Thursday 31 March 2011

The Thursday Poem


Young Woman Reading by a Window by Delphin Enjolras


Love


Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack'd anything.

'A guest,' I answer'd, 'worthy to be here':
Love said, 'You shall be he.'
'I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on Thee.'
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
'Who made the eyes but I?'

'Truth, Lord: but I have marr'd them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.'
'And you know not,' says Love, 'Who bore the blame?'
'My dear, then I will serve.'
'You must sit down,' says Love, 'and taste my meat.'
So I did sit and eat.

George Herbert
(3rd April 1593 - 3rd March 1633)

from the book: Poem for the Day One

Monday 28 March 2011

A wonderful treat...





Last Friday, my loves, Adrian treated me to the most wonderful of treats: my very first facial ~ coupled with an arm and shoulder massage! Oooooh, it was absolutely heavenly ~ and I shall definitely be going back for more ;-)


It was also nice because I know the owner of the salon, as her daughter was at junior school with my gruesome-twosome :-) Debbie had a good 'ole look at my face under a very bright light which was a tad disconcerting ~ but she reckoned that my skin is in good condition with little or no wrinkles, which made me feel pretty good as you can imagine LOL


To be honest, sweetie~pies, I was a little apprehensive about the arm aspect of the massage as I do have a few "issues" with the joints on the right from my shoulder all the way down to my thumb and forefinger *sigh* But I have to say that the massage felt so soothing ~ and almost the best part came at the end when Debbie sort of pulled my arm, believe it or not! It felt like all the joints were stretched out instead of being bunched up ~ I'm probably not explaining this very well, my loves, so I do hope you get the gist!


I also had my eyebrows waxed ~ another "first" LOL It wasn't quite as bad as I was anticipating, thankfully, but I don't think I shall be having my legs ~or anywhere else ~ waxed anytime soon ;-) I will be going back regularly to have my eyebrows done, though, as they look so nice now and the pain is only fleeting!


There was another nice moment for me yesterday when I stepped on the scales for my weekly weigh-in. Sweetie~pies, I have shed 3 1/2 pounds this week and I am absolutely thrilled ~ as I'm sure you can well imagine :-) It's really sobering to think that just by cutting out so much junk from my diet I can shed this amount of weight. Oh yes, my loves, I do realise that a fair bit of that is most likely water but you do have to ask yourself why your body would be holding on to that amount of fluid in the first place. After all, I have been very conscious about drinking plenty of water and, of course, the increase in fruit and veggies must be contributing to the hydration of my body too :-)


As well as the fruit and vegetables I have been eating lean meat and fish, and a relatively small (in comparison to before!) amount of dairy products. Other than the junk-type food, the only other things I haven't been eating have been bread and butter/spread. I have the most terrible weakness for bread so decided that it might be best all round if I cut it out for a while at least! Instead of bread, I have been eating oatcakes, which I like very much and can quite easily eat without feeling the need to spread on any fat :-) If I am honest, my loves, so far I'm not even missing my bread "fix"!


Let's see what the coming week brings.....

Start the week with a quote...


image from The Graphics Fairy


There is just one life for each of us: our own.

Sunday 27 March 2011

Unconscious Mutterings...






  1. Recommendation :: suggestion

  2. Toilet paper :: never be without!

  3. Scissors :: snip snip

  4. Blaze :: hot

  5. Frame :: picture

  6. Process :: application

  7. Flight :: ...or fight

  8. Irish :: coffee

  9. Glasses :: on my nose

  10. Campaign :: headquarters

Useful Zen teachings...


Photograph by Dan


ZEN TEACHINGS

Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me for the path is narrow. In fact, just piss off and leave me alone.

Sex is like air. It's not that important unless you aren't getting any.

No one is listening until you fart.

Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.

Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

If you think nobody cares whether you're alive or dead, try missing a couple of mortgage payments.

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

If you lend someone £20 and never see that person again, it was probably well worth it.

