Thursday 31 May 2012

Reaching Out


In door garden


            From My Garden


                   Drop a stone into the water -
                       In a moment it is gone,
                  but there are a hundred ripples
                      circling on, and on, and on.
                
                  Say an unkind word this moment-
                        in a moment it is gone
                   but there are a hundred ripples
circling on, and on, and on.

 Say a word of cheer and splendor -
in a moment it is gone
but there are a hundred ripples
circling on, and on, and on. 

Wednesday 30 May 2012

A unique gift for special and unique you

A Shady retreat

      From My Garden

Today:
When the sun comes up and you wake for the day,
And the dew drops, and falls sparkling on the leaves so green ,
land the breeze sings its song and the wind chimes tinkle their joyful sounds,
and the clouds dance in the magnificent blue yonder....
and the mountains echo their wisdom and bird song resounds in the distance,
and the rivers and streams ripple along with merry mirth and tinkling laughter,
and the planets pirouette through space,
                                                                           and the stars tiptoe gently, softly round the moon.....
today is all yours......
made especially for you - to enjoy and admire,
because you are special and unique
 and deserve the vey best life can offer.

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Looking up as well as down. Beauty is everywhere.

        From My Garden


From morning till night
 May this day glow bright
And be nicer than ever before....
As experiences come and go
May your happiness grow
May your dreams be fulfilled
Even more...... 

Monday 28 May 2012

A winter's day

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

There is no greater journey than to follow the path of my dreams, to create my destiny, to live my life fully, and experience all that life has to offer me.

I cannot choose all the experiences that will come into my life but I can choose how to handle them.

Well, after a lot of busy days I am at last finding time to blog again this week, and last week we celebrated two important times in our church season.

 Last week was Ascension when Jesus said goodbye to earth and moved permanently to heaven, leaving behind his legacy of love and caring for the apostles to share with the rest of the world.

 And this week is Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles to empower them  with the ability to speak in different languages so that the messages God wanted to convey could be understood by everybody.
And we here are also left with the same legacy of love and caring and peace to share with those we meet in our everday lives.

We have been lucky enough to share our home with our cousins this weekend. We have had an amazing time conversing and sharing our comings and goings and family experiences with each other.
 Yesterday we attended a thanksgiving day to show generous members of our community the appreciation of the citizens in our little town for good things they have done for people in need.  It was sponsored by local combined Christian Churches. We had a picnic lunch, shared some hilarious games. and some guessing competitions ( I won one of those), and children's races. It was a really good reason to get together to celebrate.

Today we said goodbye to our visitors. We are alone again.

We have had some lovely rain, some very cold weather, some gorgeous sunshine and fluffy white clouds in our region today. We have loved warming around our beautiful fire, eating lots of hot soup and stews and enjoying the change in our climate this week.


Sharing our toasty warm fire
What has been good  for me this week?Having our family visit with us, attending the thanksgiving picnic.

What I have been grateful for this week.
Being cared about, feeling well and having somewhere to feel warm and toasty.

God in my life
Attending church, having good and kind people in my life, daily prayer. I no longer have my little white book to read each night, so I am feeling a bit lost. Our next little book won't come out until Advent is on it's way, which is a long way away. I will have to find something else to fill that time.

If I am going to participate in the game of life I will need to appreciate each precious moment.

So till the next time we meet let happiness go with you as you go. And let that happiness grow.... and as it expands and grows within your heart.... pass it on. Peace be with you, C.

Sunday 27 May 2012

Being happy is......

In my succulent patch again


        From My Garden

          Being happy is not owning things.
                    It is having inner peace,
                           a spiritual glow,
                    a reaching out to others,
                            love of self,
          appreciation of the good things in life,
                         having dreams.

Saturday 26 May 2012

Celebrate the unique preson you are

Fruit tree covered ready for the coming winter frosts. 





       From My Garden

    Decorate every place you go this day
in your own and unique and wonderful way.
Celebrate life!
Celebrate the wonderful and unique you!

Friday 25 May 2012

Making the right choice

Another view of the newly mulched mulberry tree garden.




      From My Garden

I get a choice in life.
I can look on the bright side or the dark side of my experiences. I choose to to look at the light.
"Let there be light". 
"Look on the bright side".

