Create Away

2008-12-31T06:45:00.014Z

THE FINAL DAY

for my 365 experience, thankyou everyone who has followed my year.

Also a big thankyou to all the lovely people who have left me some great comments.

XXX

********

31st December

My Way
"And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I’ll say it clear,
I’ll state my case, of which Im certain.

Ive lived a life thats full.
Ive traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried.
I’ve had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!"
- Frank Sinatra

Anna’s final posting for this 365 project:
May I take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you, for joining me in this incredible journey. It has been tough some days, and I admit not to making it each day, nor did I take only self portraits! But that's life. I still did it "My Way". I hope you had fun. I know many of you have had a really tough year, others have lost family members, and others have gained family members. A shout out to my inspirational slimmers, Kay and Lynne, to all the UK 365ers that I met back in October. To all the new friends I have met on Flickr, it has been a wonderful year for making new friends. I hope you will take the time to look back at your year in review, 52 layouts and a journal full of your words and thoughts for 2008.

My day one for this project was to be hidden behind the camera and feeling absolutely miserable. What a difference a year makes, even though this year has had many ups and downs I feel ready to cope with whatever 2009 throws at me.
***
"For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning."
~ T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding
********
30th December
"Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain.”
~ Charles Chaplin

Certainly laughing with Abbie during this summer traumas was the best medicine I could have.
***
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
~Victor Borge
********
29th December
"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world."
~ George Bernard Shaw
Me keeping warm and bright and proving that I have come out from under my hat when I wore it on the 9th January LOL.
***
“If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal.”
~ Norman Vincent Peale
********
28th December
Rest is not a matter of doing absolutely nothing. Rest is repair.
~ Daniel W. Josselyn

I certainly feel like putting my festive feet up today!
***
“The best of all medicines is resting and fasting”
~ Benjamin Franklin
Not much fasting going on in my house at the moment!!!
********
27th December
Things are beautiful if you love them.
~ Jean Anouilh

My new very mini vacuum cleaner, how cute is that?
***
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. ~William Morris
********
26th December
"May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!"
~ Author Unknown

A very happy and relaxed smile from Jules .
***
A smile is the beginning of peace.
~ Mother Teresa
********
25th December
"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know that Santa's on his way;
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother's child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly."

And so I'm offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
A very Merry Christmas to you."

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL

My Christmas day self portrait.
***
If I could have put it into words I would have written it down. But I couldn't, so I took a picture.
~ Anonymous
********
24th December
"The family is one of nature’s masterpieces."
~ George Santayana

Even though I used this second quote back in January it still says it all!
***
Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.
~ Author Unknown
********
23rd December

"Everyday is a cause for celebration."
~ Anonymous

Abbie and I are preparing for this week's Christmas festivities.
***
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.
~ Oprah Winfrey
********

2008-12-22T01:07:00.008Z

22nd December

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas."
~ Peg Bracken

I have been so lucky this year, my team on UK Scrappers decided to do a Secret Santa and yesterday we all got together on line and opened them. I had a brilliant selection of PINK goodies. People are so kind and generous, not only with the presents we all exchanged but with the support I have had from them through out the year.

***

“Anyone who believes that men are the equal of women has never seen a man trying to wrap a Christmas present”
~ Anon
********
21stDecember
"The earth has grown old with its burden of care But at Christmas it always is young, The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair And its soul full of music breaks the air, When the song of angels is sung."
~ Phillips Brooks (1835-93), American Episcopal bishop, wrote 'O Little Town of Bethlehem'.

I could not resist taking this photo of a shop window display that I saw whilst out this week! All these choristers were made by local children.
***
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!”
~ Elf
********
20th December
"May peace be more than a season, may it be a way of life"
- Unknown

Not too peaceful at the moment with all the Christmas preparations. But it is always a good idea to take some time out in the run up to Christmas and relax.
***
“May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!” ~Author Unknown
********
19th December
"A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; It makes no noise at all, But softly gives itself away; While quite unselfish, it grows small."
~ Eva K Logue

Candle light really does mellow the mood of a room.
***
Remembrance, like a candle...burns brightest at Christmas Time.
- Charles Dickens
********
18th December
"There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child"
~ Erma Bombeck
Reflect on Christmas past:

I have had many happy Christmas memories, however, when I come to reflect on Christmas’s past I can not help but remember that my Mum died the on 21st December when I was 5 years old and my Dad died on 14th December last year.
This photo is one that I took on my many trips to London last Christmas whilst sorting out my Dad's affairs and funeral.
This Christmas is going to be so different.
***
When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness." ~Bob Hope
********
17th December
"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."
~ Norman Vincent Peale

The lights at Christmas are so pretty and following Anna’s lead today I have had fun with playing with my camera today to achieve some Bokeh effects with my Christmas tree lights.
***
Christmas is not in tinsel and lights and outward show. The secret lies in an inner glow. It's lighting a fire inside the heart. Good will and joy a vital part. It's higher thought and a greater plan. It's glorious dream in the soul of man.
~ Wilfred A. Peterson, The Art of Living
********
16th December
"There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions."
~ Bill McKibben
Do you have any Christmas traditions?

Abbie has started a tradition all of her own by making 2 special tree decorations every year.
***
Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. ~Charles Schulz
********

2008-12-15T08:28:00.008Z

15th December
"I'm dreaming of a "---" Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know"
- Bing Crosby
What are you dreaming of this Christmas?

Not sure what my dreams are except rest and relaxation with the family.
I am starting to get in the festive mood today, as Abbie’s school is putting on a Dickensian Christmas play.
***
Remember
This December,
That love weighs more than gold!
~ Josephine Dodge
********
14th December
"Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)
There's a party goin' on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you"
~ Kool and the Gang
What are you celebrating today?

Last Friday Jules passed her Viva. After 7 years of hard work she will be Dr. instead of Ms. That is certainly something for the family to celebrate. No recent photo but this one from July will have to do until Jules comes home for Christmas.
***
“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.”
~ Napoleon Hill
********
13th December
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
'Tis the season to be jolly
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Don we now our gay apparel"
Is your house all ready for Christmas?

The house might ready but I am not!
Abbie and Colin have managed to set up our little village. Just looking in the shop windows makes you want to be there!!!
***
Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles.
~ Author Unknown
********
12th December
"Oh I'm the happiest Christmas tree
Look how pretty they dressed me
Oh lucky lucky me

I got shiny bells the jingle
And tiny lights that tingle
Whenever anyone passes by
I blink my lights and wink my eye!"

I always dread is turning on of the Christmas lights for the first time. Luckily it only took me half an hour this year to check them and get them all working.
***
Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.
~ Larry Wilde,
********
11th December
"It's the most wonderful time of the year.
With the kids jingle belling,
and everyone telling you,
"Be of good cheer,"
It's the most wonderful time of the year."

The shops have been getting ready for Christmas since September but I think that Christmas starts in December and not before.
***
From a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist it would be necessary to invent it.
~ Katharine Whitehorn
********
10th December
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Toys in ev'ry store,
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door."

Just as well this is not a real candy cane, all that sugar would not be good for the waistline and it is difficult enough at this time of year trying to loose weight as it is!
***
Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.
~ Dale Evans
********
9th December
Christmas is just around the corner, this week lets get inspired by Christmas music!
The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown:
~ The Holly and the Ivy

Decorated holly and ivy always takes me back to my primary school days when every year we made table decorations to take home. Getting messy with glitter was as much fun then as it is now!
***
Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money.
~Author Unknown
********

2008-12-08T09:39:00.016Z

8th December
For fast-acting relief try slowing down. -Lily Tomlin
At this time of the year, we are all guilty of having so much to do and not enough time.Just taking enough time out to take a self portrait today.
***
“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” ~ Diogenes Laetius
********
7th December
There comes a time when you roll up your sleeves and put yourself at the top of your commitment list.
~ Marian Wright Edelman

Sue and Abbie took part in this years Santa fun run alongside another 998 Santa’s committed to helping others.
I am so proud of them both and especially after Abbie has suffered this week with pain in her knees.
***
"An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.”
~ Mae West
********
6th December
These are the magic years…and therefore magic days…and therefore magic moments.
~ Anonymous

Just one of the magical moments from a wonderful Christmas evening spent with friends.
Thank you, Sandie, for giving us all such a magical evening.
***
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
- Norman Vincent Peale
********
5th December
"Let us pause to warm both our hands before the fire of life"
~ Walter Landor

No fire but plenty of warmth from my breath!
***
If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.
~ Lucy Larcom
********
4th December
"If cold December gave you birth, The month of snow and ice and mirth, Place on you hand a Turquoise blue, Success will bless whate'er you do."
~ Anon

A selection of the troll beads I have been given, each one special.
***
The idea of linking color and behavior is reasonable enough. Anyone who has ever felt blue, seen red, blacked out, or turned green knows we're prone to make emotional associations with different shades.
~ Winifred Gallagher
********
3rd December
“How like a winter hath my absence been. From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen, What old December's bareness everywhere!"
~ William Shakespeare

Oxford has many wonderful sights and this is just one of them at the moment.
***
When the bold branches bid farewell to rainbow leaves -Welcome wool sweaters.~ B. Cybrill
********
2nd December
“How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”
~ Dr. Seuss
The end of the year is nigh, our 365 journey is coming to an end, what has changed since June till now?

I have got my health back.
***
Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.
~ John Archibald Wheeler
********

2008-12-01T11:11:00.007Z

1st December
Embarrassment
~ Embarrassment is an emotional state experienced upon having a socially or professionally unacceptable act or condition witnessed by or revealed to others.

At the beginning of this project I was too embarrassed to put a lot of self portraits on my blog.
I must have come a long way because this week I am in every photo!
***
“Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure.”
~ Tony Benn
********
30th November
Love, loving
~ Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection.

We just love this little girl so much.
She is the light in our lives and our hope for the future.
***
"Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old."
~ Author: Mary H. Waldrip
********
29th November
Cry/crying
~ The term crying most commonly refers to the act of shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans
Sometimes I feel like crying but then I remember all that I have to be happy about.

Crying is something I usually do in solitude unless of course I am watching a soppy film
And then I can sniff for England!!
***
The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.
~ John Vance Cheney
********
28th November
Anger, angry
~ Anger is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage.

