Twenty-eight years ago today, April 22nd, I became a mother for the first time.
The events of the day are embedded in my brain, they always will be, but isn’t it the same for every woman? How could she ever forget a single detail of the day when she exchanges her life of singular, to include another little human who is totally dependent upon her?
From the very first moment when I laid eyes upon my first-born baby, my son, Ben, was the moment that I became instantly besotted by my pink, perfect, new-born little person.
Brooklyn Bridge.
And today, as Ben turned twenty-eight years of age, and I looked into those pale blue eyes of his, I realised as I have done so many times during those twenty-eight years that he still holds my heart in the palm of his hand. He always has, he always will.
On Ben’s birthday last year we didn’t have the opportunity to hug him tight as we wished him a happy birthday as he was in the U.S.A., spending the day doing one of the things he loves the most, listening to music at the three day annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Statue of Liberty.
Ben spent five weeks in the U.S.A. and even though he had previously travelled to Japan, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, I think it would be safe to say that his trip to America was the trip of a lifetime. Ben loved the States, especially New York City, where he and his mates spent eight days and nights exploring the sites.
Ben arrived home telling us all that New York City is his favourite city in the world so far, so for his birthday, I thought I would begin to share just couple of photos that he has given me of his trip. I told him that I’m sure my friends overseas, who read my blog, would like to see the U.S.A. through the eyes of an Australian and I’m thrilled to bits that he is allowing me to share them with you!
The Wall Street Bull has a lot in common with Ben, his star sign being Taurus the Bull!
I have a few of Ben’s photos to progressively show you all. Maybe even my American friends might see an area or two of their country that they haven’t explored themselves yet! There’s certainly an awful lot of Australia that I haven’t seen yet, in fact it’s surprising how travellers will often see more of a country than the locals do, as their intention is to travel and see as much as they can fit into the duration of their holiday.
Ben, photo taken January 19th this year at his grandmother’s birthday party.
Late last year, while I was up to my elbows in sewing school uniforms for a few local schools for the beginning of the school year this year, I happened to get a phone call one day that had me buying myself an early Christmas present.
I have subscribed to a craft magazine for some years now, and the company was offering their subscribers a deal “too good to refuse”. I must say I was sceptical and had no intentions of buying whatever they had on offer.
Quilting ‘fat-quarters” all neatly arranged in a sewing storage box.
So, the spiel began, I half listened. A few words caught my attention, fat quarters, sewing lamp, quilt wadding, scissors, sewing box….usual price ~ a trillion dollars, but for you today ~ dirt cheap.
“Would you care to repeat that?” I asked the very patient sales woman, as I apologised for being preoccupied with having so much work to get through.
She obliged, I did the mental sums; this was a great deal! And I rarely spend money on myself, and these were items that I would get a lot of use out of….
A beautiful wooden sewing box with a padded hinged lid, and drawer beneath.
I’m not sure if the sales woman did a good job of convincing me that I had to have these items, or if I convinced myself. Regardless, I hung up the phone after exchanging pleasantries with the friendly woman on the other end of the line, feeling quite excited about my unexpected purchase.
A few days later, (which seemed like such a long time as I really was looking forward to my purchase arriving), two large boxes arrived at the post office.
I’ve had this scissor set for several years now, but aren’t they pretty?
It was so much fun looking through my newly purchased craft items, but back then was not the time to be lingering over them, I still had work to get through. It is only this week that I have finally unpacked the boxes and found homes for all of my new sewing necessities.
Let me tell you, I’m not a woman who gets overly excited over new clothes and shoes. I like to wear comfortable clothes, mostly jeans and tops that are made of soft fabric, and around home I usually go bare foot, except during cooler weather when I wear my fluffy deep pink “ugg” boots. But give me two boxes of newly purchased craft and sewing bits and bobs and I’m in seventh heaven!
Empty compartments, waiting for some love.
