tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13797949711689404742024-03-04T20:34:15.447-08:00LAYERS OF MEMORYlayers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-60301990960580718292012-03-21T21:25:00.006-07:002012-03-21T22:20:21.215-07:00Giving Thanks......<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JyMlCP8beAgweK0ljjea-UlloV7VMAjhpjUmCUsq0Quimmiv62AxvXRCN__hoh5I-pD9NkuTf6WwolDupQK67eARAwENjDLymOLfyo_bpoLX5KZrNWng0iRm7ycnSZ-0q-jxE9EyWGYl/s1600/Outside+La+shoppe+Cosi+Fan+Tutte+021.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JyMlCP8beAgweK0ljjea-UlloV7VMAjhpjUmCUsq0Quimmiv62AxvXRCN__hoh5I-pD9NkuTf6WwolDupQK67eARAwENjDLymOLfyo_bpoLX5KZrNWng0iRm7ycnSZ-0q-jxE9EyWGYl/s320/Outside+La+shoppe+Cosi+Fan+Tutte+021.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722577186130666642" border="0" /></a>Have you ever been to one of those shops where you know before you even enter it that you are going to love it, you spend hours there selecting items you can't live without and walk out and say to your friend that is the most interesting shop i have been to in a long time........do we ever actually tell the shop owner how we feel about their shop, imagine how thrilled they would be to know that all their hard work and their vision for something amazing has paid off........this shop brought alive all of my senses so much so that i was compelled to write to the owner and tell her how much visiting this shop moved me........this is what i had to write......<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIneiBBpvX169Rrt-fOljDflPVFK3bBinw3sI9ULwZVrvv5mZ3eC2W7ignQmWuSbPZ0dAAD-WjywcnmG9wNpQvCqorglkGde5dMdYrYe1_xoTaK2OcOZhpp88qfF8BpCp-fW4k4c8qJl1j/s1600/Ribbons+Cossi+Fan+tutu+048.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIneiBBpvX169Rrt-fOljDflPVFK3bBinw3sI9ULwZVrvv5mZ3eC2W7ignQmWuSbPZ0dAAD-WjywcnmG9wNpQvCqorglkGde5dMdYrYe1_xoTaK2OcOZhpp88qfF8BpCp-fW4k4c8qJl1j/s320/Ribbons+Cossi+Fan+tutu+048.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722575384473398658" border="0" /></a><br />From the moment i stepped from the car picking up a fallen oak leaf and catching a glimpse across the road of your shop i knew i was in for something special.<br />I loosened the cords of my dreams and let them surround me as i stepped through your shop door and i was transported to another time and place.<br />I was so thankful that my friend had found this shop and that it was with her that i got to experience it all because i knew that this was a shop that one needed to take their time and explore and savour the delights surrounding me as i walked around......<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVidwUXFtkIjrXlI9MOMAEmCsK3D01Wi3NyJ_U4xsKkqynOaM66UpM24gNzYmKgjJubnB36WCEOzebGVXr9Sp_OBqdkE1A50bdZ6MjzJBpaKndKVsbq0sh0p0mO6VM7YbyXrUikXrIBoB-/s1600/Collections++Cossi+Fan+tutu+041.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVidwUXFtkIjrXlI9MOMAEmCsK3D01Wi3NyJ_U4xsKkqynOaM66UpM24gNzYmKgjJubnB36WCEOzebGVXr9Sp_OBqdkE1A50bdZ6MjzJBpaKndKVsbq0sh0p0mO6VM7YbyXrUikXrIBoB-/s320/Collections++Cossi+Fan+tutu+041.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722575394209617106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I was captivated from the first step inside, drawn to a tin cheese pot i had much admired in magazines and wondered where i could get one, immediately i visualized a jar inside with spring flowers gently draped over the edges the old and the new coming together to create a feast for the eyes and the heart.<br />Strong manilla tags with numbers caught my eye, my latest obsession with anything numbered or initialed and i couldn't believe my eyes to have these in my hand.<br />I realized that this was a shop where every nook and cranny deserved to be explored and touched and admired, the wonderful displayed items in old bags, the rusty and the layered and the soft and the flowing caught my eyes as i floated around as if in a dream.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JY6ZTNUho1TNoIxDC-KMTrMfvS5_-aRT7889c_enFwGYusmZHtld1Lgj5Dn36b1jVHISS2KA2rg1LM1Y9y4dRz5_JSCVsxUX9c1l9OUIFZd-rgk6ZjDYABZKiChvzMfk99erdFxxhsAv/s1600/cosi+fan+tutte+theatre+counter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JY6ZTNUho1TNoIxDC-KMTrMfvS5_-aRT7889c_enFwGYusmZHtld1Lgj5Dn36b1jVHISS2KA2rg1LM1Y9y4dRz5_JSCVsxUX9c1l9OUIFZd-rgk6ZjDYABZKiChvzMfk99erdFxxhsAv/s320/cosi+fan+tutte+theatre+counter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722574539343911858" border="0" /></a><br />The childrens corner quickly brought to mind my two new grandchildren, one to be born soon and one later in the year, i took note of all there was to offer with a promise to return to purchase that special gift for someone so small and precious, i marvelled at the wonderful range of items that would delight any child.<br /><br />I admired the velvet edged curtains that i imaged wafting in the breeze of the open French doors, admired the beauty of both the scent and packaging of the Tokyo Milk range, books that i myself owned and loved I saw here and some that i knew about but hadn't actually seen i was able to flick through to get a sense of the essence of them as music danced around my head.<br /><br />By this time I knew the owner had such good taste and a creativity for purchasing items that reached out and pulled you in. I let the sights, sounds and smells wash over me, admired the wire bird cages as i am sure many have before me had and was told it was a prop as were other bits that i was drawn to.<br />I was introduced to the delightful shop assistant with the beautiful name with the unusual pronouncation .... Melisa....she told me that people called her Melissa instead, and her smile and how helpful and friendly she was to us...<br /><br />I loved how everything was not in neat little rows but creatively displayed so it was journey of discovery where you had to get on your hands and knees and sift through all the treasures you uncovered one after the other, adding them to the ever growing bundle to take home to keep the memories alive.<br />I lost myself amongst everything that i had not seen before, that was new to me, that i had to have and knew that at long last i had arrived at the place of my dreams and seen it for the first time, i came away experiencing something magical.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj516FP2KdlspabUWSZgH71GQT8lXKso3dL8gT3ER-5rZsOGhhS4WuWFJ6cM8eA13ul7tuou4WGus1e7TlSNTN2317D0gXh7QWWrp-dxbvfuRPA8A_SzVtHNBXRec89rcjQ0d1-MiIJ_Kk1/s1600/Exciting+interior.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj516FP2KdlspabUWSZgH71GQT8lXKso3dL8gT3ER-5rZsOGhhS4WuWFJ6cM8eA13ul7tuou4WGus1e7TlSNTN2317D0gXh7QWWrp-dxbvfuRPA8A_SzVtHNBXRec89rcjQ0d1-MiIJ_Kk1/s320/Exciting+interior.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722574540888675042" border="0" /></a><br />I wanted to take the time to write to Andrea to thank her because far too often we think these things as we leave but we never actually tell the person responsible how we feel, the shop evokes such emotion inside that goes way beyond just going into a nice shop, it is an experience of the mind and soul and the best shop i have been in for years, it is like a breath of fresh air that swirls around inside you and leaves you with pure joy in your heart, a spring in your step and a feeling that life is good after all.......as Emily Bronte would say.....it went through me and through me like wine through water and changed the colour of my mind.............<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvdJ33ffu9__tpWSde3H8O56Iuy8mc5h1wHrybiV-F6X8pfdIzen_ovptMdtQsPhAIOkswgq3O-mDWdEFCEcpZjY3oSPyeYhlY8JpRYQhL2EpUNpYMX1su26xLJQ5yPaxD15VIv0YT91v/s1600/2+french+beauty+essentials+Cossi+Fan+tutu+029.JPG"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPANdlkiaFpM2yQodyMwsSD-2tQIN5T2ZaIP3hp-YVWmwvlRJXXMSsDr_0x6cKNMLVT-jvidbsTOu4XYeRJ52SHh6mDUanmrmURM-CJZNtx9PFDUt-87QREZk9VVSgzKMA9ReOlTU37a6k/s1600/2+french+beauty+essentials+Cossi+Fan+tutu+029.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPANdlkiaFpM2yQodyMwsSD-2tQIN5T2ZaIP3hp-YVWmwvlRJXXMSsDr_0x6cKNMLVT-jvidbsTOu4XYeRJ52SHh6mDUanmrmURM-CJZNtx9PFDUt-87QREZk9VVSgzKMA9ReOlTU37a6k/s320/2+french+beauty+essentials+Cossi+Fan+tutu+029.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5722574525288864274" border="0" /></a><br />If you are ever in Auckland go to Devonport to Cosi Fan Tutte at 2 Calliope Road and experience for yourself what i did.......you won't be disappointed.......oh and remember to tell Andrea and Melisa how much you enjoyed the experience ...........<br />If you are into french nordic interior design and love that clean white look or just like a great magazine...... be sure to pick up a copy of the swedish magazine called Jeanne d'arc which they now stock.......the most amazing magazine with no ads.........<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I would like to thank Shane of<br />roselaceandbrocante.blogspot.com<br />for allowing me to use her photos, please visit her lovely blog......<br /><br />I would also like to thank Andrea of Cosi Fan Tutte for allowing me to use her photos as well.........<br /></span>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-1394806550528806462012-01-02T16:07:00.000-08:002012-01-02T16:26:41.551-08:00Twas the month after Christmas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbxzdXizzoYWuIXVhXG1mkyasCE3IHLvoCeO6Lu824zzaduDBOtv4pB3Kk4Do5mZGrytu-_RqaklPG_Z4z2eELjVBTNYCGQ85iBNrFNiPuCtSxQZX1IX2aiHzimW30v5_a-8E6mum1Ai8/s1600/DSCF6179.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbxzdXizzoYWuIXVhXG1mkyasCE3IHLvoCeO6Lu824zzaduDBOtv4pB3Kk4Do5mZGrytu-_RqaklPG_Z4z2eELjVBTNYCGQ85iBNrFNiPuCtSxQZX1IX2aiHzimW30v5_a-8E6mum1Ai8/s320/DSCF6179.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693192245678863138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!!<br /><br />Will its not quite a month after christmas yet, and i have a feeling there will be a number of people who are hoping that 2012 goes a bit more slowly than the year before.<br />I came across this little verse and thought i would share it with you as i am sure like me there are others who can relate.......<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><br />Twas the month after Christmas<br />and all through the house<br />nothing would fit me<br />not even a blouse<br />The cookies I'd nibbled<br />The chocolate I'd taste<br />and the holiday parties<br />had gone to my waist<br /><br />When i got on the scales<br />There arose such a number!<br />When i walked to the store<br />less a walk than a lumber<br />I'd remember the marvellous<br />meals I'd prepared<br />The gravies and sauces<br />and beef nicely rared<br />The wine and the rum balls,<br />the bread and the cheese<br />and the way I'd never said<br />"no thank you, please"<br /><br />As i dressed myself<br />in my husbands old shirt<br />and prepared once again<br />to do battle with dirt<br />i said to myself, as I only can<br />"you can't spend a summer<br />disguised as a man!"<br />So away with the last<br />of the sour cream dip<br />Get rid of the fruit cake<br />the cracker and chip<br />Every last bit<br />of food that i like<br />must be banished till<br />all the additional ounces<br />have vanished.<br /><br />I won't have a cookie<br />not even a lick<br />I'll want only to chew on<br />a long celery stick<br />I won't have hot biscuits<br />or corn bread or pie<br />I'll munch on a carrot<br />and quietly cry<br />I'm hungry, I'm lonesome<br />and life is a bore<br />But isn't that what<br />January is for?<br />Unable to giggle<br />No longer a riot<br />Happy New Year to all<br />and to all a good diet<br /></div>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-22942645076455380252011-10-17T15:35:00.000-07:002011-10-17T16:16:53.717-07:00Spoilt for a time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSGN6MIwZAhyphenhyphenX_xJV4N5fMNvhwv1k0GvHGXirMpp0zj9Z_IpYGh07kev9mbtzcRbgnci8DyBnE2scOIUcKtsOy0ewkNm7qmRVSuqejbNU2ltRjTyHHd8-K92aG1LiWXsasoFjZBDMMsQz/s1600/Rena-hull-marks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSGN6MIwZAhyphenhyphenX_xJV4N5fMNvhwv1k0GvHGXirMpp0zj9Z_IpYGh07kev9mbtzcRbgnci8DyBnE2scOIUcKtsOy0ewkNm7qmRVSuqejbNU2ltRjTyHHd8-K92aG1LiWXsasoFjZBDMMsQz/s320/Rena-hull-marks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664604011864202626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3V3sGo1Fe3mdnFwWy67gKnCi80Oh-0OEC9G6XvpHHJR7YiNgMzlkoDefgCva-gjVl3hnTeTywHfW-EB-zs-eGjbdGIrymwa2r3OYHQ4GO7kpkaYpDwFchPvX56TcMxA-CQQqSmp0_FPK/s1600/rena+on+the+rocks+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3V3sGo1Fe3mdnFwWy67gKnCi80Oh-0OEC9G6XvpHHJR7YiNgMzlkoDefgCva-gjVl3hnTeTywHfW-EB-zs-eGjbdGIrymwa2r3OYHQ4GO7kpkaYpDwFchPvX56TcMxA-CQQqSmp0_FPK/s320/rena+on+the+rocks+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664601272089632066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfrZRqSdY-zX-4aEYBedWoHUAMbzgwL_8pq0q8v6KCaqkHzJ3N7WMNwbU-E-WGLGH_fInr6Lw8ZnRW9zL1Ubt-tCQnsExPyVH3UD_ZgN0093FhYHZjKdwY5GNo0cdGere1bVDZf82e0YU/s1600/DSCF0155.JPG"><br /></a>It was a sad day indeed when news reached us that the ship called the Rena.... shown above had run aground on a reef out from our beautiful beach at the mount.........great big globs of oil where spilling onto our beach, killing our wildlife and our sealife........hard to believe that it could happen here......we have watched with sadness each day seeing it spread further without anyone rushing to do anything or so it seemed to all of us who watched anxiously and who though willing to go the beaches ourselves to help were told we were not allowed.......but come they did from near and far wanting to help because that is what we nzers do.......this beautiful beach line could not be tainted by this oil, too many of us have so many wonderful memories of times spent here....and with our summer around the corner we wanted to be able to again enjoy this very beach.....the clean up has started, the oil starting to be pumped from the helpless ship which has large cracks in the side......yes some containers have slipped into the water and ended up on the beach again spilling its mess......we are all holding our breath hoping that this will soon end..<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjialWfcsOEBanuMPyDx_GWvlcbfO19eurxuNGa5A2HwT6AHcxSvhv61OFAvbnW7bne8e8LoflYCKF-AGw97ty8VVCzsXB-ATYT7oN644iHU6c_hCO-NJT_6PyET6uyco5lF4GFY3_eoBy8/s1600/IMG_1953.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 57px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjialWfcsOEBanuMPyDx_GWvlcbfO19eurxuNGa5A2HwT6AHcxSvhv61OFAvbnW7bne8e8LoflYCKF-AGw97ty8VVCzsXB-ATYT7oN644iHU6c_hCO-NJT_6PyET6uyco5lF4GFY3_eoBy8/s320/IMG_1953.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664595457667370610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bs9DeBJjSovl-fQvM8De1hloTPKv7yNAuy0lzUHFeDbbHKu0z3oKvgtbp8ovnWT7nWPsZzWpffUlCXxJgNYDzOiKlFy41R0JP3rBes6muXH-L3mZnNClNpLUOVSVajUwpBjdAxItVWo3/s1600/IMG_1738.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bs9DeBJjSovl-fQvM8De1hloTPKv7yNAuy0lzUHFeDbbHKu0z3oKvgtbp8ovnWT7nWPsZzWpffUlCXxJgNYDzOiKlFy41R0JP3rBes6muXH-L3mZnNClNpLUOVSVajUwpBjdAxItVWo3/s320/IMG_1738.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664595455059341650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOMxbII2Wa8y4vEjy5sdtq_lUcV9rRdilDJvW_SyM6syIWAEhYoYq3uDV-JOG2oQhd9NUqZUUQvzfvB4w9h2gPX82Zubggmc17O5wia3WuRhe3t6889bJiXtNCes2ShLoRvcP_XbYIIyf/s1600/panorama+of+mount+sea.