I try not to get angry or show anger, however when I do, watch out!!!
***
For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. ~Author Unknown
********
27th November
Laughter/laughing
~ Laughter is an audible expression, or appearance of merriment or happiness, or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure.

With apologies to my family BUT I thought this one might make you laugh
***
“Her hat is a creation that will never go out of style; it will just look ridiculous year after year.”
~ Fred Allen
********
26th November
Sad/Sadness
~ Sadness is an emotion characterized by feelings of disadvantage, loss, and helplessness. When sad, people often become quiet, less energetic, and withdrawn. Sadness is considered to be the opposite of happiness.

No chocolate for me whilst ‘doing’ the slimming world diet!
***
Sadness flies away on the wings of time.
~ Jean de La Fontaine
********
25th November
We are on the home stretch now, with only a few weeks left, before our year long project is completed.
This week we are going to look at our emotions.
Happiness/Happy
~ Happiness is an emotion associated with feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense joy

A very content me.
***
Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more.
~ Brother David Steindl-Rast
********

2008-11-24T16:09:00.012Z

24th November
"If you woke up this morning, it's time to celebrate!"
~ Joe Takash

Here is my she-roe of the moment
Abbie is doing so well coping with her physio and exercises.
***
How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
~ Maya Angelou
********
23rd November
"A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled.”
~ Plutarch (46-137), historian, biographer, essayist

My mind certainly needs some kindling!
***
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
~ William Shakespeare
********
22nd November
"Baby it's cold outside"
~ Dean Martin

It was certainly cold here when I got up this morning.
***
Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating;
there is no such thing as bad weather just different kinds of good weather.
~ John Ruskin
********
21st November
"There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. ‘Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night’s lodging. ‘Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light. ”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82), philosopher, poet, essayist

Anna took this portrait of me at our 365 retreat. She managed to smooth out the wrinkles and do some beautifying. Thankyou Anna
X
***
A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.
Denis Waitley
********
20th November
Live your life from your heart. Share from your heart. And your story will touch and heal people's souls."
~ Melody Beattie; author, journalist.

I like to think I live my life from the heart.
***
“Sharing is loving.”
There is no joy in possession without sharing.
~ Erasmo da Rotterdam
********
19th November
"Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.”
~ Henry Clay (1777-1852), politician and orator

There is always a warm welcome at our front door.
***
“All doors open to courtesy”
~ Thomas Fuller
********
18th November
"Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses."
~ Ann Landers (1918-2002); advice columnist

Over 40 years into our life together and still counting.
***
“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”
~ Winnie the Pooh
********

2008-11-17T17:49:00.011Z

17th November
"Where are You?"
-Theme tune from Moon Raker

I am in a happy place.
***
"No matter where you go, there you are"
~ Buckaroo Banzai
********
16th November
"Casino Royale"
- Daniel Craig 2006

Colin is teaching Abbie to play Rummy.
***
“Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.”
~ Jawaharlal Nehru
********
15th November
"For Your Eyes Only"
-Roger Moore 1981

A visit to friend in hospital today and she was so pleased with the book I gave her
Definitely for her eyes only!
***
A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that you can take it to bed with you.”
~ Daniel J. Boorstin
********
14th November
"Tomorrow Never Dies"
-Pierce Brosman 1997

Abbie fills our life with pleasure.
***
“We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.”
~ Stacia Tauscher
********
13th November
"Never Say Never Again"
Sean Connery – 1983

There are some places I have visited that I would like to think I would return too.
***
Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that never was before and never will be again.
~ Pablo Casals (1876 - 1973)
********
12th November
"Goldfinger"
Sean Connery – 1964

This is the last golden bloom, in my garden this year.
***
“An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold”
~Chinese Proverb
********
11th November
This week, (thanks to a fellow 365er, Sarah,) we are going to be inspired by James Bond Films!
***
"Diamonds are Forever"
Sean Connery – 1971

Especially if you don’t loose them!
***
“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure”
~ Peter Marshall
********

2008-11-10T09:00:00.018Z

10th November
"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward."
-Spanish proverb

After a busy but fun filled weekend, I have been editing some of my photos and I just love this one of Anna..
Definitely beautiful.
***
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. ~ Ovid Roman poet

********
9th November
Today is Remembrance Sunday here in the UK. A time to remember all those lost in wars over the years. We show our respect by wearing a red poppy, and 2 minutes silence at
11am.
Take time today to remember someone, something important.

My grandad.
********
8th November
As man draws nearer to the stars, why should he not also draw nearer to his neighbour?”
~ Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), 36th U.S. president

Here is Anna's group photo for the day!

I have also been busy with my camera but some of my 365er friends did not want to be drawn nearer !!!!
***
If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair. ~ Samuel Johnson

********
7th November
"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."
~ Coco Chanel

Pearls always make me feel fabulous and classy.

***
I don't consider myself a goody-goody, but I like to be perceived as classy. ~ Kristen Johnston

********
6th November
Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.
~ Maya Angelou

We love to look after Abbie and I think she likes how we do it.
***
"If you find it in your heart to care for someone else, you will have succeeded."
~ Maya Angelou

********
5th November
"No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds - November!"
-Thomas Hood
but full of colour! I love autumn. Show me autumn in your life today

My day for a new hair cut and new autumnal colours.
***
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~ Albert Camus
********
4th November
"Happiness is the best facelift." -
Diana Krall, quoting Joni Mitchell

My face needs all the help it can get these days so I had better smile a lot.
***
The world always looks brighter from behind a smile. ~ Author Unknown

********

2008-11-03T13:17:00.018Z

3rd November
Is it the Monday morning blues for you, or the start of a fresh new week of anticipation? * Who – Colin and Abbie.
* What - Arriving home from school
* When - This afternoon.
* Where – By the front door.
* Why – Abbie comes to us after school on a Monday, Colin goes up to school to meet her.
***

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
~ Maria Robinson
********
2nd November
Sunday,
A day of rest. I will be teaching today, what will you get up to? * Who – Me – a photo taken for my blog in May.
* What - Making 16 4”x 4” pages all day for a 365 retreat.
* When - Today.
* Where – In my craft room.
* Why – Steph a fellow 365 er has made us all albums to use.
We are all doing pages to swap so that we have a complete album of everyone at the retreat.
***

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest”
~ Ashleigh Brilliant

********
1st November
Its the weekend, what’s a typical saturday for you? * Who - Me.
* What - Screwing up my lottery ticket.
* When - After the prize draw.
* Where - By the bin.
* Why – I always loose – should really stop taking part!!!!
***

“Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you”
~ Ogden Nash
********
31st October
Its Halloween, and I will confess to no SP. Show me what you got up to today! * Who – Abbie and friends.
* What – Dressing up for Halloween.
* When - In the evening.
* Where – Indoors because it is very cold.
* Why – Going around the village calling on friends and family only.
***

“A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween.”
~Erma Bombeck
********
30th October
Capture a morning routine. * Who - Abbie and me again.
* What – Posing by the pumpkins.
* When – this morning - not a weekly routine but we go together ever year!
* Where - At Peachcroft farm.
* Why – We were there to order the Christmas turkey.
***

“We fancy men are individuals; so are pumpkins; but every pumpkin in the field goes through every point of pumpkin history”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
********
29th October
Record a daily activity, remember we are doing a "week in our life". Use these questions for your journalling. * Who Abbie and me.
* What - Reading together.
* When – Just before bedtime Abbie
* Where – In the lounge.
* Why – Abbie’s staying for a sleepover.
***

“A home without books is a body without soul.”
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
********
28th October
We are going to do something different this week. I have loved Ali Edwards idea of a "week in the life" concept. This week lets take snapshots of our week, self portraits of course!, and keep our journaling to a simple bullet list. * Who - Me.
* What – Needed to do a sign in page for a circle journal.
* When –Today photo from May!
* Where - On a tag !
* Why - We are doing a Crafty Magpies team circle journal.
***

“Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week”
~ Spanish Proverb

*********

2008-10-27T12:42:00.014Z

27th October
"The darling buds of May"
- An appreciation of what is fresh and new.

This is my darling bud, you will have seen her blossoming on my blog a lot this year.
***
“Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility”
~ Kate Douglas Wiggin
********
26th October
"Best bib and tucker"
- best clothes.

I have not had too many occasions recently for my “best bib and tucker” but hopefully there will be more soon.
Here I am as a blonde and a size 8.
I still have the dress as I am ever hopeful!!!!!
***

A dress that zips up the back will bring a husband and wife together.
~James H. Boren
********
25th October
"Bats in the belfry"
crazy, eccentric!

I am not the only crazy member of the family!
Sue, Abbie and some friends are going to be doing the Santa run again this year for Helen and Douglas House. Colin and I are bowing out gracefully this year.
***

“My friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that keeps us sane.”
Matt Schucker
********
24th October
"upsy daisy"
An exclamation made when encouraging a child to get up after a fall or when lifting a child into the air.
I don’t think Colin was up for lifting me up today!
***
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
Booker T. Washington
********
23rd October
"The bees knees"
Excellent - the highest quality.
I try to obtain high quality in my photo:
One of my shots of the “bees knees.”
***
It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity.
~ Mahatma Gandhi
********
22nd October
"Think outside the box" -
Think creatively, unimpeded by orthodox or conventional constraints.
I just love editing in photoshop and had fun doing today's prompt.
***
When you think outside the box, the box goes away.
~ unknown
I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.
~ Terry Prachett
********
21st October
This week we will look at phrases and sayings, for inspiration.
"An Englishmans home is his castle" -
The English dictum that a man's home is his refuge/ his home.
I certainly live in a village of contrasting house styles!!!
***
“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”
~ unknown

********

2008-10-20T19:18:00.017+01:00

20th October
“There's a side of my personality that goes completely against the East Coast educated person and wants to be a pin-up girl in garages across America...there's a side that wants to wear the pink angora bikini!”
~ Mira Sorivona - American actress
Do you have a side of you personality that wishes to be a little more daring or eccentric?
I always find a pile of leaves hard to resist jumping into. With very little persuading friends sometimes join in too!
***
“Devote today to something so daring even you can’t believe you’re doing it.”
~ Oprah Winfrey
. ********
19th October
"Tickled Pink " - to be delighted.
Abbie always delights me.
***
“To show a child what once delighted you, to find the child's delight added to your own - this is happiness.”
~ Joseph Priestley
********
18th October
"In the pink" Means: in perfect condition, especially of health.
After the year I have had it is now great to be getting back in the pink and so I have plenty to smile about.
***
A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. ~ Irish Proverb
********
17th October
"I don't think I will ever get tired of wearing pink"
~ Emma Bunton
I just love to wear pink too.
****

