Tuesday 31 July 2012

Setting realistic goals

Here is our gorgeous visitor again tucking into some bird seed
We are getting a visit most days.


From My Garden

I  am trying to avoid self imposed stresses by not loading myself with unrealistic deadlines, and goals, that are beyond my personal capability.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
I have 100% of my life left to live.









Today is another crisp day- sunny, cold, exhilerating,  even inspiring, and motivating. 
I am hoping that the day will  be as rewarding as yesterday. It has started well.  I had a phone call from our nephew Craig. We haven't spoken to him in such a long time. It was so good have a conversation. Eventhough things are not going as well for him as we hoped, we are looking positively to the future, and hoping that very soon there will be a turn around for him. And now my brother- in law has arrived. So two nice things happening within a short while spells good for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, I managed to complete all my projects for the day. That was a really good feeling. I ended my project day in the garden, which is how I wanted things to go, so my soull was singing for the rest of yesterday.  So obviosly I chose wisely and did not try to do more than was attainable. I am gaining wisdom in my "living longer" years.

And I arose from my slumber on this beautiful morning, in anticipation of another great day - positive, peaceful and enthusiastic.

 I wish you peace and happiness and someone to share your joy of living with. C.

If I am to participate in the game of life I need to grab hold of and cherish every precious moment.

Monday 30 July 2012

Adding Enthusiasm


Taken on the table of our outdoor setting under the trees.
 Isn't it just a little beauty? I love visitors like these in my garden. 


From My Garden

I need to remember that enthusiasm is not
an accessory to my life. It is an absolute necessity.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
I have 100% of the rest of my life left to live.


Yesterday, I did some cooking in the morning. I made Hungarian Goulash. I've never made this dish before. It was quite simple, very colourful, with very few ingredients, and enough , with mash and peas, to serve 4 people. I couldn't find a recipe in my multitude of cookbooks, so I resorted to asking the internet for help. I was delighted with the result. My next culinary effort is going to be goulash soup. We had some on board ship in Hungary and I quite liked what we ate. 

Later i was able to fit time in, in my garden. I had bought punnets of flower plants and planted up my hanging baskets.  Soon I will have baskets of flowering delight. Evev now with only the greenery the baskets look so much better than empty bare baskets.

Today I found it hard to be enthusiastic about a visit to the accountant and all the paperwork and information required. However, at the end of my visit, when the accountant told me my tax return results, I became most enthusiastic indeed. In my head I was spending it on the new roof for my deck which we have yearned for, for a couple of years now. In summer it gets so hot out there.  A roof is badly needed. The visit was very productive.
So once again I have contributed to positive, productive and peaceful and added enthusiasm. Well done!

So on to my next project for today, which is Apple Slice - with only 4 ingredients. I have made this  dessert before, and it is even easier than Hungarian goulash. I will have that ready in no time.... and it is very yummy indeed!

And then into the garden.......

I wish you a positive, productive, peaceful, and enthusiastic day and hope you too can share it with others. C 

If I am to particpate in the game of life I will need to appreciate every precious moment.

Sunday 29 July 2012

Calling on Inner Strength and Power


Early morning fog at the bottom of my garden


From My Garden

When something seems impossible I need to go
within myself and call upon my inner strength, and
engage the power of God's love. With all this power
of God's love and my own inner strength anything is possible.


Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I have 100% of the rest of my life to live.
Good morning!
I woke to a bright, sunny, very chilly morning. How exhilerating is that! The fire is burning and inside our home it is so toasty warm.

Well, yesterday went just as I planned. We went to church . Father Dan is still with us. Our sermon this week was from John's Gospel about the loaves and the fishes, and how differently John portrayed this story than Mathew had done in his Gospel. I had never realised that before.
Being a literal person I had always seen it as a miracle that Jesus performed when there was not enough food to feed all of his followers. Father Dan is certainly very good at engaging me to listen in and actually hear what  I am really being told.