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 109px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOMxbII2Wa8y4vEjy5sdtq_lUcV9rRdilDJvW_SyM6syIWAEhYoYq3uDV-JOG2oQhd9NUqZUUQvzfvB4w9h2gPX82Zubggmc17O5wia3WuRhe3t6889bJiXtNCes2ShLoRvcP_XbYIIyf/s320/panorama+of+mount+sea.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664595452323624066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtHcCYSAP96rj3BlBBDKbUQRGaAG94_bc5ulNwIMq1Lektga2BhqDmHZHvfKxfrEINdCHHg4rWMdhpoayTCD6OHrEZHJFSO5E59GjzIgJJZSx3FC9XunCUNR6HEFkKOokU6bVw-vdSIES/s1600/DSCF0046.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtHcCYSAP96rj3BlBBDKbUQRGaAG94_bc5ulNwIMq1Lektga2BhqDmHZHvfKxfrEINdCHHg4rWMdhpoayTCD6OHrEZHJFSO5E59GjzIgJJZSx3FC9XunCUNR6HEFkKOokU6bVw-vdSIES/s320/DSCF0046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664595467503164034" border="0" /></a>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-77005497164205433312011-05-22T22:12:00.000-07:002011-05-22T22:38:18.055-07:00flowers for now and other random things<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5JrrQtnXdwRB6tjRJIPZKDWZBh29XMbcmhM45ilYjCgmfow_rLHMx4D7nz0-6KNeeu4flR7YmzrzcgVffUllk2cq0GnHpzj3hdUcCmtvgd3qKc3REKmmZUCg-HIfnfu_ovQYk9lZn4qP/s1600/100_4953.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5JrrQtnXdwRB6tjRJIPZKDWZBh29XMbcmhM45ilYjCgmfow_rLHMx4D7nz0-6KNeeu4flR7YmzrzcgVffUllk2cq0GnHpzj3hdUcCmtvgd3qKc3REKmmZUCg-HIfnfu_ovQYk9lZn4qP/s320/100_4953.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609775903618909298" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Do you ever get cravings for things? i am not talking food here but things that were around that you actually miss now and wish you still had........as for me i often get cravings for flowers, the house just doesn't look or feel the same unless there are some fresh flowers somewhere......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMX8udtTRlno5hjsnXOWLlOzNPMu2SPSn7_KL7tLBx3XlHnFco-hjoPVuMvveXak2Q6AQ19TvZYqCafGUQfREQ4n3MAis0lB_WWeMAiLdmTIgEX94EZmXq42LRbrKIlVD-ICr2c0YuKm8l/s1600/100_4951.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMX8udtTRlno5hjsnXOWLlOzNPMu2SPSn7_KL7tLBx3XlHnFco-hjoPVuMvveXak2Q6AQ19TvZYqCafGUQfREQ4n3MAis0lB_WWeMAiLdmTIgEX94EZmXq42LRbrKIlVD-ICr2c0YuKm8l/s320/100_4951.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609775898764588306" border="0" /></a><br /><br />What i have been missing lately is the hand written letter.......you know the slow kind that ends up in your letterbox......it may have taken several days or even a week or more to get here but when you pick it up out of that box and recognize the handwriting there is a kinda thrill that goes through you!! now don't get me wrong i love the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">internet</span> and how you can write something to someone you care about and instantly there is a reply i really like that but sometimes i still do crave that hand written letter..... i wonder how many of you even still possess one today that was handwritten......when i see the beautiful script of very old letters i can't help but feel something special inside......i wish i had some of those......and i love writing and even i must admit i hardly ever hand write a letter today ..... in fact years ago when i was in primary school i won the handwriting cup.....i was sad that, that particular year they decided as well as getting the big cup with your name engraved on it they had decided to stop giving the little cup that was yours alone to keep.....i still think of that to this day and wish i had that little cup to cherish.....<br />I think i must have some of my grandfather in me as my mum tells me he used to be a script writer and had beautiful handwriting and was called upon many a time to write a letter for someone who could not read or write.....it would be amazing to have a piece of his writing now but sadly i don't think anyone in the family has.....probably because it wasn't important to do that in those days.....<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD963mVXW0GPcjYtTAZCnbKEY3XCCiGZBnEJM92_o_4UWWa9RYlWs9LwmEO2Twu5OTF__Q_DXMQDu1CaCnfDqdB7sL3J0C6Q3Crzs25G9hqBaTWtbMqbEm699-rYHReDlBrCpDCKzL-jk_/s1600/100_4947.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD963mVXW0GPcjYtTAZCnbKEY3XCCiGZBnEJM92_o_4UWWa9RYlWs9LwmEO2Twu5OTF__Q_DXMQDu1CaCnfDqdB7sL3J0C6Q3Crzs25G9hqBaTWtbMqbEm699-rYHReDlBrCpDCKzL-jk_/s320/100_4947.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609775898109595074" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSaMbzHKzjRKyZkV9iH9IEOAsrE1f31sF4vvYubR23y_1Y6ZZZSoIyBNwgPU8CUipH-I9KAcEhhvV9JVU4MCjAbfW2poRz6ffBUMCbvjK7WA0iqycP4r6i6fEyPjCCpx1M1f3wtI-7Ge1m/s1600/100_4955.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSaMbzHKzjRKyZkV9iH9IEOAsrE1f31sF4vvYubR23y_1Y6ZZZSoIyBNwgPU8CUipH-I9KAcEhhvV9JVU4MCjAbfW2poRz6ffBUMCbvjK7WA0iqycP4r6i6fEyPjCCpx1M1f3wtI-7Ge1m/s320/100_4955.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609775909632617026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I didn't end up buying some flowers as with all this warm weather we are having my iceberg roses decided to start flowering again just so i could get a huge bunch to have to admire.......and on mothers day my two daughters brought me some beautiful flowers from my favourite florist.....in another life i would have loved to be a florist imagine being surrounded by beauty every day......<br /><br />Now if you spied those two little clocks in the back ground you might be surprised to know that the one in the back is actually an old x-ray timer.......<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">thats</span> what it is ....i have had it for years tucked away and decided to bring it out to keep my Little Ben clock company.......now don't ask me how that x-ray timer was actually used it sure does make you wonder thought doesn't it......if anyone knows anything about them please be sure to let me know.....<br /><br />Lastly i want to give credit to all you <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">bloggers</span> out there that post each and every day with beautifully written words and pictures i don't know how you do it and live your life as well......for me time just seems to be speeding up more each day and i wonder how i actually get anything done!!!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I meant to do my work today but a brown bird sang in the apple tree and a butterfly flitted across the field and all the leaves were calling me</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">and the wind went sighing over the land tossing the grasses to and fro and a rainbow held out its shinning hand so what could i do but laugh and go......</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> Richard Le Gallienne</span>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-11206262818735872402011-02-16T15:31:00.000-08:002011-02-16T21:30:04.290-08:00Reflections<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH60mWnkgA4FiQ-d739-kHE2WZcieDMD8z74uOmzMOYEUCXnmH0bLRnuqI3uxCKOKuMD6ZRbtxF9pqb2MS1B8gSEtMO7DlwSnTg6K8a6F-S86F3hksBGGU3oBv39nIOea-w0s86u3TJ4Jg/s1600/new+photos+december+025-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH60mWnkgA4FiQ-d739-kHE2WZcieDMD8z74uOmzMOYEUCXnmH0bLRnuqI3uxCKOKuMD6ZRbtxF9pqb2MS1B8gSEtMO7DlwSnTg6K8a6F-S86F3hksBGGU3oBv39nIOea-w0s86u3TJ4Jg/s320/new+photos+december+025-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574437072923092802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Looking at these photos you would think they are some mistake that two pictures have overlapped but in actual fact these where taken as reflections into glass in my lounge room.....i loved how you got alot of images within the one frame if you looked closely enough and life is a bit like that don't you think ....so much of our everyday life is about repetition that we forget to take the time to look beyond it, to us we only take in what is around us but there is beauty out there for us all, not hidden just waiting for us to lift our eyes and see......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAmWvkbh9oIKfbtMyEn5jPg5RivpkHogfXCGOMxCcM8loVDx9q4HJpgFHHiR_V6hOHbtMW-OHwAYxraaJnU_hb2PLf3w46lZCwGMF81PX5Ub1tf4fgZUthnHFzifxXKhk4frgg09bYkJg/s1600/new+photos+december+039-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAmWvkbh9oIKfbtMyEn5jPg5RivpkHogfXCGOMxCcM8loVDx9q4HJpgFHHiR_V6hOHbtMW-OHwAYxraaJnU_hb2PLf3w46lZCwGMF81PX5Ub1tf4fgZUthnHFzifxXKhk4frgg09bYkJg/s320/new+photos+december+039-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574435086796779266" border="0" /></a><br />The value of life does not depend on the place we occupy, it depends upon the way we occupy the place.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxUljEV6kSOkCtZsFuBJCxPee7LLA07Je0-MurmUsMcY023jWWwLgvJtre-LhBQD0WpZkEyQc2kMtVMnEgBS8iibMjRJDr8bA_MSuboIRXUmZzJjbx1FkYey3gP5-us_ugMI73dEQPJsR4/s1600/new+photos+december+027-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxUljEV6kSOkCtZsFuBJCxPee7LLA07Je0-MurmUsMcY023jWWwLgvJtre-LhBQD0WpZkEyQc2kMtVMnEgBS8iibMjRJDr8bA_MSuboIRXUmZzJjbx1FkYey3gP5-us_ugMI73dEQPJsR4/s320/new+photos+december+027-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574435086941009394" border="0" /></a><br />Sometimes we expect beauty and wonder to be larger than life and easy to find, we look out and we look up but the real mysteries of nature and beauty that leave us in awe are the tiny treasures when we look down..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykVZesTfq3IAzJdHHXeYTrweLMQ_GcQqHvplhLlQaaT6YSBuTSioh4leNPzluar-2y1QC9PY9xxoJaMR53YfZXMcY4NdVb36mzsU7qlx3i9m27Yhm-xUOhrNNhQuAnnPqpOq8WtM7tCpU/s1600/new+photos+december+024-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykVZesTfq3IAzJdHHXeYTrweLMQ_GcQqHvplhLlQaaT6YSBuTSioh4leNPzluar-2y1QC9PY9xxoJaMR53YfZXMcY4NdVb36mzsU7qlx3i9m27Yhm-xUOhrNNhQuAnnPqpOq8WtM7tCpU/s320/new+photos+december+024-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574435080599861138" border="0" /></a><br />Above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqIKdUP6OpEe23PsFx92rTLN64pRo8LlMWtTEdwF5qtTr4uP8Hwc_sW-sZwzJKK3Hh9VTO6I6wySnFjlrUbWiTCPzNcu9Vy5nH_WhbQ9RX7PS4FmhzEBSbBltK_hawPQNbUoxC3HrUBdmr/s1600/new+photos+december+029-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqIKdUP6OpEe23PsFx92rTLN64pRo8LlMWtTEdwF5qtTr4uP8Hwc_sW-sZwzJKK3Hh9VTO6I6wySnFjlrUbWiTCPzNcu9Vy5nH_WhbQ9RX7PS4FmhzEBSbBltK_hawPQNbUoxC3HrUBdmr/s320/new+photos+december+029-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574435075371338994" border="0" /></a><br />Many people speak of dreams as fanciful things like fairies and charmed rings and lands of enchantment, others only believe in faraway dreams such as stars or sea castles with elf like inhabitants.<br />There are day dreamers and night dreamers who dream up make believe places. They use much imagination and in that are dream gifted.<br />But the serious dreamers are those who catch dreams and bring them to life, to show that when they were dreaming they meant it.......layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-37463461673775393452011-01-05T15:14:00.000-08:002011-01-05T15:27:09.615-08:00A New Year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuqPoWLPw0uxwOP-xrUdJq1QZ46pmLmmYRwZTtEAS9h3Ho8qhLK89aEJGqv0WNQbxrNh9zM8ws3wxc3gXgYTREsDJjpQHA-jK_QkIoQRtOHk1tO1hOaoo7bbA4hcyBflXzjRyu-UH6QbL/s1600/100_1034.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuqPoWLPw0uxwOP-xrUdJq1QZ46pmLmmYRwZTtEAS9h3Ho8qhLK89aEJGqv0WNQbxrNh9zM8ws3wxc3gXgYTREsDJjpQHA-jK_QkIoQRtOHk1tO1hOaoo7bbA4hcyBflXzjRyu-UH6QbL/s320/100_1034.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558845302395401634" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL</span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">and what do i want for you in the New Year</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">peace of mind<br />the joy of living and seeing</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">the medicine of laughter</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">the key to lock out fear</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">and to walk through the days of life</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">never alone.....</span><br /><br />Life is a pretty precious and wonderful thing, you can't sit down and let it lap around you. You have to plunge into it, you have to dive through it and you can't save it, you can't store it up, you can't horde it in a vault. You have to taste it, you have to use it. The more you use the more you have, that is the miracle of it.<br />(Kylie Samuel Crichton)<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span></div>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-68220884805685219702011-01-02T14:49:00.001-08:002011-01-02T15:05:42.818-08:00christmas table<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiCMgMcowP1rQhFAIp72RxJQ9F62BDB3ZStY9Wv6_CoOc4Dc0x_fLVaqXDxe4Xu-yV7taIoDfU1YbTmFcMLtLxuyHXKyFdm18cakjG3lEJslSdeaHQgxhywv5kx8WYSdzRC_1_gFcwasH/s1600/100_4603.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiCMgMcowP1rQhFAIp72RxJQ9F62BDB3ZStY9Wv6_CoOc4Dc0x_fLVaqXDxe4Xu-yV7taIoDfU1YbTmFcMLtLxuyHXKyFdm18cakjG3lEJslSdeaHQgxhywv5kx8WYSdzRC_1_gFcwasH/s320/100_4603.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557725322700762498" border="0" /></a><br /> We had spent christmas the week before with our daughters because this year they were going to be spending their christmas with their partners families so we had a very small gathering at our table on christmas day.........just four of us and it felt strange not having the rest of the family there......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuE0UkkQ-Oe15pCD9_u7GPBOVdSYLWoyRX87jgs1AWDhfovBHhoRqE3c0zBBHD6QjbpCYs0FCx-XLHMH6u7_sammoiClB_5MS4rWlApfOKJxZj_FWzgVF4l2kydIjzUAYCY7EsdCNRocH/s1600/100_4599.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuE0UkkQ-Oe15pCD9_u7GPBOVdSYLWoyRX87jgs1AWDhfovBHhoRqE3c0zBBHD6QjbpCYs0FCx-XLHMH6u7_sammoiClB_5MS4rWlApfOKJxZj_FWzgVF4l2kydIjzUAYCY7EsdCNRocH/s320/100_4599.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557725318092206434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtRALRoV6JG8BnBr1NO7TXFw8DMZCFEuWmTswX1IYb3J6ZWOtWNHfIB9EajHxbJK_Gw49R5ui1Dw6D47POiinWkaerU4JRgf7fE5VGYD55pEdXxkh9Olw-4vokx-r3IZEWbO_9aylLLzA/s1600/100_4600.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtRALRoV6JG8BnBr1NO7TXFw8DMZCFEuWmTswX1IYb3J6ZWOtWNHfIB9EajHxbJK_Gw49R5ui1Dw6D47POiinWkaerU4JRgf7fE5VGYD55pEdXxkh9Olw-4vokx-r3IZEWbO_9aylLLzA/s320/100_4600.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557725316085802034" border="0" /></a><br />I want to thank each and every one of you who take the time to keep a blog because i know what goes into it and all those bloggers who have inspired me to look at life differently and to see the beauty in everything......i have always been a detail person and I have loved how you have all created such wonderful visions for all of us who visit to admire and we learn and grow from those beautiful images and words......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUawKEer5SKgJbphtSYf9bVp5oYryEGUmon5-iZfDxMOZWjIRHsO606hKfVw65XdxL2FXMYrROAs8X6OfWN706YWe2rxjS1dCymPB7Xqke7BGjp8ggkNr2pkCrY1YK3qgNPch8x0_i2vTV/s1600/100_4598.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUawKEer5SKgJbphtSYf9bVp5oYryEGUmon5-iZfDxMOZWjIRHsO606hKfVw65XdxL2FXMYrROAs8X6OfWN706YWe2rxjS1dCymPB7Xqke7BGjp8ggkNr2pkCrY1YK3qgNPch8x0_i2vTV/s320/100_4598.