Finding joy in the everyday

Make the  most of your day. Every good gift  and  every perfect gift  is from ABOVE. James 1:17

Artist: Mark Keathey I know these are a bit sweet and chocolate box type art, but I love them.  There is something innocent about these paintings which really appeals to me. Plus the light and colour is fabulous.  Link to website:  http://markkeathley.com/welcome

"You are never too old  to set another goal  or to dream a new dream... " ~C. S. Lewis When we stop dreaming, we stop living.  Women tend to get so involved in the lives of others; their husband, their children, their ageing parents,  they forget to have own their dreams, things they want to do for pleasure. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do something for yourself, whether that be craft, sewing, photography, painting, growing vegetables, joining an art class, cooking class, learning how to sail a boat (not one I would do!!), renovate furniture  etc. . . .  we all need these activities to keep us sane and they bring pleasure and joy at the same time. And often these projects benefit other family members as well. We can have big dreams or littles dreams, but one must never stop dreaming. What are you dreaming about? Photography: "Sitting quietly" - taken at Taronga Zoo, Sydney

Photography by Joluise The AusDiab study was funded through a National Health and Medical Research Council grant and followed 11,000 Australians for 12 years. Researchers found the incidence of diabetes remained very high, with almost 270 adult Australians diagnosed each day, and people aged 25-34 were gaining more weight than other age groups. Patients with diabetes were also found more likely to suffer other conditions as well. Prevalence of depression in patients with diabetes was 65 per cent, which was much higher than those without diabetes. The report found that the average gain in waist circumference over the 12 years of the study was 5.3 centimetres and it was greater in women than men. "They've stopped doing exercise they did as a young single person - they've taken on a lot of family responsibilities - but they don't yet feel any great connection or risk of developing diseases such as diabetes. Source:  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-19/aus

"The seashore", 1990 Artist: William Henry Margetson Born: 1860 (Camberwell, London) Died: 1940 Painter and illustrator "A moment's reflection" "Fresh lavender" , 1909 "At the cottage door" "A new day" "The virgin at the loom" , 1895 "A stitch in time" , 1915 "Afternoon tea" " A study of a girl arranging linen" "Faith"

I love feminine clothes, so I was thrilled to see a very pretty range of dresses for sale this summer.  I think we can thank the Duchess of Cambridge for bringing back some class and style to women's clothing.  I don't wear dresses a lot, but I do own a few which I wear to work and some for weekend wear.  My own grumble about these sorts of dresses - they are generally made from cotton (and thats good) but they can be a pain to iron!! As a result I generally drip dry them to make it easier.  This selection is from the Ezibuy online store.  If only I could sew dresses, but I am a long way from obtaining that skill!!  This would be lovely to wear on a hot summers day. I particularly like this dress. I would wear this one to work but would need a cardigan as the office can be a little cool. Are you one for wearing dresses like these or do you prefer skirts? I just love all the bright colours.

Blair McMillan, his girlfriend and two children have given up any and all forms of technology released to the world after 1986.That means no mobile phones, no internet, no Facebook, no email, no Twitter, no DVD players, no CDs, no mp3 players, few, if any, colour computers. No online banking. No digital cameras. No cable TV. No Nintendo 64. No Xbox. No PlayStation. Music will be played either through a radio or cassette tape. Looking at photos of people on other people's phones has also been banned. The only approved TV shows and video games were ones that aired on or before 1986. Source: news.com.au What do you think? Could you stop using modern technology? The answer is no for me - I love internet banking, I love being able to stay in touch with people and "chat" online, I love having so much knowledge at my finger tips, I love listening to my music on the iPod, having a phone with me whenever I need it, shopping online.  I see no reason to "go back i

Dear friends and family, If only you all could come and visit, I have freshly baked chocolate chip muffins cooling the shelf (far too many for just me) and the tea is ready.  Sadly that won't happen so I have sent a message to my son and his wife to visit and enjoy the muffins instead!  How are you all?  Did you have a lovely week?  I know one particular reader is very excited as her husband's family is visiting (just arrived in Australia) from the USA - I am sure they will have the most wonderful few weeks together, very precious weeks for sure. This was also the week to remember the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attack in New York.  Whilst we are such a long way from the event, it has touched us all in some way and we can all remember where we were at that tragic moment.  Whilst most of us are never directly touched by these horrible events, death and destruction seems to be happening in some part of the world ever day, with Syria being in a terrible situati

Happy birthday Roald Dahl Roald Dahl was born on this day in 1916 in Cardiff, Wales to Norwegian parents. What is your favourite Roald Dahl book? Which books do your children enjoy reading/listening to? Mine favourite book was always  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and this was also my children's favourite book, followed closely by Matilda and James and the Giant Peach .  We all loved the 1971 Gene Wilder adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate factory movie.  I wasn't as keen on the Johnny Depp version. Dahl with his family Did you know: Dahl wrote all his children's stories in a hut at the bottom of his garden. He was a Hurricane fighter pilot during WW2 He had 2 steel hips and 6 operations on his spine. He wrote the screenplays for the James Bond movie " You only love twice " and " Chitty Chitty Bang Bang " He loved chocolate, but not chocolate cake or chocolate ice-cream. He always wrote in pencil