I managed to get more fertiliser for my rose garden (among other things), and after lunch I finished pruning, fertilising and watering my rose garden. Gardening is certainly soul food. Not only did I finish my planned rose garden chores, but I managed to start on my geranium garden as well. Yesterday was such a glorious wnters day as well - so crisp, so clean, so bright , so exhilerating- a really God-filled day.

So, on such an inviting morning, I have much planned and hope things turn out as rewarding and prodictve as yesterday.

I hope you too have an enjoyable day and find God in all that you do.

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

Saturday 28 July 2012

Positive,productive and peaceful


One of the bonuses of living where it is cold.


From My Garden

I must not let failure defeat me.
I must get up and begin again.

Today is the first day of the rest of my lifel
I have 100% of the rest of my life to ive.





This week has been a week of failures for me - not drastic ones thank goodness -but failures to get up and be motivated. I have had a bout of the flu and while my health has been improving day by day with the help of medication, my cough hangs on and pulls me down.

So yesterday I decided to do a couple of extra things that were different from what I've been doing everyday.  I spent time pruning my roses, fertilising and watering them - a job well done. But the job didn't get finished because I ran out of fertiliser and had to wait till today to be able to purchase some more. But I made the start, and it's such a beautiful morning this morning, that I know when I come in from church I will have the motivation to finish the job.

But the best thing I did yesterday was to attend our Community Art Group meeting. Only 6 of us attended but they are such a delightful group and so motivated, I came away feeling quite happy and with a few plans to put in place to keep me busy over the next month. Thank you to my Art Group friends who really lifted my spirits when I most needed it.

I remember when I was young, my Mum used to quote "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again" ( I think it may have been part of an old poem ) . So here I am back today blogging again, being positive, productive and peaceful, after a week of feeling sorry for myself. There seems to be something into the mindset of 'keep on keeping on'

Sunday, HERE I COME!

Be inspired:
Take a stand for yourself in a big way or even a small way - starting today........... and when you do and you succeed, PASS IT ON. C








Thursday 19 July 2012

Praying for peace for the world


With love from my garden


        From My Garden

There has always been a longing within myself
 that is only satified when I am embraced and
 wrapped in the love of my Creator.





Each day when I make my daily prayer
I ask that each of my friends and all of my family
be wrapped in the loving embrace of God.
I ask him to wrap each person in the world in his love,
to make the world a better place for all of us to live in,
help the leaders of the world to make to right decisions
for the benefit of all of us,
and let their be world peace.

Please join me in my daily prayer.
Maybe if all our prayers are joined
together we can make a difference
for the suffering peoples of the world. Thank you. C 




Tuesday 17 July 2012

Sharing a word


My Love with a rose


            From My Garden


 If I listen with my heart, as well as with my ears,
I will hear so much more and respond differently.





Today is the the first day of the rest of my life.
I have 100% of the rest of my life to live.

I am a lover of words. Last night I attended a church meeting . We always start and end our meetings with  with a prayer.
 Last night Bill,s Prayer began with a word.
 The word Bill used was GUIDANCE.
 I would like to share that word with you. It is by an author unknown.... and very clever indeed.

Dancing With God.

When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's Will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead in a dance, nothing feels right. The movement just does not want to flow with the music, and everything feels quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets their partner lead, both bodies begin to flow and move together with the music

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one directtion or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidamce from the other.
Then my eyes drew back to the word Giudance. When I saw the "G" I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i". "God" "u" and "i" dance. God you and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to tust that I would get guidance  about my life. Once again I became willing to let God lead me.

My prayer for today is that God's blessings and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday.

May you abide in God as he abides in you.

Dance together with God , trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.

Thanks Bill for sharing this great find. It touched my heart deeply.

"you changed my mourning into dancing"
                           Ps. 30.12

 And so on this beautiful sunny day here in the  great land "downunder'" let us dance with God and trust that he will lead us in the right direction towards blessings and mercies and love and laughter. Life can be so much better with God helping us on our journey through the the seasons.
 And ... when you find your way to dance with God... share it -  pass it on. C



Monday 16 July 2012

What is Success?


                                         
A relaxing space where I sometimes
read, write eat, or think.