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557725312717155330" border="0" /></a><br />When my girls were very little i always decorated the whole of my house having been inspired by the stories i had read of Tasha Tudor who used to float birthday cakes down the stream to the banks where her children were celebrating their birthdays and how she had such a thing as a small post box where her children could post fairy notes and she used to be the person in secret who answered it....she created small catalogues of clothes that the children could order from for their favourite toy and at night when they were asleep she would make the clothes and post them in their boxes.....i thought what wonderful childhood memories her children would have and wanted to created some kind of magic for my children......so at christmas i always decorated the whole house and each daughter had a special tree in their room along with ornaments that were theirs......tables were always set with detail and interesting arrangements........one year we set the tables up outside under our huge oak tree complete with hanging ornaments, fairy lights and even a real christmas tree with presents underneath and of course christmas music........memories are made and last a lifetime and this is what christmas to me is all about creating a bit of magic!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFr34gH2iOmWjkhQSlHMNbq6ggtU_4wIJ3IYq_8ZWmzL5TYI0QpeLELL06CC6OyKl3FyXbzwt7QICpzQeMe37VOC3_0O-6guCg66cfeGS269kfd9sqxCWtrxAqcyRpu0B-fN3yiyIugTU/s1600/100_4596.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAFr34gH2iOmWjkhQSlHMNbq6ggtU_4wIJ3IYq_8ZWmzL5TYI0QpeLELL06CC6OyKl3FyXbzwt7QICpzQeMe37VOC3_0O-6guCg66cfeGS269kfd9sqxCWtrxAqcyRpu0B-fN3yiyIugTU/s320/100_4596.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557725308463939810" border="0" />s</a>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-40560866835406014352010-12-06T20:17:00.001-08:002010-12-06T20:40:52.222-08:00keeping Christmas simple<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Cy5hYftHPGi_NgCfUkbD1NI6NfxnXy337ov2RD7XBLQO9otQlH5q8l3HA_JHi4ygClipuYrwk5aJUPET0YI3cBK4Hn0DXT3FPFsvAzYQde6-vGrBQ6fY12CMdks61Ln-VVK2lR1qlus_/s1600/100_4404.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Cy5hYftHPGi_NgCfUkbD1NI6NfxnXy337ov2RD7XBLQO9otQlH5q8l3HA_JHi4ygClipuYrwk5aJUPET0YI3cBK4Hn0DXT3FPFsvAzYQde6-vGrBQ6fY12CMdks61Ln-VVK2lR1qlus_/s320/100_4404.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547793233742612482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaj9RtvCvdnrOa0ohdrAMHWtf20A43_bC58PD_zJuA5J8DVxKCoRgWEmVT9PmtobAcTqaK28Sq6gV_r96rul01DxtruBErEZWNOMs4ujPyfkMaZgyP6rQQGLnuo9D1Gsl-zgR1YrqtkeQ3/s1600/100_4417.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaj9RtvCvdnrOa0ohdrAMHWtf20A43_bC58PD_zJuA5J8DVxKCoRgWEmVT9PmtobAcTqaK28Sq6gV_r96rul01DxtruBErEZWNOMs4ujPyfkMaZgyP6rQQGLnuo9D1Gsl-zgR1YrqtkeQ3/s320/100_4417.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547791564608759906" border="0" /></a><br />It has been interesting to note that alot of you are keeping this christmas decorating to something simple and sometimes less is more......i wonder if its because life at this time of year gets so busy that we want some control and peace in our own homes and this simplicity at this overwhelming time of year is what does it for us..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpi6hBbW6yq3ogpKK55H3Zi_bXdi-WyFIIjxJtUhS2DkJJiwGtm2L8FVtdU_PonwNIbJD_brlbkC0Witg9Y1xwafHUsABa-UoxLXkVWdr1-DZBcqYrTGJhh44vYU9QfOJG4uQZtuxZaFm/s1600/100_4402.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpi6hBbW6yq3ogpKK55H3Zi_bXdi-WyFIIjxJtUhS2DkJJiwGtm2L8FVtdU_PonwNIbJD_brlbkC0Witg9Y1xwafHUsABa-UoxLXkVWdr1-DZBcqYrTGJhh44vYU9QfOJG4uQZtuxZaFm/s320/100_4402.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547791549544029810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCs88yEfTI-liPcEGCNJKu7xq0FN9Bn9Y8S_iKhIYPeA3Mc-uR_2bFfWDdTNr6H1qOSO5vIlJt3Rbyftma8Qt3r_uB_e3bBXInc8krmwv4Ip_dPkCnCeEKw2BkbOXCbcbs5xAni2eYIgq/s1600/100_4399.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCs88yEfTI-liPcEGCNJKu7xq0FN9Bn9Y8S_iKhIYPeA3Mc-uR_2bFfWDdTNr6H1qOSO5vIlJt3Rbyftma8Qt3r_uB_e3bBXInc8krmwv4Ip_dPkCnCeEKw2BkbOXCbcbs5xAni2eYIgq/s320/100_4399.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547791543987100034" border="0" /></a><br />What are the values regarding the christmas season.......Peace, sharing, giving, relaxation, parties, beautiful gifts given and received and a warm and welcoming home.......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmSu6T2vJlRYeEoj9g3nSUMkFReZJPeMRfSOzjShyphenhyphenvMFFt0KZ0WWssJ9-SFHo0UxfYS0Wzzy9IuuvDbDHuGitIyRqwEG_sYYRV1yZ-rutlzTE7YstCaSUKjtKbHP4Zh_L4b0K8xG2nct0/s1600/100_4421.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmSu6T2vJlRYeEoj9g3nSUMkFReZJPeMRfSOzjShyphenhyphenvMFFt0KZ0WWssJ9-SFHo0UxfYS0Wzzy9IuuvDbDHuGitIyRqwEG_sYYRV1yZ-rutlzTE7YstCaSUKjtKbHP4Zh_L4b0K8xG2nct0/s320/100_4421.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547790696974366370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkvaOLNjVWFVo0X82ywsGYWU4DMJX8egGns-0M-sd4kh6v2TcUNMk5OEkZ6_CvsXjX-TcLZbRq_2VL314wYoopXsuZbMOyrjwalK939lgNw2ziRVRk0KmGBhWCA8crSq7GpBmT19t39F_/s1600/100_4424.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkvaOLNjVWFVo0X82ywsGYWU4DMJX8egGns-0M-sd4kh6v2TcUNMk5OEkZ6_CvsXjX-TcLZbRq_2VL314wYoopXsuZbMOyrjwalK939lgNw2ziRVRk0KmGBhWCA8crSq7GpBmT19t39F_/s320/100_4424.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547790688696564914" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Christmas is the season of ........ some of us will be marking the birth of Jesus, some will be giving thanks for the true gifts of Christmas as beautifully told in the Christmas Story.......<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzntLx4ZpGiXVsK9LWba2vqoCUf7_I-xt2lArGRpXN8dvf4j1WdVnPMOWcEQgvkIKhUzMsW7mTgYPouQ-NfQRFVXota0BjCFRHBD0M48nMv_w4A96Ef1PhVNIgnoHr4si2a_jJZfBchyphenhyphen8w/s1600/100_4408.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzntLx4ZpGiXVsK9LWba2vqoCUf7_I-xt2lArGRpXN8dvf4j1WdVnPMOWcEQgvkIKhUzMsW7mTgYPouQ-NfQRFVXota0BjCFRHBD0M48nMv_w4A96Ef1PhVNIgnoHr4si2a_jJZfBchyphenhyphen8w/s320/100_4408.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547790660002088210" border="0" /></a><br />Unconditional love, selflessness, trust, faith, forgiveness, wholeness, second chances, comfort, joy, peace, reassurance, rejoicing, generosity, compassion, charity, wonder, acceptance and courage.<br />Lets experience Christmas not as a deadline but as a season , one of friendship, family, gratitude and giving, reflecting and learning, celebrating and rejoicing, slowing down and mostly LOVE.......<br /><br />Wherever you are in the world I wish you a season of surprises that will delight you, laughter that is shared, happiness that grows and memories to keep..........<br /> MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM NEW ZEALAND.........layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-10204795537252283532010-11-18T15:21:00.000-08:002010-11-18T15:23:57.902-08:00Cabbages and Roses GiveawayIf you don't know about these fabrics then you are truly missing out on something beautiful and timeless......there is an amazing giveaway of these fabrics on the following four blogs.....please check it out and take time to view these blogs as they are very inspiration and worth a stop by......<br /><br />http://mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com<br /><br />www.dreamywhites.blogspot.com<br /><br />http://frenchlarkshpur.blogspot.com<br /><br />http://lobsterand swan.blogspot.comlayers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-33953673557592427782010-11-01T16:17:00.000-07:002010-11-01T16:30:22.888-07:00Darkness and light<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikW5H9bX5QzL7D0TeZ3hhaUgMexfJXTqKPssVEg6xkzPaYEdlrtLJnKCPsgoIi66_JLPFH4TLlFf9k6Z1pivOIThMXdlkMN-XdfXJTcryzoQsYvcAM9vKePdBgWKVZOCh2PpldTw7nwY51/s1600/100_4013.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikW5H9bX5QzL7D0TeZ3hhaUgMexfJXTqKPssVEg6xkzPaYEdlrtLJnKCPsgoIi66_JLPFH4TLlFf9k6Z1pivOIThMXdlkMN-XdfXJTcryzoQsYvcAM9vKePdBgWKVZOCh2PpldTw7nwY51/s320/100_4013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534725376994275666" border="0" /></a><br /><br />From darkness comes light which forms beautiful shadows and dances off trees forever shining its beauty.....time has a way of slipping by without even noticing it has gone.......and this oak tree shown here so bare is now a thing of wonder again because nature now it is spring tells the tree it is time to come to leaf and it has had the first leaves that were a vivid lime green........they have grown more each day silently until they have turned dark green and flutter in the breeze and sing wind songs to me........<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2ZPGjMgiVa5DX5CXw8gPpd3XKB-S_5mbcQdhY1RbBP7vya07qwVVNIlWwoYWxKf6GjUC_4k_sYNXh5zD3AvIJ8qKxd1UURPfab1EYahTwCBkfYQ7v096UnBEgULGYCvez8O4ra_gOA6P/s1600/100_4006.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2ZPGjMgiVa5DX5CXw8gPpd3XKB-S_5mbcQdhY1RbBP7vya07qwVVNIlWwoYWxKf6GjUC_4k_sYNXh5zD3AvIJ8qKxd1UURPfab1EYahTwCBkfYQ7v096UnBEgULGYCvez8O4ra_gOA6P/s320/100_4006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534725369649924066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF47rlY4cALwgcXnovkrNA8kUYS93EGrtx4F0ufJVan4bVXGcf3VFnQqidUfP9Af7WkYi_X_XwzrZ6v034sf3Cm_bY4vfmGzYxC6hVglkTAqfPzA5qD62nUJBMzOoB2hiCVNfvDUJiLdID/s1600/100_4008.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF47rlY4cALwgcXnovkrNA8kUYS93EGrtx4F0ufJVan4bVXGcf3VFnQqidUfP9Af7WkYi_X_XwzrZ6v034sf3Cm_bY4vfmGzYxC6hVglkTAqfPzA5qD62nUJBMzOoB2hiCVNfvDUJiLdID/s320/100_4008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534725365637058786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcTQMYEOEpSNheHbJ0MlaKAwV18jBl-tb65Jx3ks5tz-AGoMk-L8jhaqqbjRkhjLcbyX5YJC6t7ilXMRAo5IIdD7sqUxGYYhJRbVrqZ2T67mg9p-SXuZCWCPIVBGwS7i1Sjl-Oc4n0cvS/s1600/100_4007.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcTQMYEOEpSNheHbJ0MlaKAwV18jBl-tb65Jx3ks5tz-AGoMk-L8jhaqqbjRkhjLcbyX5YJC6t7ilXMRAo5IIdD7sqUxGYYhJRbVrqZ2T67mg9p-SXuZCWCPIVBGwS7i1Sjl-Oc4n0cvS/s320/100_4007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534725362386466578" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is the deepest secret nobody knows, there is the root of the root and the bud of the bud, and the sky of the sky of a tree called life, which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide, and this is the wonder thats keeping the stars apart. I carry your heart, i carry it in my heart........ee cumingslayers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-17915233123007967552010-08-02T17:57:00.000-07:002010-08-02T18:07:42.021-07:00White flowers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DaxM2WdOmIGxevHQBrRj7NL45enOYofvqUYQPTvfVizBY13Qaocl_5-IBDNm5h33_p0pX2qOfz09GFpd0uGjk0SLb79ouV-4vvxwA07kEKaJ2DLYfvtx2jJOlOxPCrZE0vW2eXmD4psu/s1600/100_3901.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-DaxM2WdOmIGxevHQBrRj7NL45enOYofvqUYQPTvfVizBY13Qaocl_5-IBDNm5h33_p0pX2qOfz09GFpd0uGjk0SLb79ouV-4vvxwA07kEKaJ2DLYfvtx2jJOlOxPCrZE0vW2eXmD4psu/s320/100_3901.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500982377454678962" border="0" /></a>Sometimes i just have to have flowers in the house and my favourite are the white ones as i love the contrast between the white and the green.......i brought these beautiful flowers called stock because not only do they look good but they smell divine!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFxB_8gUJCN9gDD9BO9py6qEQlXKYztkjpoOc0dPr2-YhwnjAK3uQvt7b_TG313-IUlDbw-b5DpwADfhQrrtQsr3_ZDxI1rGZESK-ag3h2dg4L2decFzG0W1-jBVvuh-TB0iFNmzSGlpD/s1600/100_3902.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFxB_8gUJCN9gDD9BO9py6qEQlXKYztkjpoOc0dPr2-YhwnjAK3uQvt7b_TG313-IUlDbw-b5DpwADfhQrrtQsr3_ZDxI1rGZESK-ag3h2dg4L2decFzG0W1-jBVvuh-TB0iFNmzSGlpD/s320/100_3902.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500982372055929314" border="0" /></a><br />I also like that they keep growing once put in water and that the buds continue to open out so the perfume is even stronger....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRphsBLklSmxtN8I0pGzfHclgzqivNO2qBugGZP32ToUrH_F7E-rqo9yMoSDbU4ICAE3W-3eUHAFedNcRfwDXjovCE9tYTAFguxRjLyIJB_HYdlhLJp-VFOZiyzcCZDTI4R7JKZAN-WUYA/s1600/100_3903.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRphsBLklSmxtN8I0pGzfHclgzqivNO2qBugGZP32ToUrH_F7E-rqo9yMoSDbU4ICAE3W-3eUHAFedNcRfwDXjovCE9tYTAFguxRjLyIJB_HYdlhLJp-VFOZiyzcCZDTI4R7JKZAN-WUYA/s320/100_3903.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500982368452140130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKC4hu-NF6XGabyHcNReaw-sUFsf2A8LYQQVKQHNZUJv7iFCVACV9Yt1EzuJMsI1c7GcIGTjp5X0LwVaJdGhAqbQmPNdwAw87BzTypDayNkwKx_3FDnjOphBuyc7_Yx5nsd7lKtjP0q6t5/s1600/100_3904.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKC4hu-NF6XGabyHcNReaw-sUFsf2A8LYQQVKQHNZUJv7iFCVACV9Yt1EzuJMsI1c7GcIGTjp5X0LwVaJdGhAqbQmPNdwAw87BzTypDayNkwKx_3FDnjOphBuyc7_Yx5nsd7lKtjP0q6t5/s320/100_3904.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500982358366451298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyI6DmP_GCh6ubLVSHqVDCC_xVU9LYuTYKBbNizh6UwpLObMfgHhSxNvvF_oa8FZHrlx2rzyBnC8A3l2wjcTrIn0bg4r02OWWfB6mVBrJBdpImkcq0qoHFKwCW6PlGVoOKckkBbfnIS2YL/s1600/100_3905.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyI6DmP_GCh6ubLVSHqVDCC_xVU9LYuTYKBbNizh6UwpLObMfgHhSxNvvF_oa8FZHrlx2rzyBnC8A3l2wjcTrIn0bg4r02OWWfB6mVBrJBdpImkcq0qoHFKwCW6PlGVoOKckkBbfnIS2YL/s320/100_3905.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500982350305354178" border="0" /></a><br />To me walking into a room with flowers gives you a real lift, like the room is instantly brighter and it affects your mood whenever you see them.....there is something so special about flowers and in another life i think i would have been a florist ..... to be surrounded by that beauty everyday and being able to give it away to someone must be very special indeed......layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-86975160792578801862010-07-06T16:21:00.000-07:002010-07-06T16:36:08.445-07:00A winters Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkzJSFzpURN0cA0aJT6u6c3cbxSmyZsfrisCO9LnHt1_EdhvdsQPYYEj7EkwKQvrme2pyk1o7d0RbuJmwK7yuQXwzCOA3uZbCna-rJdXNrWJsQSYHDDa84P2Z3tvIIVNGf2o9ga8_eVDB/s1600/100_3879.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyksa6_Oo9g9G1SuL0s40SDnJr3SewgkO1Nnh5gQ83cjCfCRCyvQCQdS-yNBfsGEpPX06A5Ecuog_DmfyF7bH8SrIEv047-JOP9HEzSyEjeXPgLIfTm2QAJ_RwjI0pFKClwMUTyAVIkAhD/s1600/100_3878.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyksa6_Oo9g9G1SuL0s40SDnJr3SewgkO1Nnh5gQ83cjCfCRCyvQCQdS-yNBfsGEpPX06A5Ecuog_DmfyF7bH8SrIEv047-JOP9HEzSyEjeXPgLIfTm2QAJ_RwjI0pFKClwMUTyAVIkAhD/s320/100_3878.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490937845310167202" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Its funny how when you wake up in the morning and throw back the curtains and look at the day how it can influence how you feel, when i saw this misty fog staring right back at me i thought oh no!! we have to travel in that!......i hate the fog........but as we rounded the corner of our street i was struck by the beauty of this tree and had to stop to take a photo because in the midst of the fog was this lovely yellow and yellow means sun doesn't it?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkzJSFzpURN0cA0aJT6u6c3cbxSmyZsfrisCO9LnHt1_EdhvdsQPYYEj7EkwKQvrme2pyk1o7d0RbuJmwK7yuQXwzCOA3uZbCna-rJdXNrWJsQSYHDDa84P2Z3tvIIVNGf2o9ga8_eVDB/s1600/100_3879.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkzJSFzpURN0cA0aJT6u6c3cbxSmyZsfrisCO9LnHt1_EdhvdsQPYYEj7EkwKQvrme2pyk1o7d0RbuJmwK7yuQXwzCOA3uZbCna-rJdXNrWJsQSYHDDa84P2Z3tvIIVNGf2o9ga8_eVDB/s320/100_3879.