Snippets
The days seem to be going fast… and summer is roaring in. It’s been hot and sticky lately. Probably good weather for the cute cacti I saw today! 🙂
Thankfully, we have a pool in the complex, which I’ve been taking advantage of.
(Was chatting to a little girl from one of the other units yesterday…
Little Girl -“Do you know what I like about my floaties?”
Me – “What’s that, then?”
LG – “They make me float!!!” *squeals* and abrupt demonstration…
I must admit – flotation was definitely evident. 😉 )
Today we went for a coffee.
Something called “Crack Pie” – oatmeal biscuit base with a sort of caramel filling.
My swan coffee (at least, I think that’s what it was…)
We made a good dent in Christmas shopping, and enjoyed it as well! It’s getting a bit more crowded… a bit more busy as the month goes on. Just about time for a song to remember the important things…
Coming To A Standstill
The school year is pretty much over – we’re just making sure the work is finished this week. We decided on the spur of the moment yesterday to go and see “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them”. I thought it was beautiful – from a well-lit and imagined 20’s New York to various fantastic beasts. The story was sweet as well (apart from the destructive parts…) I’m glad we decided to go as a family.
A little while back we went to the Japanese Gardens near us for some quiet stillness, and I filmed a short clip on the iPod. It’s not spectacular – just a fairly ordinary bit of running water, maybe a dragonfly or two… but isn’t that the way we mostly relax? With traffic noise, in a backyard type setting, dreaming because we can…
It’s apparently going to be hot this week. Have a listen to some water, insects and crows – some of the sounds of summer.
Dream on! 🙂
A Refreshing Interlude
Both today and yesterday! 🙂
The year’s coming to an end, so it felt like a good time for something different. We went down to the Japanese Gardens in Queen’s Park to spend some time, individually, being still and quiet. It was lovely – running water, birds, lots of dragonflies… Not sure Littlest Bean understood the idea – he spent the time darting around, counting all the animals and insects he encountered. Even turtles!
I sat outside the teahouse, listening and watching.
There was a lone lotus flower on the other side of the lake.
We went to the library afterwards. It was a refreshing break in our morning…
In other news, our thistle has probably reached the stage where it should be chopped down.
It’s getting a bit wild.
The flowers are still beautiful, though.
I chopped some branches off the mugwort today, and found a little ladybird.
I put it in the grass so it could fly away when it was ready. 🙂
So – what was my refreshment today? I didn’t know which to choose – a good old mystery, or a bit of nostalgic sci-fi. I decided to go for both – Blakes 7 – Mission To Destiny… Agatha Christie in Space!
Faint Not
Today I’ve veered between a sense of disbelief and a renewed appreciation of what is good and beautiful in the world.Here’s what I know 🙂
Yes, there’s terrible things going on in the world. We should never become jaded and complacent, and we should stand against these things and stand with those who suffer them…give – pray – act – whatever we find in our hands to do.
There’s also beauty. We can all bring light to our own spheres of influence. That may be by giving money or time. Where that’s beyond our means, we can still share a smile or a kind word… light always overcomes darkness.
The majority of people are still kind, and generous, and interesting, and often quite surprising!
I believe there is a God Who holds us securely, even if He still gives us enough room to mess things up…
I believe in Jesus, Who came to reconcile us to God, and the Holy Spirit, our comforter and guide. We are never alone, and never abandoned.
There is a thread of love and redemption that winds its way through the universe. It was there at the beginning, and will be there till the end.
Take a breath…
Grab hold…
and hang on!
Take A Break (…And Dance!)
Just spent the morning watching a lesson on geology with the boys – informative, interesting, but veeery long! We had a break in the middle by watching this –
I’ve blogged about this bloke before – it’s a bit chaotic in this world at the moment, isn’t it? It’s nice to be reminded that we can still just take time, and dance together. 🙂
Drawn To Art
I haven’t drawn anything for a long time – too busy, too picky… too scared? I don’t know – just haven’t got around to it. I think about it, and have various books/pencils etc dotted about.
We went into town today to participate in an event at the community gallery that was part of The Big Draw, which originated in the U.K. We joined in this year. The space was set up with various stations – still lifes to choose from, easels with paper and pastels, pencils or pens. I decided to dive in – I’m normally finicky, pencils or pen and ink, but thought I’d just let loose with a bit of colour…
Here’s the station I chose.
You can tell I’m rusty 🙂
Little Bean and Hubby played Exquisite Corpse, where different people do a section of a drawing without seeing the other sections, then hand it on to someone else to continue. They had lots of fun! There was also good food (chocolate and peanut butter brownies! 🙂 ) and coffee. All in all, a fun morning.
I did a pencil drawing, as well…
Perhaps today will inspire me to get the pencils a bit further than the case…
Thistle Work!
Ever had something just… creep up on you?
Here’s a proper thistle!
It’s been growing for a little while… I’ve been waiting for the flowers to open up into purple. It’s taking a while.
We probably should have uprooted it a long time ago, but it seems a shame to destroy such a fine specimen. We thought it might work as a deterrent for anyone wanting to sneak into our back yard…
It was only about waist high last time I looked at it. The recent rain seems to have given it a bit of a boost…
It’ll be interesting to see how high it grows. 🙂
Morning Treasures
Today has not been like our normal Sunday… we spent the day at home. Been resting, reading and drinking coffee/tea. Listening to music… contemplating simplicity. 🙂
I went for a walk earlier (at the moment that means walking up and down the drive – it’s a long drive!) Found this tiny feather on my way.
The weather has been moving between sun and spots of rain – very soothing!
My garden was displaying some more flowers – these are from some type of bean.
…and right now we’re watching a bit of TV before going back to reading.
Happy weekend!