Nothing you wear is more important than your smile.
~ Connie Stevens
********
16th October
“Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose, From out night's gray and cloudy sheath; Softly and still it grows and grows, Petal by petal, leaf by leaf.”
~ Susan Coolidge
Even with autumn now officially here the rosebuds are still opening up.
***
Gather the flowers, but spare the buds.
~ Andrew Marvell
*********
15th October
“The very pink of perfection.”
~ Oliver Goldsmith
These boots have perfect symmetry !
***
Perfect numbers like perfect men are very rare.
~ Rene Descartes
********
14th October
Anna’s prompt for the day:
This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I am personally going through my own journey this month, of ups and downs, hospital visits and call backs. I believe we are all woman doing this challenge so I thought it very appropriate to use our 365 prompts to "think pink".It seems like I pre-empted Anna this month as this week we are going to "think pink".
So here is another week of me "thinking pink".
“Almost all words do have color and nothing is more pleasant than to utter a pink word and see someone's eyes light up and know it is a pink word for him or her too”.
Do you have a pink word?
Gentleness is a word that evokes nice pink feelings for me.
***
“A profusion of pink roses being ragged in the rain speaks to me of all gentleness and its enduring.”
~ William Carlos Williams
********

2008-10-13T08:11:00.021+01:00

Anna as brought back some long lost memories for me this week, using cockney rhyming slang as prompts. I was born in the East end of London within the sound of Bow Bells so I am a true cockney. However, I have lost my cockney accent, well all except for one little foible which is that sometimes I have been known to “drop my H’s” when I speak especially if I have had a glass or 2 of wine. Much to the amusement of all who are in earshot!
13th October
"all right me old china"
China Plate – mate This mate is always willing to help me out.
Here she is doing her best to help me with the ‘apple and pears’ quote.
Sorry Kay, I forgot I had already got a shot for that!!!
Put it down to a ‘Senior moment’.
***
A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked.
~Author Unknown
********
12th October
"Use yer loaf!"
Loaf of bread = Head Sometimes two heads are better than one when it comes to solving problems

***
“Make decisions from the heart and use your head to make it work out.”
~ Sir Girad

********
11th October
"Plates of meat" - "Me plates are killin' me!"
translated as "feet" There is nothing quite like soaking my feet after a day out walking.
***
“Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet.”
~ African Proverb
********
10th October
"Trouble and Strife"
referred to when talking about "The Wife" Here I am revising!!!!
***
A perfect wife is one who doesn't expect a perfect husband.
~ Author Unknown
********
9th October
"Lets have a good cup o rosie lee"
Rosie Lee translated is a Cup of Tea, very British! We do not drink out of dainty teacups very often these days. This set are the only survivors from my aunt's wedding present over 70 years ago.

They mean so much to me, therefore are used rarely.
***
Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. ~Author Unknown
********
8th October
For our 365er's across the pond.
Cockney rhyming slang is not a language but a collection of phrases used by Cockneys and other Londoners. Rhyming Slang phrases are derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and then using that expression instead of the word.
"A penny for your thoughts"
This idiom is used as a way of asking someone what they are thinking about. Here is just one of my thoughts for today.
***
“If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.”
~ Peace Pilgrim
********
7th October
This week we are going to have fun with some Cockney Slang!
"Apples and Pears - Stairs" There were a lot of stairs here and no lift.
One way to get fit.
***
A circle is the reflection of eternity. It has no beginning and it has no end - and if you put several circles over each other, then you get a spiral.
Maynard J. Keenan
********

2008-10-06T11:32:00.020+01:00

Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM)I have decided to make my first week's photos along the lines of ‘Think Pink.’
The purpose of of BCAM is to raise awareness of breast cancer, encourage women to be breast aware and is a crucial fundraising opportunity for charities, such as Breast Cancer Campaign. The money the Campaign generates during the month funds innovative, world-class breast cancer research throughout the UK.

********
6th October
“Bright”
I just love bright PINK and sparkly.

***
There's a bright spot in every dark cloud.
~ Bruce Beresford
*********
5th October
"Relax"
Relaxing with family and friends is a crucial part of my life.
***
“The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.”
~ Sydney J. Harris
*********
4th October
"Reflection"
Reflecting over my past 9 months this year, it is obviously a year I would not wish to repeat and one I am pleased to have survived!
***
“Friends are the mirror reflecting the truth of who we are”
~ Unknown
*********
3rd October
“Listen”
Something I try to do often but not always with both ears!!!!
***
“It is better to listen in order to understand than to listen in order to reply”
~ Unknown
*********
2nd October
“Cherish”
I cherish the momory of a very special Aunt who after a long battle died of Breast Cancer in 1961. Luckily through research and much more breast awareness, the detection and treatment is much better and more successful today than then.

***
“Time is a companion who reminds us to cherish every moment because it will never come again .”
~ Unknown
*********
1st October
“Hold”
Holding a pair of scissors in one hand and some lovely pattern paper in another is pure joy.
***
“To succeed you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you”
~ Tony Dorsett
*********
30th September
“Care”
I have people who ‘care’ around me so I am truly blessed.
***
“Friends are God's way of taking care of us”
~ Unknown
********

2008-09-29T08:55:00.015+01:00

29th September
When spider webs unite they can tie up a lion.”
~ African Proverb

No Lions in my Garden but plenty of spider’s webs!
***
“Fear an ignorant man more than a lion”
~Turkish Proverb
********
28th September
"We need not think alike to love alike.”
~ Francis David (1510-1579), clergyman

Colin and I certainly love alike but when it comes to thinking alike we differ in some areas. Luckily they are small differences and they certainly make life interesting.
***
"Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much."
~ Walter J. Lippmann
********
27th September
“Take control of your destiny. Believe in yourself. Ignore those who try to discourage you. Avoid negative sources, people, places, things and habits. Don't give up and don't give in.”
~ Wanda Hope Carter; motivational speaker and writer

I like to think that when I need to face up to life’s obstacles I persevere until I have overcome them. My fellow 365’ers are certainly not negative people they are a source of great encouragement.
***
When the world says, "Give up,"Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."~Author Unknown
*********
26th September
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'”
~ Mary Anne Radmacher; author

Life as occasionally put obstacles in my path and I have needed to call upon my courage to overcome them, this has made me the person I am today!
***
Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.
~Dale Carnegie
********
25th September
“Put all excuses aside and remember this: YOU are capable.”
~ Zig Ziglar (b. 1926), motivational author, speaker

I am not sure how capable I am sometimes but once I am motivated into doing something I like to think I do it well. Abbie is just the same.
***
“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
~ Lou Holtz quotes
*******
24th September
"What ever beauty may be, it has for its basis order, and for its essence unity.”
~ Father Andre

Since starting this project at the beginning of the year I often see beauty in things I would not have looked at previously. Even an old bike and milk churn!
***
“Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it”
~ Confucius
********
23rd September
“Our happiness is completely and utterly intertwined with other people: family, friends, neighbours and the woman who you hardly notice who cleans your office.”
~ Eric Weiner; author, national public radio correspondent

On reading this prompt I immediately thought of the Butterfly effect, even if this theory is disproved I still believe that our lives are intertwined with each other to a greater extent than perhaps we realise.
***
We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same. ~ Anne Frank
********

2008-09-22T09:03:00.023+01:00

22nd September
"What's the name of the game

does it mean anything to you

what's the name of the game

can you feel it the way I do

Tell me please

cause I have to know

I'm a bashful child

beginning to grow"
The Name of the Game - Abba

By no means a bashful child but always up for a game!!

***

“We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing.”
~ Charles Schaefer

********

21st September
"Slipping through my fingers
all the time I try to capture
every minute the feeling in it
slipping through my fingers
all the time do I really see what's
in her mind each time I think
I'm close to knowing she keeps on growing
slipping through my fingers
all the time"
Slipping through my fingers – Abba

Sometimes life goes by so quickly;
it is like water slipping through your fingers.

***
“He who allows his day to pass by without practicing generosity and enjoying life's pleasures is like a blacksmith's bellows: he breathes but does not live.”
~ Proverb

********
20th September
"I don't wanna talk
about the things we've gone through
though it's hurting me now it's history
I've played all my cards
and that's what you've done too
nothing more to say no more ace to play
The winner takes it all
the loser standing small beside the victory
that's her destiny"
The Winner Takes it All – Abba After all the health issues I have had this year,
I certainly am beginning to feel like a winner.
More energy, less pain and people keep telling me I have my sparkle back.
Thank goodness I thought I had lost that sparkle for good! lol

***
“You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself to be.” ~ Anon

********
19th September
I was a woman never thinking of others
and my life was so lonely
didn't care for anybody
but then I happened to meet
a begging man in the street
as I turned down his praying
I heard someone saying: "ah -
Treat him well, he is your brother
you might need his help one day
we depend on one another
love him that's the only way
on the road that we're going
we all need words of comfort and compassion
treat him well, he is your brother
love him that's the only way"
He is your brother – Abba

This man is not my brother nor a beggar but he certainly trying to provide his own supper.

***
"Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime" ~Chinese Proverb

********
18th September
"I have a dream a song to sing
to help me cope with anything
if you see the wonder of a fairy tale
you can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels something good in
everything I see I believe in angels
when I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream
I have a dream" I Have a Dream – Abba
I often dream a lot whilst out walking.

***
"If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk." ~Raymond Inmon

********
17th September
"You can dance, you can jive
having the time of your life
see that girl, watch that scene
dig in the Dancing Queen"
Dancing Queen –Abba

Following on from my great success as Dick Whittingtons cat I was promoted to the chorus line.
I was often the only one instep. lol.

***
"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance". ~Japanese Proverb

********
16th September
Anna says “!This week I have been inspired by the hit musical, blockbusting movie, Mamia Mia!!!! Enjoy.....”
"Tonight the Super Trouper
lights are gonna find me
shining like the sunsmiling, having fun feeling like a number one"
- Abba

I was certainly a trouper in the spot light many years ago.
My portrayal of Dick Whittington's cat was a wonder to behold!!!!