From My Garden


Success in my life is found in loving and  giving,
 Not in winning or owning THINGS.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I still have 100% of the rest of my life to live.

Lasting happinss does not come from what I can GET.
I find lasting happiness in what I can GIVE.


And that giving is not always gift giving, but it can be something like that...... like when I have shared something from my garden, or something I have cooked with my garden produce.
 But the best giving of all is
A friendly smile,
 an enquiry about a persons health or that of a loved one,
an offer to pray for someone in need,
 a card to wish someone well when they have been ill,
 a postcard to a lonely person when I am on holiday.

And...
these are the kind of things that I too appreciate.
There is nothing more special than a phone call from someone I haven't heard from in a while,
 or a visit from a friend I haven't seen in ages,
 a sharing of conversation about the happenings in our lives.

I've found age brings wisdom
 And with wisdom comes the appreciation of thoughtfulness and friendship and LOVE.
 Money can't buy any of these things.

 So.... today I pass these thoughts to you to share around and hope that you too can find lasting happiness.... and can PASS IT ON! C

If I am to partipate in the game of life I will need to appreciate each precious moment
especially those that have come from the heart.



Sunday 15 July 2012

God is everywhere

A Rose for love

             From My Garden

Faith does not only believe that God can, but that God will.
And.... faith without works is dead.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I still have 100% of my life left to live.




I can't imagine life without God in it......
in the birth of a baby
in a child's smile
in the love of a Mother for her children
in the sincere love between husband and wife
in a beautiful sunrise or sunset
in the greeting from my dog/ cat when I come home from somewhere.
in a beautiful rose
in a sunshower
in the goodness and kindness within people.......
in the innocent eyes of my grandchildren
God is everywhere if I take the time to look.

Take time to look at all things beautiful and maybe you too will find God there. ..... and share your find. C.


Saturday 14 July 2012

Those precious Moments


An abundant crop of oranges. A reward
 like this makes gardening well worthwhile.


         From My Garden

Even if happiness forgets me sometimes I never give up .... I keep on keeping on.

I am responsible for making my own happiness.

Happiness is Not having things. It's inner peace, a spiritual glow, a reaching out to others, a love of self, and appreciation of the good things life has to offer.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I have 100% of the rest of my life to live.

To wake up to sunshine today was so uplifting. After a number of overcast, raining and gloomy days, and still suffering a little jet lag, was not very helpful to my spirits. But today is so much brighter. It was nice to get back to church and catch up.

Father John is in Vietnam for 5 weeks and we have been blessed with the prescence of Father Dan, who has such a sunny disposition. He makes any gloomy gospel reading seem bright and encouraging. Today he spoke about the disciples being sent out to preach wearing sandals and only having one tunic- to travel light. aand Father Dan said......" and when the washed their tunics they sat around in their underwear while their tunics dried"...... which made us all think about how difficult it must have been for the preachers to go out to spread God's word.

And afterwards a cuppa and scone and shared conversation with other parishioners we hadn't seen for 5 weeks. A bit of lightheartedness when, after about a half hour, Bob turned up looking a little flustered, saying that he and Father Dan had spent all that time trying to get out of the church. While he and Father Dan had been deep in conversation the church had been locked up with them still inside talking. Naturally everybody thought that was quite hilarious. But Bob wasn't impressed because he had to go back in and fix the door they had broken out of.
 Even going to church can be exciting as well as rewarding.

If I am going to continue to participate in the game of life I am going to need to continue to  appreciate each precious moment and most especially the lighthearted ones............. come join me in finding and appreciating those precious moments. C

Friday 13 July 2012

Finding God

Tiny birdseye chillies always make a
lovely display. I use so few of them and
 the bush is always full.

              From My Garden 

                  Each time that I give love sincerely and
unselfishly, I give God, because.... God is love.

This is the first day of the rest of my life.
I still have 100% of the rest of my life to live.





I see God in the love I have for my family.
I see the goodness and kindness in people as the
God part of humankind.
 But most of all I find God in the pure innocence of a small child, and the trust and love
 they have in their parents.
It would be so good to be able to be childlike and trusting in love as little children are,
instead of growing up to be so mistrusting of everybody and everything.

