Finding joy in the everyday

Its been really cold .   At 7:00am yesterday morning it was -8C (17.9F) with an apparent temperature of -10C (14F). The coldest winters morning in 17 years.  By midday (when I sat outside in the sun) the temperature had risen 18 degrees to 10C (50F). This morning wasn't any better. Check out the black swans below - they are white due to the frost on their feathers.  I wonder if they feel the cold like we do? Photos from the local newspaper: link ~oOo~ Happy weekend to all my lovely readers. Do you have any special plans? ~oOo~

 (Google imagine ) Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbon. by Ruth Ann Schabacker  (Google imagine ) I have always felt that the moment when first you wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours. No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, your possess the certainty that. . . absolutely anything may happen by Monica Baldwin  ~oOo~   Start your morning right,  and you'll have the best frame   for a beautiful day. from: The Worn out Woman by Stephens and Gray ~oOo~ Which one are you in the morning This? Or this? I'm the green guy in purple slippers!! ~oOo~

The Worn Out Woman: When your life is full and your spirit is empty ( link ) by Dr Steve Stephens and Alice Gray This is a great book.  Full of ideas for women who are worn out and need ways of recharging their batteries.  Who doesn't fall into this category from time to time?  I certainly do.  As it is designed for Christian women, the stories, advice and ideas have a Christian focus and they are easy to do for those of us who lead busy lives.  For example, the chapter on "simplicity" gives you ideas to unclutter your mind (eg turn of the TV or computer for 24 hours) or unclutter the house (eg walk around with a basket and gather up a few things that you are willing to give away and take to a charity store).  The chapter on "worry" suggests reading Matthew 6:25-34 and meditating on these fabulous words or consider doing something (I love this suggestion) like flying a kite!!  Some advice is serious and thought-provoking, others like flying a kite is fun.

Artist: Margaret Hannah Olley (24 June 1923 – 26 July 2011) Born: Lismore, Australia Still life painter (she liked to be called a painter rather than an artist!) Todays Art Wednesday is in memory to Margaret Olley (pictured above) who died at her home in Paddington yesterday (26th July) at the aged 88. She was one of our great artists, in particular best known for her flower still life. Olley loved to paint and continued almost up to the day she died—she was completing work for a solo show due to open in September. A busy lady, she held more than 90 solo exhibitions (the first in 1948). On 10 June 1991, in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, Olley was made a Member of the Order of Australia ' for service as an artist and to the promotion of art '. On 12 June 2006, she was awarded Australia's highest civilian honour, the Companion of the Order, ' for service as one of Australia's most distinguished artists, for support and philanthropy to the visual and pe

(Google imagine )    Do you think you generally receive good customer service when you shop? My husband ordered a part for his computer and after waiting 10 days he rang the company to be told that the part had arrived but they were unable to locate it in the shop—it had gone missing.  DH asked what they were going to do able it.  The reply was “re-order the part”.  DH reminded them that it took 10 days to arrive the first time and he really wasn’t keen to wait another 10 days for a part they had lost.  DH asked if it could be send express mail, he was informed it wasn’t store policy.  As you could imagine, DH wasn’t very happy at this point and asked to speak to the manager.  After going in circles, he was informed he could shop elsewhere if he didn’t like waiting or their attitude. He did just this, got his part and received far better service from the other store (also part of the same multi-national company).  My DH made the comment “ Australia has far worse custom

Breadmaking Recently I bought 100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood and this is the first loaf I made from it.  This is a Guinness and Treacle Bread, made with 150ml's of Guinness.  Anyone who doesn't cook with alcohol or like the smell/taste of Guinness wouldn't like this bread - it does have a slight bitter taste from the Guinness but I was very happy with the results. The yeast when wild when it met the Guinness and I had the most lively yeast I have seen in ages! Yesterday I finally got around to watch Homestead Blessings: The Art of Breadmaking (by the West Ladies) and learnt a few tips from the the DVD. I plan to copy some of the recipes, in particular their pizza recipe and the most delicious cinnamon scrolls. Just watching someone making bread is useful. Card making When I was in Sydney visiting Clara , I discovered Copic Sketch Markers. I had heard of them, but never seen them in action - now I'm hooked!!  Below is my very first attempt - Clara and I spent

After visiting St Mary's Cathedral , we visited the Hyde Park Barracks.  The Barracks is Australia's first government-built convict barracks, and the only remaining barracks building and complex from the Governor Macquarie era of convict administration.   In the early days of the colony of New South Wales, convicts were assigned to government service or private masters, and while the master was responsible for providing rations, convicts were responsible for their own 'lodgings and fire' in private houses and hotels. In order to pay for this accommodation they were permitted to work for themselves after hours. Convict men and women and soldiers associated freely in public houses after working hours, often resulting in disorderly public behaviour and robberies, and leading to increasing demands for greater control of convict living arrangements.  This is one such place. From 1814, the number of convicts being transported increased greatly, with th

Worry is like a rocking chair. It will give you something to do,  but it won't get you anywhere. ~Author unkown~ Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength ~Corrie Ten Boom~ 25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat , or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on . Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap , nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 . And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin : 29. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30

That's me in the garden writing a letter. Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us. Oscar Wilde What memories from  your childhood do you treasure most? ~oOo~ Here are a few of mine: Family day trips - my dad loved to take us on outings in the countryside.  Sometimes extended family would come along and we would all have a picnic and walk - it made the outing even more exciting. The gathering of family and friends to enjoy parties, picnics and afternoon games of tennis. Wandering the farm creating imaginary worlds and friends. Escaping into the world of literature - a lifelong love that has remained. Being introduced to classical music. Been read to as a child. Singing hymns on Sunday evenings. Cosying up to the wood fire on a Sunday afternoon in winter. Enjoying the clothes my mother handmade for me. The smell of mowed lawn on a Saturday afternoon in summer. Having long conversations with my cousin late into the night when all others had g