with all different shades from periwinkle to turquoise to  aqua.

Have you ever considered the role that gravity plays on our ability to detect different smells? If there were no gravity on earth…there would be no smells. Astronauts lose their sense of smell in space because there is no gravity to move smells around.

Facts like that always kinda blow my mind….most of the time I am quite happy that I have the ability to smell. Without smell…we lose our taste buds and that is the worst….It happened to me each time I went through a round of chemo…I had this metallic after-taste that blocked all other taste buds from ‘doing their thing.’ Nothing tasted quite right…it was like I was eating a poor imitation of a piece of chicken or slice of fruit or little vegetable. Life loses a lot of color when smell and taste diminishes…

Color also plays an important role in the games of chance we love to watch and “agonized” over. When I woke up yesterday morning and was opening the window blinds…I discovered that the orange day lilies Susan had given me as a hostess gift…(one) was blooming. “Aha” I thought in delight…a sign, an omen…orange for Clemson today.

Later when I saw the beautiful Japanese maple in my backyard with its bright orange leaves against the periwinkle sky…I thought “Wow…how cool…another good omen. ” Go Clemson!”

I have no doubt  there were Carolina fans out there doing the same thing…”Oh look at that deep shade of red in my roses”…an omen that Carolina will come out on top.” 

When it comes to life’s “games of chances” I believe we all fall back on some pre-ancestor superstitions…If I blow three times in my cupped hands Walsh will catch the long pass ( I did that all the time when he played high school football -worked most of the time too) or if I held my breath and squeezed my hands three times we would make that first down.

It really is strangely funny how when we get down to brass tacks with our desire for some one or something to win we can see signs, omens, and rituals all around us. Our “civilized” selves take a back seat to ancient rituals and sayings.

Throw away all the statistics on paper…I don’t believe there were many people who thought yesterday’s game would be a run-away…this old state rivalry is so embedded in our state’s history and our own family history (psyche) that the past always comes into play…It will hopefully always be a fight to the last whistle…That’s what the great South Carolina rivalry deserves and what it gets from its finest athletes on both sides of the fence.

So until tomorrow…Let’s get out there and taste and smell the last days of fall!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Don’t forget! Mark your calendar! This Saturday, December 5 marks the fourth annual Christmas Pottery Sale!!!

Honey and Mike’s wares are always a hit at Christmas…actually any time of the year….these are the gifts that leave memories behind! Come join the fun….Honey’s House: 9am to 3 pm!!!! See directions and location below!