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490939893820216258" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58lVZxlmWCxom0EL8ysMkg3CZQAXjlxDAvkKTf625e6jisOM_rkE3QeGxrpfqXbDoFBpCWv6_eXnIOD5kxSO5oyStbpv6GRqYwUsZDN-ashntWfmjNDE4ifNBxujf1mI_JSYcsTBxpvPe/s1600/100_3880.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58lVZxlmWCxom0EL8ysMkg3CZQAXjlxDAvkKTf625e6jisOM_rkE3QeGxrpfqXbDoFBpCWv6_eXnIOD5kxSO5oyStbpv6GRqYwUsZDN-ashntWfmjNDE4ifNBxujf1mI_JSYcsTBxpvPe/s320/100_3880.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490937820698397634" border="0" /></a><br />As we continued our travels along the road we take many times now to get to the mount and to this day which was to celebrate our youngest grandsons first birthday i couldn't help but start to smile at the way the light was beginning to welcome us on our journey.....the mist rode along the top of the mountains as we too travelled on our way and the sun shone down on us casting the most amazing shadows and instantly I started to feel good about this day unfolding.....life is like that isn't it always full of surprises and we never know what is around the corner.......<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">I am not afraid of tomorrow<br />For I have seen yesterday<br />And I love today<br /></span></div>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-23140661537434178712010-06-18T15:46:00.000-07:002010-06-18T16:04:38.745-07:00Life is precious so live each day.....<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDdODeiE-9Tryc3d05L5F9yFJ13WjZSXdSF331WlI0EbKPRga00gjT4a6lp56P9dLPgMgNIgKV_tIAB_08rbflEn8z5Zo0cS2ZF_ODlOWaW6hlMnhwIbYEaCGmCd6-SqyduqKDOqOkXkd/s1600/!cid_9_2982520989@web30708_mail_mud_yahoo.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDdODeiE-9Tryc3d05L5F9yFJ13WjZSXdSF331WlI0EbKPRga00gjT4a6lp56P9dLPgMgNIgKV_tIAB_08rbflEn8z5Zo0cS2ZF_ODlOWaW6hlMnhwIbYEaCGmCd6-SqyduqKDOqOkXkd/s320/!cid_9_2982520989@web30708_mail_mud_yahoo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484250569002490546" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:78%;">(sorry do not know where this image came from)</span><br /></div><br />Sometimes we get to the end of the week and wonder where it has gone and what we have done with it.....sometimes we just have to take the time to actually live each day and enjoy it and even remember it......i wanted to share with you this poem written by a young girl in hospital with terminal cancer......<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">SLOW DANCE<br /><br />Have you ever watched children on a merry go round?<br />or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?<br />Ever followed a butterflys erratic flight?<br />or gazed at the sun into the fading night?<br />You better slow down<br />Don't dance so fast<br />Time is short<br />The music won't last<br /><br />Do you run through each day on the fly?<br />When you ask "how are you" do you hear the reply?<br />When the day is done do you lie in your bed?<br />with the next hundred chores running through your head?<br />You'd better slow down<br />Don't dance so fast<br />Time is short<br />The music won't last<br /><br />Ever told your child "we'll do it tomorrow"<br />and in your haste not see his sorrow?<br />Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die<br />cause you never had time to call and say "hi"?<br />You'd better slow down<br />Don't dance so fast<br />Time is short<br />The music won't last<br /><br />When you run so fast to get somewhere<br />you miss half the fun of getting there<br />When you worry and hurry through your day<br />it is like an unopened gift......thrown away<br />Life is not a race do take it slower<br />Hear the music!<br />Before the song is over!<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjteBsBRm7CrPEyZE1nmJoBtOqGOJpbHRbpH5kFY_4-F1ZNRhMZyX7ZI2p-CZH_UARR6pnGOe_JvRa_3xdo-QtlgbEv5hIh1-mRlKXnK3hs5NfIUFyNpsRN51fSVDBOqqADKtOjg5_HkC4E/s1600/!cid_9_2982520989@web30708_mail_mud_yahoo.jpg"><br /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-54033897059259428652010-05-24T15:59:00.000-07:002010-05-24T16:22:36.337-07:00The Hamilton Gardens<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJskwfcDG9mZz-VbMcpyfSSzD4KYaJGheEjkMRLJT8mgSUC28ptcSRsB9gPD_bWSQWwb5xqr_IrVbsxuryj_w5dVxWpB97tfDh_duw7sbvVIHCFeUXhFAVkKbdQiQ8P2h3iFqUHFjGdBOd/s1600/100_0979.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJskwfcDG9mZz-VbMcpyfSSzD4KYaJGheEjkMRLJT8mgSUC28ptcSRsB9gPD_bWSQWwb5xqr_IrVbsxuryj_w5dVxWpB97tfDh_duw7sbvVIHCFeUXhFAVkKbdQiQ8P2h3iFqUHFjGdBOd/s320/100_0979.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474974723085498418" border="0" /></a><!-- 22 queries. 0.279 seconds. --> <div id="page"><div id="footer-top">The Hamilton Gardens is a public park owned and managed by the Hamilton City Council and admission is free......it covers an area of 58 hectares and there are many gardens rooms of different themes.... it is well worth a visit....... the Italian garden is shown above and this would have to be my favourite of them all... my daughter had some of her wedding photos taken here......and below is shown the Waikato River which flows to the side of the gardens and can be viewed from this pavillion.....<br /></div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/ga.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-6968558-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {} </script><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMT2W4Filq_hDebo52FGL6agHrP-XjtBl5Tk35hhJEPn3tBZrgt4qvbflxM-elF6EcEgp7Ipry1MnKR3TPljcAUt7Tly-mhh0wNE0PN9fYNHELH8Yk8A3H4rm1rH25xHNvIPVuAckzc6z/s1600/100_0968.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMT2W4Filq_hDebo52FGL6agHrP-XjtBl5Tk35hhJEPn3tBZrgt4qvbflxM-elF6EcEgp7Ipry1MnKR3TPljcAUt7Tly-mhh0wNE0PN9fYNHELH8Yk8A3H4rm1rH25xHNvIPVuAckzc6z/s320/100_0968.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474974713927998082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhL3qvE4SUNVFF9jP-3_evxiKa2UIehKj8Gb-0a7hC-LqYKAjMZt7tC7IkkCOWl6yQWRXwgDEzUYyqKUra0rvtJAsVVlx0u_dAUV2-Al_hb0WHVVgr44Zm3JZ6D50OibJ_S-ArgPJcfAj/s1600/100_1007.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyhL3qvE4SUNVFF9jP-3_evxiKa2UIehKj8Gb-0a7hC-LqYKAjMZt7tC7IkkCOWl6yQWRXwgDEzUYyqKUra0rvtJAsVVlx0u_dAUV2-Al_hb0WHVVgr44Zm3JZ6D50OibJ_S-ArgPJcfAj/s320/100_1007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474974708013107522" border="0" /></a><br />From long hedged walk ways you reach the centre and come across these 'guards' off this area is different gardens including the English garden, the Amercian garden and the Japanese garden......all spectacular.......<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXidoSYTXUjp3Ls3tMBx0hQgEIFh-aghb7v8wbqTmQgrmfki03Gwy16icRWLtHSXV8aV8rhW8zYuU8bJXjbWk-_BDlOQRW3QLqTKKWneYIeEZ8EhFTjgWZ45QcFiqWDZGrpieUj-EOaGc/s1600/100_1001.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXidoSYTXUjp3Ls3tMBx0hQgEIFh-aghb7v8wbqTmQgrmfki03Gwy16icRWLtHSXV8aV8rhW8zYuU8bJXjbWk-_BDlOQRW3QLqTKKWneYIeEZ8EhFTjgWZ45QcFiqWDZGrpieUj-EOaGc/s320/100_1001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474974706620450338" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Below is the rose garden a beautiful open space filled with beds of all kinds of roses.....in summer the aroma is amazing.....in the distance is the gazebo and it is under this that my daughter got married with the guests all standing on the lawn below........all her wedding photos were taken around the different areas of the gardens that they chose ........as you can imagine the backdrops in the wedding photos are striking.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFUJtnjGUvJIy4RFmV1HxYj07WP7ilEriVyfrXw-HrLKtD10mBntdT2hzsKMbI0ToYzLUAsul6K2XS4O6yP1xN7LLSaGrAlicwrkQeIS9yQmH-_s3DpjatxuLlWFl-5znBW5tC72tImBR/s1600/DSCF3044.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFUJtnjGUvJIy4RFmV1HxYj07WP7ilEriVyfrXw-HrLKtD10mBntdT2hzsKMbI0ToYzLUAsul6K2XS4O6yP1xN7LLSaGrAlicwrkQeIS9yQmH-_s3DpjatxuLlWFl-5znBW5tC72tImBR/s320/DSCF3044.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474974695959382738" border="0" /></a><br />Below was where the reception was held overlooking a beautiful pond and out to trees beyond..... this is the restaurant and beside it is a cafe.......these are open to the public each day.......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpil4mF0-XqeiQio4kwl9An9MhPyoMJxuvae8cawHscxoIHeb5G8CXJf_SWGU6K0b7rfeIX-1oSJuALDlAPyfkav9f4W0myDpy9LlPq9Shh0iJc0Qfai5TFpkotUdq3ViX6jSQNh4kHblv/s1600/DSCF3048.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpil4mF0-XqeiQio4kwl9An9MhPyoMJxuvae8cawHscxoIHeb5G8CXJf_SWGU6K0b7rfeIX-1oSJuALDlAPyfkav9f4W0myDpy9LlPq9Shh0iJc0Qfai5TFpkotUdq3ViX6jSQNh4kHblv/s320/DSCF3048.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474973603097528162" border="0" /></a><br />The gazebo.....in behind is the walkway and the opening where she came through to her future husband, their guests were all standing below the steps out front......a truly beautiful spot to get married.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0Hgj5pX7W9TBh36mm2xFtSI7enIZlGYQ425JbQsAC8SiIXDjZ9mriy3XcxxJt7oQYMh-r3xCi3sCmqx76UxXdQKyXh_b6iLqm9vvenyomk99BpMUGSjXT7Ew0kWRpakZX_gFCeog0zCv/s1600/DSCF3045.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0Hgj5pX7W9TBh36mm2xFtSI7enIZlGYQ425JbQsAC8SiIXDjZ9mriy3XcxxJt7oQYMh-r3xCi3sCmqx76UxXdQKyXh_b6iLqm9vvenyomk99BpMUGSjXT7Ew0kWRpakZX_gFCeog0zCv/s320/DSCF3045.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474973593421891538" border="0" /></a>There are two entrances into the gardens and the feature at one is this beautiful cloth hanging......all made out of stone.....it is an amazing piece and i would say very well photographed by many....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJf-d1dR2zcMv0774dqT55Jxk9Vc5qLlSCl1HMy7b9fiv45gGJ4BGozOCfVHaXmIz55HlSwpb1vHiFu-jHSlVcOH-8hcsODuuu7q6bnQRJejcrPrHArFbG7SPj8Vblnf60rKyJ89Ucn_WA/s1600/439.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJf-d1dR2zcMv0774dqT55Jxk9Vc5qLlSCl1HMy7b9fiv45gGJ4BGozOCfVHaXmIz55HlSwpb1vHiFu-jHSlVcOH-8hcsODuuu7q6bnQRJejcrPrHArFbG7SPj8Vblnf60rKyJ89Ucn_WA/s320/439.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474973585440060818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0D7tJtwy6uHMuSBVCRwyovkLjhmT2FTKuymP03huatdVeir8PBTAsx-LWZp4NDpScmeqzC8FKSdrBUmIjRkvNJrebMPCSgO1XY81F3Ukl0M4MP3xNcvaxmCS4CrD9zUV_aGTgUUUWHn6c/s1600/301.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0D7tJtwy6uHMuSBVCRwyovkLjhmT2FTKuymP03huatdVeir8PBTAsx-LWZp4NDpScmeqzC8FKSdrBUmIjRkvNJrebMPCSgO1XY81F3Ukl0M4MP3xNcvaxmCS4CrD9zUV_aGTgUUUWHn6c/s320/301.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474973578721994242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXy8ABKaCrTh8nyXyUvKZ55T9TXodQajwZtOLinnBkWpg0ne9VdTylz7KxQKBDzWIDBRi_ILmU_7AjNJUwQ6g4aLJYBCtg1lXuoruemFCCc_0QuNdxVrmNzH0Fvk5GbE8P9DNr602FgbIN/s1600/1Hamilton.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXy8ABKaCrTh8nyXyUvKZ55T9TXodQajwZtOLinnBkWpg0ne9VdTylz7KxQKBDzWIDBRi_ILmU_7AjNJUwQ6g4aLJYBCtg1lXuoruemFCCc_0QuNdxVrmNzH0Fvk5GbE8P9DNr602FgbIN/s320/1Hamilton.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474973576941200066" border="0" /></a>.......there is also a pond with ducks......amazing open areas of lovely trees........cafe and restaurant.......kitchen garden..........it is well worth a visit to these beautiful gardens you could easily spend a day .... take a picnic to have in grounds of your choice..... and if you are wanting more information check out this website.....<br />www.hamiltongardens.co.nzlayers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-50898250529000860032010-05-18T18:22:00.000-07:002010-05-18T18:33:29.281-07:00when you go down to the beach .......<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9E0Tcp6ctiJApB2ChqfP8CMvfr9jgS0PCotNZzYOj8PjxqASjuvKLIT4XzyDMpeMePorhvw22UM96dtEu7x3D4NuvIHfy4mjP9swR_81HNXG1lMslB0b8bB8fpY-DFIG_sNAtNsNhH3G3/s1600/shellcurtain180.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9E0Tcp6ctiJApB2ChqfP8CMvfr9jgS0PCotNZzYOj8PjxqASjuvKLIT4XzyDMpeMePorhvw22UM96dtEu7x3D4NuvIHfy4mjP9swR_81HNXG1lMslB0b8bB8fpY-DFIG_sNAtNsNhH3G3/s320/shellcurtain180.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472781341742267042" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjnalbAD1mQo_bDs6pwVOFaFx7Qmt9TePRvChqQPzFYZgkZLnTK3Si1Zc6F2thO7ZQEIk2gooJJogq1rw0qlKlwtv4wCZLiZETNF_sM-JpyM89X0NuS5y8pSrjOCkC8pK4scMxKxx1PcH/s1600/shellcandle180.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjnalbAD1mQo_bDs6pwVOFaFx7Qmt9TePRvChqQPzFYZgkZLnTK3Si1Zc6F2thO7ZQEIk2gooJJogq1rw0qlKlwtv4wCZLiZETNF_sM-JpyM89X0NuS5y8pSrjOCkC8pK4scMxKxx1PcH/s320/shellcandle180.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472779853516855170" border="0" /></a><br />For some of us it is even too cold to imagine spending time on the beach but for others it is time to do just that......for all those beach loving people who like me when walking along its shores are impelled to pick up a shell or two or three.........okay maybe a wet, sandy pocket full.....and then come home and wonder what shall i do with them.....here is the answer<br />I came across these instructions and thought i would share them with you all so that you could bring a bit of beach life to your place.......<br /><br />All these images and instructions are taken from the website of NZ House and Garden.......from the section called Home Life.....this is a gorgeous magazine that comes out each month showing some of New Zealands beautiful homes and gardens......and i will be doing a giveaway of one of these magazines next month so watch this space...<br /><br />When poet John Masefield wrote, "I must go down to the seas again, the lonely sea and the sky," his wandering spirit yearned for a life on the ocean waves and completely overlooked the joy to be found on the sandy shores.<br />Collecting shells is one of lifes purest pleasures and going on shell hunts at the beach is a childhood pursuit that has brought happiness to generation after generation. But where once you may have washed your haul of beach bits in a bucket of sea water then transferred them to a glass container, usually destined for display in the bathroom, there are many more elegant ways to use these gifts from the sea, the decorative possibilities of the humble shell are endless, and now we are going to make sand candles...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3eWnSAFVSQkeOhlt76PIJLwMas1ZqLguLgIjMP3eG8Z3RXLeXwf23QKp9SwLXte0vHcvSHD_280lDW86OamttLmE_uc4fSnfAZPIJf_aXyqtXKZynY0qJcqyrJ8DKvmlDDE1_x-BOZNJf/s1600/sand-1_180.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3eWnSAFVSQkeOhlt76PIJLwMas1ZqLguLgIjMP3eG8Z3RXLeXwf23QKp9SwLXte0vHcvSHD_280lDW86OamttLmE_uc4fSnfAZPIJf_aXyqtXKZynY0qJcqyrJ8DKvmlDDE1_x-BOZNJf/s320/sand-1_180.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472779587643633570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />You will need: Sand, a child sized bucketful will do, shells, 500g wax pellets (for a candle 9cm in diameter x 10cm high, available from spotlight here in nz) 20cm wick, metal wick holder, twigs.<br /><br />1. Wash and dry a used tin and squeeze the top to make a spout. Fill it about three quarters full with wax pellets and put it in an old pot. Pour hot water in the pot and heat it on a very low heat. Keep an eye on the wax until it has melted. Keep it warm in the water. (shown above)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjxsg7rAHTjH2VSI2kaKpFHLjxxL-drDu5UFQ0z0ZkmngmcCxA6RQIyTwkyfQyngA1prLVnjltRtdzMhf2biBakFtBf105PI-QFW5DjwNBpZWMzRveDkfLUyPHN4TF0TopZsZctKNLK8x/s1600/sand-2_180.