Thursday 24 May 2012

Giving Kindness


The mulberry tree in the newly mulched garden


      From My Garden

When we give away a flower
Its fragrance stays behind
Like a special little "thank you"
For doing something kind....
When we give away a word
To cheer someone's distress
The glow of it remains with us
To bring us happiness...
When we give away a loving smile
To lighten someone's heart
Our own is always lightened
By the love that we impart....
                                                                                     In fact, the sweetest things of all
                                                                                       That bring us joy each day
                                                                                        Are not the ones we try to keep
                                                                                         But those we give away.

Wednesday 23 May 2012

Expressions of love

From my succulent patch





        From My Garden

           A hug is worth a thousand words.
               A friend is worth even more.
    A loving family is priceless.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Connecting with the soul


A geranium in bloom





         From My Garden

           Relaxation time will get me in touch
        with the treasures within my inner being.

Monday 21 May 2012

Celebrate abumdance of life

 What's in a name?



          From My Garden


                I will try to recreate myself
                to celebrate and enhance 
                what God has given me.

Sunday 20 May 2012

Optimistic Attitude

An asparagus fern growing in a hollow stump




      From My Garden

All the problems in my life can become smaller. I have the confidence and inner strength to find a solution.

Saturday 19 May 2012

Forgiveness


Welcome to our front entrance



      From My Garden

I look to my inner self and find all perceived wrongs in my life. I give and beg forgiveness and release all of them with love.






Friday 18 May 2012

A Beautiful Sunny Day.




A stunning dawning of a new
and beautiful day taken from
our verandah.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I have 100% of the rest of my life to live. What an exciting thought that is. I still have time to fullfil lots more of my dreams and aspirations.

I have decided to release "old " out of my vocabulary and turn "ageing" into living longer. Positive move!

I think the key to creativity is knowing that my own thinking creates my experiences and the even the smallest experience can be an absolute "delight" if my I allow my attitude to be  positive.

Today began as a stunning and beautiful day.  A miracle occurred... I was up very early, for me, to greet this inspiring scene. Yesterday we had a pea soup fog which didn't allow us to see even the house across the way. The fog stayed with us till 9.30am.... and the sun came out to greet the day at 10.25am. How exhilerating it was to see the sun arrive at such an early time today. My body was rearing to be on the move.

                                                      This morning I have been  for my weekly  visit  to the gym. I seem to be improving. This is the best day I have had. I had a couple of puffs of my ventolin puffer and it seemed to improve my breathing. So that was a great thing to know. I work out everyday at home but it is great to spend time with others who are all aspiring to do the same thing.... get fit and lose weight. I am getting there. This week I have seesawed up and down in the 87kg zone. My aspiration is to get below that by this time next week. Considering I started off at 97.9kg it is a big improvement. Thank you to all the people who have encouraged me. I couldn't have done without you. 

Last night we watched " Miss Fiisher's Murder Mysteries."  It was the last of the series. I am going to miss Phrynny. At least it was a bit different from other series.  I loved her eccentricity and her gorgeous clothes and the era the series is set in. Hope it comes back again.

Yesterday, for me, was such a good day. I am progressing well with my scrapbooking project . It is just about finished. My knitting project is not progressing quite so well. I'm up to my fifth pull out and  begin again. Never mind, it's a test of patience. I've never had a lot of that. I'm still praying for improvement in that area.

What  I was grateful for today 
The sun came out and lifted spirits. My scrapbooking progressed well. I was healthy and alive to greet another day. That's a lot to be grateful for.

God in my life
Being loved and cared about, prosperity of spirit, feeling happy, having positive thoughts. Continuing to read my little white book which will finish at Pentecost. I will miss that too. And of course my daily prayers.

 Find happiness within yourself and let it grow. And as it grows and increases......... pass it on. And may you find yourself wrapped in God's unconditional love. C.



                                                                             
                                                                                      

Matters of the heart and soul

At the right hand entrance to my garden





           From My Garden

If I give a portion of my life to helping others, it is good for the health of my body, heart and spirit.

Thursday 17 May 2012

Love Is......

Morning Fog





          From My Garden


                            God is love.
                         I love my family.
           Love is the trust and innocence
             in the smiling eyes of a child. 