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

Some days you are the dog, some days you are the tree.

Don't worry; it only seems kinky the first time.

Good judgment comes from bad experience...and most of that comes from bad judgment.

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

There are two excellent theories for arguing with women. Neither one works.

Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.

Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

We are born naked, wet and hungry, and get slapped on our ass...then things just keep getting worse.

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Prayer for World Peace


We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature and control our greed for material things, knowing that our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being for who he is, for who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, knowing the power of each individual to change the world.
We pray for social justice, for the alleviation of the crippling poverty that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving, who are condemned to homelessness, slave labour, prostitution, and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war, for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.
We pray for suffering animals everywhere, for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation, intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping, training for entertainment, abusive pet owners, and all other forms of exploitation such as overloading and overworking pack animals, bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.
We pray for an end to cruelty, whether to humans or other animals, for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.
We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us, and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

Friday 25 March 2011

Hillside Animal Sanctuary




Sweetie~pies, Hillside Animal Sanctuary have sent this letter to their supporters which is totally self-explanatory. If you can see your way to making a donation, of whatever size, they would be so grateful for your help in these trying economic times.

"Dear Supporter,

Unexpected price rises beyond our control have put us in a critical financial situation that is about to affect our ability to continue feeding and caring for our animals.

It is a long time since we have had to write to our supporters with such a desperate plea. Despite experiencing a recession for the last two years, the loyalty and kindness of our supporters has enabled us to continue to take in, and care for, animals in need during these uncertain times. However, this winter’s dramatic doubling of hay prices has left us unable to fund our ongoing feed bills. The constant struggle to provide feed has, in turn, also affected our ability to pay for vital services such as veterinary care.

Thankfully, up until now, our suppliers have been understanding of our situation but, we realise that they cannot afford to support us any longer. Crisis point was reached when we received a letter from our vets suggesting that, to save us from going further in the red, they put to sleep any animals needing critical care instead of treating them. As you can imagine, this is unthinkable.

We can look to the future positively as, thanks to our kind supporters, we do have legacies impending but, as bequests often rely on the sale of property, which at the moment is slow, these funds are not immediately available. With past reserves tied up in land which is now a permanent home to our rescued animals we have nowhere to turn except to you, our supporters.

We therefore ask whether you would be able to help us through this desperate time with a kind contribution. Any amount you are able to give, however small, would be so gratefully appreciated. Thank you for reading this. Wendy Valentine

N.B. Last year's dry summer has caused a shortage of hay, spiralling prices from the usual £3.50 a bale to this winter's price of around £7. With around 400 horses, ponies and donkeys, 500 sheep and goats, and 135 cattle, hay is always one of our main expenditures.

If you would like to help,
you may donate here.... "


Hillside Animal Sanctuary: http://www.hillside.org.uk/index.htm

Thursday 24 March 2011

In the garden t'other day...



We've had some absolutely glorious spring weather here this past week, sweetie~pies! My big girls have enjoyed making their little kingdom look even worse than it did already ;-)

Miss Babs here was having a good 'ole nose at me through the patio door ~ she is just filled with curiosity, it seems, as to what I'm getting up to LOL You will have to excuse the poor quality of this photo, my loves; I'm afraid that the dirty glass is a terrible combination of lazy housekeeping on my part and a certain doggy forever smudging her nose on the door!



See what I mean about making a mess??? Mind you, some of this is because a couple of terracotta pots split open during the winter and of course the girls can now get their beaks right into that yummy soil. I shall have to gird my loins and get some tidying done out there, methinks :-)



This little lady is Miss Abigail and she was really getting her beak into whatever-the-hell it was she was finding in that spilt soil!



Babs again, with Prudence looking on in puzzlement ;-) Babs had given herself an extremely thorough dust-bath, shaken out her feathers to within an inch of their lives and then proceeded to plonk herself down and soak up a few rays LOL She is such a funny chicken ~ and really seems to love sunbathing!

