Finding joy in the everyday

Google imagines She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth no the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27 I thought this photo was delightful, but sums up an earlier age where women were always busy.  Busy in both "work" but also when relaxing.  Their hands were rarely idle. They knitted, embroidered, made lace, patchwork, clothing . . . whilst some were for decorative purposes, much of what they made were for everyday wear. Women didn't see these activities during their relaxation in the evenings as toil, most enjoyed these quiet moments of creativity.  My great-aunts worked on their farms during the day, but in the evenings made the most beautiful lace work and embroidery, with the finest of stitches in what we would consider very poor lighting.  Whilst many women no longer do these types of craft activities any more, many still do and this is evident by the number of craft stores, quilting groups, books sold etc...  Lets hope the next

Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. Its means you're decided to look beyond the imperfections. This beautiful orchid plant was given to me by two close girlfriends for my birthday. On Sunday they put on a lovely afternoon tea with a delicious birthday cake and we have a wonderful time chatting together (with lots of laughing for sure).  Both women are mothers and grandmothers and have raised great children into adulthood, now they are enjoying grand-motherhood and love their grandchildren to bits.  As I was leaving I was given a big bag of lemons, cauliflower and broccoli all grown organically from Mrs G's garden (its one of her passions).  I don't have a lot of friends, but these two are very special and I feel very privileged to know them.  I will be very happy to grow old with these two ladies. I can imagine many more afternoon teas together and outings to local markets (something we enjoying doing now)!! And once we all

The other day in the newspaper were a list of "habits" that men don't like about women and those that women don't like about men.  I thought I would share them with you.  What do you think? Correct? Things that men don't like about women ( source ) Women don't get to the point quickly: Whilst men use 'direct talk' - they have a start and a conclusion and they keep it shorter than women, women don’t do this as much. Whereas women drop hints and clues hoping the male in his wisdom can work it out. For men it's all a big mystery. Women multi-track: When women are speaking their hearing is switched on. When males are talking their hearing is switched off.  Men either speak or listen which is the reason why when men talk there is only one talking. Nagging: It's only men that call it nagging. If it's a woman nagging a man she is reminding him of things that he hasn't done. Nagging - the act of repeatedly saying the same thing over

On Wednesday my cousin will be having a complex operation to remove several tumours, this is not her first operation and it won't be her last. I prayer for this brave young woman who has already endured so much, for her three sisters, her father, other extended family and for the doctors who will be carrying out this difficult surgery.  Life can throw us the unexpected, reach out and grab our Saviour's hand and cling tight and He will get you through.  In my prayers. xxx  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 Turn your eyes to Jesus O soul, are you weary and troubled?
 No light in the darkness you see?
 There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
 And life more abundant and free! Refrain Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
 Look full in His wonderful face,
 And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
 In the light of His glory and grace. Through death into life everlasting
 He passe

Katherine and Lilu Even if you don't like cats, I think you will love these photos by Russian photographer Andy Porkh.  Katherine is his daughter and this series is called " The girl and her cat " because they feature Katherine and Lilu the gorgeous Grey British Shorthair cat.  What is most amazing to me is Porkh has taken the two most difficult things to photograph - children and animals - and created these incredible imagines.  Link:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/andy-prokh-a-girl-and-her-cat_n_3024703.html This one contains younger shots of Katherine and her cat: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/cat-daughter-pictures-andy-prokh-russian-photographer-show-wonderful-friendship-article-1.1312800 Tells a little more about the relationship between Katherine and Lilu who have been inseparable since Katherine was a baby. http://resourcemagonline.com/2013/04/a-girl-and-her-cat-by-andy-prokh/

Source: Google imagines Falling in love is easy ... ... staying in love is very special. My husband and I are " empty-nesters " and this is often the time when couples get divorced. They stay together "for the children" but once on their own, they give up trying and go their separate ways. You can no longer hide behind the children and all their activities, its just you and your husband and you really do need to get along, work together and live in harmony.  I see the " empty-nester " stage of live as a second honeymoon - no children means you can let your hair down, have some romantic fun and fall in love all over again. The responsibilities you had with children are no longer same, you can sleep in, stay up late, go out for dinner, eat late if you want to, stay up and watch movies, go for long walks, share cooking a meal together, go shopping together - it is just you and your husband (or in our case 2 cats and 2 dogs who also want to j

I gave my mum a book written by a young christian man and after she had finished reading it I asked her if she enjoyed it. Her response was " it made me feel very sad as I didn't think he was a very good Christian at all ". This got me thinking, what is a Christian? If one walks into a room, what does he or she look like, what do they sound like, what comes out of their mouth, what does their behaviour look like. Because how we present ourselves to the world is how non-Christians " see " us and from this they base their views on Christianity. Some even want to know more based on our behaviour. All I can say, many non-Christians must be very confused, as I am at times. Over the years I have read many blogs by Christians (mostly by women) and the one thing that strikes me is the diversity of belief. Whilst we all believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and that He died on the cross for our sins, our lives varies so much, it is hard to know what " living

I found this great yarn at Lincraft called Giggles . Its pale blue (baby blue) and will become a very soft and fluffy scarf. Not the sort that will keep me very warm, but it will look quite stylish with a white or blue t-shirt at work or when I go out.  This time I am using the right needles and its coming along nicely. It won't be as quick as the previous scarf, but that's ok as its less likely to hurt my hands like those huge needles I used last time. To give you an idea of what the thread look like. 

Spring is on its way Dear friends and family, I can see spring in my garden and it has put a spring in my feet!!  My first jonquils and daffodils are flowering.  The cherry tree is in full bloom and the bees have arrived and I was very pleased to see tiny flowers on my Maple Tree. Winter won't be around very much longer, even birds seem to have a louder song to sing. The first jonquil in the garden First buds on the Maple Tree Pink Cockatoos - these birds mate for life and are very affectionate to each other. I thought I would share this story with you: I went out this morning to the fruit and veg markets to buy a half of duck (to make red duck curry) and to pick up some cat food for Ruby. While I was buying the cat food, an older lady came up to me and asked me what sort of cat I had. A cat lover can't help but talk about their cat to someone else, so I was more than happy to chat about Ruby!! I said that I had a Ragdoll cat and the lady said to me "

I was reading an art magazine during the week and came across an Australian artist that I had never heard of, but once I saw his work, I thought it was so typically Australian and really quite lovely. rThe artist is John Bradley and he was born in Sydney in 1945 and now lives in the Hunter Valley. I love this one - it screams "Australia" I think! Link to other examples of his work:  http://www.johnbradleystudios.com.au/index.php/John%20Bradley/index.php/0/0/brief/45dd284c1bda8.jpg/ Short video of John Bradley talking about his art.  https://open.abc.net.au/projects/day-in-the-life-11bh6tz/contributions/john-bradley-day-in-the-life-of-the-artist-01hy4bk