***
“Never fear shadows. They simply mean there is a light shining somewhere nearby.” ~ Proverb

********

2008-09-15T07:17:00.045+01:00

15th September
"And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed."
Dr. Seuss

I am hoping that these will lead to my weight loss success.
***
“Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it.” ~Author Unknown

********
14th September
"If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good."
Dr. Seuss

A lot of fun was had at our retreat today.
***
“If it's not fun, you're not doing it right”
Bob Basso
********
13th September
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."
Dr. Seuss

One of the prettiest smiles I know.
***
“The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.”
~Author Unknown
********
12th September
"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere."
Dr. Seuss

Just one of the funny things I came across on the streets of Cardiff.
***
“Everywhere you go, take a smile with you.”
~Sasha Azeved
********
11th September
"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."
Dr. Seuss

I think there are many faces to me, wife, mother, nanny and friend to name a few.
***
“Strangers are exciting, their mystery never ends. But, there's nothing like looking at your own history in the faces of your friends.”
~ Ani Difranco
********
10th September
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose. "Dr. Seuss Walking around St Fagans today certainly steered us back into the past.
***
If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.
~Raymond Inmon
********
9th September
A new week of quotes, and Anna has been inspired by the magic words of Dr Seuss! “If you have children or grandchildren, I am sure you will be familiar with his words of wisdom.”
"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."
Dr. Seuss We are off to the Welsh mountains today.
***
“There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same”
~Chinese Proverb
********
8th September
"Cinderella" So many shoes and so little time to wear them!
***
Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.
~Cinderella
********
7th September
"Thumbelina"
Colin always complains when he has to cut the grass.
Maybe we should stop borrowing Thumbelina's lawn mower!
***
"Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance. "
~Samuel Johnson
*********
6th September
"Repunzel" I used to try to grow my hair this long but gave up many years ago!
***
"Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like."
~Author Unknown
********
5th September
"The Princess and the Pea" Why is it when a bag splits in the freezer it is always the bag of frozen peas?
***
Peas are also extraordinarily good value, and indispensable for stretching leftovers into something really tasty. Good mood food indeed.
~Daily Telegraph

********
4th September
"Little Red Riding Hood"

Kath and I just needed to have a play on a trip to Paris.
***
“Who makes himself a sheep will be eaten by the wolves”
Proverb
********
3rd September
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" Some times you just have to grab your kisses where you can!
***
“I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.”
~ Mae West

********
2nd September
Anna prompts are going to be some fairy tales to get us thinking this week. She was Inpsired by Rosie on Flickr. “Love this girls inspiration and photography! Rosie looks at the fairy tale and see's the modern tale behind the traditional story.”
"Sleeping Beauty." Sleeping Beauty was always Abbie's favourite 'Princess' when she was younger. Things change!
***
If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep. ~Dale Carnegie
********

2008-09-01T07:22:00.018+01:00

This week's blog has been put together with photos that were taken by myself and Abbie. We had a photographic workshop on Saturday where I have tried to pass on some of my photographic skills to the next generation.
I think she came up with some pretty amazing shots of her Nanny and Grandad.
THANK YOU Abbie.

********
1st September
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.”
~ Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862); philosopher, writer, naturalist
Anna told us her childhood dreams:
“ We all had childhood dreams, mine was to be a vet, a musician and a fashion designer (when older). What were your dreams, and are you living them?”

My childhood dreams were quite simple. After having 3 different homes and my mother, my aunt and my grandmother all dying in the first 15 years of my life, all I wanted when I grew up were:
a home to call my own, a loving husband and 6 children. I have all these except the 6 children. This was one part of my dream that I definitely reviewed once I had given birth and started to bring up my family.

***
“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.” ~Victor Hugo

********
31st August
"Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart.”
~ Author Unknown

Nothing is more calming to the heart than enjoyment of nature and even though we live in the suburbs, our garden is like a little nature reserve. With birds, hedgehogs, fish and newts. During our photo shoot yesterday we found another cricket though we weren’t too sure if it was still ‘Alfie’ hanging around the garden. LOL

***
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."
~ John Muir (1838-1914)

********
30th August
"The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time."
~ Abraham Lincoln

I am the kind of person that has always lived for today, I try not to worry too much about what the future might hold because one day I will be worrying about nothing!!!
***
“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”
~ John M. Richardson, Jr.

********
29th August
“Dreams come in a size too big so that we may grow into them.”
~ Josie Bisset (b. 1970); Television actress

I hope Abbie has many dreams that she will grow into.

***
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
~ Epicurus quotes
********
28th August
"Within sorrow is grace. When we come close to those things that break us down, we touch those things that also break us open. And in that breaking open, we uncover our true nature.”
~ Wayne Muller; author, therapist, minister

When I have been faced with a crisis in my life I try to recall a very short quote” What doesn’t break me makes me.”
***
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
~ Charles Darwin

********

27th August
“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.”
~ Oscar Wilde (1854-1900); writer, playwright

I have many happy memories that can not be stolen from me. The most life changing for me was the day I married Colin over 39 years ago.

***
"It is easy to feel rich any time. Just count all the things you have that money can't buy."
~ Kevin Eikenberry

********
26th August
"Gracefulness has been defined to be the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.”
~ William Hazlitt (1778-1830); writer, essayist, literary critic

To do things graceful has not been one of my strong points in life, however over the past few months I have been doing things a lot slower. The one thing I have learnt from this is even though the job is done more slowly, it still gets done. Therefore, from now on, I am not going to rush at life but take it more slowly and enjoy it.

***
Whatever the tasks, do them slowly
with ease,gracefully,
in mindfulness,
Do any tasks with the goal
of getting them over with.
Resolve to each job in a relaxed way,
with all your attention.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master

2008-08-25T20:18:00.008+01:00

25th August
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
~ Anais Nin (1903-1977), author, diarist

If I am honest I am not a big risk taker but I have taken some risks
in my life and have enjoyed them.
Sue is obviously not willing to risk posing for me today!!!

***

“The two important things I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the first decision.”
~ Robyn Davidson

********
24th August
"If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.”
~Flavia Weedn; author, artist Colin and I are certainly picking up the pieces at the moment, after a very stressful few months. However, we are now feeling we are coming out of that period and picking up the pieces.

***
“To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.”
~ Bernard Edmonds

********

23rd August
Make visible what, without you, might perhaps have never been seen.
~ Robert Bresson This quilt was being made for Sue’s 21st Birthday.
That was well over a decade ago!
One day it might get finished and then will be visible to all
rather than hidden away in my workbox waiting the final
quilting stitches.

***
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
~ Anthony Robbins

********

22nd August
"Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe"~ St Augustine It took me many years to start believing in myself and it was not until I met and married
Colin did I have the confidence to achieve things I had once thought were impossible.
He gave me the confidence to try and for that I will be eternally grateful.

***
Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.
~Norman Vincent Peale

********

21st August
I say to the moment: Stay now! You are so beautiful!
~ Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThis is one beautiful young lady I love to come and stay with me.

***
You can take no credit for beauty at sixteen. But if you are beautiful at sixty, it will be your soul's own doing. ~Marie Stopes

********

20th August
I expect some new phases of life this summer, and shall try to get the honey from each moment.
~ Lucy Stone

Enjoying the gradual return to good health is certainly a sweet honeyed moment for me this summer.

***
“Kindness in ourselves is the honey that blunts the sting of unkindness in another.”
~ Walter Savage Landor

********

19th August
The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.
~ Laura Wilson Candlelight is a soft and relaxing light that I love to let into my life especially when laying back in a bath full of bubbles!

***
There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~ Edith Wharton

2008-08-18T12:57:00.013+01:00

18th August
"The art of living is more like that of wrestling than of dancing; the main thing is to stand firm and be ready for an unseen attack."
~Aurelius Marcus

I decided to join Shimelle’s Scrap Your Day project in July.
The aim is to scrap the 25th day of each month.
It has been ready on my desk to complete for over a week now,
Maybe today will be the day I finish it!!
Being ready in life is what I do best but getting things completed is another matter.

***
“We are always getting ready to live, but never living”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

********
17th August
"Every person in this life has something to teach me -- and as soon as I accept that, I open myself to truly listening.”~ Catherine Doucette; author

Listening to all that goes on around me I like to think I have learnt a lot about life and everything it offers.
***
“So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it.”
~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

********

16th August
"Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble.”
~ Frank Tyger

It is always good to know when to listen rather than talk.!!!

***
“Deep listening is miraculous for both listener and speaker. When someone receives us with open-hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.”
~Sue Patton Thoele
********
15th August
Nothing feeds the center of being so much as creative work.
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I certainly enjoy my creative work but think that time management to do it is seriously lacking commodity in my life.
So I think from now on I will ignore housework!!!
Here I am playing with mirrors!

***
Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art. ~Ansel Adams
********

14th August
Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.
-Emory Austin

My singing voice is not one I share with others often, for that they are grateful.

***
Singing is a way of escaping. It's another world. I'm no longer on earth.
~Edith Piaf
********
13th August
The world is grand, awfully big and astonishingly beautiful, frequently thrilling.
~Dorothy Kilgallen

Being at one with nature is always thrilling, especially if I have my camera in my hand.
***
"The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful. If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living.”
~ Jules Henri Poincaré
********

12th August
"Remember the feeling as a child when you woke up and morning smiled? It's time you felt like that again." ~Taj Mahal

Just to face a new day through the eyes of a child would be brilliant, you wake up for the day not what might happen tomorrow or what did happen yesterday but full of the anticipation of what will happen today. If only life could be like that everyday!

****
“Children learn to smile from their parents.”
~Shinichi Suzuki

*********

2008-08-11T17:51:00.006+01:00

11th August
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me."
Erma Bomback

I like to think that the gifts/talents that I might have I use to their full potential.
I love my photography, craftwork and my garden.

***
“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”
~ Henry Van Dyke

********

10th August
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
~Leonardo da Vinci Not sure how sophisticated I am but I do like simplicity in art and design.
These can be seen in many aspects of our everyday life, mind you the supermarket trolley on the sign is a lot more simplistic the ones in real life where the wheels wobble and they never want to go in the direction you want them to!!!
***
“Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.”
~Charles Dudley Warner
********
9th August
"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory."
- Ghandi Mahatma
Well I have certainly put full effort into my diet that I started 7 days ago. Mind you when you look at a day's meals from the Slimming World diet I have been on, the effort has not been difficult.
I am certainly looking forward to the victory of getting into size 12 clothes again!!!

