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/)

Last Blog until after Christmas

Hello everyone.  Welcome to my favourite time of year.  Not because of all the presents I might receive, or the number of cards I might get, or the number of parties I might go to, but because it is the Season For Giving. 

We can give in so many ways, a smile, a hug, a greeting to warm someone's heart.  I love it so much words fail me. 

So have a really happy, peaceful and joyful Christmas and all the best is wished for you all in 2010.  Love from ME!

A message from Neale.

This is a card made for my husband's staff. (One of many)  Its from Joanna Sheen's Enchanted Christmas CD.  I really didn't want to do it today as I was tired from the 10 I made yesterday.  However I remembered "do it now!" so I did it.  Then I received an e mail from my old friend Neale Donal Walsche so I thought I'd share it with you today.  It reads:-
"Life is not going to come down there and sprinkle glitter dust on your shoulders to let you know that you are Good...or that you are walking the Right Path...or
that you are making the Best Decision.

Take the next step. Right now. Stop waiting for a "sign" from the "gods." Your sign is your intuition, wrapped in your desire.


Hesitation is not a stopping place on the road to heaven."

I think we sometimes forget that life is not a rehearsal.  So do it now!

Giving and receiving

Hello all!  Are you all ready for the big day!.  Well I've never been so far behind with Christmas.  But I am sure it will all come together in the end and we will be eating our  lunch some time on Christmas day!  Miss you Mark,  one of my favourite cooks in all the world. ( Miriam is the other one).

Christmas  got me thinking about success and what it means.  To some it the big job, the big house, the flashy car and everything good thing you could wish for materially.  To others its all things spiritual and I guess most of us mere mortals fall somewhere in the middle. 

We often ponder "Why are we here?  What is our purpose?"  I think the answer might be to know ourselves as well as it is possible to do so.  Then to go out there and behave towards others as we would wish them to behave towards us.  There is a quote from St. Francis of Assisi that goes something like "for it is in giving that we receive",  I think we say "What goes around, comes around".  Well , give out as much love, care and consideration this Christmas Season as you can and throughout the whole of 2010 and beyond .  I think you might be surprised how happy you will be!

I wish for you all Joy,  Happiness and Peace