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjxsg7rAHTjH2VSI2kaKpFHLjxxL-drDu5UFQ0z0ZkmngmcCxA6RQIyTwkyfQyngA1prLVnjltRtdzMhf2biBakFtBf105PI-QFW5DjwNBpZWMzRveDkfLUyPHN4TF0TopZsZctKNLK8x/s320/sand-2_180.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472779582570278978" border="0" /></a><br />2. Make a hole in the sand (use a glass or bottle if you like) Press shells into the sides of the hole quite firmly (if you wish to see the face of the shell, push the shells into the sand face first). Tie a knot in the wick and thread it through the metal wick holder. Tie the other end around a straight twig or kebab stick. Balance the stick with the wick on two forked twigs. Centre it over the middle of the hole and make sure the wick touches the bottom.... (above)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFc5LZYEZzsITlAlf2803T7yq7Ah7c9UX-FMf79fABi-5O78Ouiukg8EfL-RwcVUZgY57Ea7UxW37eLspBLUk2lhU2Bf1dbam3sSbY28byMAm5dvpXJdFASLS46mVZETSmK9Bg5ArZ044u/s1600/sand-3_180.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFc5LZYEZzsITlAlf2803T7yq7Ah7c9UX-FMf79fABi-5O78Ouiukg8EfL-RwcVUZgY57Ea7UxW37eLspBLUk2lhU2Bf1dbam3sSbY28byMAm5dvpXJdFASLS46mVZETSmK9Bg5ArZ044u/s320/sand-3_180.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472779576638853874" border="0" /></a><br />3. Slowly pour the wax into the hole, right to the top. Adjust the wick if necessary. (Above)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIMXJ9EA93JaeEoZoEyFYKxj2GrtLUDH1vis84KYsJJa8t_Y0Ql2hwhZRh1f3fRd1GqDcnL3FQr9iCnt3oIeOFo7T90ff9oo_BGidY_3qv9jiW9PYpp1ixLQg9-O2Tk8njWaH_7XVlGiO/s1600/sand-4_180.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIMXJ9EA93JaeEoZoEyFYKxj2GrtLUDH1vis84KYsJJa8t_Y0Ql2hwhZRh1f3fRd1GqDcnL3FQr9iCnt3oIeOFo7T90ff9oo_BGidY_3qv9jiW9PYpp1ixLQg9-O2Tk8njWaH_7XVlGiO/s320/sand-4_180.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472779570948634162" border="0" /></a><br />4. Wait at least an hour for the wax to cool and harden. When the wax is hard, pull the candle gently from the sand, loosening the sides first. Dust off any excess sand with a soft paintbrush.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Safety note:<span style="font-style: italic;">Wax is highly flammable. If it catches alight, smother it with the lid of a pot or a wet towel - not water. Sugar, baking soda or a chemical extinguisher may also be used.</span></span><br /><br />I hope you enjoy making these candles, there many more ways to use shells just by using your imagination.......Frame them, make a necklace, attach to edges of cords for curtains, jug or sugar bowl covers can have a circle of shells and they make charming votive candle holders......and if like my daughters the shells with the hollow centre became very fashionable rings!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilItoC44XTx6b4YxqSlxjRkJJ6FnLlH0ORoFI4_5ZJPHhTTRGnrgrSKcJ_-fzi39pSxJPnJbw80tPPS7dySlkgdolsP7l5LtjSb2qgvzKPoZJuI6UEtWft67O5VkDtO9W2Z57exLr4uWd3/s1600/shellpail180.jpg"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></a>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-24954921687122106242010-05-10T23:17:00.001-07:002010-05-10T23:59:11.941-07:00Mothers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2evQGB071Jm-qGwCVqzEuJVyaUIDAJ6wzk4CitcU7ToUu2ecQroXlFQ7B2HuU0BqOnB2WSjTg8fVB3uOpAhvbIaUPrbjHZmOTMUi02qMQ-Flog3tz-a2d7FYkMMcXs-zk0WNWhJ2DUVFu/s1600/little-girl-with-a-flower-bouquet-thumb10086766.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2evQGB071Jm-qGwCVqzEuJVyaUIDAJ6wzk4CitcU7ToUu2ecQroXlFQ7B2HuU0BqOnB2WSjTg8fVB3uOpAhvbIaUPrbjHZmOTMUi02qMQ-Flog3tz-a2d7FYkMMcXs-zk0WNWhJ2DUVFu/s320/little-girl-with-a-flower-bouquet-thumb10086766.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469892865803618258" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I hope everyone had a wonderful mothers day and received a beautiful bunch of flowers from someone who lights up their life...... ( i do not know this child but love the look on her face, her joy in giving)<br />Being a mother myself has been one of the most amazing things i have ever done.......i loved watching my girls grow up into the wonderful young adults they are today...... because of how they were raised they are now passing those values onto their own children......<br />I felt honoured when the friends of my girls who have now become parents themselves have asked my husband and i how we raised our girls because they want to be able to do it the same for their own kids.....and someone who said they saw us playing with our children and heard the joy and the laughter decided that was how he was going to be with his own children......now don't get me wrong it wasn't all perfect.....but i can honestly say with my hand on my heart it was pretty close to it!!!!<br /><br />When our girls lived at home we always had their friends around and i suppose if i had to list one thing that made them who they are today i would say it is because of this......we invited their friends to our home.....often feed them, gave them a bed, often we would take large groups out and take them places and always treated them like they were important and what they had to say was important..... my husband is like a big kid himself so they always had a good time and plenty of laughs because he also helped make it fun.....<br />One of the boyfriends used to regularly cook us sunday night dinner he had his special dish which we loved and encouraged him.....when his parents asked him why he didn't cook for them he said you just don't praise and say how good it is the way they do........<br /><br />On a recent mothers day i wrote to my daughters each a letter telling them how much it meant to me to be their mother and i gave each of them a gift voucher for beauty treatment so they could pamper themselves.....<br />Ever since they were born i kept a notebook of how i felt and what we did and how they did funny little things that made me smile.......they are 30 and 32 now!!!........it is all still on bits of paper and one day i hope to write it all out for them so they can share it with their own children...<br /><br />Blogging i think has brought all us mothers together because we get each other!!! we know what its like to have our children to nurture them and teach them values and most importantly love them.....we have all come together no matter what age, where we live or what we do because when it all boils down to it it is that one word that connects us all so we understand each other like no one else can......<br /><br />The hardest part for me as a mother was once they left home......my youngest actually before my eldest.....i cried many tears that day and the phone bill was quite large but in the end i trusted her to do what was right and knew that i had to let go sometime......<br />I sobbed all the way to my eldest daughters new flat when she moved out and managed to wipe away the tears and put a smile on my face when we arrived.....i was lucky that they were both close so did get to visit.....i don't know how mothers cope when their children move away to somewhere , a town a city a country where they can't visit often......as you may have guessed we are a very close family and i am proud to say my daughters are my friends as well as me being their mother......<br /><br />When my daughter left with her partner on her overseas trips and to live sometime in those countries will that was when it hit home just how far away she would be......oh those times were very, very hard but they returned safe and sound.......i wrote her this poem to send her on her way....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tripping<br />Another trip was looming<br />But my heart did not understand<br />It wanted to keep you here<br />safe and sound<br />And not have you go off<br />To other lands<br /><br />The places were so far away<br />And so different than before<br />Cultures, money issues and even<br />what was law<br />I know its hard, i should let you go<br />But a mothers bond is strong<br />I do want to see you learn and grow<br />Of the life you want to know<br /><br />Your silent calls i have always heard<br />I know when you are about<br />It comes to me in a whisper<br />Then we both pick up the phone and shout<br />How did you know i was thinking of you<br />Me too is what we would say<br /><br />There is a bond that connects us<br />It started long ago<br />When inside me i would talk to you<br />My face all proud and aglow<br />I talked of my dreams for you<br />And wanted you to know<br />That wherever life took you<br />With you, my love would go<br /><br />I will wave you off with happy smiles<br />The tears inside i will hide<br />I will count the days for your safe return<br />To give me peace of mind<br />My thoughts will watch over you<br />My love will surround you tight<br />I will walk quietly beside you<br />Until you come home<br />and everything is alright<br /></span></div>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-60804131829195306712010-05-02T22:48:00.001-07:002010-05-02T22:59:18.424-07:00The Rain Has Come<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlSvOnzvAw_648cw50n2gegiKFN931hyTeG9ZEVFvU7mIgOUOV9FLTAOji9xlWiNzEP_4Sx37B6lAsUtnoGXTwTyLwZbv4-7Le4kRITgdhF6ol0ycwMAQY45fGQE-riBIpCKJtt1BZCnP/s1600/100_3632.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlSvOnzvAw_648cw50n2gegiKFN931hyTeG9ZEVFvU7mIgOUOV9FLTAOji9xlWiNzEP_4Sx37B6lAsUtnoGXTwTyLwZbv4-7Le4kRITgdhF6ol0ycwMAQY45fGQE-riBIpCKJtt1BZCnP/s320/100_3632.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466917539066090370" border="0" /></a><br />It has finally rained here in my little corner of the world, good hearty rain that is gobbled up quickly by the dry earth so it doesn't have time to run to the edges, and already i can see a difference, the tired dry plants have lifted their faces high again with renewed life waiting patiently now for the new rain, sure that it will come and come it has...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrIX_IEIqmUbLn8VsixwTMCJTgq-R-zhYTOHE-dpv8UVZ-EMQDK5E7ut0V-NiKBaRWSK0pjJChMeYmY72Ks-lw6oWLc1oP9x8UMuvPF3YT9W8xrevW8dZKXmpjO-hA5_3zdT7GuT0n1kk/s1600/100_3626.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrIX_IEIqmUbLn8VsixwTMCJTgq-R-zhYTOHE-dpv8UVZ-EMQDK5E7ut0V-NiKBaRWSK0pjJChMeYmY72Ks-lw6oWLc1oP9x8UMuvPF3YT9W8xrevW8dZKXmpjO-hA5_3zdT7GuT0n1kk/s320/100_3626.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466917530520211522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepTdtlVksz6KtbKYXWmIaZFzsn04PCeXHvo-N0nibsddyGKxRDkksjL7fGJUEcSU4ARqp-GxKyGdTA8nn7mWUzzzi7EIzLvS6cGM7UVyuUsjV9t6eSyhNAw0tGeG7kqyH2aTENb2Of61E/s1600/100_3630.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepTdtlVksz6KtbKYXWmIaZFzsn04PCeXHvo-N0nibsddyGKxRDkksjL7fGJUEcSU4ARqp-GxKyGdTA8nn7mWUzzzi7EIzLvS6cGM7UVyuUsjV9t6eSyhNAw0tGeG7kqyH2aTENb2Of61E/s320/100_3630.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466917518131299746" border="0" /></a><br />Now when the sun comes it is not so harsh having finally realized the damage it is doing to nature, asking forgiveness of plant life and only shining in places where it is truly needed and only for a certain length of time now well aware that it doesn't need to be so fierce, it disappears more quickly from our view and the clouds come to give them some shade, the birds sing and the cicadas sing the loudest just to let the world know everything is alright now.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jCqyYFqz18OM8JY10o86pmhh9pQPCmodLeO8VplrNd_ACYgAOtQ9UwWPnS-GbhXvhnCh8qX6RBrsokVTnKqyjk1S7XFMRfOmscAinDsuqobbJz6wsTf3QFQnw_bY72jxD7-d1fxQFCDC/s1600/100_3635.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jCqyYFqz18OM8JY10o86pmhh9pQPCmodLeO8VplrNd_ACYgAOtQ9UwWPnS-GbhXvhnCh8qX6RBrsokVTnKqyjk1S7XFMRfOmscAinDsuqobbJz6wsTf3QFQnw_bY72jxD7-d1fxQFCDC/s320/100_3635.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466917511744665762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_xHdedIilH3v4Eef_pEetsOrkwtBtfilx3WYLyJ-KjILouFfVHO3vWySQ4lfwvcDsguJvIwbYqTglfacCOJ-CGHyvah3-bER9PgF0uuXx1uQcmCS03eo81LZWYIOpF42jMfuD-j0SfDD/s1600/100_3645.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_xHdedIilH3v4Eef_pEetsOrkwtBtfilx3WYLyJ-KjILouFfVHO3vWySQ4lfwvcDsguJvIwbYqTglfacCOJ-CGHyvah3-bER9PgF0uuXx1uQcmCS03eo81LZWYIOpF42jMfuD-j0SfDD/s320/100_3645.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466917503075363794" border="0" /></a>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-72519270961468942392010-04-29T19:13:00.000-07:002010-04-30T17:03:03.948-07:00History Of The Old Church (also see previous entry)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQeKZUgn0kSB2bUg_Aajw5ag7nhtFpfaecCQry1rfPgR3kVK31dhYwDPGogcOW-JXb7-TrkJBjL3TUyN8BgbegTb1pbkHAlvSsxM8RXix9GYFo6fqHLZ7eyhxU9moEc_ispl1360qIAii/s1600/img-aboutus-history-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQeKZUgn0kSB2bUg_Aajw5ag7nhtFpfaecCQry1rfPgR3kVK31dhYwDPGogcOW-JXb7-TrkJBjL3TUyN8BgbegTb1pbkHAlvSsxM8RXix9GYFo6fqHLZ7eyhxU9moEc_ispl1360qIAii/s320/img-aboutus-history-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465748723871542578" border="0" /></a><br />On 28 February 1858 Father Euloge Reignier a french missionary priest came to live at the Meeanee propety he had purchased for the Society of Mary in 1856. He was accompanied by two brothers of the Society of Mary who shared his missionary work, Brothers Basil and John. They brought their house with them from Pakowhai and quickly assembled it on the property. This house became their accommodation and was used as the first church.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXn-X9OeJ25aTIBwxoQLoSpTrxKT_3ezmZsopMGIRrYgp-sA4tI0XfxPKXt3bojL3vPVdo-d50ffVA4brn9WCigjsfnpHEbJHyzv-0SK-XJrPTd8g4ptJsN6xoJD4aIoTrnrszY72zMwBl/s1600/img-contactus-enquiries-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXn-X9OeJ25aTIBwxoQLoSpTrxKT_3ezmZsopMGIRrYgp-sA4tI0XfxPKXt3bojL3vPVdo-d50ffVA4brn9WCigjsfnpHEbJHyzv-0SK-XJrPTd8g4ptJsN6xoJD4aIoTrnrszY72zMwBl/s320/img-contactus-enquiries-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465748713636061026" border="0" /></a><br />Their congregation grew , they needed a church so in November 1862 tenders were called for the erection of a church adjoining the residence of Rev E. Reignier. December 1863 Bishop Philip Viard from Wellington blessed and opened the church of St Mary of the Assumption at Meeanee. The cost was 348 pounds and it measured 36ft by 15ft. Despite frequent flooding of the nearby Tutaekuri River the mission prospered as the Brothers managed their farm of 326 acres as well as assisting Friar Reignier with their missionary duties.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclgxqtUQiKvGEN8xJO2JTECRCSuZ9o_W9a7r3NjG_McCEhBSULyl4UJu9ePo67duXTpqtOO3wgllRi4JSaeHvwm5ji3sLNk0eIH_iNqVMjEHndU1jIH7sSMo9VvedtXtLsIuF7Y9GYKow/s1600/img--event-party-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclgxqtUQiKvGEN8xJO2JTECRCSuZ9o_W9a7r3NjG_McCEhBSULyl4UJu9ePo67duXTpqtOO3wgllRi4JSaeHvwm5ji3sLNk0eIH_iNqVMjEHndU1jIH7sSMo9VvedtXtLsIuF7Y9GYKow/s320/img--event-party-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465748712378884786" border="0" /></a><br />Suzanne Aubert a french woman who wanted to do missionary work with the Maori people arrived in Meeanee in 1871. She played the church harmonium, trained the choir, decorated the church and became well known in the area for her nursing skills and later was the founder of the Order of the Sisters of Our Lady of compassion. She worked at Meeanee until 1883. There are books written about her and the work she did.