***
“If I want to be great I have to win the victory over myself... self-discipline.”
~ Harry S Truman quotes
*********
8th August
“Appreciation...acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.”
- Alan Cohen; author I certainly appreciate all the good things that have come my way in life.
Here is a photo of two of them on the way to Abbie’s few days away with her Aunty.
***
“The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one's appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.”
~Amelia Earhart
********
7th August
"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. you only need a heart full of grace. a soul generated by love.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-68), American civil rights leader There are many ways to help and serve others

and although I help raise funds for
Helen and Douglas House hospice in Oxford. I will always remember the day we went out into the barren land of the Gambia in an old pickup truck to visit the children of a small primary school that we had brought materials for. They were so grateful for everything that it was a really humbling experience.

***

“Happiness... consists in giving, and in serving others.”
~ Henry Drummond

********

6th August
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
- Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian political and spiritual leader In trying to help others I often find that ,although I might be able to do quite a few things to help, I can not physically do everything so have to learn to say "no" occasionally. So why is it when I say “no sorry, I can’t do that” I always feel guilty?

***

He who knows others is learned;
He who knows himself is wise.
~Lao-tzu, Tao te Ching

********

5th August
“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.”
- Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), poet

Being there for my family, listening to them and loving them as I do I find it hard sometimes not to be able to protect them from some of the hurt that they have had in their lives. However I am always there to give support and help and hope that this goes someway in lessening the pain.

***
“Words and hearts should be handled with care for words when spoken and hearts when broken are the hardest things to repair.”
~ Anon

*********
4th August
“No person ever ended his eyesight by looking on the bright side.”
—Zig Ziglar (b. 1926), author, motivational speaker

I like to think that I can see the brightside in most given situations. Mind you sometimes life can make that a little difficult to do. Nonetheless, I endeavour to always to look on the brightside of life. Judging by this photo I am not the only one!
***
Here is the first verse of a Monty Python song.
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...
And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life..
~words and music by Eric Idle

2008-08-03T16:24:00.010+01:00

August 3rd

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”
—Ashley Smith (b. 1978), author, speaker

The beauty of nature is amazing, I love nothing more than having my camera in my hand and capturing the images of nature. Sometimes, with the camera it is possible to see things that are not visible to the naked eye. Today I went to take my photo for the prompt and came across this little Speckled bush Cricket. He posed and smiled for me for over an hour and by the end of it he had acquired a name. So this is ‘Alfie’
********
“Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are”. ~ Osho
*********************************

August 2nd
Happiness... is not a destination:

it is a manner of traveling.
Happiness is not an end in itself.

It is a by-product of working, playing,

loving and living. ~ Haim Ginott

Today is our 39th Wedding anniversary so this prompt is very apt! Over those years Colin and I have worked, played, loved and lived and the by product of that has been much happiness. We are still travelling along and although these past few months seem to have thrown a lot at us, in our marriage we are truly happy.
********
“We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same” ~ Anne Frank:

*********************************

August 1st
"Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”- Pope John XXIII (1881-1963), 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church

I have been sitting around a lot recently and at times have been very frustrated, however, I now plan to at least take control and change one aspect of my life. I intend to loose the weight I have put on. I know that this is possible for me to do.I just need the willpower!
********
"Hope is a waking dream." ~ Aristotle

July 31st

2008-07-31T10:00:00.003+01:00

Little did I realise when I signed off from my blog that it would take me 2 months to start posting again!
The past 2 months have certainly presented me with many challenges so my 365 challenge took a back seat I am afraid.
Below are some of the photos that I have taken over those 2 months, I did not follow Anna’s prompts for these but I did try to take at least one photo a day. Thankfully my operation was a success. However I am still in the recovery process which, if I am honest, is taking much longer than I thought it would. My neurosurgeon has told me that it is going to need 6 months to recover and even then I am going to have to be very careful with lifting and bending.
Also during these past 2 months Colin has had surgery too, this was for an ENT problem and I am pleased to say that surgery has been successful. However, during the course of routine blood tests it has been discovered that he has atypical Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia. At the moment we are waiting on the results of further tests, which are due on 13th August. These will establish just what course of treatment maybe necessary if any. As you can imagine the family were shocked and concerned about this diagnosis but having spoken at length to the consultant we are hopeful that only minimal treatment will be required.

From the 1st of August I will be using Anna’s prompts again and also be updating my blog regularly.

Big catch up !!!!

2008-07-28T11:38:00.024+01:00

Back on board.

May 26th

2008-05-26T14:17:00.008+01:00

As from today I will not be updating my blog for a while.

Regular visitors will know that I have had big problems

with pain in my neck and arm.

Tomorrow I am going in to hospital for surgery,

hopefully this will remedy the situation and give me back my life.

I am sure I will be well looked after by the neurosurgeon

and nursing staff.

When I return home I will have family and friends

who will carry on that task for a few weeks.

I know that Sue and Julie have had practice at using their nursing

skills before but that was quite a few years ago!!!

********

May 26th

“If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to,

no one with which to share the beauty of the stars,

to laugh with, to touch,

what would be your purpose in life?

It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning.

This is harmony.

We must discover the joy of each other,

the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.”
~Mitsugi Saotome (b. 1937), Aikido instructor, author

With everything going on in my life at the moment having

friends and family close to me is very important.

********

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle,

and the life of the candle will not be shortened.

Happiness never decreases by being shared.”
~ Buddha quote

May 25th

2008-05-25T10:03:00.006+01:00

“Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”
John R. Wooden (b. 1910) basketball coach, author

I always try to put others first in my life,

my family,

my friends,

and

also others.

At the moment though I am being put first by them.

Even Serena a total stranger but now a new friend,

has taken the time to write to me and encourage me

and give me advice on my 365 challenge.

She herself had been into hospital at

the begining of the year but managed to carry

on her 365 challenge.

My fellow 365'er's on UK Scrappers

are also being very supportive

and

last but not least.

all my fellow bloggers,

because it is there wonderful

comments that keep me coming back

here and posting!

********

“True Friend"
~Author: CindyLee

When you are hurting.
And all it seems to do is rain.
When your heart aches.
I won’t leave you in pain.

When your world is clouded over.
And you don’t know who to turn to.
When all you do is cry .
Come let me help you.

When all you troubles and fears
Seem to bring you tears.
And all you need is a shoulder
My shoulder I will lend and dry your tears

When your world is out of control.
And your life no longer a straight line.
And the strength you can not bare.
I will give you hope that it will be fine.

When you just want to share
Your hopes and dreams to be.
You can trust me.
For I am here for you cause
I am your true friend.

May 24th

2008-05-24T14:21:00.003+01:00

“We need to give each other the space to grow,

to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity.

We need to give each other space so that we may both give

and receive such beautiful things as ideas,

openness, dignity,

joy, healing, and inclusion.”
~ Max De Pree (b.1924), author, former CEO of Herman Miller, Inc.

I am trying to use my space wisely today

but

can not seem to concentrate on anything at the moment.

Maybe I just need to find myself some space

to just relax and rest.

********

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.”
~ Reinhold Niebuhr

May 23rd

2008-05-23T16:45:00.005+01:00

“Strive to be first: first to nod, first to smile, first to compliment, and first to forgive.”
Anonymous

My photo today is the amalgamation of the photography prompt and quote.
It is of the first rose of summer to flower in my garden,
which hopefully also shows the out of focus background!

*********

The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns;
the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.
~ Kahlil Gibran

********

Photography prompt 4

Bokeh (from the Japanese boke, "blur") is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens.[1] Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to reduce distractions and emphasize the primary subject.
This week try focusing on achieving good "Bokeh", also known as "circles of confusion"

Extra photos practice:

One egg among many.

Different focul points.

May 22nd

2008-05-22T09:56:00.003+01:00

“Open your heart - open it wide; someone is standing outside.”
- Mary Engelbreit; artist, entrepreneur

My best friend in the whole world came home
from his travels yesterday.

No way was I going to leave him standing outside!

********

Friendship is a priceless gift,
That cannot be bought or sold.
But its value is far greater than,
A mountain made of gold.

For gold is cold and lifeless,
It cannot see nor hear.
And in times of trouble,
It's powerless to cheer.

It has no ears to listen,
Nor a heart to understand.
It cannot give you comfort,
Or lend a helping hand.

So when you ask God for a gift
Be happy if he sends
Not diamonds pearls or riches
But the love of a true GREAT FRIEND!!
Author ~Kristen M Saccardi

May 21st

2008-05-21T09:24:00.003+01:00

“I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.”
Pablo Casals (1876-1973), cellist, conductor

At the moment I have a lot of people caring for me.

I want them to know that

I care and love them all dearly.

********

“It's your unlimited power to care and to love

that can make the biggest difference in the quality of your life.”

~ Anthony Robbins

May 20th

2008-05-20T10:25:00.004+01:00

“Once you choose hope, anything's possible.”
Christopher Reeve (1952-2004),actor, producer, director, and writer;

best known for his role as Superman.

Every year our village holds a best kept garden competition,
every front garden in the village is judged!

For the 11 years it has been held,

my front garden as always come

in the top 10 but never won.

So this year I am hoping that giving it some

extra food will help. lol

********

“Hope is the power that gives us the power to step out and try.”

May 19th

2008-05-19T08:13:00.003+01:00

'Dream'To go to Australia was a childhood dream.

I never thought in a million years, that I would

ever get there.

However,

sometimes dreams do come true!
********

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

~ C.S. Lewis

May 18th

2008-05-18T08:19:00.003+01:00

'One'

One could be one of many things.

One moment
One day.
One week.
One year.
Today I have changed my self portrait to shades of one Colour .

********

“One day at a time--this is enough.

Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone;

and do not be troubled about the future,

for it has not yet come.

Live in the present,

and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.”

May 17th

2008-05-17T08:56:00.004+01:00

'He[art]'

I could not do 'He [art]' very well because he (Colin) is away at the moment lol.

Nonetheless, I think if you are an arty person

you can bring your artistic tendencies to play

in most things you do in life,

even if it is just cooking breakfast!

