Finding joy in the everyday

This Friday, the 13th is WORLD KINDNESS DAY and it is all about doing random acts of kindness expecting nothing in return.  A warm smile is the universal language of kindness - William Arthur Ward There are many things we can do to bring a smile to someone face and change their day for the better. If ever single every person did one act of kindness every day, just imagine what the world would be like. And if we all taught our children to be kind to each other, to not hurt other people, to not say nasty things, to not bully — our future society would also be a nicer place to live. Sadly, we are living in a mean and cruel world where every one is looking after themselves and have forgotten how to be kind to anyone else.  Even our bureaucrats are lacking in compassion and our governments tend to be more interested in the rich and not the poor. The elderly are forgotten and the young often overlooked. We live in a society that has forgotten the meaning of kindness....

Dear Blogging friends and family,  Welcome to Tuesday (if you are in Australia, or Monday for those elsewhere),  A little bit of fun to brighten up your day (!!) After sharing with you last week the pink bathroom, I though it would be fun to visit some 1950's kitchens and yes, I was able to locate a few pink ones plus yellow, green, blue and white!! Colour, or more correctly the pastels was very fashionable in the 1950s. They make our modern kitchens look rather lacking in character.  What do you think? — fan or not? Women of the 1950s were so proud of their new kitchens. They had come out of the war years and wanted something bright, new, slick and "advanced" and they were compared to kitchens of previous decades. They came with all the mod-cons and made cooking easier than ever and I can imagine women eager to cook in them.  Whilst I wouldn't want a 1950s style kitchen in my own house, they do bring back sweet memories of my childhood as...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been watching House Hunter (USA). For those who might have missed that post — potential buyers (from all over the US) look at three homes with their real-estate agent to find the home of their dreams. At the end of the programme, they have to decide which one to buy. One of the things that really jumped out when my husband and I were watching the programme was how the wives (or girlfriends) treated their husbands. Many were very forceful about their WANTS and NEEDS (which was often a very long list of things) and whenever the poor husband tried to provide " his list of wants " in a house (or being practical about costs and options), so many were overridden by their wives. Their wives were very dominating. Most of the wives got what they wanted, the husband weren't always so fortunate.  And if the wife didn't quite get what she wanted i.e. in the kitchen — she was quite blunt in telling her husband that the " ki...

Art Friday: Orange Coming up with ideas for blog posts can really stretch my brain some weeks — there are times when I simply don't have a clue what I will write next, other times I am bouncing with ideas. As for the art section, this can be be hard work — both trying to find art to share, but also  remembering what I have done previously (I use to have a list, which I have since lost) plus finding things that my readers will enjoy. Today I was stumped so I have decided to do something different — still arty but rather than art, focus on a colour — ORANGE.  The photos below are all ones I have taken over the last few years and all about the colour ORANGE. I do hope you enjoy their bright and cheery look. Did you know: * Orange is the only color of the spectrum whose name was taken from an object, the popular fruit - the orange. In nature it’s the colour of vivid sunsets, fire, vegetables, flowers, fish, and many citrus fruits. It is also associated w...

I have just learned that the pink bathroom is making a revival  returning to the popular colour of the 1950s. What do you think?   Would you like a pink bathroom? Or do you already have a pink bathroom? Pink bathrooms were VERY popular in the 1950s, it was considered the in-look — the must have! The one everyone wanted.  Millions of pink bathrooms were built in the USA and Australia but it didn't last, by the 1960's it all started to fade as bathroom designs altered.  Not only were pink bathrooms popular, some ladies also liked pink kitchens too - now, that would be too much for me. What do you think? Whilst I don't like every sort of pink bathroom, I do think the examples above and below. Both are tasteful, feminine and not too "pretty" — one does need to consider the males who might use these rooms too. Whilst I was doing "research" into pink bathrooms (to save you all the time) I discovered a blog called ...

Psalm 37 is one of the best-loved of David’s Psalms. Its purpose is to teach us how to live in a world filled with wickedness, and how to live among those who hate God. We need to rest and trust in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. To not fret or be envious of the successes of the wicked as our delight and joy will come from our relationship with the Lord. Forsake wrath, cease from anger over the deeds of the wicked, as they will be cut off soon enough. Depart from evil and do good. And finally, wait upon the Lord; being obedient to His way of life, knowing that in due time the blessing from God will be the answer to all of His promises. This Psalm is perfect to read all at once but it does contain so much—sometimes it is nice to break it down and savour  each part  slowly, thinking as you read what it means to you in your life. I don't know about you, but those verses about resting in the Lord, trusting in the Lord,  not fretting  have got me through...

November has arrived, the second to last month of the 2015. I am going to say what I always say at this time of the year . . . where has the year gone.  I haven't done half of what I planned to do, I haven't saved as much money as my spreadsheet said I would, I haven't lost as much weight as I expected, I haven't been as organised as I wanted to be but I but I have probably read far more books than plans (!!) — o'dear, not a lot I can do about it.   Next year perhaps! So what are my plans for November (I can not guarantee I will get any thing on my list done, but I always try my best): 1. Start Christmas shopping. It would be great to have most of it done before December and as I have some ideas of what I want to buy it shouldn't difficult. I do have to make some orders from overseas, so they should be done as soon as possible to make sure they arrive on time.  2. Start a quilt that I am making for a birthday next year. I need plenty o...