Thursday 29 September 2011

The Thursday Poem



General Review Of The Sex Situation

Woman wants monogamy;
Man delights in novelty.
Love is woman's moon and sun;
Man has other forms of fun.
Woman lives but in her lord;
Count to ten, and man is bored.
With this the gist and sum of it,
What earthly good can come of it?

Dorothy Parker
(22nd August 1893 - 7th June 1967)

Tuesday 27 September 2011

The Seven Dwarfs of Menopause



I saw this on a friend's Facebook page and just couldn't resist sharing it here, sweetie~pies!

Priscilla Ahn - Dream

Monday 26 September 2011

Start the week with a quote...


image from The Graphics Fairy




To escape criticism:

do nothing, say nothing, be nothing

Sunday 25 September 2011

Bach: "Sheep may safely graze" ~ Kolcsar Peter



I heard this on Going Gently and just had to share it here, sweetie~pies ~ isn't it just divine?

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

Friday 23 September 2011

Morning Has Broken ~ Cat Stevens



Such a beautiful song...

Thursday 22 September 2011

The Thursday Poem




Curse of the Cat Woman

It sometimes happens
that the woman you meet and fall in love with
is of that strange Transylvanian people
with an affinity for cats.

You take her to a restuarant, say, or a show,
on an ordinary date, being attracted
by the glitter in her slitty eyes and her catlike walk,
and afterwards of course you take her in your arms
and she turns into a black panther
and bites you to death.

Or perhaps you are saved in the nick of time
and she is tormented by the knowledge of her tendency:
That she daren't hug a man
unless she wants to risk clawing him up.

This puts you both in a difficult position--
panting lovers who are prevented from touching
not by bars but by circumstance:
You have terrible fights and say cruel things
for having the hots does not give you a sweet temper.

One night you are walking down a dark street
And hear the pad-pad of a panther following you,
but when you turn around there are only shadows,
or perhaps one shadow too many.

You approach, calling, "Who's there?"
and it leaps on you.
Luckily you have brought along your sword
and you stab it to death.

And before your eyes it turns into the woman you love,
her breast impaled on your sword,
her mouth dribbling blood saying she loved you
but couldn't help her tendency.

So death released her from the curse at last,
and you knew from the angelic smile on her dead face
that in spite of a life the devil owned,
love had won, and heaven pardoned her.
Edward Field
(7th June 1924 - )

Monday 19 September 2011

Start the week with a quote...


image from The Graphics Fairy





A dream which is not interpreted

is like a letter which is not read.

Sunday 18 September 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 17 September 2011

Thursday 15 September 2011

The Thursday Poem




A Dream Within a Dream

Take this kiss upon the row!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow--
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand--
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep--while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Edgar Allan Poe
(19th January 1809 - 7th October 1849)

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Monday 12 September 2011

Start the week with a quote...

image from The Graphics Fairy




Faith makes the discords of the present

the harmonies of the future.

Sunday 11 September 2011

Life moves on...


image from The Graphics Fairy
Some of you may already know that my lovely friend Sandi (Nostalgia Fairy Cottage) has recently lost her two gorgeous cats Flossie and Clarence.  She has no idea what has happened to them, they have just vanished; the most likely explanation is that some selfish, unthinking person has taken a liking to them and simply stolen them.  Probably yet another example of "I want, so I will take" ~ even though little Flossie and Clarence already belonged in a loving family. 

Naturally enough, this has been a very difficult and stressful time for Sandi and her family.  The loss of anyone ~ human or otherwise ~ is always heartbreaking.  Sandi published this post yesterday and it got me thinking about life, loss and lessons learned.  

The nature of life is such that it constantly moves forward whether we think we are ready or not; there is nothing we can do to stop its relentless march.  It is a cliche, I know, but time is indeed a great healer.  We grieve and mourn our losses but eventually, from the deep dark depths of our despair, we begin to see little glimmerings of the light that is still there.  Another cliche: what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.  How I have hated that saying at some points in my life!  But it is true nevertheless.  Unless we are very lucky, we all have a moment ~ or moments ~ when we truly believe that we cannot survive the pain, be it mental, physical or emotional.

To quote Sandi: "I looked up at the beautiful sky and instead of wondering for the umpteenth time, why me, I understood that when everything seems to be falling apart at the seams something new can emerge from the damaged fabric. Lessons are learned, we are jolted out of our complacency and we appreciate what we do have."

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

Friday 9 September 2011

Thursday 8 September 2011

The Thursday Poem



 
The Owl and the Pussycat

 
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"0 lovely Pussy, 0 Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried,
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Edward Lear
(12th May 1812 - 29th January 1888)
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Wednesday 7 September 2011

Yay ~ feathers at last!


Well, sweetie~pies, the good news is that at last Imogen's feathers are coming through ~ the bad news is that she is now living alone...

She and Martha were fine for a good week or so, then all of a sudden Martha started picking on poor Imogen ~ and pulled out virtually all the new feathers that were coming through!  She kept chasing her away from the food, just like the Black Rocks did ~ I wasn't best pleased, my loves, as you can no doubt imagine.  So Martha was promptly sent off back to live with the big girls, leaving Imogen "home alone". 

I've been quite worried that little Imogen would be lonely all by herself, but to be honest she seems absolutely fine!  She potters about in the run, goes back in the sheltered section for a snooze when she feels like it and comes over for a chat when I'm out in the garden :-)   She is obviously a little chickie who is happy with her own company ~ especially, I guess, since she isn't being chased or harassed anymore :-)


It was so difficult to get a photo of Imogen's head ~ she was way too busy eating to "pose" for me LOL  All the red-coloured sections on her head were pale pink at one point, which is when I truly thought I was going to lose her, but thankfully she has got her colour back again. It is incredible how much happier she looks, and just wonderful to see her with a nice full crop at the end of the day.

I will wait until all her feathers have grown back then try putting Martha back in with her.  If Martha goes for her again she will have to go back in with the big girls permanently, so that Imogen can live in peace.


Do you ever get the impression that Daisy is queen of all she surveys!  This, my loves, is one of her favourite poses ;-) 

She has come on in leaps and bounds ~ quite literally, as it happens, at various points during the day LOL  Her coat is gorgeous now, all silky soft, and her little belly is covered with lovely fluffy fur.  Her back end has filled out, too ~ she is no longer all bony ~ and even the fur on her tail is now lush and silky.  I think it is probably a combination of having been spayed and the change to her diet :-) 

 Little Miss Daisy really is the most beautiful puss...

Karine Polwart : Hole In The Heart

Monday 5 September 2011

Start the week with a quote...


image from The Graphics Fairy





It is not enough for a man to know how to ride;

he must know how to fall.

Sunday 4 September 2011

Tracey Smith & The Book of Rubbish Ideas

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 1 September 2011

The Thursday Poem





Dover Beach

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Ægæan, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Matthew Arnold
(24th December 1822 – 15th April 1888)