********
“Once a woman has forgiven a man,

she must not reheat his sins for breakfast”
~Marlene Dietrich

May 16th

2008-05-16T16:25:00.004+01:00

'Create'I love to capture moments and create memories.
This photo is a captured moment from
a really memorable holiday in
The Galapagos Islands.
It is a memory that will stay with me
forever.

*******

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love,

the things you are,

the things you never want to lose. "

~From the television show 'The Wonder Years'.

May 15th

2008-05-15T10:02:00.003+01:00

'Inspire'If your actions inspire others to dream more,

learn more, do more and become more,

you are a leader.”

~ John Quincy

********

I am putting my choice of quote under the photo today simply because this lady really did act as an inspiration to me during the early part of my life.
Rhoda was a leader, she was a very petite and unassuming lady, who if you saw in the street looked like any other little old lady and at the time I met her and she was loosing her sight.

I first met her when I moved to Cornwall with Colin and our daughter Sue who was 1 year old at the time. Rhoda was our new neighbour and we soon became good friends and remained so until she died. Her whole ethos on life was amazing, she was always there to talk to and give advice and athough sadly she never married, her fiancé was killed in the 2nd world War, she always knew what to say and when to say it.

I will always remember the day I told her I was pregnant with Julie, she amazed me by saying she already knew, then told me that she had noticed a change in the skin pigmentation around my nose and that told her I was pregnant, to this day I have never worked that one out!
Rhoda trained as a nurse and during the 2nd World War she served in France, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and West Africa as a nursing officer and afterwards joined the Colonial Service and was posted to Malaya.
Whilst in Malaya her job was to help pioneer the training of local girls into the nursing profession, in which work she received cooperation from the medical and nursing staff, many of whom had spent more than 4 years in Japanese P.O.W. camps. On leaving Malaya Rhoda had a scholarship given in her name by the Trained Nurses Association of Malaya, and a Hall in the School of nursing named in her honour. Also in 1957 she received the M.B.E. for ‘Distinguished Service in the Colonies’.
Not only was she a great friend to me but an incredible fund raiser for worthy causes always ready to help and give talks at short notice. Her selfless life will always be and remain an inspiration to me.
I can not take credit for todays photo, it was taken by Colin for Rhoda when she first released a book all about her amazing life. Sadly this is now out of print but I do have a much read and treasured copy.

May 14th

2008-05-14T10:36:00.003+01:00

'Discover'Now that Colin and I are retired,

we love to travel,

However, to get the best from our trips,

we love to research and discover all we can about our destination

before we go.

This also adds to the excitement of the holiday.

********

"Your work is to discover your world

and

then with all your heart give yourself to it."

~ Buddda

May 13th

2008-05-13T07:52:00.003+01:00

This week Anna is bringing back the one word prompts:

Play

With all the lovely weather we have been having,

what better way to cool off than playing with water.

This is a photo of Abbie'e best friend during a play session

on Sue's birthday.

Needless to say it was not just the children who got wet!!!!!

********

Play is the beginning of knowledge.

~George Dorsey

May 12th

2008-05-12T07:59:00.005+01:00

"Just a perfect day

Drink sangria in the park

And then later,

when it gets dark,

we'll go home

Just a perfect day

Feed animals in the zoo

Then later a movie too,

and then home"
Lou Reed

I am so lucky that I have a family

that love and care for me like mine does.

Julie has been staying here for her

sister's birthday celebrations.

Like her sister she is always there when I need her.

She is busy with her life and work in London but

to have her here at home certainly

does help make perfect day!

********

The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.

~Richard Bach

May 11th

2008-05-11T17:42:00.002+01:00

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done.

Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.

It's easy.

There's nothing you can make that can't be made.

No one you can save that can't be saved.

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time.

It's easy.

All you need is love, all you need is love,"
Beatles

Today is Sue's birthday.

This is Abbie giving her mum some love.

********

A daughter may outgrow your lap,

but

she will never outgrow your heart.

~Author Unknown

May 10th

2008-05-10T10:14:00.003+01:00

"If I lay hereIf

I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told

Before we get too old

Show me a garden that's bursting into life"

Snow Patrol

Sometimes a garden can burst into life

too much!!!!!!

********

When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed

and not a valuable plant is to pull on it.

If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

~Author Unknown

May 9th

2008-05-09T17:50:00.004+01:00

"Summertime, and the living is easy
One of these mornings

You're going to rise up singing

Then you'll spread your wings

And you'll take to the sky"
George Gershwin

It was a lovely summer's day today,

I did not rise up singing but I did have an

easy day with friends.

However, when I spread my arms and tried to fly

it just did not happen, well not today anyway.

Maybe next time!!!!

********

If God had really intended men to fly,

he'd make it easier to get to the airport.

~George Winters

May 8th

2008-05-08T08:17:00.003+01:00

"Don't ever say you're on your way down,

God gave you style and gave you grace

And put a smile upon your face"
Cold Play

After a day of reflection yesterday,

today is going to be a day for smiling.

********

Smiling

Smiling is infectious,
you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today,
I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner
and someone saw my grin
When he smiled I realized
I'd passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile
then I realized its worth,
A single smile, just like mine
could travel round the earth.
So, if you feel a smile begin,
don't leave it undetected
Let's start an epidemic quick,
and get the world infected!
Everyone needs a smile!

********

May 7th

2008-05-07T15:01:00.004+01:00

"Need a little time to wake up Need a little time to rest your mind You know you should so I guess you might as well What's the story morning glory? "
Oasis

Today I have tried to rest my mind but have found it difficult.

I saw my GP and he has now confirmed that

my only way to get pain relief is to have major surgery!

The next step is another appointment with the neurosurgeon.

Where apparently I will told all the things that might go wrong

and hopefully all the things that WILL go right.

That is going to be happening next Tuesday!

However, on the positive side at least I know now what

is happening and can start to plan for what I hope will be a

painfree future.

Just need to get the nasty bit out of the way first!

********

If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right,

you'll probably never do much of anything.”
~Win Borden

May 6th

2008-05-06T16:34:00.003+01:00

"You are the sunshine of my life

That's why I'll always be around,

You are the apple of my eye,

Forever you'll stay in my heart"
Stevie Wonder

I am so lucky that I have this young lady in my life.

She understands me so well.
She gives me cuddles when I need them.
She brings sunshine into my life on a rainy day.
She is always ready to have some fun with me.
She is almost as mad as I am!
I love her so much.

********

Grandmothers are just "antique" little girls.

~ Author Unknown

May 5th

2008-05-05T13:05:00.005+01:00

"The time to laugh is when you don't have time for it."
Argus Poster

Some day's laughter does not come easy but I

always try to see the funny side of most situations.

********

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.

~Victor Hugo

May 4th

2008-05-04T13:35:00.003+01:00

"Out of chaos comes the dance of balance."
Denise Kester

Although I try to keep a good balance in most areas

of my life, I find sometimes it is difficult to maintain

that balance.

Often things happen that are out of my control and then

I just have to adapt and move forward.

********

Obviously as a scientist Colin studied many of Einstein's theories!!!

********

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”

~Albert Einstein

May 3rd

2008-05-03T12:25:00.004+01:00

"Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries."
Corita Kent

Just waking up this morning and seeing the sunshine really
does make me feel good.

Although I may not have a lot of energy myself at the moment

it does not stop me appreciating the energy of nature, especially

at this time of year.

The birds are nesting, the plants are growing and life moves on.

The only down side to this is the grass needs cutting in the

garden but then you can't have everything!!!!

********

Sometimes it seems like God is difficult to find and impossibly far away.

We get so caught up in our small daily duties and

irritations that they become the only things that we can focus on.

What we forget is that God's love and beauty are all around us,

every day, if only we would take the time to look up and see them.
~Matthias

May 2nd

2008-05-02T18:02:00.003+01:00

"There's no time like the pleasant."
Oliver Herford

This certainly applies today because today is

Colin's birthday and we have had a pleasant

day. I like to think that we always make the most

of our days. Being pleasant and happy really

is a way to live, why be miserable and unhappy

when life has so much to offer.

********

“Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world.”

May 1st

2008-05-01T13:16:00.003+01:00

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams”
anon

I have lived in many different houses

but can honestly say that once I have moved out and moved on

I have not missed the bricks and mortar of those houses.
It is the community and the friendships that I have made

whilst living in those houses I miss the most.
However, each time I have moved it has been with the people

I love and we always have and always will

build our dreams together!

********

Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you.”
Marsha Norman

April 30th

2008-04-30T14:27:00.003+01:00

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you"
Frank Lloyd Wright

Today is not a brilliant day to go outside and study nature.
However, just looking through my lounge window

and watching the birds feed and play

is something I never get tired of doing

and in the summer months we have a family

of Hedgehogs that come along and feed every evening.

It is a really happy day,

when the first hedgehog of the year arrives!

I so enjoy sitting and watching the antics of

wildlife and on a recent holiday I watched this little

fellow dart about among the trees but stop

still long enough for me to take a photo!

********

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,

through which God speaks to us every hour,

if we will only tune in.

~George Washington Carver

April 29th

2008-04-29T16:32:00.003+01:00

“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”
Raymond Inmon

I am so lucky to live in a village where I can walk

by the river Thames and also

enjoy a woodland walk too.

Both are only a short distance away

and give me so many photo opportunities.

********

Nature is the art of God. ~Thomas Browne, Religio Medici, 1635

April 28th

2008-04-28T11:08:00.004+01:00

Find a quote that expresses how you feel after 119 days of taking self portraits!

Not all my photos have been self portraits.

The quote that best describes how I feel is by Elliot Erwitt:

********

“To me, photography is an art of observation.

It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place...

I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”

********

This project has certainly opened my eyes and see the world

in a different way!
I just love taking portraits of my beautiful granddaughter so she features

here as much as I do!

April 27th

2008-04-27T14:28:00.005+01:00

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us daily. ”
Sally Koch - author

What small opportunity did you grab by the horns today?

********

Today I took the opportunity to sit down and relax with a DVD

that my daughter gave me for Mother's day.
It brought back memories of when we went to New York together.
Whilst we were there we came out of our hotel on a Sunday morning

with plans to walk around Central Park together.

Those plans rapidly changed when we realized that

Richard Gere was just outside the hotel filming ‘The Hoax’.
2 hours later we continued our journey to Central Park,

both star stuck and in love with Richard Gere.