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Prosperity of spirit

The entrance to my garden





          From My Garden

At this moment enormous prosperity of spirit and  power of the positive are
available to me. I choose to be worthy
 and deserving .

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Positive Energy nurtures the Soul


The water feature and bridge under construction






   From My Garden

The innate creativity within helps me
      to create miracles in my life.

Monday 14 May 2012

Inner Creativity

Ivy growing on the fence





     From My Garden

I have  creative power within and use my
  creative talents to express myself often.

Sunday 13 May 2012

The power of positive thinking


 A day's harvest



        From My Garden

The power of positive thinking leads me
towards  building a more rewarding  life.

Mother's Day




                                                                                         
Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

  Changes can begin in a moment,and
I am willing to make changes right now.

Well, I have just spent two very great days. Yesterday, our second son and his beautiful partner came to visit us. We shared a meal- well two in fact-, lots of conversation, laughter, and companionship. I was so excited when I knew they were coming. By the time they arrived I was nearly bursting. I had four members of my family with me, which was the best present  I could receive.

Last night we went to vigil service. The congregation was small and there was no organist, but the people sang like angels and the service lacked for nothing. Our vigil service was for the 6th Sunday after Easter and the second Sunday of the calendar month. I was the second reader of the word. We spoke about how much God loves us, that God is love, and that Jesus said:
" Love one another as I have loved you". If we love each other with the same unconditional love  God gives to us, we will live in a wonderful world.We are asked to respond to this unique and unconditional love from God in words and in deeds.
As an example: a Mother's love....Mother takes care of us, loves us, journeys with us through life. Through childhood, adolescence, mature age, Mother is an important part of our life's journey. And so we respond in words and deeds to honour our Mother.
How will we honour God for His unconditional love?

Today is Mother's Day. It has been great today and yesterday. I have been hearing from my children, one by one. They are scattered in places far away. So it has been wonderful to have contact, making Mother's Day very special indeed. Thank you .

We mowed four lawns today. On Mother's Day......? Well, I quite enjoy lawn mowing. There's always the end result: a great looking lawn, a job well done, and a lovely warm shower to wash off the grime.

Today I wish you happy moments , space for peace and relaxation, and a time where dreams can come true. And.... pass it on. C 

Saturday 12 May 2012

Loving

Roses are a symbol of love



         From My Garden

Love is a miracle cure. Loving and being loved
              works miracles in my life.

Friday 11 May 2012

The winds of Change


Our feathery friends




     From My Garden


Today I am willing to make changes to my life
in areas that I need to change.

Thursday 10 May 2012


A plant collection





      From My Garden

    Today I do some mental housekeeping.
I make room for new and positive thoughts

Enjoying the Days

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.


I am neither too little nor am I too much
I do not have to prove myself to anyone.
I am perfect in the eyes of God!


It has been quite a few days since I have blogged. I have spent a few days completing a couple of projects that I have been working on for a while or intended to complete for a long time.
 Now the first one began in September 2010 when we spent a week in Mackay with our son and his wife. We travelled there by train.  Whilst we were there we went op- shopping and second- hand shopping and we found the most beautiful standard lamp base. We couldn't bring it home on the train so our family very kindly babysat it till we could get it home.
Well.... it came home at Easter 2011 when our family came to visit. I went and bought a white lampshade for it. That's the way it stayed until last week when I worked diligently for 2 whole days and got it FINISHED! Hooray! It only took 19 months to get it to completion- and it looks great.




The finished project












My other project was a scarf, but an unusual one. It consisted of 35 knitted chains and joined together to form a double circle to wear round my neck.

It looks like this- only it's purple and bone













I didn't spend much time in my garden except to pick some basil for a salad, and roses and chrysanthemums to put in vases in the house.


Yesterday was a work day, and apart from going to work and doing a bit of housework, I did nothing too exciting. But it was still a great day. The sun was shining and the weather was frosty. We have our fire going to keep us toasty warm at night.
Today I made a chocolate caramel slice to take for our Coffee shoppe at the Art and Craft Exhibition that  begins tomorrow night with an opening night of wine and celebration at the local Cultural Centre. Then the Coffee Shoppe and Art Shoppe will be part of the next 2 days of the exhibition. I have volunteered to prepare and serve the food.for opening night.It's pretty easy stuff. We only have wine and cheese, dips and crackers and finger food.