If I am going to participate in the game of life, I will need to appreciate each precious moment that I have here on earth..... join me. C..

Thursday 12 July 2012

Rewards in everyday living


Some mystical creatures who grace my indoor garden.
 A cute gift from my daughter-in-law

       From My Garden

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I have 100% of the rest of my life to live.

Some smart employers share both profits and credit with their employees.. This is not always because it is deserved, but because the employer knows it is a way to greater success for a business and for the benefit of encouraging the employee to participate and enjoy the fruits of that success. 

I love my job.
The benefits from working where I work is not only the monetary reward, but the reward of being part of a very successful enterprise. I hear that everywhere I go, when I tell people where I am employed. I am told constantly " that place has a very good reputation". That's so great to be part of something  like that and to know I make a small contribution to it's success in my own unique way.

The other rewards that I reap are:
 that I am much older than all the people who are employed at my place of work, and I am truly grateful that at my age I can still make a contribution to a thriving business;.

my children and grandchildren are a long way away so I am lucky that I work with younger people who are around my children's ages and give me stimulating company as I work; 
 
and of course the nature of my work is with children, so while I don't have my grandchildren in my daily life I can share the joy and excitement and company  of small children as they journey through their lives unaware of the contribution they make to my life;

and the fact that I have other things to contribute to conversation at home other that my garden, housework, my pets, the weather.

So it makes life more exciting to go to a job that rewards me in more ways than with money.
I like the money too. It allows me to travel and get to see my family at least once a year.
So once again the mundane can be exciting if I look at the positives within the eveyday environment of where I live, how I live, why I do what I do, and how I make that all work.

I wish you the joy in finding excitement in the mundane of your everyday life. I know you will find it there if you just look. C.
    


Wednesday 11 July 2012

The Ripple Effect

Welcome to my front door.

             From My Garden

Happenings in life are like a series of chain reactions
- just like when I throw a stone into the water and the
ripples circle out. Each event has an effect on the the
 next one down the line. I may remember the end result,
but not all the small choices I made each day that either
 got me closer to my goal or took me farther away.



Well, life is back to the mundane again - washing and ironing and cleaning and cooking dinner. I have done none of these in the last 5 weeks, not even making my bed.
And yet the mundane is important. This brings me back to earth and grounds me into who  I really am. Iam not the served but the server. There is no pleasure or achievement in being served and having no accomplishment other than having a good time. However, there is a accomplishment in having a clean house in making a pleasant, tasty meal, in being able to make someone happy, in being a human being with purpose a and worth.

And my memories are still there from my wonderful holiday, sharing my experience with my work colleagues and listening to their aspirations and dreams for their coming journeys or journeys they have already travelled on. Yes, I am back at work already. I didn't know haow much I missed the company of my younger work mates or the babble of small children asking me where I had been. Even they were interested in the story of being on the plane and the boat.
 I am glad to be back to the mundane. There's excitement and fun even in that. That is who I am.

Hoping all your dreams come true and I can be a part of your sharing of the fulfillment of your dreams as well . C.

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Still living the dream



From My Travels

Putting others need before my own
 will be the surest way to personal happiness.




Our travel companions - on the last day of our trip in the Uk
We are at left. Our bus driver at front and tour director in red skirt
near us. This was taken at Bath in England. The next day we were in
Amsterdam. We took the rain with us to there as well.



Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I still have100% of  the rest of my life to live.

 The journey home was very long. We left the cruise ship at Budapest
 on Sunday at 10am. We had a 7hr wait till our plane flew out to Munich.
 We had a 5hr wait at Munich until we flew out to Dabai. Slept on the
 plane. Had another wait at Dubai and then an all night flight to Brisbane.
 We arrived in Brisbane at 6.25am on Monday morning. We lost 8hrs on the backward flight.

