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The Garden of Us (original photography by Sheri & Bill) In the "garden of us" - that is our garden of relationships - we are blessed with friends that pop up occasionally to friends that bloom and grow forever. The real magic is in the mix. Have you thought about the mix in your garden? Here are some possibilities: You’ve got your Sunflowers, who turn toward the light no matter what. These are your cheerleaders, your “we’ve got this” people. Call them on a cloudy day, and s

Remember the saying, “every pot has a lid?” Most folks hear it and think about partnering romantically. But looking at it from a different angle, it’s all about the fit. Not forced fit. Not “close enough” fit, but that satisfying, just-right moment when things come together the way they were meant to. Think about it. Every problem, no matter how oddly shaped, has a solution or resolution out there somewhere. It may not be obvious. It may not be quick. It might even look a l

The Liberty Bell is proudly displayed in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There it stands as a symbol of liberty and freedom for our country. When we first approached it on a trip to Philadelphia a few years ago, we expected to just snap a pix and then check another famous landmark off our travel list. Instead, something unexpected happened. Sheri: I remember standing there looking at that cracked and weathered bell. It stirred up an unexpected deep s

We moved some roses from the garden to the window ledge inside our home… where, as it turns out, you could see roses blooming inside and outside. Same flowers, just blooming on both sides of the glass. So where are we headed, you ask? To the realization that the roses didn’t stop being roses because their surroundings changed. Garden. Vase. Sunshine. Window table. Same bloom. Different setting. We humans tend to believe we can only thrive under exactly the right conditions. T

Sometimes, a “piece of cake” is just that simple: something easy, something sweet, a moment in life we can enjoy without hesitation.

“Hit the nail on the head.” We’ve all heard it, and we all know the feeling when it happens. That moment when something clicks, when the message lands just right…when the truth is so clear it almost echoes. In life, many of us swing the hammer often. We try this idea, that approach, another conversation, another plan. Sometimes we miss. Sometimes we bend the nail - or our thumb. Those are the moments you really remember and are actually part of the process. They teach us how

Question: “Hi, how are you doin’ today?” Answer: “Better today!” That simple reply may not sound dramatic, but it carries a quiet victory behind the scenes. Small daily “wins” can slowly add up. All you have to do is pick a few categories where you’d like to improve. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. But how many bites should you take today? What’s the serving size? What’s the daily recommended dose? Don’t worry about the math. Just take a bite. If you take ev

“Food for thought” isn’t just an expression, it’s a reminder that what we feed our minds matters just as much as what we feed our bodies. Life, in many ways, works like a refrigerator: fresh food in, healthy body out; positive thoughts in, happiness out. Sheri: I know lots about healthy, nutritious food! (Tip from experience: never shop when you're hungry.) I’ve been reading labels, squeezing melons, and checking expiration dates since my twenties. I also love to take advanta

Just Released! Book #2 of our Positivity Collection Positive Vision and Vibes... High on Life eBook, paperback, and hardback Written in our warm, laid-back, conversational (and sometimes witty) “Sheri & Bill” style, Positive Vision and Vibes offers encouragement, humor, and a positive perspective you can hang onto even when the world feels sideways. Inside, you’ll find: ✔️ Encouraging original non-published reflections from our Positive Perspective ✔️ Thoughtful photog

With passengers and crew totaling over 4,000, we were surprised and pleased to find an oasis of calm on board our cruise ship. Like a siren on the ocean, this oasis drew us in, calling “your table’s ready - what are you waiting for?”

Most of us have heard the old expression Carrots and Sticks. Some people respond better to carrots - that incentive or promise of something good just ahead that makes us want to take the next step. The stick, on the other hand, is the push, the reminder that if we don’t act, there may be consequences waiting behind us. One pulls us forward and the other “nudges” us from behind. And truth be told, life seems adept at using both. Sheri: Sometimes it’s useful to set up our own c

Early one spring morning we noticed a tiny yellow flower poking up through a narrow crack in our cobblestone patio. No garden bed. No special soil. Just a sliver of daylight between two stones. Pretty sure nothing was supposed to grow there. That cheerful little flower reminded us of one of life’s most reliable truths: where there’s a will, there’s a way, or at least the beginning of one. Sheri: Willpower sometimes looks just like this small flower pushing through a tiny cr

The mountains rose majestically, white and gray against the wide western sky. Below, a seemingly endless valley of green trees. The landscape was expansive and generous with perspective…you know, the big scheme of things. Sometimes freedom looks like this kind of stillness. Where there is space around your thoughts. Space around your fears. Space inside your choices. Bigger than the deadlines and the constant hum of what comes next. Room to breathe again. Sheri: Standing the

Here’s a simple plan for life: show up, try, stumble, learn, and keep going. Every small effort — the class you take, the recipe you attempt, the friendship you nurture — is a coin you drop into your personal treasure chest. Over time, it fills with more than memories; it becomes a store of experience, wisdom, and stories you can share with the world. That’s what it means to be chronologically gifted. Life’s treasures grow when you learn, volunteer, and travel. Each action de

Some mornings feel like a championship match. Other mornings feel like you showed up in your slippers with decaf and a slightly wrinkled game plan. Either a way, it’s morning, and life is waiting for your next shot. The ball’s in your court. We’ve learned a few things about courts over the years. Tennis courts. Basketball courts. Pickleball courts. (And no, we don’t mean food courts, although choosing a salad over a cinnamon roll can feel like its own Olympic event. We plead

Stepping Through The Rain....Sheri & Bill The rain just shows up—steady, unapologetic, doing what rain always does - washes out spiders. Not dramatic enough to stop everything, but something you can’t ignore. Plans still stand and the path still matters. It’s just wet and inconvenient. And there we were anyway. Walking. Smiling. Umbrellas open, choosing to stay connected while the weather did its thing. Sheri: It was certainly better when shared with friends! Rain has a wa

There are times when nothing obvious is happening. No color. No applause. No proof you can point to and say, See? That’s awesome! Just still water and wide leaves doing their quiet work. If you didn’t know better, you might think the pond was asleep. But surprise, folks, these lilies are fixin’ to bloom. Beneath the surface, everything necessary is already in motion. This is the gift of knowing and trusting. Not the kind that paces the floor or checks the clock every five min

Our photo pretty much gives it away: this is a shameless (but very positive!) promotion for our book, Pictures, Pen, and Positivity. Life is full of small moments, the kind you almost miss if you’re moving too fast. But when you begin to look for them, really look, something shifts. Those moments start to add up. A glance, a laugh, a flicker of light - each can carry more meaning than we often realize. That’s the heartbeat of this book: imperfectly and honestly, we choose to

There you are on the tee box, shoulders squared, dreams high. You’ve got a plan. You’ve watched the pros on The Masters make it look poetic. You draw back, aim and swing with confidence. Then suddenly, instead of keeping it in the fairway, you’re deep in the rough contemplating life’s choices with a squirrel as your only witness. Sound familiar? Keeping it in the fairway is good golf strategy, and good life strategy. The fairway is that clear stretch between where you are and

Seems like we’ve trained ourselves to believe that motion equals meaning. But sometimes you need to give yourself permission to pause.