Unfortunately all the shots I had with Richard Gere in had camera shake lol!
That was an opportunity that came our way that we will never forget.

********

Grasp your opportunities, no matter how poor your health;

nothing is worse for your health than boredom.

~Mignon McLaughlin.

The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

April 26th

2008-04-26T12:23:00.003+01:00

“Live with intention. Walk to the edge.

Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon.

Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends.

Continue to learn. Do what you love.

Live as if this is all there is.”
Mary Anne Radmacher – author

I like to think that I do all these things.
My friends are very precious to me.
They encourage me, they cheer me up
and they are always there for me.
I have also found a new group of friends through
doing this 365 project.
They have helped me
through the sticky patch of the past few days.
There has been no pressure but just encouragement.
Thankyou.
With this project I am certainly continuing to learn and I
am doing something I love.
Today’s photo is of one of the flowers
taken from a beautiful bouquet
that my friends sent to me a few days ago.
I am so lucky.

********

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

April 25th

2008-04-25T15:35:00.003+01:00

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Eleanor Roosevelt - First lady

Yesterday was certainly a ‘down’ day for me but that was yesterday.
I am going to stay here and do this as much and as often as I can,

even if it might mean a few hospital pictures on here at some point!!!

********
A dream that I have always had is to be an artist.
I would dearly like to be able to pick up a paint brush and paint a masterpiece.
When I was young I always loved the paint by numbers kits

and always asked for one at Christmas.
Today the nearest I come to those kits is the ‘Paintables’ water colour paper,

where you can use your paints on already printed background

and use it for a scrapbook lay out.
I also use my camera to produce pictures that I love to look at and share.

********

Dreams are like the paints of a great artist.

Your dreams are your paints;

the world is your canvas.

Believing is the brush

that converts your dreams into a masterpiece of reality.”

April 24th

2008-04-24T10:20:00.003+01:00

“Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there's love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong"
Ella Jane Fitzgerald - Jazz vocalist

Doing what I want to do and
doing what I am able to do really
is the BIG dilemma for me at the moment.
There are days when I lack total inspiration or energy
and feel that I am ready to give up on my 365 project.
When I started this project I really did want
to complete it.
However, circumstances have completely changed and
it looks like I am going to have to
take time out at some point in the near future so
I ask myself this...
"If I am not going to be able to do the project in
its entirety why carry on now?”

Maybe this prompt has made me face up to reality.

Maybe I should just take a step back .

Maybe I feel like this because I am having what I call a grey day.

Maybe tomorrow I will feel differently.

********

“Letting go doesn’t mean giving up,

but rather accepting that there are things that cannot be.”

Maybe I should have 2 quotes here today!!

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.

The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

Thomas Alva Edison

April 23rd

2008-04-23T14:14:00.003+01:00

"Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate. ”
JR Tolkein - author

Life certainly can be seen as a series of corners.
Although some things in life are predictable,
most of the time we never really know
what life has in store for us.
Not knowing is what makes life fun

and interesting if a little daunting at times!

********

The future is something which everyone reaches

at the rate of sixty minutes an hour,

whatever he does, whoever he is.

C. S. Lewis

April 22nd

2008-04-22T21:37:00.003+01:00

"The real man smiles in trouble,

gathers strength from distress,

and grows brave by reflection."

Thomas Paine - Author

Today I needed a moment of quiet reflection

and

found it here!

*********

By three methods we may learn wisdom:

First, by reflection, which is noblest;

Second, by imitation, which is easiest;

and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
Confucius

April 21st

2008-04-21T07:23:00.003+01:00

PRUDENCE -

1 : the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason

2 : sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs

3 : skill and good judgment in the use of resources

4 : caution or circumspection as to danger or risk

I am by nature a prudent person,

I always see the risk involved in any task.

In many ways I am over cautious and this can be

annoying at times.

My children always called it fussing

and now my granddaughter realises this

trait in me.

My family often tease me about this, one will say;

"What does Nanny say?"

and then the others respond in unison;

"BE CAREFUL"

Maybe I was more of a risk taker when I was young!

********

The young do not know enough to be prudent,

and therefore they attempt the impossible,

and achieve it,

generation after generation.
Pearl S. Buck

April 20th

2008-04-20T09:52:00.004+01:00

TEMPERANCE -The practice of moderation in all things.

********

I try to think before I speak

and

have self- restraint in most things I do!

Temperance is not about enjoying less,

but about enjoying better.

Sometimes I choose the white grape and sometimes the red!

********

Lost wealth may be replaced by industry,

lost knowledge by study,

lost health by temperance or medicine,

but lost time is gone forever.
Samuel Smiles

April 19th

2008-04-19T07:47:00.004+01:00

JUSTICE -

Justice for me is about righting the wrongs in our society.

Sadly this does not always happen.

However, I am glad that I live in a society that

allows freedom of speech so that I can speak out,

when I feel that justice has not been done.

********

Justice discards party, friendship, kindred,

and

is therefore always represented as blind.
- Joseph Addison,

April 18th

2008-04-18T19:34:00.003+01:00

FORTITUDE -Not really the best of days for me today.

I have certainly not been able to bear pain in silence!

Hence, I have now been given morphine to help me

bear the pain I have been in this afternoon.

Lets hope that is only required short term.

*********

“Fortitude is the guard and support of the other virtues.”

John Locke

April 17th

2008-04-17T07:19:00.004+01:00

CHARITY -

Todays society is often portrayed as selfish and only interested

in material gain.

However, I have found that there are

many people who are willing to give there time, money and even risk

their lives to support my favourite Charity.

I can not thank my friends and family enough,

over the years they have helped

me raise thousands of pounds for Helen and Douglas House

They have jumped out of planes, run/walked many miles

and drunk many cups of tea and coffee!!!

Without their support and people like them places like

Helen and Douglas House would not exist.

It is a sad reflection on our government that Hospices

need to rely so heavily on voluntary contributions.

Although the govenment intends to conduct a review of long-term

funding for England's childrens hospice

services, I can not see a time in the near future when

voluntary contributions will not be needed.

********

“Charity begins at home, but should not end there”

April 16th

2008-04-16T13:10:00.003+01:00

HOPE -I live in hope of a lot of things,

some are more likely

to happen than others!!!!

********

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

Albert Einstein

April 15th

2008-04-15T13:22:00.004+01:00

The Seven Heavenly Virtues
FAITH - I went with my instinct on this photo.

Although I try to live my life by Christian values,

I do not attend Church regularly.

However, I do have Faith.
********

“Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.”

Kahlil Gibran

April 14th

2008-04-13T22:08:00.003+01:00

SLOTH - is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work

I love my bed and some days just want to hide away and stay there!

********

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.

~Jules Renard

April 13th

2008-04-13T18:28:00.003+01:00

GREED - is the desire for material wealth or gain,

ignoring the realm of the spiritual.

It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.

Today was certainly the right day for this prompt..

Although I honestly do not think I am too greedy!

I certainly coveted a few things on my

visit today at Alexander Palace.

The BIG bonus was that Kay and I got to meet up

with some of our 365'ers in real life for the first

but

not the last time.

A lot of peeking into one anothers bags went on,

with some oooooh's and aaaaah's

and "where did you find that?"

******

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need,

but not every man's greed”
Mahatma Gandhi**

April 12th

2008-04-12T09:45:00.003+01:00

ANGER - is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury.

It is also known as Wrath.

I do not get angry very often

but

when I do WATCH OUT !

I find my stomach feels as if it is

all twisted and in knots.

However, I do try to remember that:

Anger is one letter short of danger

and

take time to count to 10 before I speak.

********

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

April 11th

2008-04-11T09:41:00.003+01:00

LUST - is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.Knowing my children read this blog every day I will not be going

into to much detail here!

However, the photo and quote below just says it all.

********

"True love never dies for it is lust that fades away.

Love bonds for a lifetime but lust just pushes away.”
Alicia Barnhart

April 10th

2008-04-10T08:28:00.006+01:00

GLUTTONY - is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.If I am really honest I know I eat too much.

Because I keep trying to lose weight... but it keeps finding me!!!

*********

Gluttony is not a secret vice.

Orson Wells

April 9th

2008-04-09T14:44:00.005+01:00

ENVY - is the desire for others' traits,

status, abilities, or situation.

Ok so this photo might not be of the prettiest baby in the world.

but

when he grows up he will be able to fly.

I do envy a birds ability to fly and see the world from a different

perspective.

Having said that there are still those in the world like my friend

here

who sometimes try to fly too LOL

********

Birds have wings; they're free;

they can fly where they want when they want.

They have the kind of mobility many people envy.

Roger Tory Peterson

April 8th

2008-04-08T17:26:00.003+01:00

The Seven Deadly Sins
PRIDE - is excessive belief in one's own abilities,

that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God.

It has been called the sin from which all others arise.

Pride is also known as Vanity

My make up drawer is a mess!

I used to have it tidy and organised!

These days my make up gets put on as

an after thought so I suppose age may have

made me less vain.

However, I am still vain enough to alter this photo

so that it looks a bit 'arty',

rather than the mess it is! LOL

********

“Vanity and pride are different things,

though the words are often used synonymously.

A person may be proud without being vain.

Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves;

vanity, to what we would have others think of us.”
Jane Austen

April 7th

2008-04-07T14:43:00.005+01:00

“Habit is the 6th sense that over rules the other 5”

HOWEVER I BELIEVE

“Our five senses are incomplete without the sixth - a sense of humor”

********

Abbie and I like to have FUN with our photography

April 6th

2008-04-06T22:35:00.005+01:00

“I would rather have eyes that cannot see;

ears that cannot hear;

lips that cannot speak,

than a heart that cannot love”
Robert Tizon

Over the last 48 hours I have been taught by two amazing ladies.

Shimelle and Karen
have given me so much inspiration

and

FUN

********

Shimelle taking us through the stages of scrapbooking

and

making me realise why I love to do it.

*******

Karen talking from the heart and making us

laugh and cry at the same time.

I have never seen so many tissues being used

at any one time before in a classroom!

********

“One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter.”
James Earl Jones

********

Scrapbooking helps me utter the words in my heart

April 5th

2008-04-06T21:34:00.006+01:00

"Touch"

Today I experienced first hand the

‘Magic Touch’

of Shimelle’s cooking skills.

Her cup cakes are so yummy.