I can't quite get over how truly ovely the weather has been, sweetie~pies. It really does feel like spring has finally arrived!

The Thursday Poem


Young Woman Reading by a Window by Delphin Enjolras


From The Ship of Death
5

Build then the ship of death, for you must take
the longest journey, to oblivion.

And die the death, the long and painful death
that lies between the old self and the new.

Already our bodies are fallen, bruised, badly bruised,
already are souls are oozing through the exit
of the cruel bruise.

Already the dark endless ocean of the end
is washing in through the breeches of our wounds,
already the flood is upon us.

O build your ship of death, your little ark
and furnish it with food, with little cakes, and wine
for the dark flight down oblivion.

DH Lawrence
(11th September 1885 - 2nd March 1930)

from the book: Poem for the Day One

Monday 21 March 2011

*Swoon*.....I think I'm in love!



This, my loves, is the frankly delectable Miss Helga von Trollop ~ of whose delightfulness I have only just become aware. I think I am in love ;-)



Should you, too, be enamoured of vintage styles ~ with a twist ~ then I would urge you to gallop over to Helga's blog as fast as your little fingers will press the keys. Then you too can bask in the glory of her wardrobe!



Helga, my loves, puts together vintage clothes, shoes and accessories in the most delightful way that I have ever come across in my whole blog-hopping life. And trust me, I have hopped around a fair few blogs over the years!




I first came across Helga and her fantastic wardrobe whilst browsing a group on Flickr. In all my excitement, I have quite forgotten which group it was unfortunately! However, I have not forgotten what it was that I found so attractive about her ~ quite apart from her outfits, of course. To put it simply, Helga is a "proper" woman with a shapely figure.....



.....and legs to die for! She makes those vintage treasures look wonderful and I absolutely adore the way she adds the most wonderful twists to her outfits. Just look at those fabulous yellow tights with the equally fantastic red shoes in the photo above!


I was so thrilled when I started looking at Helga's blog that I have spent the last few days returning to it time-after-time. Oh dear, does that make me sound like some kind of mad blog-stalker??? I do hope not, because that isn't what I am about in the slightest! It's just that after spending a lifetime being a rather conventional sort of woman, I have finally found the courage to let the inner unique, unconventional me out into the light of day.

And I truly do have Helga to thank for showing me that it's okay to be yourself ~ even if that doesn't "fit in" with those around you. You already know how I have wasted so much time and energy trying to fit myself into various boxes, none of which are right for me, so I won't take you down that old path yet again ;-)



I think that Helga looks wonderful in the photo above! This and the one below are my most favourite of the luscious Miss von Trollop that I have seen thus far :-) Oh, and talking of photos.....I did ask for permission to copy-and-paste these from her blog. The thing is, though, that I asked if I could copy two or three for this post but when it came down to it, I had such a hard job choosing that I ended up copying all these.....I do hope that she won't mind!




There is absolutely nothing whatsoever about these two outfits that I dislike ~ no, not one single thing! I adore each and every item of clothing that she is wearing, from her head-down-to-her-toes :-)

So you as you can see, my loves, I am most definitely ~ absolutely ~ positively head-over-heels in love with Helga's gorgeous sense of style. She has become my number one style icon and I now find that I just can't help myself thinking "ooooh, I bet Helga would just love this" each time I come across a particularly wonderful piece of vintage clothing!

There is just one teensy wee downside to all this.....I have developed yet another collecting obsession ~ oooops I think I should have typed "passion" there ;-) I was, it's fair to say sweetie~pies, already well on the way with vintage handbags but my "collection" of vintage/retro clothes consisted of just two items ~ both of which came my way from my Mum LOL

Sadly I don't reside in Dr Who's Tardis, so I shall have to grit my teeth and make some BIG DECISIONS as to which of my other collections to downsize or even ~ gasp ~ eliminate altogether! Watch this space for future developments.....

Start the week with a quote...


image from The Graphics Fairy


Be happy while you're living.....for you're a long time dead.