So, there you have the story of how my last 4 days were spent. I guess one needs to spend time expressing creativity and have some relaxation.

Having a positive attitude helps me to leave the burden of difficulties behind and enlarges prosperity of spirit.

Let joy be in your heart  and go with you as you go, and let it grow within. And.... pass it on. C 

Wednesday 9 May 2012

From My Garden

Harvest from my garden





           From My Garden

       Today, I will let no person,place or thing
        irritate or annoy me.
        I choose to to be at peace.

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Listen with compassion

Snowflake flowers

     

 

     From My Garden

I choose to speak positively with all
the people who touch my life and listen
with compassion when they speak with me.

Monday 7 May 2012

Positive Attitude

Pussy cat's whiskers that climbs on thedriveway fence 

 

        

          From My Garden

Thinking pleasant thoughts
helps create a positive attitude.

Sunday 6 May 2012

Sunday- 5th one after Easter

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I allow change to occur without resistance or fear, I am free.

Sunday morning was our time for church and being with our like minded friends. This service was the first Sunday of the month. I shared special Eucharist Minister duties with Alena.

It was a very special service because Baptism was held for 3 very beautiful little girls- Loretta, Alice and Lauren.  The church was full. For lots of us with grown children it brought back memories of baptisms of our own children. The girls were dressed in white. They looked so angelic, with big beaming smiles and very excited about the ceremony. I think Father John was excited too. He said it was the first baptism he had officiated at during a service since he had been at our church. Children and teachers came to represent the school. Children presented the offertry gifts, and the bells were rung again at consecration, once again by children. It was a very special time.

Afterwards, we joined Parish friends for a cuppa and a chat. They were all talking about the service, Michael's birthday, and travels people have been on -all very positive conversation. When it was time to leave we offered Pam and Michael a lift home before we went to collect a script from the chemist.

Last night we watched "Dancing with the stars"

It was good to be part of the baptism of the little girls, to have children taking part in our service again, to spend time with like-minded people.

I was grateful the warehouse chemist was open so I could pick up my prescription. I had forgotten the day before and was clean out of my medication.

God in my Life
Being part of that special service with the children, being special minister, reading my " little white book I read for 6 minutes each day, and my own special prayers.


Let love go with you as you go, and let that love grow within, and.... pass it on. C.

From My Garden

 
Chrysanthemums just in time for Mother's Day


 


From My Garden


 I let go all negativity from my
           mind and body.

Yesterday

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.


I express love and gratitude for all I have learned and accomplished.

Yesterday was really a very good day.

Yesterday was a break- neck sort of day. I seemed to rush through the day at a great speed of knots. It was agreat day - just busy!

After breakfast I went for my weekly workout at the gym. I think I'm improving. I'm glad it's only for a half hour. I think I prefer my workouts at home.
I took my foster daughter home from there, and raced off to the markets to meet a friend of a friend. She introduced me to friends she was staying with who are neighbours of some friends from church ( friends of friends of friends? Whew!). We had a coffee and a chat and a walk round the markets. We bought some fruit and veg and some homemade jam. Then it was time to say goodbye and move on to the next place.
That was to visit Michael and Pam to celebrate Michael's 80th birthday. Met another group of people including Pam's daughter who was the Mother of two little boys I used to work with at my last job in the city. How small is this old world! Of course the little boys are grown up now- but I was very fond of them. it was great to have been touched by memories of them. 
 After we said goodbye there, we had to rush to our love job of mowing the church lawn. Two hours later we were finished that and very ready for a shower and clean up. There is always a joy in mowing a lawn. It always looks great when we are finished - having pride a job well done

Last night we watched "New Tricks" on telly while I knitted.

The good things in my life yesterday were all the lovely people who touched my life throughout the day.

I was grateful for the interesting experiences I had yesterday, and the people who touched my life.

God in my life 
 The lovely people we met today, mowing the church lawn, reading my little white book and praying

Let peace be with you as you go through your day, and let that peace grow within you, and.... pass it on! C.

Saturday 5 May 2012

Prosperity of spirit


Autumn has come to my persimmon tree


     From My Garden

      I am a magnet for good experiences.
      Prosperity of spirit is drawn to me.

