Healing Grounds Therapy & Cafe

07/29/2025

Cayuga Lake is amazingly refreshing and the sunsets are unbelievable...the red reflection on the water is breathtaking...can't capture it in the photo

07/27/2025

Celebrating Sean Ashley today and always

07/27/2025

Let yourself bloom again. Wonderful long read

*One month before her 95th birthday, Patricia Routledge wrote something that still gently echoes:*

**“I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often filled with worry — worry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.”**

My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.

At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.

At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.

At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.

At 80, I took up watercolor painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.

Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.

**I’m writing this to tell you something simple:**

**Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.**

Let these years ahead be your *treasure years*.
You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.
You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.

*With love and gentleness,*
— Patricia Routledge

07/27/2025

Happy Birthday to my first born son, Sean. What a delight you are in every way.

07/26/2025

Such a beautiful night at Cayuga Lake with amazing stars and a cool breeze.

07/23/2025

So grateful for each day

Midweek Gratitude Moment ❤️

What if something as simple as writing down three small things could shift your whole day? 💛

There’s a quiet little movement that’s been growing for years…Gratitude Journaling. People keep a journal, listing just three things they’re thankful for every day. It’s not about being positive all the time. It’s about noticing. Slowing down. Finding softness in the middle of whatever’s hard. You don’t have to write down anything fancy, just simple human joys.

I started a gratitude journal about five years ago… and then, like so many things, it got away from me. But it’s something I want to come back to. So today, I’m starting here ~ a small Midweek Gratitude Moment.
Maybe it’ll inspire you to try it too.

Here are my three little things I’m grateful for today:
1. That first sip of morning coffee ~ honestly, it could make my list every single day! ☕😄
2. Walking with my neighbor ~ we chat, we laugh, we always show up for each other.
3. HelloFresh meals ~ because cooking’s never been my gift, and it helps so much knowing dinner’s already planned. 🍴

Gratitude won’t fix everything. But it makes the edges softer. And sometimes, that’s enough.❤️

What are you grateful for today?

07/23/2025

Thank you Liza Kelly for the beautiful phlox. Friendship gardens are the best.

07/22/2025

Life is like a quilt...different people and experiences are a different block. Henry Nsamba and Ester are big blocks of my quilt. This was my first day in Kampala, Uganda at an Introduction African ceremony. Today I say goodbye to Henry.

07/21/2025

Many times we look strong on the outside, but we are just putting 1 foot in front of the other to get through the day. We show up every day.

"she's not strong"