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfjfbg6ah-fyCoRqylasbjwCf8x0RbwjB6WO079EFB3G2kcfpTuXSDQhn47LRb9uySFGUduhDDi1fqbxAIBJTJsw3NRXOr3UYS8WOn897xdOfOHy42rFzbWY9qFOQzyQOG3WEgieSmAZA/s1600/img-gallery-chandelier-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZfjfbg6ah-fyCoRqylasbjwCf8x0RbwjB6WO079EFB3G2kcfpTuXSDQhn47LRb9uySFGUduhDDi1fqbxAIBJTJsw3NRXOr3UYS8WOn897xdOfOHy42rFzbWY9qFOQzyQOG3WEgieSmAZA/s320/img-gallery-chandelier-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465748704792600258" border="0" /></a><br />A large boarding and day school was built on the side of the church in`1872. In October 1874 the church was enlarged cutting it in two and a transpet placed between. The entrance was moved around to the east of the new section it cost 626 pounds.<br /><br />A large new residence for the priests and brothers was built in 1880 which was later converted to become a seminary for the training of priests and because of repeated floods was moved the the Greenmeadows hill in 1910 where it still functions today as the Mission Estate Winery.<br /><br />In 1892 it was enlarged again lengthened to 75ft by 46ft. The old sanctuary became the vestry and the nave was enlarged to 50ft by 37ft and 30ft high. It was divided from the aisles by pillars of rimu with arches filled with ornamental traceries. The gallery for the choir was completely new, the building was over six times larger than the former church.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOzDjvlCAFEzqNEI8p7-XbaOSegk9tsvsWFd7WauFKWS5APd0JATzCvlVYFaXee_dKxpZhNaSEA5li5YV2ydfoaSA5cIXoLJNDsNYFxT9a9jCmrIaR6ZFYBBH2mGGgz82fTmPKiTukUCi/s1600/w_ext_dusk___eva_2280.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOzDjvlCAFEzqNEI8p7-XbaOSegk9tsvsWFd7WauFKWS5APd0JATzCvlVYFaXee_dKxpZhNaSEA5li5YV2ydfoaSA5cIXoLJNDsNYFxT9a9jCmrIaR6ZFYBBH2mGGgz82fTmPKiTukUCi/s320/w_ext_dusk___eva_2280.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465748699446052546" border="0" /></a><br />There were attractive gardens, grape vines, crops, fruit trees and farm land. The Seminary had 23 students. There was a swimming pool, an observatory, a flourishing school, a new brothers house, and the church raised by 21 inches on new piles to escape the flood waters.<br /><br />In 1910 the leaders of the Society decided to shift the entire complex to Greenmeadows, only the church and schools were left, many locals and priests were unhappy.<br />It continued as a much loved parish for many years with a new villa style 10 roomed presbytery being added as accommodation for the priests in 1913. The school ruined by years of flood waters was demolished and a new school opened in Guppy road in 1926.<br /><br />In 1970 it was becoming too small for the growing population a new church built in Osier Road opened in 1972. The church was reconsecrated in 1972 eventually it was sold to a group of Napier businessmen who in turn sold it to its present owner who converted it to a restaurant and wedding venue, the former presbytery converted to boutique accommodation.<br />Many people have lived, worshipped, celebrated and worked on this unique property.layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-47383700338137813842010-04-29T18:05:00.000-07:002010-04-29T18:52:49.302-07:00The Old Church<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLBQlScENfZ5GYc6NlU22OfexmrnIu_VaCcdWZNvEaEKR1m_3D1adLYKHfxyBVd19JDT1hFkbg3An7SMlvskInOYS4O7rBenpkO62-thlPcjQCP_39WgHO2tWaBo8cTrGUU65LmMPcldR/s1600/100_1222.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLBQlScENfZ5GYc6NlU22OfexmrnIu_VaCcdWZNvEaEKR1m_3D1adLYKHfxyBVd19JDT1hFkbg3An7SMlvskInOYS4O7rBenpkO62-thlPcjQCP_39WgHO2tWaBo8cTrGUU65LmMPcldR/s320/100_1222.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465735354896445826" border="0" /></a><br />The Old Church in the Hawkes Bay has been converted into an amazing restaurant that i have been to a couple of times and the food is just as good as the setting. The menu is printed on vellum with a great selection of food to tempt you...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9NtQxT8WO30WO1mQw9GczNZuoWd8SrkyNZe00v_1Ha9p68g7lBROsiNxTuM4z9XJ9zdOvzPLlpGVjfGZW_Z7TtgpxtomufqbCWcw6YulbH59WmfNy3tHyrRRpeG3KpmjWxckzF4VrBRQ/s1600/100_1208.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMLYDVCGuaCVmlXcHEDBQ6rCZXSF6s-cn_KQ0QYYo7XMhwKn71-KyUHHbFQj3gA-cZ5gz_HsFbSMbIEcYsJ7dYnB2-BK26dIWUWrNKaecbuypwojHs80ynXf1RoaImn0BPIxMGTbCVwd4/s1600/100_1223.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMLYDVCGuaCVmlXcHEDBQ6rCZXSF6s-cn_KQ0QYYo7XMhwKn71-KyUHHbFQj3gA-cZ5gz_HsFbSMbIEcYsJ7dYnB2-BK26dIWUWrNKaecbuypwojHs80ynXf1RoaImn0BPIxMGTbCVwd4/s320/100_1223.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465735335487360642" border="0" /></a><br />You enter into the grounds down a long tree lined driveway i imagine that these trees are many years old they are very stately and very beautiful.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBl4w8YCzPFl00cCxUXR6bKT5HFli5_sYXMQy-j-nzii47tuV3mpRWamlQGbQ8utJsLSWWxKj-Vsj2N1ixjcgvmnV6eTXe0NySUvsPRHOBXDmV_FEtQV6kX8NWGTRrfCjVVyMyernO63w0/s1600/100_1220.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBl4w8YCzPFl00cCxUXR6bKT5HFli5_sYXMQy-j-nzii47tuV3mpRWamlQGbQ8utJsLSWWxKj-Vsj2N1ixjcgvmnV6eTXe0NySUvsPRHOBXDmV_FEtQV6kX8NWGTRrfCjVVyMyernO63w0/s320/100_1220.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465735329652599010" border="0" /></a><br />The entrance to the church just to the left of the picture you can see an old house which i believe was where the priests or brothers i think they were know as lived........it has now been converted into a very upmarket B&B<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_IkzaCwHgMKVj2uKi_vzk2MgeufQEv9GBgvYi5rX8LDBRq4sXwYPfz4Ineunwehli0Rfpxusbhpw6bvdtJjHN80wgnU0tvueCkuvauJfYTPsaFAkLyTFkIZRnf92-qfDU7xXhwebc61H/s1600/100_1218.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_IkzaCwHgMKVj2uKi_vzk2MgeufQEv9GBgvYi5rX8LDBRq4sXwYPfz4Ineunwehli0Rfpxusbhpw6bvdtJjHN80wgnU0tvueCkuvauJfYTPsaFAkLyTFkIZRnf92-qfDU7xXhwebc61H/s320/100_1218.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465735315920737106" border="0" /></a><br />The wonderful old door at the entrance..... i am sure many people have stepped through this door both in its life as a church and as a restaurant.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yHWh3Wpmd_giv0CYUxj7M0D-Dmj1mHK0dKGgLQhdXKb8kM8kH5rZiyWzEk3mDXAYlxFzICO0I9413GvXCV56HGDIaYADpAKdalbvaodYhOtd6nwsSTKH_vU_OFoawK7Qq55j2NwwNVpX/s1600/100_1209.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yHWh3Wpmd_giv0CYUxj7M0D-Dmj1mHK0dKGgLQhdXKb8kM8kH5rZiyWzEk3mDXAYlxFzICO0I9413GvXCV56HGDIaYADpAKdalbvaodYhOtd6nwsSTKH_vU_OFoawK7Qq55j2NwwNVpX/s320/100_1209.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465733078602082098" border="0" /></a><br />What greets you once you step inside.....it is very elegant with lots of gilded gold, beautiful ornate mirrors and a cabinet which tells the history of the church...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGN6xCUOyaRZCYvFbV1hQJv_TWn8qM6pq95HWGy88qop26Ewvw6Ya2gC7IM7BRxOQLKz4fe0NHIuNYioNX3svUdp3A_55iYnUedeV5UYx1CcW5nKxq43kf0PCjwkeqy2H0xEyd6ma6xt1/s1600/100_1202.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGN6xCUOyaRZCYvFbV1hQJv_TWn8qM6pq95HWGy88qop26Ewvw6Ya2gC7IM7BRxOQLKz4fe0NHIuNYioNX3svUdp3A_55iYnUedeV5UYx1CcW5nKxq43kf0PCjwkeqy2H0xEyd6ma6xt1/s320/100_1202.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465733052215464546" border="0" /></a><br />There are tables and chairs of different sizes and proportions......sitting at these large backed chairs is a feeling i imagine a bit like Alice in Wonderland when she fell through the rabbit hole and arrived in this strange new world!<br /><br />In the centre is the most amazing chandelier i have ever seen in my life, its size is so enormous and i am sure they would have had some sort of crane just to lift it into place... standing underneath it and looking up through it is breathtaking!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogI-uWLp52ZK_PjnYPxzNB76-qxi4U_IJ-LcMMpvC7_URu4KfGYEH3XZgVIO5LWv0z8gAnExJ_IoB0uLakBZx_cdtj2H0ta-0YAVYK9aePhxWbh2eLRzo2t8na5xK7L4dBr47OK2CAKfg/s1600/100_1192.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogI-uWLp52ZK_PjnYPxzNB76-qxi4U_IJ-LcMMpvC7_URu4KfGYEH3XZgVIO5LWv0z8gAnExJ_IoB0uLakBZx_cdtj2H0ta-0YAVYK9aePhxWbh2eLRzo2t8na5xK7L4dBr47OK2CAKfg/s320/100_1192.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465733038938538050" border="0" /></a><br />Another view showing the interior you will see if you look closely that not only are there high backed chairs but also red velvet ones as well..... personally i like the high backed one because they give you a sense of wonderment....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxc9kBOJ5f-YKhyphenhyphen70WVA_DlRcPMU7kKJaeYsn2e4xM0gga9rs_6RTAenHxWwMaDdUXS8CC54g9pPMbpovm4KvAg5W5ERaNwdhhtS09JeXSuPeM6VFaVnb1NgWoULf6AUG01x_OL2qAIoF/s1600/100_1189.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxc9kBOJ5f-YKhyphenhyphen70WVA_DlRcPMU7kKJaeYsn2e4xM0gga9rs_6RTAenHxWwMaDdUXS8CC54g9pPMbpovm4KvAg5W5ERaNwdhhtS09JeXSuPeM6VFaVnb1NgWoULf6AUG01x_OL2qAIoF/s320/100_1189.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465733030642294642" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Another view of that glorious chandelier... it is hard to see just how enormous it really is... anyone visiting the Hawkes Bay should take the time to go to this restaurant.... as well as dining inside there is also a conservatory, which you will be able to see off to the side in the first photo and on summer days an outside area with table chairs and umbrellas......your visit if you will excuse the pun will be heavenly!!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizAOpst4D5dZ-xXJhm00jWIsWlV8wMEi2pWjc34Aw7y4y3mjKAUTOZjf2OrBlWULt1yOy6wxXA73JeyfkBBpVLN_kao0lg6cLsFiOmEL2jXM1K2cF3AWoQklmG0lY-OfIUjX5IuVYTtD4/s1600/100_1188.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizAOpst4D5dZ-xXJhm00jWIsWlV8wMEi2pWjc34Aw7y4y3mjKAUTOZjf2OrBlWULt1yOy6wxXA73JeyfkBBpVLN_kao0lg6cLsFiOmEL2jXM1K2cF3AWoQklmG0lY-OfIUjX5IuVYTtD4/s320/100_1188.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465733023342224290" border="0" /></a>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-69658531740766040402010-04-20T21:19:00.001-07:002010-04-20T21:46:40.904-07:00autumn has arrived<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToORZFqfKfKY8beCiSg3ogaLQLYA4vZkYmzYk5f8ALSVCCQUFXkkC4csoLIQmSJiM5568mandu9fB-WXh6HREKjS70Krd7mfRsEmQkKVbN32fczcx_g8gLfGBTNRQIowlV_hhgXENmus4/s1600/100_3546-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToORZFqfKfKY8beCiSg3ogaLQLYA4vZkYmzYk5f8ALSVCCQUFXkkC4csoLIQmSJiM5568mandu9fB-WXh6HREKjS70Krd7mfRsEmQkKVbN32fczcx_g8gLfGBTNRQIowlV_hhgXENmus4/s320/100_3546-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462443391061129314" border="0" /></a><br />We were lucky to go and stay at my favourite place again at the weekend and autumn was so evident here with the beautiful array of coloured carpets of leaves that greeted us.....The colours were amazing....rich golds, reds and browns...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkECMwYqrD1VIDfSDsOMl9EZfkDZOWcQUxL6vHl1h0V_JlTLr_qmwEOUFbjVV62a7fZnNOumfIbtwoP8ou_pAbJ3l1sKHN58QpeUanMjrI9pjDAs9vtitQa_2vxnfjWhaFTZa7hBaw8xw/s1600/100_3545-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkECMwYqrD1VIDfSDsOMl9EZfkDZOWcQUxL6vHl1h0V_JlTLr_qmwEOUFbjVV62a7fZnNOumfIbtwoP8ou_pAbJ3l1sKHN58QpeUanMjrI9pjDAs9vtitQa_2vxnfjWhaFTZa7hBaw8xw/s320/100_3545-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462443381896387954" border="0" /></a><br />The light filtering through the trees was magical.....there was a quiet calm all around this place.....not a whisper to be heard but the occasional falling leaves let out a gentle swish as they passed you by....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvms7mhEvaTj9tv9Dkaffda8l5xSXl-dty65hyZKU_8He_TlPECVk4DZoPxwWdy5GjT9bBYScs9JhN3hMRrJpeZ0zHgxvA3BmyeDyVtXdq_wvBIuLY068BvahYwRl1ZhTmzaQJ9hwSkaSx/s1600/100_3519-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvms7mhEvaTj9tv9Dkaffda8l5xSXl-dty65hyZKU_8He_TlPECVk4DZoPxwWdy5GjT9bBYScs9JhN3hMRrJpeZ0zHgxvA3BmyeDyVtXdq_wvBIuLY068BvahYwRl1ZhTmzaQJ9hwSkaSx/s320/100_3519-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462443374179878946" border="0" /></a><br />There were so many wonderful spots to take photos through the trees looking back at the buildings beyond forming natures frames....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WU4Rk5dUcmKXlkYkK5-fPkJNwOVti6nbVnTYRO6GPw2v1Ct0UvI2JqWUtDZCOctKr7b1CED8VIoHw4qo2pEPYTSXIsSQ7MtLKuTze_Y0-FBwW_1kRFNmI62Ohhn2MbLgD3z3Q0WieA36/s1600/100_3515-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WU4Rk5dUcmKXlkYkK5-fPkJNwOVti6nbVnTYRO6GPw2v1Ct0UvI2JqWUtDZCOctKr7b1CED8VIoHw4qo2pEPYTSXIsSQ7MtLKuTze_Y0-FBwW_1kRFNmI62Ohhn2MbLgD3z3Q0WieA36/s320/100_3515-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462443367775186450" border="0" /></a><br />I tell you these photos have been untouched, no colour added no brightness just nature in its true form.....the beauty for you to see and to touch....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ksiX-MdkY4350tKwI5OKE3A9ciuey2yiIiBnml0dkGC4D6RuhD0ilx9uOlr-WGfKVFYLOiCbM8dvRSK83VYHHLwWJLrDUHoNcipmxft0uR3j0uOAvncccNwvGaq3kRyfqHIYT0Atq3Ox/s1600/100_3483-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ksiX-MdkY4350tKwI5OKE3A9ciuey2yiIiBnml0dkGC4D6RuhD0ilx9uOlr-WGfKVFYLOiCbM8dvRSK83VYHHLwWJLrDUHoNcipmxft0uR3j0uOAvncccNwvGaq3kRyfqHIYT0Atq3Ox/s320/100_3483-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462442002184992066" border="0" /></a><br />These pin oak branches were nearly bare .... walking under them and through the leaves they let out a loud crunch .....i felt like kicking them high to watch them float then tumble back down to the earth again..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKPrNTQFj0NQGOu04jqrfz9GLQdeW8T4NLS-8Io98AT7wWYTSl-gW6jSd9mjPuK4usfBpqrAdq26I-jSf1_nrhqrgq4-g-uQ-btR81C8eByASitotxql4xvGzDufzkCThAoGJw1nieXRZ/s1600/100_3471-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKPrNTQFj0NQGOu04jqrfz9GLQdeW8T4NLS-8Io98AT7wWYTSl-gW6jSd9mjPuK4usfBpqrAdq26I-jSf1_nrhqrgq4-g-uQ-btR81C8eByASitotxql4xvGzDufzkCThAoGJw1nieXRZ/s320/100_3471-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462441997498300418" border="0" /></a><br />Sitting on the moss covered seats looking back across the lake at the house is one of our favourite spots....here you truly feel the peace that surrounds you ....the calm is reflected in the waters edge but hiding in amongst these leaves are ducks and i gathered quite a few of their beautiful shed feathers to put in my journals...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarPoFGsdx5xBffl1XP5V_fzp2UtPputFud47rSWpbRr9QGWr3NESHzQ5wyHdExuWS3nGoE1UMgmZ91XVCDPMv-emW86cIIkssO830vTJLhy01fw5JYVVlJ52YfDichqsxaEimG4_nNDct/s1600/100_3466-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarPoFGsdx5xBffl1XP5V_fzp2UtPputFud47rSWpbRr9QGWr3NESHzQ5wyHdExuWS3nGoE1UMgmZ91XVCDPMv-emW86cIIkssO830vTJLhy01fw5JYVVlJ52YfDichqsxaEimG4_nNDct/s320/100_3466-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462441988482228434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeDCm7h5Inkjlfp4VZhaFNQksnnx53ZxEKEaWpF9Yaqx2Mp9NuwGtYe7lU0k9Ms0oEx7GY9ygxaDhBbcXYsesQTQHmzLnfb_TmH5z9G1lI1wGP5jWcgld9cVmk_q4DTD2z3qHiNkZWcDQ/s1600/100_3460-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeDCm7h5Inkjlfp4VZhaFNQksnnx53ZxEKEaWpF9Yaqx2Mp9NuwGtYe7lU0k9Ms0oEx7GY9ygxaDhBbcXYsesQTQHmzLnfb_TmH5z9G1lI1wGP5jWcgld9cVmk_q4DTD2z3qHiNkZWcDQ/s320/100_3460-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462441986041111602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />These two pictures would have to be my favourite....i love the look of the leaves against the building and the furniture......coming away from this place at the weekend where you feel like you have been for days .....you feel refreshed and ready to take on the world again......i will be sad when i can no longer visit but i do treasure the moments i have there and my photos will continually take me on those journeys of discovery and wonder of this amazing place.....