********

“Kindness is more than deeds.

It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch.

It is anything that lifts another person.”

April 4th

2008-04-04T07:41:00.002+01:00

Taste" - sweet, sour, salty, sharp. Simply put... everyone has a price, mine is chocolate!
********
Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today.
That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

April 3rd

2008-04-03T14:26:00.005+01:00

"Smell"

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles

and

all the years you have lived.”

Helen Keller

********

Just a fleeting moment of a smell can certainly brings back memories.

Bread baking.

Coffee brewing.

Wet grass after a rainstorm

and even burnt toast! LOL

April 2nd

2008-04-02T17:35:00.002+01:00

"Hear, listen" What do your ears hear today?

********

“A friend is someone who helps you up when you're down,

and if they can't,

they lay down beside you and listen.”

********

I am so lucky,

I have some really good friends,

who would willingly lay down beside me

and listen.

April 1st

2008-04-01T16:28:00.001+01:00

"Look, see, view" What do you eye spy today?

********

"The question is not what you look at, but what you see".
Henry David Thoreau

March 31st

2008-03-31T10:57:00.004+01:00

"The greatest gift that you give yourself is a little bit of your own attention."
Anthony J. D'Angelo Do something for you today.
********
Sorry folks but it had to be done,
this face mask has been in my bathroom cabinet
for months.
Today was the day to use it. LOL
********“

"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart”
Kahlil Gibran

March 30th

2008-03-30T10:40:00.004+01:00

"Spread your love everywhere you go."
Mother Teresa

How did you spread your love today?

********

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.

It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

I Corinthians 13:4-8

March 29th

2008-03-29T11:53:00.002Z

"Right now is a good time."
Tote Yamada

Right now is a good time,
to start something new,
to hug someone in need,
to take time to relax.
What will you do right now!
********
I need a hug,
but Colin is away.
So I have put on my
new scarf and relaxed
in front of the camera!

Photography prompt 3

2008-03-29T11:47:00.005Z

"My theory of composition? Simple: do not release the shutter until everything in the viewfinder feels just right." Ernst Haas
Shutter Speed
This month we are going to look at our shutter speed. For those of us using a camera with some manul settings, you can set the shutter speed to "S" for shutter speed priority. this allows you to alter your shutter speed and your camera will set the aperture setting for you.
Our shutter speed is important when photograhing in low light conditions and when photographing motion shots.
A faster shutter speed will freeze action whereas a slower shutter speed can create a blurred effect (or can just be downright blurry.) When you set your shutter speed on your camera, you’ll see numbers like 60, 120, 250, 1000 and so on. These actually represent 1/60th of a second, 1/120th of a second and so on. So the higher the bottom number on the fraction, the faster the shutter speed. The smaller the number, the slower the shutter speed. You will also see shutter speeds for seconds, indicated by inch marks ("). For example, if the display says 1"5, that indicates a shutter speed of 1½ seconds. If the display says 30", the shutter will be open for 30 seconds.
A general rule of thumb is not to set your shutter speed less than 1/60 when taking a photo without a tripod. A shutter speed less than this, will cause camera shake and you should use your tripod, or a firm static surface, ie a wall, or table.
Shutter Challenge (taken from 2 peas)4. Now set your shutter really high (around 1/1000 of a second or higher) and take the photo again.
1. Find your kitchen sink (that shouldn’t be too hard.)
2. Now locate an object that is going to obstruct the water flowing from the faucet. Basically, you want something that will interrupt the flow of water, causing the water to "splash" around it (similar to what a child’s boots do when tromping through a rain puddle.)
3. Set your shutter speed to 1/80th of a second (indicated by the number 80.) Turn on the water and take the picture.

*********

March 28th

2008-03-28T08:28:00.006Z

“Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.”
Earl Nightingale entrepreneur, motivational authorShow creativity in your space today.
********
I just love creating portraits of
my beautiful Granddaughter.

March 27th

2008-03-27T12:22:00.006Z

“A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.”
Mark Twain - humorist, lecturer, author.

Lets look at our habits, the good and the and the bad!

********
I know I have many bad habits!
One stupid one that I have is getting
onto the bathroom scales every morning.

I know I need to lose weight,

I do not need the scales to tell me that.

What am I hoping for?

Maybe an overnight miracle!!!!!
********

“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of"

March 26th

2008-03-26T11:05:00.004Z

“Any necessary work that pays an honest wage carries its own honor and dignity.”
W. Kelly Griffith

What is your job, your day to day job, your working life?

********

My day to day job is unpaid and has

been for a long time!

I have taught and I have done a lot of

fundraising over the years.

However, this month I am being PAID

for doing a scrapbook layout.

I was asked to submit a lay out

by a magazine.

The layout is to be in the magazines

May issue.

At least it will enable me to keep my

Bazzill cardstock topped up;-)

March 25th

2008-03-25T11:30:00.003Z

"Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.”
Anne Sexton - poet, writer

********
Take time out today to listen to your heart, listen to your family and loved ones.

********

“While I know myself as a creation of God,

I am also obligated to realize and remember

that everyone else and everything else

are also God's creation.”

Maya Angelou

March 24th

2008-03-24T11:37:00.004Z

"Red and yellow and pink and green,

Purple and orange and blue,

I can sing a rainbow,

Sing a rainbow,

Sing a rainbow too!"
Artist Delta Goodrum

There are somethings I can live without

but

my 'rainbow' of Bazzill cardstock

is not one of them!

March 23rd Easter Sunday

2008-03-23T11:00:00.008Z

"Pink- its my new obsession

Pink its not even a question,

Pink, on the lips of your lover, cause

Pink is the love you discover"
Aerosmith

********

Happy Easter

********

THINK PINK

On a more serious note, here is a site

I click on everyday to help with funding

Mammograms for women in need.

March 22nd

2008-03-22T14:30:00.003Z

"Gold Always believe in your soul

You've got the power to know You're indestructable

Always believe in,because you are Gold"
Spandau Ballet

My digital layout.

The album cover that I used for inspiration

********

Today I am using images from a challenge I did

on UKScrappers.
It is a digital scrapbook layout.
The fingers are mine covered in gold paint.

Very often after a good inking and painting session
they look like this!
********
The Challenge was to take a design from
an album cover and using a film title,
and playing cards along with the colours
black and red, create a layout.

March 21st

2008-03-21T11:27:00.003Z

The Emerald City

from The Wizard of OZ

The grass is not always greener on the other side!

March 20th

2008-03-20T09:59:00.003Z

"She wore blue velvet

Bluer than velvet was the night

Softer than satin was the light

From the stars

She wore blue velvet

Bluer than velvet were her eyes

Warmer than May her tender sighs"
Bernie Wayne/Lee Morris

It is the first day of Spring today

and

my garden is coming alive with colour.

These colours are mainly yellow

but

this blue hyacinth was a gift from a friend

many years ago and flowers every spring

without fail.

Lovely memories of a great day with friends.

March 19th

2008-03-19T10:34:00.007Z

"Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard,

oh lord, why dont we?

We all know that people are the same where ever we go

There is good and bad in everyone,

We learn to live, we learn to give

Each other what we need to survive together alive."
Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder

I could not let this prompt go by

with out using this 'old' photo of me.

By the look of that Easter egg,

it was taken at the same time of year,

in 1961.

I loved chocolate even then!

March 18th

2008-03-18T11:11:00.006Z

"Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you, And everything you do, Yeah they were all

"yellow"

ColdPlay

This week Anna's going to give us colour prompts!

********

If I can not get to the pink playing token first

I always grab the "yellow" one !

March 17th

2008-03-17T14:42:00.003Z

When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse?

When the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?
*

Lights will guide you home,

And ignite your bones,

And I will try to fix you,"

Fix You - Cold Play

These are some of the physical things

that I use to fix all sorts of problems.

A tool kit to mend and measure.

A cuppa with a friend.

A plaster for a cut.

even just chocolate for a sugar fix.

Fixing things is not always about these

physical things, sometimes we need

to spend time just being together and
fixing our mental well being to.

March 16th

2008-03-16T15:18:00.002Z

"I like what I see when I'm looking at me, when I'm walking pass the mirror"
Mary J Blige

Happiness is looking in the mirror and liking what I see.

Although some days I may be happier than others!

March 15th

2008-03-15T14:28:00.006Z

“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), pastor, theologian, German Resistance fighter in World War II

Athough my responsiblities have changed over the years,

some have remained constant:

I have responsibilities to my family and myself but I also

have social responsibilties.

********

Recycling just 1 glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 15 watt low energy efficient bulb (equivalent to 100 watt normal bulb) for 24 hours!

********

The 8 major benefits of recycling are that it;
Saves natural resources
Saves energy
Reduces pollution
Reduces the need for landfill
Reduces imports
Generates an income
Creates jobs
Helps reduce littering

********

"Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestor"

Jonas Salk

March 14th

2008-03-14T17:59:00.003Z

"The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out his nose."
Garrison Keillor

Feeling run down? Try laughing more. Some researchers think laughter just might be the best medicine, helping you feel better and putting that spring back in your step.

March 13th

2008-03-13T17:07:00.005Z

"Beauty, truth, friendship, love, creation---these are the great values of life. We can't prove them, or explain them, yet they are the most stable things in our lives."
Jesse Herman Holmes What are your great values in life?

********

Family, truth and friendship.

These are my core values.

I also greatly value good health so that

I can enjoy all of the others.

******

“Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals"
Author ….Dreamzzzzz

March 12th

2008-03-12T17:33:00.006Z

Howard Thurman "Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman

Anna's question for today is :
What makes you come alive? Is it your work, your family, your hobby or just being here?

********

Many things make me come alive.

My family, my friends and my hobbies

However, today I came alive when I picked up my camera.

Just viewing nature through a lens is magical

and

makes me glad to be alive

********

Photography
Author: Unknown

***
A photograph is more than just

A gift to bring or send

.And more than just the likeness of

A relative or friend.

It is a kindly greeting and

A memory to hold.

Of happy times and pleasant things.

However new or old.

It is a mirror that reflects

Companionship and cheer.

And now and then the wistfulness

That turns into a tear.

A photograph is something to

Adorn a desk or wall.

Or carry in a pocket and

Display to one and all.

It is a faithful portrait

The smile that friendship shares

To add its sunshine and to show

That someone really cares.

********