Sunday 20 March 2011

Oh, the shame of it!



Well, my loves, I did promise to share the highs and lows didn't I ~ just look at that, a 1/2 pound gain over my starting weight *eeeeek*

Sweetie~pies, I suppose I could try to find some plausible~ish excuses as to why I have put on the pounds but I also promised to be truthful in sharing my weight-reduction adventures ;-) I briefly considered using the 'ole pre-menstrual bloat as my excuse but since my periods are now on their own timetable, that would be a tad difficult! The fact is that up until about Thursday I spent most of the week like someone on death-row eating their favourite things for the very last time! Ridiculous, I know, but I expect it's something we all have a tendency to do when we are about to embark on a phase of healthy eating/dieting ;-)

I guess my report card this week will have to be marked "Sharon must try harder as she can do so much better than this"!!

Prayer for World Peace


Dove of Peace ~ Giclee print


We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature and control our greed for material things, knowing that our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being for who he is, for who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, knowing the power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for social justice, for the alleviation of the crippling poverty that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving, who are condemned to homelessness, slave labour, prostitution, and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war, for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.

We pray for suffering animals everywhere, for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation, intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping, training for entertainment, abusive pet owners, and all other forms of exploitation such as overloading and overworking pack animals, bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.

We pray for an end to cruelty, whether to humans or other animals, for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us, and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

prayer for world peace ~ dr jane goodall

Thursday 17 March 2011

Corners of my home...and another chicken!



Sweetie~pies, I have a little deer park on the landing windowsill!

These cute little creatures are a mixture of Hornsea, Sylvac and Eastgate.



More deer ~ this time on a corner shelf on the landing :-) They are mostly "foreign" or unmarked, except for the sweet little group in front of the clock which are ~ obviously! ~ Wade. The pretty cups and saucers belonged to Adrian's Nan :-)



This niche is above the stairs. I've wanted to fill it with "something" for what seems like forever! The shelves haven't yet been painted as I'm waiting until I decide what colour to paint the hall, stairs and landing.....whenever that might be ;-)



The pie funnel in the middle belonged to my Grandma, sweetie~pies, as did the egg cups. I love that I have some physical links back to my relatives; each time I look at the pieces I have, I am reminded of whoever they had belonged to previously :-)



The vase and owl eggcup belonged to Grandma, who was my Dad's mother. The pretty hare eggcup belonged to my Great Grandad, who I never knew; he was my Mum's Grandad :-)




I just adore tapestry pictures, my loves, especially of flowers! I bought this one as I thought the background rather nicely echoed a print we have hanging on the landing ~ when I remember I will take a photo of said print to show you all ;-) Just think of all those stitches and how long it must have taken to create!



And here is my latest chicken ~ a lovely gift from an equally lovely friend who came for lunch a couple of weeks back :-) Oh, did you think I meant a real chicken, my loves??? Goodness me no, I don't think my real walking, talking, feathery little girls would be too keen on a new addition to the flock ~ oh no, I don't think they would like that in the slightest!

The Thursday Poem


Young Woman Reading by a Window by Delphin Enjolras


For K.R.on Her Sixtieth Birthday

Blow out the candles of your cake.
They will not leave you in the dark,
Who round with grace this dusky are
Of the grand tour which souls must take.

You who have sounded William Blake,
And the still pool, to Plato's mark,
Blow out the candles of your cake,
They will not leave you in the dark.

Yet, for your friends' benighted sake,
Detain your upward-flying spark;
Get us that wish, though like the lark
You whet your wings till dawn shall break:
Blow out the candles of your cake.

Richard Wilbur
(1st March 1921 - )

from the book: Poem for the Day One

Monday 14 March 2011

Try, try, trying again




So, my loves, here I go again on yet another weight-reduction exercise! Oh yes, I know I keep vacillating (ooooh, isn't that a fab word sweetie~pies!) on this issue: first I say I'm going to lose weight, then I say to hell with it, I just need to love and accept me for the way I am. But the truth of the matter is that I really do need to shed most ~ if not ALL ~ of my excess weight for the good of my health. And I need to do it NOW before my health suffers even more.

