Friday 31 October 2014

Feel-good Friday


Thursday 30 October 2014

The Thursday Poem

Potted Flowers with Books IV
Eric Barjot


from King Richard II
Act II Scene i

Gaunt.  
This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-Paradise;
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war;
This happy breed of men, this little world;
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat against defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Feared by their breed, and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
For Christian service and true chivalry,
As is the sepulchre, in stubborn Jewry,
Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son;
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leased out - I die pronouncing it -
Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea,
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of Watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots, and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.

William Shakespeare
(23rd April 1564 - 23rd April 1616)

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Words on Wednesday

Alphabet Overlay 1



Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do

Sunday 26 October 2014

The Sunday Prayer

Dove of Peace by Pablo Picasso
Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.
For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.
For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

Friday 24 October 2014

Feel-good Friday


Thursday 23 October 2014

The Thursday Poem

Potted Flowers with Books IV
Eric Barjot


The Passionate Shepherd to his Love

Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
The valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses,
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle,
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.

The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning.
If these delights thy mind may move,
The live with me, and be my love.

Christopher Marlowe
(6th February 1564 - 30th May 1593)

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Words on Wednesday

Alphabet Overlay 1



A committee keeps minutes and wastes hours

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Show and tell: little bedroom


Waaaaay back in February this year Adrian and I finally got round to decorating the little bedroom in our house.  This room had been Sam's but since Beverly has now left home, it seemed more sensible that he should move into her old room which is larger.


As you can see, there were lots of holes in the walls to be filled!  Sam has a very large book and DVD collection so he had to have plenty of shelves to accommodate them all.


I must admit that the filling-in-the-holes exercise took a lot longer than we thought it would!


Oh yes, there were holes on every wall in the room LOL


We sealed the filler with a lick of emulsion.  The woodwork looked so much better after a couple of coats of fresh white gloss paint.


Then, gulp, we hung paper on the walls.  I had managed to get into my fifties before attempting such a feat!  


  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it went on quite well.  Mind you, I wouldn't have tackled it if we hadn't been using paste-the-wall paper.        
     

It's amazing how much brighter the room is now, and how it even seems a wee bit larger too.  It doesn't look quite so spacious in there now that we have got all the furniture in, though LOL


We have moved the computer up here from the dining room.  The teak bureau was given to me by my Mum.  She bought it back in the 1970s and it is looking a bit worse for wear these days.  I'm in two minds as to what to do with it ~ I'm torn between painting it or rubbing it over with teak oil.  I love the look of painted furniture but I confess that I do feel reluctant to paint the bureau.  I'll let you know in due course what I decide to do ;-)



The photo is of my sister and myself, taken soon after she was born; I was four years old.  The two little heart-shaped picture frames are empty at the moment; I am considering putting some pretty paper or fabric in them.


To make a little more space in the bedroom we decided to go for a 2'6" bed rather than a 3' and it is surprising just how much difference those extra six inches have made.  It's much easier to move the computer chair away from the desk now, and also gives more access to the curtains at the window.


You may have noticed that I changed the lightshade ~ I do love these capiz shell shades.  I thought the duvet cover and pillowcase set were really cute, and they make a change from the plain white set I already had :-)  


The books on the shelf are crochet, knitting, cross stitch and tapestry books.  I still have some more to bring in from my shed.  



These little cuties are Belinda, Bunty and Bertie.


The other end of the bed.  As I say, the room is only small but it serves its purpose :-)


Believe it or not, I have had quite a downsizing of my doll collection!  The roses are still looking good, over a week after buying them.


 My Rosebud dolls, plus a few similar friends.


The mirror belonged to my Great Aunt Mary, as did the little glass lamp.  The shade is looking a little tatty now but I think that just adds to its charm.


 The books on this side are dolls' house, fashion doll and home decor books.  The photos are of Sam and Beverly when they were at junior school.

I am really pleased with how this bedroom has turned out ~ even if it has taken a number of months to get it finished!







Sunday 19 October 2014

The Sunday Prayer

Dove of Peace by Pablo Picasso
Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.
For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.
For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

Friday 17 October 2014

Feel-good Friday


Thursday 16 October 2014

The Thursday Poem

Potted Flowers with Books IV
Eric Barjot


To Margo

In life's rough-and-tumble
you're the crumble on my apple crumble
and the fairy on my Christmas tree!
In life's death-and-duty
you've the beauty of the Beast's own Beauty -
I feel humble as a bumble-bee!

