...auld lang syne...

The Anglicized version of 'auld lang syne', which means old long-since or old long-ago.

Origin

The phrase has been a commonplace in Scots for centuries and isn't far removed from the English 'once upon a time'. Of course, the best-known use of the phrase is Robert Burns' poem Auld lang syne, the words of which are sung in English-speaking countries around the world each New Year's Eve, to a tune that Burns said he transcribed from an old man's singing of it.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin’ auld lang syne.
We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin’ auld lang syne.
And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!
And gies a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught,
for auld lang syne.

Burns' version builds on earlier works. Poems and songs with somewhat similar text have been found dating back as far as anonymous ballad in the Bannatyne Manuscript of 1568. Another version, the first that contains a form of the 'auld lang syne' phrase, is attributed to the courtly poet Sir Robert Ayton (1570-1638).

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never thought upon,
The flames of love extinguished,
And freely past and gone?
Is thy kind heart now grown so cold
In that loving breast of thine,
That thou canst never once reflect
On old-long-syne

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 

another year 

will soon be rolling in.

can't help but

be happy.

we've been blessed with another year.

remember when the year 2000

seems so far away.

and we danced in 1983 to

party like it's 1999.

welcome 2012.

i've been waiting for you.

just BE.

robin. 

...and above all...

wallpaper.

you may use.

if you so choose.

for the up coming year.

blessings.

just BE.

robin.

...after glow...

our Christmas snow...

basking in the warmth

that is family.

just BE.

robin.



...12.25.11...

Out in the fields,

an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds

who were tending their flocks of sheep by night.

The angel announced that the Savior

 had been born in the town of David.

 Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings

 appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God.

As the angelic beings departed,

 the shepherds decided to travel to

Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.

Merry Christmas.

may the promise of Christmas

find it's way.

welcome to coffee hour.

welcome to this Sunday morning.

just BE.

robin.

...frees you to be wonderful...

rising above our emotions

helps us to keep our hearts pure,

so that we can spread love and compassion more generously,

without compromise or complication.

love is usually associated with warmth,

and selfishness with coldness,

so this may seem surprising.

but relishing your own emotions

keeps your warmth to yourself,

whereas observing them with detachment

frees you to be wonderful.

~1,001 way to live in the moment

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

wishing you all the blessings of the season.

just BE.

robin.

...12.18.11...

 perhaps a little chatty today... ;-)

as my birthday draws nearer...

from simple abundance:

a daybook of comfort and joy

by sarah ban breathnach

..."i've reached a point where i'm not really

 big on major birthday gatherings,

but i do need to distinguish the

birth day of my life in special ways from the rest

of the calendar."...

..."so i have created by own birthday ritual

to help me commemorate the year

just past while invoking illumination

for the year to come."

(she talks of the rituals she goes through...

a bath, lighting candles, looking at photographs)

..."next i ask for a birthday gift that

only the Giver of Good can bestow:

to conceive a wonderful new dream or plan:

to realize a dream delayed;

to overcome an old fear

or be released from an old pain;

to experience a new freedom;

to discover a new strength;

to find a new friend;

to achieve a long-sought goal;

to reach toward a new aspiration;

to overcome a new challenge.

i sip a glass of champagne, then slowly open a beautifully wrapped

gift from my authentic self.

and of course,

it's the perfect present."...

..."many people who love you will try,

but no one can celebrate your birthday exactly

the way you need for it

to be observed.

that's because no one really knows the

year you've just completed;

no one else lived it."...

(there are so many wonderful words of wisdom...

but i will leave you with this...)

..."every birthday, not just the ones marking

a new decade, is a significant milestone.

every age brings with it three hundred sixty-five

REAL LIFE lessons.

"we turn, not older with years, but newer every day,"

emily dickinson reassures the birthday girl in all of us.

and that's certainly something

worth celebrating in grand style.

so: happy birthday! happy birthday to you!

i've got a good feeling that this coming year

is going to be your best yet.