The closer I get to the big 5-0, sweetie~pies, the more unhealthy and unfit I am becoming. My joints are feeling the strain terribly and I fear for the damage I am doing to myself. I worry about my back problems and am concerned that I may develop Type II diabetes in the same way that some of my close relatives who are/were overweight have done. My blood-pressure could be much better, too ~ despite the fact that I am taking medication to help control it. And whilst I realise that it shouldn't be an issue, I still don't wear the clothes I would really like to simply because I don't feel either comfortable or attractive in them.

Never fear, my loves, I'm not going to do anything drastic ~ no crash diets or surgical intervention of any description! ~ just start a simple healthy eating plan coupled with exercise. I had already worked out in my head what my new eating and exercise plan should look like, when by coincidence I came across these articles on the Virgin media homepage:

http://health.virginmedia.com/Dr-Chris-Steeles-Fat-Farewell-Diet-PART-1.htm

I was suitably tickled to find that Dr Steele's advice confirmed what I basically already knew ~ and let's face facts, sweetie~pies, by my age I really should know and understand what needs to be done to enable one to live a fit and healthy life!

I am going to be open and honest about the highs and lows in this quest to reduce my excess weight, my loves, and will be giving you regular updates on my progress ~ whether you want them or not ;-) I started out at 315.5 pounds and in view of this, I have decided to concentrate on smaller goals rather than have the big (if you'll excuse the pun!) picture constantly dangling in front of me ~ which would be just too overwhelming and depressing, quite frankly! Of course, I do know what my ultimate aim is but since I also know that reaching that point will, in all honesty, most likely take me two or three years to achieve, there really is no point in constantly dwelling on it. Far better to have smaller goals to reach for, methinks :-)

So my first goal is to reduce my excess weight by 63.5 pounds ~ which, let's face it sweetie~pies, is still a pretty large amount to aim for! I know that shedding those pounds will make me feel so much better both physically and mentally. I am sure that those feelings of well-being will help to spur me further onwards with my weight reduction campaign!

I hesitated to suggest this, my loves, as I wasn't sure how it would be received but if any of you are also struggling with issues of excess weight then you are very welcome to leave comments. Perhaps we could cheer each other on and offer support during those more difficult times! If you would like to comment but feel shy about posting your weight, then just leave that part out ;-) Anyhoo, sweetie~pies, the door is open to any of you who would like to join my mutual-support party :-)

Oooooh, before I forget.....you may have noticed that I have added a weight-loss ticker at the top of my home page ~ and that it already shows a reduction! To be honest, I haven't really started my new eating and exercise plan "properly". The 1.75 pounds I have dropped this week is simply the result of cutting waaaay back on the naughty nibbles I usually consume! And the reason, my loves, that I have not been nibbling anywhere near so much as I would normally is due to the fact that I have been rather occupied with a new project :-) Which suggests that not only is your's truly a comfort-eater but she is also a munching-out-of-boredom eater too!

I rather think that plenty of projects will be going hand-in-hand with my new eating and exercise plan.....

Sunday 13 March 2011

Prayer for World Peace


Dove of Peace ~ Giclee print


We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature and control our greed for material things, knowing that our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being for who he is, for who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, knowing the power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for social justice, for the alleviation of the crippling poverty that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving, who are condemned to homelessness, slave labour, prostitution, and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war, for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.

We pray for suffering animals everywhere, for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation, intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping, training for entertainment, abusive pet owners, and all other forms of exploitation such as overloading and overworking pack animals, bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.
We pray for an end to cruelty, whether to humans or other animals, for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.

We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us, and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

prayer for world peace ~ dr jane goodall

Saturday 12 March 2011

A gorgeous morning!



