Finding joy in the everyday

Art Friday: Paul de Longpre Today we are going old-fashion florals, the sort you might have seen on a birthday card once-upon-a-time. I do hope you enjoy looking at these relaxing scenes. They are rather pretty I think. *****

I LOVE cats.  I would love to own many more but my husband has said no :( One day perhaps when I am home all the time!  So this fun post is to make me and other crazy cat people HAPPY . . . here is a series of beautiful cat photos that I have been dying to share on my blog but really didn't have any reason to.  This is me being a little cat crazy!! If you don't like cats, I still think you will find some very cute and cuddly.  I have felt cats rubbing their faces against mine and touching my cheek with claws carefully sheathed. These things, to me, are expressions of love.     (Vet, James Herriot) Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.   (James Herriot) Cats have it all - admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it. (Rob Mc Kuen) “The only escape from the miseries of life  are music and cats...” ( Albert Schweitzer ) “If It is impossible to keep a straight face  in the presence of one or more kittens." (Cyn

~ Dirty Dishes ~ I strongly dislike piles of dirty dishes! I never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink because it is the most depressing sight to wake up to in the morning. Who wants to be faced with a pile of cold greasy dishes. Not me!!! So if you are struggling with keeping your kitchen under control, start with the dishes. It only takes a few moments to wash up and you will start to see a difference in your kitchen. If washing dishes really does wear you down, do what I do and wash along when I am cooking so when the meal is eaten and enjoyed, there is hardly any dishes left to do. I usually dry whilst the food is cooking. Or minimise the amount of pots and pans that you use. There are way of making washing and drying much more fun, why not: rope in the entire family not only is it more enjoyable, its far quicker. take it in turns who washes and dries to create variety play a game, like "I spy" sing songs/hymns make up stories - have one

This is what life looked like before TV, mobile phones, computers, tablets and the like! This is what my childhood looked like and I have very fond memories. It is probably an alien view for many young people and children these days. I wonder how many children play board games with their parents (or with each other), see their parents reading in the evenings, sit and talk, do arts and crafts.  Very few, because not only are children addicted to TV and other screen devises, so are their parents.  "The average Australian young person spends about four hours a day in front of a screen of some sort. A typical home now has three TVs, three laptops and two videogame consoles, and a child’s bedroom resembles an electronics display room".  How many screen devices do you have in your house? Do your children have TVs in their bedrooms, if so, these facts below are worth reading.    Here is some facts about TVs in children's bedrooms and it isn't good news

by  Edward Moran Art Friday: Sailing Ships I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over. ~ By John Masefield ~ (A favourite poem that my mother read to me many times) ***** Todays art has been selecte

How often do people search far and wide to only come home to find what they are looking for? The dearest is generally the nearest. *****

All my previous quilts have been professionally quilted and I thought it was time to learn how to quilt - and what better way than on a baby quilt. Knowing that a baby was on its way in the family (how handy was that otherwise I might have had to hunt down a strange unknown baby!), I decided to make one and this is the result. The mum loves bright colours so this is one cheery quilt that should brighten any room :) Whilst I was using this quilt as a learning tool, I thought I would also learn how to appliqué as well and I have discovered that I love appliquéing and I am not too bad at it (trying to be modest!). So you are bound to see many more quilts containing appliqué!! It was so much fun doing all these animals - slow but rewarding!!  I am only a novice at quilting and have SO much more to learn - this is far from perfect and caused a lot of grief when I had to unpick my mistakes. The one thing I learnt was to have a clear plan before starting out and not change pla

Lessons for Husbands and Wives 1. Remember your purpose and role—head of the home and helper. 2. Always ask—check in with each other, you’re a team. 3. Know your enemy and how to fight him—begin and end your day in God’s Word. 4. Forgive each other—as God forgives you. 5. Go on—everyone makes mistakes and has hard times, but with God you can keep moving. Love for God, along with love for each other, enables you to face and overcome hard times, as well as excel in good times ~ By Elizabeth and Jim George  *****

" Being a woman does not automatically make one a lady. " How many ladies have you met recently? Probably not many because being a lady has gone out of fashion — it is seen as outdated, unnecessary, a way of holding women back and making them weaker in society. But when women reject ladylike traits, they become brash, h arsh and hard, more critical, more competitive, bitter, frustrated, bad mannered, more vulgar in their language and their dress, louder and we are seeing an increase female drunkenness, drug taking, violence.  I grew up with some wonderful examples of ladies, my aunts and mother were all taught to be ladies  as young women (both at home and at school) and as a result, they acted like ladies all their lives. It wasn't just in the way they dressed, it also in the way they spoke, walked, ate, behaved towards others, conducted their business, ran their homes and treated their husbands, children and other friends and family. I feel ve

Art Friday: Rob Hefferan This artist knows how to paint satin as if it was real - I just want to reach into the painting and touch the fabric, it looks so soft and rich. However, a word of warning, many of his other paintings are quite sensual and not suitable for children.  I haven't included any of those in this collection. *****