Friday, January 01, 2010

The First Signs of a New Year

I am on vacation this week and the days are flying by.

This is not a vacation traveling or visiting some place interesting. This is a week when I stay home, putter, let time unfold however it wants, do fun things I haven't had time for.
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One day this week JB and I drove 15 miles or so to the little town of Ashfield. You know it's little because the down town area, the center, the village, whatever you want to call it, only has three buildings.
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One building is a hardware store on the left and a pizza place on the right.

This is the story of lunch at the pizza place.






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JB and I ordered two drinks, one cup of artichoke and mushroom soup, one piece of cornbread, two bowls of rigatoni and meatballs, and one chocolate chip cookie.
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The bill came to $ 13 and a few cents.
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This is life in the country. Actually Ashfield is one of the Hilltowns. That is a local term for the small towns that together comprise the Hilltowns.
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Keep it Simple. That's the message I get from all this.
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That's one of my hopes for the new year. Not just for me, but for you too.

Love
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kj



16 comments:

  1. i like those words, keep it simple. mmm mine will be 'keep it balanced'. let's see if we can do this.

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  2. What a lovely sign about the pizza slices!
    Must be great to live there. I love pizza btw I would be a favorite restaurant of mine

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  3. And when the fear of long drives passes over me just as spring arrives, I'll be walking thru these little towns with you snapping pictures and laughing easily.

    Sounds like a good plan!

    xoxo

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  4. What a gem of wisdom KJ! Have a happy New Year!

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  5. 'keep it simple'

    great reminder ... thank you :)

    x ribbon

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  6. Ah looks so quaint. I've been so lazy this week that I'm beginning to feel guilty for not doing anything more than the washing! $13 for lunch for two! Coup d'etat

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  7. So down to earth with a great sense of fun and honesty. Simplicity rules! Down with sophistication that obscures and sets up barriers, unlike simplicity which embraces, accepts and affirms. ( I bet the food was good too!)

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  8. Perfect!
    I love this little place.
    And I love the free slice after 4 mentality that says so much.
    I've always been amazed when seeing things like fruit going to rot in the grocery. No one would buy it, yet they don't reduce the price so someone will buy before it does rot.
    I guess that's just too simple.
    I like simple too,,,

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  9. soulbrush, simplicity & balance. doesn't that sound just great? yes, let's see and let's do...
    xoxo

    marianne, i love pizza too! if i were on a desert island and could only eat one thing all the time, pizza would be it. (love you marianne)

    lo, yes, and i can't wait to show you! you and i and our two cameras will have the best time. the BEST!
    xoxo

    tamika, happy new year to you too.

    ribbon: ♥

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  10. I like it all very much.

    Love Renee xoxo

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  11. baino, it is not allowed to feel lazy on a vacation!! cut it out right now! i mean it! (tsup!)

    chief, this photo of you is totally adorable. you look so happy! i hear you: let's not be so simple that it divides. hahaha, that is at least one worry i don't think i have!! ♥

    babs, have you ever seen dunkin donuts late at night. they throw out those donuts by the hundreds. i asked once and was told they would happily donate food and donuts but the problem was no one to pick up and deliver. there's a non profit business in the waiting.
    hotdamn, babs, it IS! xoxo

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  12. My mantra has been Keep It Simple for many years. I haven't always been able to do so, but I'm wayyyyy better at it than I was. So practice makes not exactly perfect, but it does help!

    It's a lovely little pizza place...I love how they give away leftovers at the end of the day. Enjoy your holiday, kj, you deserve it!

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  13. Oh gosh. I stayed for two weeks in Ashfield at the artists retreat place (on main st) several years ago. At that time there was another shop too, sort of a country store kinda place, where I think you could get food too. But i've also been in the pizza place.

    I like the motto keep it simple. and in fact have been able to do so for a number of yrs, possibly made easier as I havent worked in a workplace outside the home which makes things more complex. Also when you have young kids around it's more complex. Or even a partner which I dont have. When you live alone, many complexities fall by the wayside in my opinion.

    but of course it goes beyond exterior markers and into the inside of me. Stop creating dramatic stories around everything that arises might be one way for me to keep my insides simple, my thinking simple.

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  14. I had to go check on a map-I've got friends in Ashland, not Ashfield.

    Balance is a good thing. I think MY motto this year is a little less talk and a little more action-but the goal is to achieve a balance.

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  15. keep it simple!
    this is one of my favorite motto/mantras... and i really get excited when see it reminded to me...

    love and peace

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