The last time I received a new sewing box was for my tenth birthday. My sister gave it to me and it was the last birthday present I ever got from her, as shortly after my birthday she joined a religion which does not celebrate birthdays, so my old sewing box is something I have treasured for many years, although it is rarely used now. Instead, I use pretty tins that once contained biscuits, or old chocolate boxes to store my sewing treasures. I even use an old tobacco tin that once contained my dad’s pipe tobacco!
Added character to the bare wood.
Unfortunately the nostalgic odour of dad’s pipe tobacco is long gone now, making it easier for me to part company with an old memory and make way for my new sewing box, a part of my super-beaut buy!
It is a stained wooden box with a padded hinged lid and one single drawer underneath. Both the top section and the drawer are partitioned, to keep small sewing paraphernalia separated and neatly ready for use.
All felted up and ready for bits & bobs.
All that was missing was that each section needed to have a lining, to give it a more homey feel, so I searched through my stock of felt pieces and found two pieces of lilac coloured felt and one deep purple, which would suit the colour of the wood beautifully.
Neat little boxes, to hold sewing items, neatly!
So today, I fiddled and measured and cut and glued, then sorted old tins and boxes, finally arranging all of my needles, tape measures, pins, elastic, scissors, and everything else that had been in something of a muddle for years, into my new sewing box. I hadn’t thought these things to be in a muddle though, not until I saw the end result of my labour today, with everything so organised.
A place for everything and some room to spare.
With the shelves beside my sewing machine in my sewing cupboard all cleared off and cleaned, I arranged everything back onto the shelves, and now I’m all set to go!
What I’d really like to hear about now is this ~ do you have a hobby that makes your heart sing, one which you can become so engrossed in that you lose all track of time, almost as if you were a child again and had just discovered your favourite toy to play with?
All ready to begin the next project.
I think that everyone should have at least one hobby that can brush away all the cares in the world.
So funtional, and so pretty!
I know that I have several, but they are stories that will have to wait for another day. 🙂
“Me thinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859
Christian Daa Larson (1874 – 1962) an American author, wrote The Optimist’s Creed in 1922 and his phenomenal insight still holds true today. Christian was a leader in what was known as the New Thought Movement, described as promoting the ideas that “Infinite Intelligence, or God, is everywhere, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and “right thinking” has a healing effect.”
Today I would like to share with you “The Optimist’s Creed”, sage words which still apply today and will continue to do so for all time.
Wishing you divine healing, always….
I promise myself ~
To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.
To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet.
To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticise others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me. ~ Christian D. Larson.
“Listen, God love everything you love – and a mess of stuff you don’t. But more than anything else, God love admiration.
You saying God vain? I ast.
Naw, she say. Not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off if you walk by the colour purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”
~ Conversation between Shug and Celie, as told by Celie to her sister Nettie in a letter. From the book The Colour Purple written by Alice Walker.
If I were asked to pick one colour as my most favourite of all colours, I know that I would not choose the colour purple, yet I can totally relate to the quote above from the book “The Colour Purple”. I’m sure my heart skips a beat when I see a purple flower, or anything in nature showing the colour. I even love to see purple in the sky, although it is usually a sign of imminent, or earlier, bad weather.
After wild weather, the colour purple shares the sky with an orange sunset.
As a child, one of my girls absolutely loved purple, everything she owned had to be purple, there were no if’s or but’s about it, so I did a bit of research on purple to find out, if anything, what a love for the colour signified. The one thing that struck me the most all those years ago was how purple was regarded as a spiritual colour. My daughter, who was crazy for the colour, could look deep inside a person’s soul. Even today, at age twenty, she “feels” her way through life, like no other young person I have ever met.
In the Catholic Church, the colour purple is worn by cardinals and bishops and during lent is regarded as the colour of pain and suffering. Up until the mid twentieth century, purple was regarded as the colour for mourning in England.
Thought of at one time as a regal colour, purple fabric was so expensive that only the rich in society could afford clothing made from purple, therefore purple became a status colour, worn only by the wealthy or privileged.
Buddleia’s are also known as the Butterfly Bush. If I were a butterfly I’m sure I’d love to sit in the sunshine on this flower, enjoying the colour.