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1IGXU3Pdgy__msk4rQkEhj0h7Dztgau5DInsqE2SsiIhQMpalLHs86TI_q9qpCPBC9mP1tec6sdgSlNKWDuUHBj83pSI7MZi2TOZYKjMd27gVQXPMqszyaLGWr8MAs2aMMxGNokwDLow/s1600/100_3414-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1IGXU3Pdgy__msk4rQkEhj0h7Dztgau5DInsqE2SsiIhQMpalLHs86TI_q9qpCPBC9mP1tec6sdgSlNKWDuUHBj83pSI7MZi2TOZYKjMd27gVQXPMqszyaLGWr8MAs2aMMxGNokwDLow/s320/100_3414-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462441975526595058" border="0" /></a>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-79942048804474871022010-04-15T01:05:00.000-07:002010-04-15T01:16:42.966-07:00Being Creative<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcsaV08049a-3Ekpn20Dtk7SuNvrN2zz2fX9x0rFcHNGd9kSKqB0_ujCVADLbolEfAC9dN9qUhIoSCdkOWLar4Cual58bLI-rxZgCWGY76m-W_Vh9FnbaFC7xIYZ50hnGKoRsC1PYFH6M/s1600/PARIS.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcsaV08049a-3Ekpn20Dtk7SuNvrN2zz2fX9x0rFcHNGd9kSKqB0_ujCVADLbolEfAC9dN9qUhIoSCdkOWLar4Cual58bLI-rxZgCWGY76m-W_Vh9FnbaFC7xIYZ50hnGKoRsC1PYFH6M/s320/PARIS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460268926917543170" border="0" /></a><br />For as long as i can remember i have always been busy with my hands.....whether it was making my own clothes, knitting, crocheting or cross stitch there was something wonderful about looking at something that you had created that wasn't like anyone elses........For the last few years after being inspired when a neighbour gave me a Somerset Studio magazine and being in awe of the fantastic work i decided there and then that this was going to be my new obsession...... i put down my embroidery needle and took up scissors and glue and paper instead...... I joined in some book round robins and this is a page (above) that i did in someones book from England.....their theme was Paris....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBlm47fqQ7C8P08sf4JOVyT0sA1C1WBpqYUuzhOOscZmON0FiHgDbqf8BAU8iRHr44kR2EZXkmOTESWkYn6p7fEv1U_By_NXDWvRo0Blb3NOGivfacXTs457iCEuC3Fm2hFawr9oyAAGW/s1600/wENDY_PAGE_10.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBlm47fqQ7C8P08sf4JOVyT0sA1C1WBpqYUuzhOOscZmON0FiHgDbqf8BAU8iRHr44kR2EZXkmOTESWkYn6p7fEv1U_By_NXDWvRo0Blb3NOGivfacXTs457iCEuC3Fm2hFawr9oyAAGW/s320/wENDY_PAGE_10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460272887546833554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Recently i did a little book using my favourite items from the Collections range.....i am really into vintage and this was one of the pages above that i did.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBgzJCfmI2VYMTmgq1-tDXJD1JtN8zZ4UhNQyQP2f9W-8aHa48C4Hw2rws77iqQokbuO1Byz5MDPuYbs6CIlvm-MPHz4i1El1g3_W9bCUUNSmfRO5TDngch3akQl5e3Cvxe_Nj5CAcsTH/s1600/Wendy_Micro.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBgzJCfmI2VYMTmgq1-tDXJD1JtN8zZ4UhNQyQP2f9W-8aHa48C4Hw2rws77iqQokbuO1Byz5MDPuYbs6CIlvm-MPHz4i1El1g3_W9bCUUNSmfRO5TDngch3akQl5e3Cvxe_Nj5CAcsTH/s320/Wendy_Micro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460268911989513730" border="0" /></a><br />A very small accordian book i did.....i love working with things that are small as it is a challenge to get it looking just right.....I am lucky to work in a scrapbooking paperart shop....did i say work .....actually its more like fun everyday being creative.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXZacKQbHBTjapax_gFUCNqQs3TaIgEBweQadQjiow5AfTFFTiihMyY2EDTjY8pu-nocfPksfOUEHxWjeiYQMLiHinlFWbwUPWaF-v4LmAk73X2Wnj38XHOnpX9p1UJCTt_tYlNztLQk6/s1600/Wendy_aCCORDION.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 157px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXZacKQbHBTjapax_gFUCNqQs3TaIgEBweQadQjiow5AfTFFTiihMyY2EDTjY8pu-nocfPksfOUEHxWjeiYQMLiHinlFWbwUPWaF-v4LmAk73X2Wnj38XHOnpX9p1UJCTt_tYlNztLQk6/s320/Wendy_aCCORDION.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460268906757153362" border="0" /></a><br />A slightly bigger accordian book......these are preprinted photos but of course as i tell everyone you can use your own family photos as well.....but not the originals!!! take copies and use them and then give to a family member as a gift......these little books don't just have to be done in the vintage style either you can use brights and use fun pictures of your own children......nothing is hard when you know how.....and what a thrill to receive one of these little booklets as a gift......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvrOG8_iSOd_qUNtsAvYSVtn_fY10vRsD17uwolfcKxI8JBQlE0XOrT-UWswRvwWDB5p-Et9K2KXk2rTF9CaXCOQx5eTQOBOtrc-247DlfIOocPmH9wSFV7aikl8Q8mKQuYlaIN2BODfH/s1600/atcs+for+magazine.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvrOG8_iSOd_qUNtsAvYSVtn_fY10vRsD17uwolfcKxI8JBQlE0XOrT-UWswRvwWDB5p-Et9K2KXk2rTF9CaXCOQx5eTQOBOtrc-247DlfIOocPmH9wSFV7aikl8Q8mKQuYlaIN2BODfH/s320/atcs+for+magazine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460268905276922642" border="0" /></a><br />This is a collection of atcs which stand for artist trading cards usually they are made to do as swaps and i have hosted swaps with people in England, Australia, USA, Denmark and of course New Zealand....these are todays version of the bubble gum cards that kids used to swap....they are the size of a playing card and are a challenge to do artwork on them....there are now swaps with inches which are an inch square.....i think when you are creative you are always challenging yourself to do better and to come up with new ideas......i love to create and am at present doing an altered book on my new grand daughter.......<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Art is a microscope which the artist fixes on the secrets of his soul and shows to other people these secrets which are common to all........Leo Tolstoy<br /><br />Be aware of wonder, live a balanced life, learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some....(unknown)<br /></span>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-33026170113254363932010-04-09T21:38:00.001-07:002010-04-09T22:04:50.044-07:00Kindness and LoveRecently i came across this little article in a local paper.......it did not say who it was written by ..... but being a lover of words i thought what it had to say was so very true...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgloufB8b9im0QxO-Qb-w-w3cQWj-wWCjC90Q4NoA46xZCRwAkBUCJZ4SkiHlFaizLlaGSXoyTVf2qiFRE5xHhq_1HAlzfNVn4WQtcr7UQFs2Rnnb7DVnih55B0C_yG7WYAoAjPY0cb9FMe/s1600/beautiful-pink-flower-green-vase.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgloufB8b9im0QxO-Qb-w-w3cQWj-wWCjC90Q4NoA46xZCRwAkBUCJZ4SkiHlFaizLlaGSXoyTVf2qiFRE5xHhq_1HAlzfNVn4WQtcr7UQFs2Rnnb7DVnih55B0C_yG7WYAoAjPY0cb9FMe/s320/beautiful-pink-flower-green-vase.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458365590519032386" border="0" /></a><br />Remember there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.<br /><br />Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.<br /><br />He who feels no compassion will become insane.<br /><br />What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUUEkWpmuq1vjGNZlqpaC0wRnMEUjwgJNdAnYpAt7tTZFMwek8VJdtuyv55IBEtzRzv45Avj5oS9ltbJeqvRuhkld-RMuydv9rx1AFoa9htN0mSR1Ta-VMz8ORbE5jg1d3xcFv7Agk8ac/s1600/beautiful-wedding-flowers-white-rose-bouquet-photo.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUUEkWpmuq1vjGNZlqpaC0wRnMEUjwgJNdAnYpAt7tTZFMwek8VJdtuyv55IBEtzRzv45Avj5oS9ltbJeqvRuhkld-RMuydv9rx1AFoa9htN0mSR1Ta-VMz8ORbE5jg1d3xcFv7Agk8ac/s320/beautiful-wedding-flowers-white-rose-bouquet-photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458365579715265378" border="0" /></a>Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestation of strength and resolutions.<br /><br />One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind.<br /><br />Constant kindness can accomplish much, as the sun melts, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyYWlZHkmakjuIyjQY0wWsk3S2zyHuheU6k-HSzmPlaZdKMJzgaEN6knosmQoCIpRiKwy4d8g71sP0e43tWwIkAUR3_txVhTm3PSCop89c7EtbntJGPdDKruhZ6_ID9mdb2KtdGvUFvQd/s1600/most-beautiful-white-roses-photo.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyYWlZHkmakjuIyjQY0wWsk3S2zyHuheU6k-HSzmPlaZdKMJzgaEN6knosmQoCIpRiKwy4d8g71sP0e43tWwIkAUR3_txVhTm3PSCop89c7EtbntJGPdDKruhZ6_ID9mdb2KtdGvUFvQd/s320/most-beautiful-white-roses-photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458365574647539330" border="0" /></a><br />How delightful is the company of generous people, who overlook trifles and keep their minds instinctively fixed on whatever is good and positive in the world around them.<br /><br />How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.<br /><br />Don't wait for a funeral to pay a compliment. You may not make it in time.<br /><br />You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEfHqprMOZ0lSwf3a3CjlKcNJpE4AAUrhg2EI3qk-W-sVle1LSKz-vLLwSo1eHT4BnRX5w1W20oGHevfJFkERnjZ_-Q6hAAiFXuu-Yqpo_NkganSA_4NJty_MtwzcHxa7xksOkDUFKj5G/s1600/100_0664.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEfHqprMOZ0lSwf3a3CjlKcNJpE4AAUrhg2EI3qk-W-sVle1LSKz-vLLwSo1eHT4BnRX5w1W20oGHevfJFkERnjZ_-Q6hAAiFXuu-Yqpo_NkganSA_4NJty_MtwzcHxa7xksOkDUFKj5G/s320/100_0664.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458365567893360578" border="0" /></a><br />Wise words indeed, often we think kindly of someone or something they have done but we never actually tell them........remember my first post about what i wanted this blog to bring to people......it read......they may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel and this is what kindness does to people ......ripples travel the world....... be kind to someone today and never look for what we can receive when we help someone, because we receive by the gift in our soul of how we feel when we give and that is something we want to keep and by coincidence that is what we just gave away...layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-40240107761257886662010-04-08T03:36:00.000-07:002010-04-08T04:22:20.870-07:00The Land of The Long White Cloud<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMgdQrFunpBjzFCo-nRBpU4A95Osmcwv-LXwHLWR2Kjm5oNROjuS1RC7yBCm8gu7IVI1hARKL1zbNyI78Ru_7AK7L6KGGsjs9o4avDyXj5atDQG6WOPIhLbyKmSMul0YeChS8lhvjb9ac/s1600/100_3314.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMgdQrFunpBjzFCo-nRBpU4A95Osmcwv-LXwHLWR2Kjm5oNROjuS1RC7yBCm8gu7IVI1hARKL1zbNyI78Ru_7AK7L6KGGsjs9o4avDyXj5atDQG6WOPIhLbyKmSMul0YeChS8lhvjb9ac/s320/100_3314.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457725359367324818" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zMMJooOzyQVpkuYH3L4i5K_IwW7JZw4SMtLdMGbMzRDs_XkkU4qviD8IzS-OGduAU066Dz89aREZLRYjeNH1clR7qdnNyQupFyrd8GThenj_XQ9BRXEzPE0n2FLjvfWicaBP4-DRaALm/s1600/100_3315.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zMMJooOzyQVpkuYH3L4i5K_IwW7JZw4SMtLdMGbMzRDs_XkkU4qviD8IzS-OGduAU066Dz89aREZLRYjeNH1clR7qdnNyQupFyrd8GThenj_XQ9BRXEzPE0n2FLjvfWicaBP4-DRaALm/s320/100_3315.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457725355154124482" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYx0currSJf1-Rbe7OgieBzYKrbz4illE9r67_K1iPglpSm94FiLo5QYyH8Bbt5dyECgaN71QRfuqsR1PLJuxJ9vVG9bsxhUd2u9tT1PWZWw6w-gPtapFfZNS4IAoIoiNlArWEZNZz5zY/s1600/100_3316.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYx0currSJf1-Rbe7OgieBzYKrbz4illE9r67_K1iPglpSm94FiLo5QYyH8Bbt5dyECgaN71QRfuqsR1PLJuxJ9vVG9bsxhUd2u9tT1PWZWw6w-gPtapFfZNS4IAoIoiNlArWEZNZz5zY/s320/100_3316.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457725351494142114" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYb5BBl2KqAa-PgfxrwldxSiJyaA7cg6vO6eR9VbIEABuqYpeolPVHne4nZzWuoYUxPAqkLo_s5S6-89GEsBtMBWpYQ0g9nErBe7tnnycItuKYrjVAYzAemttb5aeVQ6m7ffKo3oy9Rv6/s1600/100_3317.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYb5BBl2KqAa-PgfxrwldxSiJyaA7cg6vO6eR9VbIEABuqYpeolPVHne4nZzWuoYUxPAqkLo_s5S6-89GEsBtMBWpYQ0g9nErBe7tnnycItuKYrjVAYzAemttb5aeVQ6m7ffKo3oy9Rv6/s320/100_3317.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457725344028950034" /></a><br />The cloud were amazing as we travelled back from our favourite place the mount at easter weekend......big thick fluffy clouds that looked like huge balls of cotton wool were everywhere it almost felt like you could reach out and touch them.......<br />One of my favourite pastimes as a child was laying back in the long cool green grass gazing up at clouds and looking for pictures in them.....often you would see faces and shapes, sometimes they would sweep past you and other times they just sat there......i often wonder if i was on top of the clouds and jumped in would i sink to the bottom or spring to the top....<br />New Zealand is known as The Land of The Long White cloud and on this day i could see why......there was many of those white clouds amongst the blue of the sky and even some dark ones forming in there too.....aren;t the shapes fascinating.....take time out oneday and lay in the grass and gaze up and see what you can find.....<br /><br /><br />Above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don;t believe in magic will never find it.....(unknown)layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-4482988102609865652010-03-26T19:53:00.001-07:002010-03-26T20:32:57.491-07:00Home to me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDUbJoQt_FJabCpyzKv6yDRFUdd37hcOI5K28CsyY6s3XcJmGv-W8rxz8PPmyRxu5tuTMy7k8qFGJWJ7uFA7HxpjZHz2v-hg2Ch1R3edk2bq5MyC2xcQfkyXa8SPyl2bm9lgLv6QwnU-ew/s1600/100_3119.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDUbJoQt_FJabCpyzKv6yDRFUdd37hcOI5K28CsyY6s3XcJmGv-W8rxz8PPmyRxu5tuTMy7k8qFGJWJ7uFA7HxpjZHz2v-hg2Ch1R3edk2bq5MyC2xcQfkyXa8SPyl2bm9lgLv6QwnU-ew/s320/100_3119.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453143422313618386" border="0" /></a>Home to me is somewhere i can relax and read a book.......i love books and magazines about interiors, gardens and homes......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkO43iwv2wCAeIChgkkZnnuVxC213utgo8jFB3roRzGzyQcUiTTG4zz5bcQDJAqr1A3GELmVX0tnXWO94grCeF-NO4GL7qyLOfycQjARkdGtaCRoqbIJJu2Jk6WVCsryGYngMiLR7iEAW1/s1600/100_3261-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkO43iwv2wCAeIChgkkZnnuVxC213utgo8jFB3roRzGzyQcUiTTG4zz5bcQDJAqr1A3GELmVX0tnXWO94grCeF-NO4GL7qyLOfycQjARkdGtaCRoqbIJJu2Jk6WVCsryGYngMiLR7iEAW1/s320/100_3261-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453143417617651314" border="0" /></a><br />I love flowers in the home, nothing gives me greater joy than to pick a bunch of fresh flowers out of my garden and bring them inside....they instantly brighten a room, as we come into autumn the hydrangeas are changing colours and i love them like this....the ones above are originally white and this is the colour they change to.....white is my favourite colour in flowers....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNyMZpYlY77MAX8dK0uS5FSYPJzR5MmiG5I3tW92F6RZWBX58U6umaWdbfNNoEmFw_XinDh9VocPea-0sUfz16_LrSgwyAFdQIpmaDmRFeJPXDJybFLRBCXhU2ps0A3IB03gGE48Zm8TY/s1600/100_3262-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNyMZpYlY77MAX8dK0uS5FSYPJzR5MmiG5I3tW92F6RZWBX58U6umaWdbfNNoEmFw_XinDh9VocPea-0sUfz16_LrSgwyAFdQIpmaDmRFeJPXDJybFLRBCXhU2ps0A3IB03gGE48Zm8TY/s320/100_3262-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453143413192910434" border="0" /></a><br />These blue hydrangeas also started out as white and now they are blue........isn't nature amazing!