Finding joy in the everyday

Potrait of Mrs Hannie De Graaff-Hesselin, 1976 Artist: Scott E. Bartner American, born 1960 - currently lives in Maastricht, Netherlands Portraits Scott E. Bartner was born in Washington, D.C. in 1960 and grew up in the suburbs of Bethesda, Maryland. Despite growing up in an artistic household, Scott never gave the slightest indication of the direction his career would eventually take. In fact, it wasn't until his sophomore year at Rutgers College, where he was studying economics, that he received his first exposure to art history in a course taken more on a whim than with any real intention of studying the subject seriously. After college Scott went directly to business school, earned his Master's degree, and soon found himself working as a financial analyst in a large bank. The work was dull, the environment oppressive, and in this setting he started to draw. His father, then Chief of the Medical Illustration Department at the National Institutes of Health, showed him...

( Source ) Ladies, what do you think of this idea—a ladies only public pool.  In my local city a groups of women (most Islamic) are pushing for a pool that would be women only (newspaper story ). “Women who feel they cannot be in swimmers in front of men for religious or cultural reasons are among those likely to use the facility but also older women, those who feel self-conscious about their bodies and women recovering from injury or illness such as breast cancer.” At least one Muslim mother had contacted the government as she could not take her child to swimming lessons because neither she nor her husband felt comfortable being in a public pool. ''When you're going to learn-to-swim classes now they like the parents to be in the water with the children. For women, that's not possible because of the modesty aspects and for the father to get in a swimming group with other women is an issue as well,'' I was listening to the radio when this was br...

E is for encouragement Meaning: en·cour·age  (n-kûrj, -kr-) the act of giving hope or support to someone Other words for encouragement: help, nurture, foster, cheer, spur on, feed. A little encouragement goes a long way.  A few gentle kind words or a listening ear can have the power to remove dark storm clouds and replace them with rays of sunshine. Wherever possible, offer encouragement to others, we may never know the magnitude of our words but to another, our words may be more valuable than gold. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.   Proverbs 25:11 Here are a few ways to offer encouragement. Offer praise for ordinary accomplishments—look for the little things that most people take for granted. Show appreciation for the things someone does—whether that be washing the clothes to cooking a lovely dinner. Let someone know you are praying for them—we all know the power of prayer. Offer words of cheer for someone depressed, discourag...

Dear friends, It is Saturday morning . . . overcast and cold.  I sit at my desk in a demin skirt, pink top, pink cardigan and pink slippers. Not really a summer outfit, but it's too cold for anything else.  I have just come back from the shops where I bought some nighties for my mother, a cardigan for myself and a jelly bag for when I make jelly jam. My kitty (Ruby) is sitting next to me in her chair, curled up tightly to keep warm.  In a moment I am off to make Whoopie Pies.  Come around for afternoon tea, and you can share them with me.  More the merrier. Lots of love Jolusie xxx PS Each day I take a photo for my "Project 365" album ( link ) and the ones below are for this week (Wednesday is missing as I didn't really like it!). Enjoy. . . . Monday: this is my fruit bowl, but you will notice that it doesn't just contain fruit! I love all the colours. Tuesday: Members Hall at Parliament House, Canberra. I am standing on the 1st floor looking down to th...

I was introduced to Sherlock Holmes as a young teenager (thanks to my brother, who was an eager reader of Arthur Conan Doyle) and have thoroughly enjoyed this character ever since.  I have read almost all the books and have watched many different versions of Sherlock Holmes on TV, currently enjoying the "modern" reincarnation of " Sherlock ". It's probably thanks to Doyle that I quite enjoy a good murder mystery - including those by Agatha Christie. Here is some trivia about the author and the character. Something lite for the end of the week:) Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh, Scotland. When Doyle was twenty years old and in his third year of medical studies, when he was offered the post of ship's surgeon on the Hope , a whaling boat, about to leave for the Arctic Circle. The Hope first stopped near the shores of Greenland, where the crew proceeded to hunt for seals. The young medical student was appalled by the brutalit...

A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead ( link ) Most books about WWII and Auschwitz are tough reads, this one is no different. I read this during my lunch hour and sometimes the hour would pass and I would hardly notice that I had been reading for 60 mins - I just couldn't leave these women and return to my work. This book is compelling. I often wonder why we read such tragic stories of suffering and horror - is it so we don't forget or we are simply fascinated by what happens to others from the comfort of our homes.  I can't help but think " What would I do ", if placed in the same situation.  This is a question I never want to find out.  In January 1943, a group of 230 French women were rounded up and sent to Aushwitz in Silesia (now in Poland) only to be released at the end of the war. The youngest was 15, the eldest was 68. Only a handful were Jewish.  These were French resistance fighters trying to defend their country from Nazi occupation. Only 49 retur...

Artist: Marcel Marlier Born: Belgium (1930-2011) Artist and illustrator With my love for colour, you can see why I love these illustrations - they are full of life and colour.  I think they are so pretty. Perhaps I am still a child at heart. Marcel Marlier was a Belgian artist and illustrator. He was born in Herseaux, Belgium. When he was 16, he enrolled in decorative art at Saint-Luc de Tournai. He finished his studies in 1951 with distinctions.  he returned as a teacher two years later. The  Belgium  publisher La Procure a Namur organised a drawing contest.  They were interested in finding a talented artist to illustrate works for school children. Marlier won the competition. Two books resulted from this and these books guided a whole generation of  Belgium children through the first few years of school - I Read with Michel and Nicole and I Calculate  with Michel and Nicole.   Marlier's collaboration with La Procure a Namur lasted more...