In life's darkening duel
I'm the lighter, you're the lighter fuel -
and the tide that sways my inland sea!
In life's meet-and-muster
you've the lustre of a diamond cluster -
a blockbuster - just a duster, me!

Gavin Ewart
(4th February 1916 - 23rd October 1995)

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Words on Wednesday

Alphabet Overlay 1


The only really dumb questions are the ones you do not have the courage to ask

Sunday 12 October 2014

The Sunday Prayer

Dove of Peace by Pablo Picasso
Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.
For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.
For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

Friday 10 October 2014

Feel-good Friday


Thursday 9 October 2014

The Thursday Poem

Potted Flowers with Books IV
Eric Barjot


What are Years?

What is our innocence,
what is our guilt?  All are
naked, none is safe.  And whence
is courage: the unanswered question,
the resolute doubt, -
dumply calling, deafly listening - that
in misfortunate, even death,
encourages others
and in its defeat, stirs

the soul to be strong?  He
sees deep and is glad, who
accedes to mortality
and in his imprisonment rises
upon himself as
the sea in a chasm, struggling to be
free and unable to be,
in its surrendering
finds its continuing.

So he who strongly feels,
behaves.  The very bird,
grown taller as he sings, steels
his form straight up.  Though he is captive,
his mighty singing
says, satisfaction is a lowly
thing, how pure a thing is joy.
This is mortality,
this is eternity.

Marianne Moore
(15th November 1887 - 5th February 1972)

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Words on Wednesday

Alphabet Overlay 1



Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination

Sunday 5 October 2014

The Sunday Prayer

Dove of Peace by Pablo Picasso
Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.
For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.
For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.
For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

Saturday 4 October 2014

Diary of a Dieter.....

by Roy Williams

You'll probably not be surprised to hear that I am no longer going to the Slimming World group, my lovelies.  I'm sorry to say that along with my general lack of enthusiasm, dieting has fallen by the wayside too.  The group leader has also had to change the time of the group due to her returning to work.  It is now earlier and is much less convenient for me.

I had been gaining weight before I stopped going to the group but surprisingly, since no longer trying to "diet", my weight is very slowly coming down!  I have gone back to menu planning, for our evening meals at least.  I am trying out new recipes and not just relying on readymade meals.  I confess that cooking from scratch is not easy for me, as I have been out of the habit for so many years now, but nevertheless I am enjoing getting back into the swing of it.

I do need to get on top of my lunches at some point, as I am eating too much bread again.  But all in good time ~ Rome wasn't built in a day LOL  Once I am comfortable with scratch-cooking our main meals, I will start to menu-plan my lunches.

It feels so good to have regained my enthusiasm for cooking!  I used to love being in the kitchen, cooking and baking, but I gradually got out of the habit.  I'm so looking forward to restarting baking again.  I will definitely be sharing my makes with you ~ in pictures, at least :-)

Catching up....

Women Talking in the Street, London

Well, my lovlies, I've certainly been MIA for quite some time eh!  I don't know why, really, but I've just been finding it difficult to work up enthusiasm for anything much to be honest over these past few month.  I guess part of my reluctance to blog is the feeling that I haven't done anything that anyone would find in the least bit interesting.

But that shouldn't mean that I simply stop posting.  Perhaps I just need to stop worrying about what other folk will find "interesting" and simply share what I have been doing ~ more like keeping a journal I think.  To be fair, I'm never going to be a blogger who does amazing things to share with you, so I am going to stop trying to compare my life with that of some of those other folk whose blogs I so enjoy reading.  I am a very ordinary, middle-aged, woman, leading a very ordinary life, doing very ordinary things ~ but hey, perhaps there will be someone out there who will enjoy reading about it anyway LOL

So I promise to put in a much more regular appearance from now on :-)  

Friday 3 October 2014

Feel-good Friday


Thursday 2 October 2014

The Thursday Poem

Potted Flowers with Books IV
Eric Barjot


The Scholars

Bald heads forgetful of their sins,
Old, learned, respectable bald heads
Edit and annotate the lines
That young men, tossing on their beds,
Rhymed out in love's despair
To flatter beauty's ignorant ear.

All shuffle there; all cough in ink;
All wear the carpet with their shoes;
All think what other people think;
All know the man their neighbour knows.
Lord, what would they say
Did their Catullus walk that way?

William Butler Yeats
(13th June 1865 - 28th January 1939)

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Words on Wednesday

Alphabet Overlay 1



Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well