Finding joy in the everyday

Kim and Krickett Carpenter  Yes, still at home with plenty of time to read. Each afternoon, I grab a mug of tea and sit on my favourite couch (with Ruby the cat) or out in the sun with a good book and read for an hour or two. Last week I finished reading " The Vow " by Kim and Krichitt Carpenter as recommended by my brother.  I thought I would read the book before watching the movie (I will get to that in a minute) and enjoyed it thoroughly. Whilst the book is not overly wordy, in fact I read it in a day - the Christian message is strong throughout but in particular the importances of the marriage vows and the promises a couple make (in the presences of God) on their wedding day about sticking together through sickness and in health - through the good and the bad. Kim and Krickitt's vows were tested within the first few months of their marriage with a nasty car crash that nearly killed them both and resulted in a severe brain injury for Kr...

Source: Link  - this site allows you to download these gorgeous dolls/clothes Did you play with paper dolls as a child? I did and I still have most of them. I spent many hours cutting them out (with a lot of care and attention as you didn't want to cut of those little tags), dressing them and then creating all sorts of imaginary games.  I loved them dearly. I even own some dolls that my mother played with as a little girl!  They were a bit fiddly, need patience's and gentleness (as they could easily rip), their clothes fell off sometimes (if the little tags didn't sit quite right) and they could be a wobbly, but in the end, these were trivial issues that all could be solved.  I had old fashion dolls and quite modern dolls, I had baby dolls and grown up ladies in fancy dresses. My mother added to their wardrobe with more clothes that she very carefully made and coloured-in for me (I still have some of these which I treasure).  They were an inexpensi...

I had some dried apricots left over from when I made dried apricot jam and I also had some granola I wanted to use up, so this was the perfect recipe for both these items. We (DH and I) are going on a picnic tomorrow and I thought these would be really nice to take with us to nibble on.  Add 2 cups toasted muesli* (I used my homemade Granola) and 1 cup dried apricots (which I chopped roughly with scissors) to the food processor.  Whizz until fine.  The recipe suggests for 2-3 minutes, I thought that was a little too long. Up to you though.     * You could use rolled oats with the muesli. Add 1/4 cup of honey (but you could use maple syrup) and 2 tablespoons of melted butter (this can be excluded if you want). Whizz some more until all the mixture is combined and easy to roll into balls. Roll into balls and coat with coconut.  The finished product - healthy and yummy. Allow to firm and them eat... I filled the sink with hot soap...

E arlier this month there was an explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Japan (one man died and others were injured) - this particular factory supplies 1/5 of the global market in disposable nappies. It has raised concerns about our dependency on disposable nappies ( diapers for those in the USA ). In Britain alone, 3 billion nappies are thrown away each year * . Australia currently uses around 1 billion per year.  However, the USA uses 16 billion per year ** with India and China overtaking the USA as they move to disposable nappies at a rapid rate. Considering that they are not bio-degradable and take many, many years to decompose, this is not good news for our environment or land-fill. Approximately 90% of Australian parents use disposable nappies - I didn't for our first child, but I did with our second as it was easier and more convenient, especially during the monsoon season (when cloth nappies didn't dry very quickly) and when going out.   ...

In the garden Artist: An He Chinese born: 1957 Born in China in 1957 and taught to paint by his father a highly respected artist and professor of art in Guangzhou. An he moved to the USA in 1985 and now lives in And Francisco.  While attending the academy, An was invited to join the All China Artist Association, a top national organisation only for professional artists.  At the age of 24, he was the youngest member ever to be chosen.  This was his first honour.  Since then, his paintings have been widely exhibited in many cities throughout China.  He also was commissioned to do hundreds of book covers and illustrations for publications.  An He has won several National Art Excellence awards in China.  Three of his works have been purchased by the Chinese government for the permanent collections on display in the Nationall Museum of Fine Arts in Beijing. An He’s paints women in  timeless fashion, There is a grace; a peek into the ...

A taperstry of flowers (photography by Joluise) My Life is but a weaving between my Lord and me; I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily. Oft times He weaveth sorrow And I, in foolish pride, Forget He sees the upper, And I the under side. Not til the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly, Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reason why. The dark threads are as needful In the Weaver's skillful hand, As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned. He knows, He loves, He cares, Nothing this truth can dim. He gives His very best to those Who leave the choice with Him ~ author uncertain ~ Corrie used to speak to audiences about her experiences and she would often look down while she talked. It seemed like she was reading her notes, but she was actually working on a piece of needlepoint. After telling her story of the cruelty in the concentration camps and the death of her father and sister, Corrie would hold u...

J ob interviews - I have sat on both sides of the table when it comes to job interviews.  I will admit I much prefer to be doing the interviewing than being the one interviewed.  However, when I'm  interviewing I am very much aware that only one person is able to win the position, the rest will be disappointed and for some, its quite devastating because that promotion would have made a differences to a struggling family or got them out of a current position that they are unhappy with. It can be very tough making the final decision. Today my son is going off to an interview. He doesn't like his current job (not that he grumbles very often) but has stuck with it for almost 2 years which I am proud of. I pray that he is successful as he would earn more (something that will be important when he and his wife decide to start a family) and will allow him to gain more skills and therefore a career to better and more rewarding positions.  My advice to him is to ...