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlrvh5KbBFgPvxFLJ4bLCS-c-CIK85j-6fRw9hF1B6F5sj6l7vHSwVKzbLa2qBcz3JXq0Qz3PRzSROgBPTF0sOfDDrilsAC0Ci569gxv6cMMe6L3h2witi14hKAJIDTyVdSLDgx93eEZw/s1600/100_3263-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlrvh5KbBFgPvxFLJ4bLCS-c-CIK85j-6fRw9hF1B6F5sj6l7vHSwVKzbLa2qBcz3JXq0Qz3PRzSROgBPTF0sOfDDrilsAC0Ci569gxv6cMMe6L3h2witi14hKAJIDTyVdSLDgx93eEZw/s320/100_3263-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453143403440283538" border="0" /></a><br />Collections on my desk.....where do i write may you ask welllll actually i have another desk as well.......i love surrounding myself with unusual objects and things i am attracted to.....i love glass cloches and this one in front has a smaller one inside and inside this one is a birds nest.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2hW59R1DjLrDnwiGrfsAPzKGyzCc5oYmEdaz5v4x_7cSUfnlrsWRXFM1wI8qoA4mRE3RDj5QfyLr-gVMWPWE8MbyefHBMk8dv6kZiseKuu0kxm8NpbrxMWBPr3tqCN5f4owUeJLdd5ZD/s1600/100_3264-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2hW59R1DjLrDnwiGrfsAPzKGyzCc5oYmEdaz5v4x_7cSUfnlrsWRXFM1wI8qoA4mRE3RDj5QfyLr-gVMWPWE8MbyefHBMk8dv6kZiseKuu0kxm8NpbrxMWBPr3tqCN5f4owUeJLdd5ZD/s320/100_3264-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453143399970525650" border="0" /></a><br />I have collected old china for a number of years in fact this is the first thing i ever started with and i love to put old plates on the wall....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkk48NAWCHq397NFXC-e-Uo1Jn7UkFYcWFB5Lm1lp_ph-hs6eJFUnFr19zJ8SmHk5iUtwbxEPseyb3QI_v2rMhrAy-B4FyXVAHdRkfq6sgbHvlzdm5GochSjsGO9iAFr9O6W_35Ri2Icf/s1600/100_3267-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkk48NAWCHq397NFXC-e-Uo1Jn7UkFYcWFB5Lm1lp_ph-hs6eJFUnFr19zJ8SmHk5iUtwbxEPseyb3QI_v2rMhrAy-B4FyXVAHdRkfq6sgbHvlzdm5GochSjsGO9iAFr9O6W_35Ri2Icf/s320/100_3267-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142752812220706" border="0" /></a><br />I love birds nests and have a whole collection of them......this one here is made out of branches of an old silver birch tree .... i love the rawness of it.....and the egg i am not sure if that is real.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Xhe1-e-3N2ZzB41jpNLm25hk7SbvMtdn47s0LvqxRR0CaOeRRUZ_37uavZ4LdailOaek0w8cv5S6qr4Q3pEQtXBqUVD5k7cj7R1iMN3Lfzxe5J6q60V7UXPC_WGVyhx6x2zBM1bLn46F/s1600/100_3270-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Xhe1-e-3N2ZzB41jpNLm25hk7SbvMtdn47s0LvqxRR0CaOeRRUZ_37uavZ4LdailOaek0w8cv5S6qr4Q3pEQtXBqUVD5k7cj7R1iMN3Lfzxe5J6q60V7UXPC_WGVyhx6x2zBM1bLn46F/s320/100_3270-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142749345971394" border="0" /></a><br />I love reflections through mirrors......if you look closely you will see the blue hydrangeas in the mirror.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilT_vOWogjmyaLXTPq84AgymQVq9gvow0SPUdeZIfgEoRFYhRm2bOvo0HL6laPehLpt4qQOsIUJ9bmbi8t7rl7LuK6iXbbMZchzCJ28bRZXR-qqW9otNaeqLPPgf_EjQABfYHKaf7Oig-1/s1600/100_3272-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilT_vOWogjmyaLXTPq84AgymQVq9gvow0SPUdeZIfgEoRFYhRm2bOvo0HL6laPehLpt4qQOsIUJ9bmbi8t7rl7LuK6iXbbMZchzCJ28bRZXR-qqW9otNaeqLPPgf_EjQABfYHKaf7Oig-1/s320/100_3272-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142745023119026" border="0" /></a><br />On the bed is pillows made from old lace and antique lace....some i made myself and some i brought......this is the girlie side of me!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iIxsuwGcfsKHCs_6fGLY-wmcaBMVZtQYbRJtjtQY2_o88HjkWlmYhA-iTB4NLvRgItpOYlDC8YBHjvvRs3vmIsc125pNEx-hVx__xm8t1YgDE1TOvNRtMqhPEs_wstI2mWxFhbUckAQX/s1600/100_3276-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iIxsuwGcfsKHCs_6fGLY-wmcaBMVZtQYbRJtjtQY2_o88HjkWlmYhA-iTB4NLvRgItpOYlDC8YBHjvvRs3vmIsc125pNEx-hVx__xm8t1YgDE1TOvNRtMqhPEs_wstI2mWxFhbUckAQX/s320/100_3276-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142738830560322" border="0" /></a><br />These two fellows are telling each other a secret.......these bears have been handmade by a bear artist.....i love their size and the way you can get them to show expression.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVZpjCkBFIjH89C3HellbEGlqGONZKq7fKU8P2yqSzerwPXIq9Fkw9OKCmt7gOvtDgsA8gdW_Pl9EjfJWTzIEGHR5aeVX-5RUjjeNqJ6g4rkp2WmYnhs2Bmrf9AjBD8-24yEupFcOyVCx/s1600/100_3277-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVZpjCkBFIjH89C3HellbEGlqGONZKq7fKU8P2yqSzerwPXIq9Fkw9OKCmt7gOvtDgsA8gdW_Pl9EjfJWTzIEGHR5aeVX-5RUjjeNqJ6g4rkp2WmYnhs2Bmrf9AjBD8-24yEupFcOyVCx/s320/100_3277-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142730843420530" border="0" /></a><br />My dressing table showing another view of the bed .....there is those reflections in the mirror again.......this is an old oak wing mirrored dressing table and when i brought it the stain was almost black....i stripped it down in our lounge during the evenings because we didn;t have a garage you can imagine my horror when i came in the lounge the next morning and saw all the dust that had settled everywhere!!! we live and we learn!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4fOyopENxb-A94HPtZTl1mxN95y-NcFkAa9GPHstGdDNA6niTaS5OKREmUrk9Gbd97FfmL2UX8I24HCQNihq0a-eZV1qlRLyjKDvYqO1DKImaF-Xj1tS0fkB-dOU3unZlXfLv6M0Q6c6/s1600/100_3278-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4fOyopENxb-A94HPtZTl1mxN95y-NcFkAa9GPHstGdDNA6niTaS5OKREmUrk9Gbd97FfmL2UX8I24HCQNihq0a-eZV1qlRLyjKDvYqO1DKImaF-Xj1tS0fkB-dOU3unZlXfLv6M0Q6c6/s320/100_3278-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142041980942034" border="0" /></a><br />My daughters rocking chair......she is now a young adult with a daughter of her own and will soon take this chair to have in her daughters room.....if you look closely you will see on the seat scratches....to me this is history because when she was little she had to actually climb up onto the chair to get on and these scratches are from her shoes, her as a young child is brought all back to me in flashes when i look upon this chair......some would look at this and want to sand it down but to me that is the memories of her life......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVICUTIjkMt61mygX5nKKatfwgi5A6kWeUJl1QKyKJPpcVHNiFN2TPqFRQlukbcPt5YGvN-V2vCoffqE49qPRYWu4_ZuA7ymFqKTdEUtfM2wdjEArZFQU9juONRMV2SXenrPF0xH_B9SG/s1600/100_3281-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVICUTIjkMt61mygX5nKKatfwgi5A6kWeUJl1QKyKJPpcVHNiFN2TPqFRQlukbcPt5YGvN-V2vCoffqE49qPRYWu4_ZuA7ymFqKTdEUtfM2wdjEArZFQU9juONRMV2SXenrPF0xH_B9SG/s320/100_3281-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142035744109730" border="0" /></a><br />The dining room with the baltic pine dresser which has my collection of old and new china and interesting bits and pieces....beside it is a fruit picking ladder made by the husband of my friend whose house i showed you in the beginning.....he made all sorts of furniture and sold it......he was a very clever man.....and is sadly missed by many ...... for his talent and for the wonderful person he was.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0g5F022CAyegh1S9sK2BTqKq63h6C5LPU4TUEpCftV46v1wBL7a1sH23awDpbaE_8rAKqLkVMc28K1fCxUo2mq9cJ5Gf03NDlAalWcOAZhKvLoknw5y4CcTO4ohHqMmatJIcE3ftC-EOb/s1600/100_3282-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0g5F022CAyegh1S9sK2BTqKq63h6C5LPU4TUEpCftV46v1wBL7a1sH23awDpbaE_8rAKqLkVMc28K1fCxUo2mq9cJ5Gf03NDlAalWcOAZhKvLoknw5y4CcTO4ohHqMmatJIcE3ftC-EOb/s320/100_3282-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142032293060130" border="0" /></a><br />Another view and again those hydrangeas this time they have faded out to white with a hint of green in them......if you leave them in the water until the water is gone they will actually dry and you can use them as dried flowers.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbUAEMtKAjgZM5b6V_vWYFQZsUFbjni5E5mnimccr7sR2_ptnTo4kzVhB8u3MsDRT6ecGHQEneAnmdwvEYFJVGwhfah6dE628UufDvx7ZCuhaV_JWr8Mvh6d86C5d_glZM9P_y0GwESe_/s1600/100_3286-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbUAEMtKAjgZM5b6V_vWYFQZsUFbjni5E5mnimccr7sR2_ptnTo4kzVhB8u3MsDRT6ecGHQEneAnmdwvEYFJVGwhfah6dE628UufDvx7ZCuhaV_JWr8Mvh6d86C5d_glZM9P_y0GwESe_/s320/100_3286-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142022563281458" border="0" /></a><br />Yes i collected old baskets and have them above my cabinets in the kitchen....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95i4hyphenhyphenwhyphenhyphenEZDxJ95-vcZa9Ywd_nb1AzGj72FC1ZLbhTdiOqZTogYYNU2ze66xsjlSed2FrjVaT50ZdSWV7OMPbZvCDFYy4zoH7_E75udGGkd-ZWqd__kGIhKbvD0zySQxLct0iTtX9pwG/s1600/100_3287-1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95i4hyphenhyphenwhyphenhyphenEZDxJ95-vcZa9Ywd_nb1AzGj72FC1ZLbhTdiOqZTogYYNU2ze66xsjlSed2FrjVaT50ZdSWV7OMPbZvCDFYy4zoH7_E75udGGkd-ZWqd__kGIhKbvD0zySQxLct0iTtX9pwG/s320/100_3287-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453142020981694338" border="0" /></a><br />My newly covered wing chair with a slipcover.....i am so pleased how this turned out.....behind it is a old school cupboard which would have been used in a class room to hold the school books, it even has a number on it written in white paint...... it is one of my favourite pieces of furniture....<br /><br />Here is an extract by Alexandra Stoddard from her book called Creating a Beautiful Home.....<br />Perfection halts the creative process. It is the enemy of spontaneity and serendipity, surely two of the most glorious gifts of life.<br />There is too much emphasis on nit picking neatness on creating rooms that are nothing more than still lifes, but where is the living taking place?<br />We may celebrate the daily moments of life when we throw an extra log on a roaring fire, light a scented candle, open a window, move a chair over to the light and sip a glass of chardonnay, prepare a snack, read the paper, or write a letter with a fountain pen, but the soot, the scratches, the crumbs, the ring on the table the mess on the floor, the ink on the chintz, the wrinkles, the work these are all part of the romance of everyday living.<br /><br />Perfection on the other hand, chills the mystery and leaves us frozen in space. Perfectionists miss it all, i consider myself someone who likes things done right, but a broken glass or a scratch doesn't send me into depression.<br />A bed can be a beautiful still life when not in use but pillowcases do get wrinkled and yes ripped, my old pine writing desk has several ink stains on the surface, some from my own pens, without these my desk wouldn't have a soul.<br />It is in fact the untidiness and the clutter of our cozy messes that we make our presence felt and that after all is what homes are all about...layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1379794971168940474.post-25184534245175261522010-03-22T19:25:00.000-07:002010-03-22T19:40:46.027-07:00My Heart<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq90VyXeZNTo-Jy1o3SE4WVmxyOVPM4a845bV2QiFQ_3eTF3FA_T9lKnC7H4ctDs21u1j8RcR5loK4kJIPCLOI7_ZOmh5qF_HSoOGEi385-9z5G4kGlr8abES_GqrPo7QQ91w8dx7GcVMm/s1600-h/100_3117.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq90VyXeZNTo-Jy1o3SE4WVmxyOVPM4a845bV2QiFQ_3eTF3FA_T9lKnC7H4ctDs21u1j8RcR5loK4kJIPCLOI7_ZOmh5qF_HSoOGEi385-9z5G4kGlr8abES_GqrPo7QQ91w8dx7GcVMm/s320/100_3117.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451650181843767026" border="0" /></a><br />Today my <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">heart</span> is heavy and i feel like i need to build a sling for it made out of rope, there are small cracks and chips around the edge which is a sign of pain and suffering it has received, some cracks are deep some are tiny but they show i have lived a life, tiny bits unseen to the naked eye break off all the time and sometimes i want to put an iron cage around it but i think this would make it cold.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphH59vFxRvpKRq0RrtQltMlpi6hiBXY6MTcgJcCyLWXezYfF0pO7MkuL2tsm7STvZY-1vBEgdY9NFxSWVr1EqXkpSeUXB5JSwYXYiVttn87RKdUuqRkOUiKRsga4wrtb21mfN8OiGHbse/s1600-h/100_3108.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 68px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphH59vFxRvpKRq0RrtQltMlpi6hiBXY6MTcgJcCyLWXezYfF0pO7MkuL2tsm7STvZY-1vBEgdY9NFxSWVr1EqXkpSeUXB5JSwYXYiVttn87RKdUuqRkOUiKRsga4wrtb21mfN8OiGHbse/s320/100_3108.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451650177364914290" border="0" /></a>I store special things to me away inside its shelves, sometimes i want to open it wide to show all the good things stored inside but i am worried they will be afraid of the red instead of the joy within. I am afraid of being so open to everyone so feel safer knowing it is closed, that way i can show bits of it when i want to. I need to keep it safe and treat it well so cracks do not appear often, I nurture it with loving thoughts and actions.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBr6oPV0Bhiy2xyeWlWG06ijdoPlk3c6AxXfuvhppst7RdMMRkpAF2DlNVtIklI0ye_-xHYzGfKZhnU_rlnDjvovnsfIpJnZbC8ae0b-7JwejjSBUdM3dhgmw_czDifbvscVBgnn-11PNj/s1600-h/100_3111.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBr6oPV0Bhiy2xyeWlWG06ijdoPlk3c6AxXfuvhppst7RdMMRkpAF2DlNVtIklI0ye_-xHYzGfKZhnU_rlnDjvovnsfIpJnZbC8ae0b-7JwejjSBUdM3dhgmw_czDifbvscVBgnn-11PNj/s320/100_3111.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451650168979994210" border="0" /></a><br />If it were to break open all the good would come out and the bad would scurry in, some cracks have come close but in time they have healed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDHHri_LIJw4V7vPi_66lf6aF34U7biXsPOIbFlNK38W2c3DEJirpdC_JyGLmY9c00Ifbks2LFfoe7qDMhRK8oD44ITQUAaTfOkQBTQjhQClU2fOILo4zYMeeFV4zmpqmBkPo7wESmXJr/s1600-h/100_3115.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDHHri_LIJw4V7vPi_66lf6aF34U7biXsPOIbFlNK38W2c3DEJirpdC_JyGLmY9c00Ifbks2LFfoe7qDMhRK8oD44ITQUAaTfOkQBTQjhQClU2fOILo4zYMeeFV4zmpqmBkPo7wESmXJr/s320/100_3115.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451650158498783570" border="0" /></a><br />Family have the greatest storage area, it radiates and pumps my <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">heart</span> with strength and love and courage and joy and fulfilment and happiness. Hurt, pain and anger are locked away in a steel box with padlocks and chains.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlN8MxYw6FnBEdJmjM-RSfy_IUVVvGntVIELPu0kPUAokYUlh9Dfap_RqDfeDe9SRkbUT89t3R8zHRC4tgM8ALoztB_DB7Xm57_ULmjytYW0OTM9JU6B3Z7_mK0mg6YPoPF4sqC008vHk/s1600-h/100_3114.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 96px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlN8MxYw6FnBEdJmjM-RSfy_IUVVvGntVIELPu0kPUAokYUlh9Dfap_RqDfeDe9SRkbUT89t3R8zHRC4tgM8ALoztB_DB7Xm57_ULmjytYW0OTM9JU6B3Z7_mK0mg6YPoPF4sqC008vHk/s320/100_3114.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451650154668416114" border="0" /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></a><br />Today it is heavy, but it aches for people known and unknown, strange that, that it has the power to feel for things outside its control but that shows its compassion, I am hoping tomorrow it will feel lighter and joy will enter once again, it will feel smooth to the touch and glisten with love.....<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A friend is someone who knows the song in your <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">heart</span> and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words........unknown</span>layers of memoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00345847023815496088noreply@blogger.com0