Something I created at last!

It appears that I have not been here since February, well I am here now with some of my creations  Canvas on cards!  Hope you like them!  They are on my facebook profile too!

(The answer to last week's WOW!
From  a newsletter from Martha Borst)

We left off with Lancelot pondering the predicament of: "During the day, did he want a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate moments.
What would YOU do?"

Noble Lancelot said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself. Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.

Now of course the joke ending is:

"If you don't let a woman have her own way, things will get ugly!"

But a more enlightened quote might be . . .

"Only those who respect the personality of others can be of real use to them"

-Albert Schweitzer

There is a lot of wisdom in Lancelot's decision. When we try to manipulate or control others, overtly or covertly, women or men; thinking that we know what is best for them better than they do, inevitably things will backfire. No one likes to be "told" what to do. No wants to work for or live with someone who doesn't respect their right and ability to make good decisions. This is most especially true for children. How do they learn if others make decisions for them?


Perhaps a more effective approach with children would be to help them sort out the choices in front of them. Discuss the pros and cons of each decision and then allow them to make their own choices. They will either reap the rewards or pay the consequences. If they fail, acknowledge them for being willing to take a step and simply ask them what they learned.


With a spouse or a friend, perhaps what is more empowering than our judgments and criticisms or our attempts to persuade them in a direction we think they should take, would be to help them sort through their options (if they are willing to do so), and tell them you trust they will make the right choice for them. Don't offer unwanted advice or tell them what they should do. After all, it is their life, not yours. If they fail, then stand beside them and let them know you believe in them. Tell them "It'll be better next time." Simply give them your support and never say, "I told you so."

The same is true for employees. Clearly, if you're in a leadership position, you have a greater right to determine what the choices are and sometimes it's "do the job as required or leave." But otherwise, it's been my experience that many times, my employees saw choices I never did, (I always tried to hire people who were smarter then I), and I was often impressed by their decisions.

When you truly respect someone, then you respect their ability to not only make their own decisions, but you also trust their ability to recover from any mistakes made, learn the lesson and move on.

Amazing things happen when people know they are completely supported to make a free choice.  Have a great weekend!

Camelot? What would you do

"The first duty of love is to listen."  (Paul Tillich)
"Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death.

The question?. . .What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end.

He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.


Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer. But the price would be high; as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.


The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first. The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!


Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life. He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden; but Lancelot, learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur.


He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table. Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's question thus:


What a woman really wants, she answered....is to be in charge of her own life.


Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared. And so it was, the neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom and Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.


The honeymoon hour approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened.


The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth, be her horrible deformed self only half the time and the beautiful maiden the other half.


Which would he prefer? Beautiful during the day....or night?


Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate moments?


What would YOU do?"

This is pink for Gracie!

Hello everyone.  Well it seems a lot of time has passed since the last rendition.  Gracie is now three years old and doing very well.  A big change from the poorly sick little girl of this time last year.  We are truely grateful for that.  Once again the attitude of gratitude raises its profile in my thoughts.  I had been without my car for 5 weeks and really missed it, although the amount of snow we had on the ground here, it was probably a blessing that I didn't have to drive in it.  The fact that it was still under manufacturer's warranty when it decided to give up the ghost is also  something to be grateful for, it only had three days to go before it ran out!  It would probably have cost an arm and a leg to pay for the repair that took 5 weeks.  The down side is that I did not get out to walk for fear of falling on the icy pavements and roads so I put on half a stone in weight.( Ate lots of biscuits and drank lots of coffee)  Putting that to rights now!. In three weeks we will be going away to see out grandchildren and mother will go into the local nursing home while we are away.  A break from the 24/7 caring role will be good for me and help me relax. 

Something I would like to share with you today is this quote.  How true it is.  Love to you all today. I wish you all peace and tranquility today and always.

"There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than there is for bread."

Mother Theresa

Image courtsey of www.aimeeasher.com

Arts and crafts

Today I tried my hand at the very latest crafting craze, working with Pro Markers.  These are some of the results.  I found the flesh tones pretty hard to guage but I think I am getting there.  Martha Borst gave us plenty of food for thought yesterday so I thought I might let you all digest that for the time being.

My Daughter mistakenly took the Martha Borst blog as my own and wondered if I had had two husbands.  I thought it very amusing.  Love you Darling!  You made my day!  Mum!

Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished?

Yes; work never begun."

~ Unknown
This is from Martha Borst today!  I thought it might help.  We all need a boot at some time or another!

On the practical side, as you launch into the New Year, no doubt you do so with the good intention of finishing projects, starting new ones and being more effective and efficient than you were last year.
As you make your 'To Do Lists' and attempt to complete them, there are four little guidelines that will make your process more successful. These four guidelines will direct your actions and make your job, whether it is running a business or a home, more successful and decidedly more pleasant. They are:

Do it - If it's something that can be done in 10 to 15 minutes, do it and do it now. Stop procrastinating, stop whining and complaining. Just DO IT! And do the most unpleasant things first.

Delay it - If it's going to take longer than 15 minutes, put it on a list of things to be accomplished and set a date by when you will have it done. You may want a short term delay list for things that need to be done soon (like today, tomorrow or this week), and a long term delay list for things that can wait longer (two or three months), but are things that still must be done.

Delegate it - Use this one as much as possible. When I was first married, my husband at the time and I argued over who should bring the firewood into the house. I thought he should do it and he thought I should. Neither of us would budge and we would sit in the living room with our coats on and read in grouchy silence. Then a light bulb went off in my head. Hire a neighborhood kid to do it! Give him $10 to bring in a whole load of wood and everyone will be happy! Believe me, the little bit of money was worth paying to have a pleasant evening. Delegate, delegate, delegate as much as possible and then follow up to make sure it has been done.

Dump it - Simply get rid of anything that you've had on your list for a long time. Face it, you don't want to do it, it's not that important. Let it go. Leaving it on your list of things to do only burdens you and makes you feel guilty. Throw out those papers, clothes, plans. Let them go. You will never miss them.

So, look around the house, look in the closet basement and garage. Look at your desk. Pick up that paper on top of the pile. Begin the process and then do one of four things with what needs to be done, Do it, Delay it, Delegate it or Dump it. But don't just sit there doing nothing!! Now stop reading this and get to work!

Hello everyone who passes this way.

 I love it when Christmas comes but equally love to take all the perifery down and get back to normal.  However, what I do miss about the the Christmas season is the smiles and friendliness on peoples' faces as they go about their daily chores.  I was in a supermarket a few days before Christmas and noticed very much how all the men were singing!  Yes singing! So from my little archive I have plundered the following quote:
"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."

Its a difficult concept as we all have the notion that we are here for ever!  But do give it a try.  Happy, peaceful, and fufilled 2010 to you all, with all my love.
(the graphic is from http://www.aimeeasher.com/)