50 SIMPLE CHARMS

1. Lay thorny branches on your doorstep to keep evil from your dwelling.

2. Eat a pinch of thyme before bed, and you will have sweet dreams.

3. Place chips of cedar wood in a box with some coins to draw money to you.

4. Carry an anemone flower with you to ward against illness.

5. Hang a bit of seaweed in the kitchen to ward evil spirits.

6. Keep a jar of alfalfa in your cupboards to ensure the prosperity of your house.

7. Burn allspice as an incense to draw money or luck to you, as well as speed healing.

8. Cut an apple in half, and give one half to your love to ensure a prosperous relationship.

9. Carry an avocado pit with you to let your inner beauty shine outwardly.

10. Avocado is an aphrodisiac.

11. Strawberries are an aphrodisiac.

12. Place a piece of cotton in your sugar bowl to draw good luck to your house.

13. Celery is an aphrodisiac.

14. Place almonds in your pocket when you need to find something.

15. Scatter chili peppers around your house to break a curse.

16. Carrying a packet of strawberry leaves will help ease the pains of pregnancy.

17. Scatter some sugar to purify a room.

18. Throw rice into the air to make rain.

19. Carry a potato in your pocket or purse all winter to ward against colds.

20. Eat five almonds before consuming alcohol, to lighten the effects of intoxication.

21. Place a pine branch above your bed to keep illness away.

22. Chew celery seeds to help you concentrate.

23. Carry a chunk of dry pineapple in a bag to draw luck to you.

24. Ask an orange a yes or no question before you eat it, then count the seeds: if the seeds are an even number, the answer is no. If an odd number, yes.

25. Eat olives to ensure fertility.

26. Toss oats out your back door to ensure that your garden or crop will be bountiful.

27. Eat mustard seed to ensure fertility.

28. Place lilacs around your house to rid yourself of unwanted spirits.

29. Eat lettuce to drive lustful thoughts from your mind.

30. Rub a lettuce leaf over your forehead to help you sleep.

31. Add lemon juice to your bathwater for purification.

32. Eat grapes to increase psychic powers.

33. Carry a blade of grass to increase your psychic powers.

34. Smell dill to get rid of hiccups.

35. If you place a dill sachet over your door, those who wish you ill can not enter your home.

36. Place cotton on an aching tooth, and the pain will ease.

37. Buy cotton to cause rain.

38. Place pepper inside a piece of cotton and sew it shut to make a charm to bring back a lost love.

39. Carry a small onion to protect against venomous animals.

40. Eat grapes to increase fertility.

41. Place a sliced onion in the room of an ill person to draw out the sickness.

42. Place an onion underneath your pillow to have prophetic dreams.

43. Place morning glory seeds under your bed to cure nightmares.

44. Walk through the branches of a maple tree to ensure that you will have a long life.

45. Mix salt and pepper together and scatter it around your house to dispel evil.

46. Smell peppermint to help you sleep.

47. Hang a pea pod containing nine peas above the door to draw your future mate to you.

48. Eat a peach to assist in making a tough decision.

49. Carry peach wood to lengthen your lifespan.

50. Carry a walnut to strengthen your heart muscle.

Shmily

My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word "shmily" in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving "shmily" around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more. They dragged "shmily" with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal. They smeared it in the dew on the windows overlooking the patio where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring. "Shmily" was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper to leave "shmily" on the very last sheet.

There was no end to the places "shmily" would pop up. Little notes with "shmily" scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows. "Shmily" was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace.

This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents' house as the furniture. It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grand-parents' game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love-one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents' relationship. They had love down pat.It was more than their flirtatious little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and passionate affection which not everyone is lucky to experience. Grandma and Grandpa hold hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen.

They finished each other's sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble..

My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew "how to pick 'em."

Before every meal they bowed their heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune, and each other. But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents' life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside. Now the cancer was again attacking her body.

With the help of a cane and my grandfather's steady hand, they went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. For a while, Grandpa would go to church alone, praying to God to watch over his wife.

Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone. "Shmily." It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother's casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby. Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew that, although I couldn't begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.

When You're Gone - Avril Lavigne

I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie
Is made up on your side

When you walk away
I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day
And make it OK
I miss you

I never felt this way before
Everything that I do
Reminds me of you
And the clothes you left
They lie on the floor
And they smell just like you
I love the things that you do

When you walk away
I count the steps that you take

Do you see how much I need you right now?

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day
And make it OK
I miss you

We were made for each other
Out here forever
I know we were
Yeah Yeah

All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I do I give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me
Yeah

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
And When you're gone
The words I need to hear will always get me through the day
And make it OK
I miss you..................

White Flag - Dido

I know you think that I shouldn't still love you,
Or tell you that.
But if I didn't say it, well I'd still have felt it
where's the sense in that?

I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I know I left too much mess and
destruction to come back again
And I caused nothing but trouble
I understand if you can't talk to me again
And if you live by the rules of "it's over"
then I'm sure that that makes sense

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

And when we meet
Which I'm sure we will
All that was there
Will be there still
I'll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I've moved on....

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be

Maybe not tonight - Sammy Kershaw

You don't touch me anymore
You never say the words I love you
You just sit behind your paper
The silence cuts me like a razor
I'm gonna leave you
Maybe someday soon
When I can give up this fight
But maybe not tonight

We don't talk much anymore
Not the same way we used to
Whenever I reach out to hold you
You turn away
What am I supposed to do
I'm gonna say goodbye
When the moment's right
Like an eagle I will fly
But maybe not tonight

Can you just hold me
In your arms so deep
Wanna feel you breathin' on my skin
We fell out of love
We can fall back in

You never look at me that way
So many times I've longed to say
You used to brush the hair back from my face
Oh God, how I miss those days
You used to make me feel like someone
Tell me where did we go wrong
You were my best friend, my one and only love
You're still the only one
Just as I'm leaving you
You walk in the room
I see the flicker in your eyes
We say maybe not tonight

Can you just hold me
In your arms so deep
Wanna feel you breathin' on my skin
We fell out of love (How did we fall out of love)
Maybe we can fall back in

You don't touch me anymore
You never say the words I love you
I love you

Fading like a flower - Roxette

In a time where the sun descends alone
I ran a long long way from home
To find a heart that’s made of stone

I will try, I just need a little time
To get your face right out of my mind
To see the world through different eyes

Every time I see you oh I try to hide away
But when we meet it seems I can’t let go
Every time you leave the room I feel I’m fading like a flower

Tell me why
When I scream there’s no reply
When I reach out there’s nothing to find
When I sleep I break down and cry
Cry, yeah

Every time I see you oh I try to hide away
But when we meet it seems I can’t let go
Every time you leave the room I feel I’m fading like a flower

Fading like a rose
Fading like a rose
Beaten by the storm
Talking to myself
Getting washed by the rain
It’s such a cold cold town
Oh, it’s a such cold town

Every time I see you oh I try to hide away
But when we meet it seems I can’t let go
Every time you leave the room I feel I’m fading like a flower