 We brought the rain home too.. We arrived home about midday, showered, ate lunch and slept
and slept, and washed. We are still washing and because of the rain we are drying
in the clothes dryer.
Well, the trip might be over, but the dream is still there.... and the memories,
people, places, the experiences. It is so incredible. I don't think I will ever come down
out of the clouds. Although I should.... washing dishes and washing and drying clothes, and
making the bed, and cleaning house should quickly bring me down to earth, don't you think!
I enjoyed sharing my dream and excitement with you. If I never get to do that again it won't
matter because that one was so big it will last for the rest of my life. Hope your dreams come
 true for you too.....
 And the sun has just decided to rise. C

Thursday 5 July 2012

Making Memories


From My travels
                             
Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I have 100% of the rest of my life to live.

Every King was once a helpless baby.
Every mighty tree was once a seed
Every great ocean began with a ripple…
And every mighty structure started out as a drawing.
It’s not where I am today that that counts, but where
I am going in the future with what I learned today that matters.

Well, this exciting adventure is on the downhill run. We will be home in our little town of Nanango this time next week. Who would ever have thought what an exciting time we had ahead of us when we set out on this great experience .And who would have ever thought that at our age we could take this journey and embrace all the experiences and run with it. We’ve tried everything( except kissing the blarney stone- I had good intentions) and enjoyed our new experiences.
We have been to many different places:
 A walking tour of Miltenberg.
A walking tour through the Palace at Wurzberg. What a magnificent place.
 Another walking tour, this time through Bamberg- a very picturesque place.

Our next day we visited Nuremberg, where we visited the Palace of Justice where the Nazi war trials were held in 1945/ 46. We went to church at Frauenkircke ( a catholic church). The service was in German and they sang the gospel (and it was very long). And we turned the latch three times  at the fountain for good luck ,so we would return again to Nuremberg.

And then Regensberg:. We took a boat ride along  through the Danube gorge  to the Weltenberg Abbey, tasted salty pretzel and drank dark beer. In the afternoon we did another walking tour and ate German sausages and saurkraut. That night before dinner we had Bavarian beer tasting. We were pretty beered out by the end of all that. And that night the entertainment was Bavarian folk music with a pretty crazy Bavarian who could play many musical instruments and made us laugh till we cried.

Our most exciting experience was being inside the  river lock and watching the water level rise 25m, and our ship sail out  the other side on a different level.We have to pass through 68 of these locks before we get to Budapest. But this one was particularly interesting because of the height the water had to climb to get us to the next level of water.The eventual height we had to get to was 1183mt above sea level before we got down the other side and into the Danube River.

After that we sailed up the Rhine / Danube canal on our way to the Danube River, We crossed a viaduct which was a bridge affair that crossed a four lane highway and we could see cars passing below us. All that happened in the space of about an hour. All the passengers were out on deck with cameras ready watching and enjoying these exciting experiences.

3/7/12 Today  we visited Salzberg- where Mozart was born, where “The Sound of Music” movie was made.We visited Mondsee (a lake) where the church was where Maria and Gerhardt were married in the movie. We ate Austrian sausage and apple struedal.


The puppy dog made out of towels sitting on the bed
Our waiter Ciprian dressed in Bavarian Costume He is really Romanian
The Town hall at Bamberg that straddles the river and looks like a ship.
Moving into the river lock and the 25m wall the water had to climb
  
A sign about opa. couldn't find one for Oma .In German








The Palace of Justice where the Nuremberg Nazi trials were held

The mad Bavarian. See his moustache

The church at Mondsee where Maria and Gerhart married in the "Sound of Music"
           
Sailing out the other side of the lock after rising 25m
This marker showed when we got to the highest level above sea level -1183m













This will probably be the last blog I will send before we go home because the internet is so difficult to manouvre. Tonight we are going to a concert in Vienna, I am so excited. Today we did a tour of Vienna. It is very lovely. We visited ANOTHER church- St. Stephen's Cathedral. They are all so different, It was finished in 1400's.



 Soon our dream will be over, but these lovely places will always live in my heart, I wish you peace. I am so glad that we at least, got to touch places so different from home- the country where our grandchildren have connections, and the countries where our ancestors came from. Love C.