I posted a link to a song by a friend of mine a little while back…. now she has a facebook page, with her songs freely available –
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Journey-Of-My-Soul/181795638539864
Check it out!
Song From the Heart
Here’s a song written by a friend – I believe it needs a wide audience, so – have a listen…..
I Needed To Sing To You – Lyn Coultas
Her other songs are in the sidebar…..
Brothers
Yesterday my littlest boy decided to write us all letters. Hubby and I each got an envelope saying “To Mum/Dad”, and inside it said “I love you, from (littlest boy)”. Big brother got an envelope saying “To (big brother), Have a good night at yf (youth) groop” and inside said, “I love you”…
I love how they love each other so much 😀 They have their little spats, but my heart just glows when they do little things like this….
I am a very blessed mummy!
Rainy Day Cafe
Dodged the raindrops to Vanilla & Rose today. It was nice and cosy, though… shame I’d left my washing on the line at home….
lowering skies…
New sign! (At least, I think so… haven’t noticed it before..)
It was darker than usual, so the chandeliers were on.
Random suitcases!
Biggest boy has had an ulcer for a while, so he’s banned from sugar… the boys had a toasted sandwich between them, and shared a pot of tea.
Salami, sun-dried tomato and Swiss cheese – yum!
They had English Breakfast tea. They tried it without milk first, then with milk. Littlest boy thought he detected a hint of rosemary, which was interesting. He didn’t think there was a difference with or without milk, though. Biggest boy definitely preferred it with milk!
A bit unsure…
A serious business…
My chai 😀 – made to an authentic recipe. I like the peppery aftertaste.
Purple!
It was pouring outside by the time we were finishing. It was lovely. Had to make a bit of a dash to the car, even though we waited till it eased off a bit…
April showers?
Tepee Beans and Garden Things…
Our beans have sprung into life. Yesterday there was one popped up… unfortunately that had disappeared by this morning (birds?). This morning there was another one up…
Still clinging to its shell…
By this afternoon there were a few more, unfurling through the dirt. What I thought funny was that they come up, and there’s dirt flung aside, like they punch through the earth, and the earth just has to give way 😀
emerging….
We planted the marigolds at the same time, and they have been springing up in their own time…
on its way….
What else is going on in the garden? Lots of things are growing… Lots of things are flowering and seeding. Summer gives way to autumn, and the landscape changes… Things grow… things die…
tarragon flowers
abundant chillies
I think these are mother-in-law’s tongue… soaking up the sun.
We think this is an avocado tree… it’s been run over (with a mower, as well as by little feet), and we thought it would die… it’s come back, leafy and green, but it’s not growing any higher… we’ll see…
There’s not much of this green lavender left – it looks more like this –
It has its own kind of dignity.
beautiful…
lovely shape, and shadow…
Looking forward to what will grow through the seasons… edible as well as beautiful, healthy for the body and soul…
Consider the Weeds
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” Matthew 6:28,29
I have been contemplating the weeds in our yard. They made me think of this verse…. quiet, unassuming, seemingly good for nothing….
… yet still beautiful, in their small, unobtrusive way.
Who decides what is a weed? I suppose the level of invasiveness has something to do with it. Perhaps what I am seeing as beautiful is also destructive in some way – I’m not a good enough gardener to know 😀
Here’s what I saw today –
These have tiny little flowers, a few mms across. They’re dotted about the place, looking happy.
This one has a tiny purple flower. I couldn’t find one open… it’s normally a similar size to the yellow one. They hide in amongst the grass, occasionally flashing a bit of colour.
I love the shape of these.
At least three different types – a mini garden!
So, what do I get from this? Maybe that I should shine.. sparkle with colour… even if no-one notices. That I should, like the weeds, or the lilies of the field, shine for my King, regardless! 😀
Words
I was looking through some poetry today, searching for inspiration….
I enjoyed revisiting some favourites…
Here’s a couple I’ve written in the inside cover of my writing book, to remind me of what I’m doing there!
What is Poetry? Who Knows?
Not the rose, but the scent of the rose;
Not the sky, but the light in the sky;
Not the fly, but the gleam of the fly;
Not the sea, but the sound of the sea;
Not myself, but what makes me
See, hear and feel something that prose
Cannot: and what it is, who knows!
Eleanor Farjeon – Poems for Children
He ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust,
He knew no more that he was poor,
Or that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy ways
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book. What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!
Emily Dickinson – The Poems of Emily Dickinson
Here’s a couple from Steve Turner, a writer I hadn’t heard of before a friend gave me a book of his to read. I loved pretty much all of them….
City Sunset (ii)
Tall buildings
poised
like chessmen
in cloudy fingers.
Sneaky old sun
makes
a last move.
In The End
In the end.
In the very end of the last moment,
when the filter tip of the world
is completely shadowed by a descending
heel, we’ll call in the experts
for their considered opinion.
We’ll arrange for an apocalyptic
edition of Time Magazine,
complete with artists’ impressions.
We’ll comfort ourselves with the fact
that it has never happened before.
In the end, we’ll be deciding
whether to decide.
In the very end of the last moment,
we’ll falter,
half-believing,
crushed.
In My World
In my world
I would write
of golden suns
if it weren’t
for the obscuring clouds.
I would write
of the wind-bent grass
but all the fields are tarmacked
& multistorey.
Instead I’ll be
an urban Wordsworth
writing of
reinforced concrete landscapes
& clear brown skies
where
to wander lonely as a cloud
is just not advisable
after dark.
… and my favourite…. 😀
White With Two Sugars (please)
Coffee gives you
a legal shot of
energy when your
eyelids are feeling
down.
Coffee kills time
when you’re washed
ashore on the streets
of London.
(Coffee can even
help rainstorms
disappear)
Coffee is something
to dangle your lips
in when conversation
is scarce.
Coffee is a good
place to take a
new friend.
(Coffee is an excuse
to stay half an hour
longer.)
Aquaintanceships end
on the doorstep but
friendships begin
with coffee.
Coffee can be
appreciated by all
generations.
Coffee is a multilingual,
multi-racial, liquid esperanto.
Yes.
There’s something quite
religious about coffee.
Random Songs
Had a magical mystery tour through Youtube, thought I’d share 😀
Iron and Wine – Naked As We Came – Sweet 😀
She and Him – Thieves – loved the video…
The Weepies – Stars – made me cry 😦
Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim – simple song.. loved the animation…
Kate Nash – Mariella – another animation…
Sufjan Stevens – Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing – This is one of my favourite Sufjan songs – this doesn’t include the whole song, though, but the video is gorgeous!
Audrey Assad – Restless – and a beautiful song to finish the evening 😀
Morning Tea…
Back to the cafe today… had a hot chocolate and a lovely vanilla cupcake with lavender icing..
here’s the cake….
here’s the icing (pretty lavender sugar on top!)
I like to take photos of things that catch my eye… as I was sitting, eating, i noticed that the mirror on the opposite wall caught the reflection of part of the painting on the wall above me – it looked like the woman in the painting was peeking round the frame at us 😀
She reminds me of someone….
George
One of my favourite songs – the video is beautiful, too….
This seems a bit quiet 😦 and there’s about two minutes of empty space at the end…. but – enjoy!
1000 Fields of Roses 