Friday 4 May 2012

Accepting good from life



A creation by me in my garden

                                         

   From My Garden

 
I think large, and then I allow myself
to accept all that is good into my life.

Thursday 3 May 2012

Back To being Positive Again.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I now accept, and very much appreciate,
the abundant life I have been given.

Another day of feeling positive. I think it must be the good nights sleep I had last night. I think that is the answer, for me, anyway.

The storm on its way
We have just experienced a really lovely storm. It didn't last for long, but while it rained it was giving my garden a replenishing drink. Digger wasn't very happy. He just doesn't like those storms. There's lots of noises he doesn't like- the weedeater, the lawn mower, the blower, the vaccum cleaner. He will attack the motors and bark at them, but he hides away from the storm.


This morning we went off to the dump the offload a trailer load of grass clippings and prunings, and we came back with a trailer load of mulch. The mulch is free if we load it ourselves. We came home and offloaded that into the back garden. Wow! It really looks nice. This is probably the sixth load we have brought back. Still have loads of garden areas to go. It is so satifying to have a job well done.


The finished mulching job
Last night I watched "Celebrity Apprentice" Never watched that before. It just happened to be on while I was knitting. I actually enjoyed it.

The good things from today:
Getting the mulch and spreading it; weighing myself- I now weigh 88kg; the great lunch I made -pasta, pesto,ham and tomato salad. So Yum!  That's part of my diet I follow to lose weight. The food is so beautiful, and I am never hungry. I am now more enthusiastic and motivated.

What I am grateful for today:
The rain, feeling positive, cool weather, being energetic.

God in my life:
The storm, lovely food, a nice garden, my liile white book and praying.

Today I wish you peace, happiness, a positive attitude, lots of happiness and an abundance of love in your life. All these things are a sign of prosperity of spirit. C


Joy in all things

From My Garden

Filling my mind with thoughts of pleasant things
is the quick road to being positive.

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Each moment is a new beginning

From My Garden

           (On the Deck)

The point of power is always
    in the present moment.

Tuesday 1 May 2012

Joy In All Things

From My Garden


I move through my life
knowing that I am safe
and divinely protected.

A surprising Day

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

My mind is filled with healthy, positive, loving thoughts that reflect themselves in all my experiences.

Peacefuul, positive,productive.

One never knows what a new day brings.

 Little did I know, when I got up this morning, that a kookaburra would have to be rescued out of our fireplace. A number of times earlier in the morning, when I was doing a declutter in my card making and knitting baskets, I heard a fluttering noise coming from the fireplace. But no amount of looking showed us what it was. So we forgot about it for the time being.

We went up to our nearest big town to a chiropractor appointment, some op- shopping, bag shopping, and the dreaded DENTIST appointment to have 2 more teeth filled. I shouldn't moan. My dentist is so gentle. The only hard part was having a numb lip and ear and jaw for a few hours.

After lunch we were preparing to go out to mow and I heard the fluttering again. This time I could see a Kookaburra trapped and fluttering in the fire space. Well,  I closed the hall door and opened the front door, and when the mesh was taken from the front of the fire the bird flew straight out of the front door. Didn't envision it would be so easy. I imagined a sooty bird flying aimlessly around our living room putting soot all over our furniture.

I've been lucky enough to spend time in my garden again today, doing my favourite task of pruning - this time in the area around the cactus garden. The trailer is full of clippings again.
I also undercoated the lamp shade for standard lamp that we bought in Mackay the year before last. Yes I've finally got started on that project! And I brought a peace lily plant in and put it in the bathroom. It should grow well in there. It is a lovely bright room. I have plants growing in my kitchen window quite successfully, and the bathroom window faces the same way. So I'm presuming success here as well.

Tonight we will be watching" Who Do You Think You Are"

 I have started a new book: "The Faraday Girls" by Monica MacInerny.

What was good today?
Spending time in the garden; Having the holes in my teeth filled; doing a good mow; getting a new project underway.

What I was grateful for today.
The kookaburra flew straight out of the door instead of flying round our living area.

God In My Life
Nice caring dentist (eventhough he wants to sell me crowns that I can't afford), nice caring chiropractor(she likes Louise Hay too).

Time to cook the dinner- left over stirfry from last night, yum!

Peace be with all the world. C