The sun is shining, sweetie~pies, and even though it is pretty breezy it is still nice and warm at the moment :-)

The girls had to wait until Adrian had put away the log delivery before they could be let out for their daily perambulate around their little kingdom ~ and my word, what a fuss they were making the whole time he was log-stacking!



I rather think they were pondering the question of whether or not the camera might have been edible ;-)



This pair of dollies are soon going to live with the little granddaughter of a Flickr friend ~ here they are waiting for a bath before their journey.



This little lady has a soft cloth body and so in an effort to keep her as dry as possible, I wrapped her in a carrier-bag ~ good thinking, eh ;-)



And here they are, both clean and smelling sweet, drying off in the spring sunshine :-)
They were both only mildly grubby so didn't take much cleaning. What did take some time though, my loves, was sorting out their hair! Thank goodness for Johnson's detangling spray LOL


I washed their dresses, too, ready for them to wear on their journey to their new home.



While the dolly-bathing was going on, dinner for Adrian and I was gently simmering away in the slow-cooker ~ and boy did it make me feel hungry! Still, a nice bacon sarnie for lunch hit the right spot ;-)


I'm looking forward to dinner tonight ~ don't you just love slow-cookers!

Thursday 10 March 2011

The Thursday Poem


Young Woman Reading by a Window by Delphin Enjolras


Time is...

I fear time's tumbril hurrying us
- bare wee foetuses
hardly rubbed with God's pleasure -
to the place of execution.
"Stay!" My beloved, Giacometti above,
Renoir below,
spirit shining, horse to horse,
leaps in the way.
An angel rapes a neuron in her brain:
"Celebrate! Our rescue remedy is
the timeless now -
her handmaids
commitment, compassion and conspiracy,
the breathing together of love.
Life is delightful
from womb bliss to birth bliss,
from home bliss to death bliss
and beyond
our lives fipple through eternity.
Enjoy!"

Alan Beam
(29th February 1948 - )

from the book: Poem for the Day One

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Spring is on the way!



It's another gorgeous sunny day here today, just as it was yesterday sweetie~pies :-) I do believe that spring is at last on its way!

I've been continuing with my mega sorting out/tidying up exercise and since I now have my recent baby and toddler dolly clothes acquisitions all in one place, I decided that today would be a good day to get them washed. To be fair, almost everything was obviously freshly laundered but I still like to wash anything new myself ;-) 'Tis rather like having little ones in the house again LOL Goodness knows what my neighbours must think ~ and I have a huge pile of Barbie doll-type clothes to wash yet!




The big girls are enjoying the fine weather, too. Miss Babs here was a might grumpy this morning, though. I caught her having a nap, although how she found a cold concrete slab comfy is anyone's guess, my loves! She really gave me the evil eye and I wondered whether she was going to lay her first egg of the season. She just got up and wandered off for another scratch around in the soil after a while, with no egg to be seen. We have had our first couple of 'new season' eggs from Imogen and Martha (the bantams), though :-)



Grumpy 'ole Babs wasn't what you would describe as thrilled that Prudence was scratching around near her either, sweetie~pies, which made me feel better knowing that her bad mood wasn't just for my benefit!

'Twas a dark and stormy night...









It was a dark and stormy night









They were together in the House.



Just the two of them.



It was a cold, dark, stormy night.



The storm had come quickly







Each time the thunder boomed he watched her jump.


She looked across the room and admired his strong appearance...and wished that he would take her in his arms, comfort her and protect her from the storm.







Suddenly, with a pop, the power went out...


She screeched....


He raced to the sofa where she was cowering.


He didn't hesitate to pull her into his arms.


He knew this was a forbidden union and expected her to pull back.



He was surprised when she didn't resist but instead clung to him.






The storm raged on...


They knew it was wrong...


Their families would never understand.




So consumed were they in their fear that they heard no opening of doors...


just the faint click of a camera.......











Have you smiled today?

hehehehe ~ a friend sent me this joke and I just had to share with you all, sweetie~pies :-D