Heaven knows you deserve it."

soon.

i will be celebrating forty-seven years.

thanks for spending coffee hour with me.

i look forward,

not to the year to come...

but to day by day.

and to be blessed with moments.

welcome to coffee hour.

welcome to this Sunday morning.

just BE.

robin.

...the stuff you believe in...

can you prove any of the stuff you believe in?

my son asked me

& when i said that's not how belief works,

he nodded

& said that's what he thought

but he was just checking to make sure

he hadn't missed a key point.

~storypeople

storypeople.

they did it to me again.

i love the key point for this time of year!!

the leaf was

creating a pattern as it

floated across the deck snow

this morning.

just had to capture it's

tiny shadow.

HEY HARRIET

tracy is hosting for her last weekend.

come on over and check it out.

hoping for a lovely, stress-free-

people being kind and considerate,

kind of shopping day with my husband.

"never underestimate the power

and potential

of the human spirit"

just BE.

robin.

...12.11.11...

God bless the world!!!

today.

i was thinking of this...

"they were all so happy they could hardly speak at first.

they just looked with shining eyes at those

lovely Christmas presents.

but laura was happiest of all.

laura had a rag doll.

she was a beautiful doll.

she had a face of white cloth with

black button eyes.

a black pencil had made her eyebrows,

and her cheeks and her mouth were

red with ink made from pokeberries.

her hair was black yarn

that been knit and raveled

so that it was curly.

she has little red flannel stockings

and little black cloth gaiters for shoes,

and her dress was pretty pink and blue calico.

she was so beautiful that laura could not say a word."

"laura sat down on the edge of her bed

and held her doll.

she loved her red mittens and she loved the candy,

but she loved her doll best of all.

she named her charlotte."

from little house in the big woods

~laura ingalls wilder

my grandpa arden.

is in one of the photos.

my grandpa herman and

my grandma byers

are represented by the bird ornaments.

as they were from my grandma.

i loved reading the laura ingalls wilder books

when i was growing up.

how simple life was back then.

how grateful they were for

the small things in life.

we decorated the tree

and the house this weekend.

i couldn't help but think back to my

seasons of Christmas

as a child.

with my family around.

what treasured memories they are.

thank you ms. wilder.

for warming the depths of my soul.

welcome to coffee hour.

welcome to this Sunday morning.

just BE.

robin.

...gifts...

unconditional love.

selflessness.

trust.

faith.

forgiveness.

wholeness.

second chances.

comfort.

joy.

peace.

reassurance..

rejoicing.

generosity.

compassion.

charity.

wonder.

acceptance.

courage.

gifts of the season.

light + objects = shadows.

HEY HARRIET

what is your gift?

just BE.

robin

...12.4.11...

it is december.

i may have shared this before.

but i want to share it again.

on the first day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

                              the gift of my undivided attention

on the second day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

            the gift of enthusiasm

on the third day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

                  the gift of creative energy

on the forth day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

                                 the gift of simple seasonal pleasures

on the fifth day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

          the gift of tenderness

on the sixth day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

           the gift of good cheer

on the seventh day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

    the gift of beauty

on the eighth day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

                the gift of communication

on the ninth day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

     the gift of surprise

on the tenth day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

    the gift of wonder

on the eleventh day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

                         the gift of peaceful surroundings

on the twelth day of Christmas, I gave to my true loves:

the gift of joy

~simple abundance

a daybook of comfort and joy

sarah ban breathnach

this plant.

a pansy.

has been around since may.

may!

it survived the frost.

i brought it up on the porch.

it has survived.

temps of 24 degrees.

today.

i brought it in.

it is possible.

it may not like the heat of the house.

but for today.

this pansy.

is my gift of surprise.

my gift of wonder.

my gift of peaceful surroundings.

my gift of joy.

what a wonderful way to start out decemeber.

welcome to coffee hour.

welcome to this Sunday morning.

just BE.

robin.