So having established that purple has enjoyed quite a colourful history throughout the centuries, what effect does the colour have on our personalities?
Besides being a spiritual colour, purple, and the lighter shade of violet, are both connected to the imagination and intuition. Lovers of purple will want to run their own race as individuals, are often surrounded by mystery, can be psychic and can live in a world of fantasy, needing to escape the realities of the world. Purple lovers are often the daydreamers among us and being around the colour has a calming effect on the person.
The negative aspects of the colour purple, especially a liking for the darker shades, can be that the person is possibly immature, can be cynical and arrogant and can at times be seen as a social climber. It can also represent loneliness and mourning.
I love the plum coloured beading on this lamp.
But lets not dwell too long on the negative aspects of this most distinguished of all colours. Something that you may not know about the colour purple, being a combination of the colours red and blue, it possesses the strength of the colour red, combined with the integrity of the colour blue.
And here’s another thing you may not know about what I have written here, and the photos I have added showing The Colour Purple in my life ~ this is my contribution to Karma’s “Colours of Your World” photo assignment. And it gets even better, after Karma red read my last post here, “The Psychology of Colours ~ Featuring the Colour Red”, it gave her the inspiration for her latest photo challenge!
It’s lilac, and it features nature, so this picture gives me great enjoyment.
Karma has set the deadline to get the assignment in by April 28th (but she’s pretty cruisy about deadlines!) so if you too feel inspired, why not join in the challenge and add a post with photos of some of your favourite, or not so favourite, colours.
I’m enjoying learning about the psychology of colours so much, and there seemed to be quite a bit of interest in my findings on the colour red, so I’ve decided to feature a new colour each week, (until I run out of colours!)
How do you feel about the colour purple, do you love it, or loath it? It could be fascinating to look at the reasons why you feel the way you do. 🙂
These tiny violets are a beautiful ground cover in my garden.
The Violet ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Written 1773)
A violet blossom’d on the lea,
Half hidden from the eye,
As fair a flower as you might see;
When there came tripping by
A shepherd maiden fair and young,
Lightly, lightly o’er the lea;
Care she knew not, and she sung Merrily!
“Red is the great clarifier – bright and revealing. I can’t imagine becoming bored with red – it would be like becoming bored with the person you love.” ~ Diana Vreeland.
The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge announced a week ago invited us all to add a post about colour. Even though I didn’t add anything during the allocated week it did have me pondering colour yet again, and more to the point the psychology behind colours.
Varying shades of red…
My favoured colour has always been within the range of red, although the colour that I would call “fire engine red” is one that I use sparingly. My preference begins within the range of pinks, but excluded baby pink, which I only like for babies, and hot pink which is great for the young. The photo above shows the colour of the walls in one of the rooms of my house, which is more of a dusky pink.
Various shades of pink in the curtains.
As you can see here, Miss Tibbs is the focal point of the above photo, but take a look behind her and you will see various shades of pink in the curtains. These poor old curtains have seen better days now and will one day be replaced. When I have worked out what I would like to replace them with, that is!
There are shades of red in the office too.
Even on my office desk I have some red items, although as I look around this room I don’t see a lot of definite colour in the room. What is there, however, is pink to reddish tones.
More varying shades of the colour red ~ they are everywhere!
I’m working on a new knitting project just now (more about that at a later date though!) and the colour that I was immediately drawn when choosing the wool was maroon.
My Very Comfy Favorite Chair is burgundy, there are pink and red splashes of colour on the quilt over the arm of the chair and even my coffee cup, a Royal Albert Old English Rose design, has red roses on it.
So what does this all mean? Red is known as a colour of warmth and strength, a power colour, promoting a strong will and confidence. Red is also known as the colour of passion and love. Think about the number of red roses sold on Valentine’s Day and when a love-heart is shown in colour, it always appears in the colour red.
Keywords of the personalities of those who favour the colour red are ~ optimistic, courageous and confident, action oriented, energetic, ambitious and competitive.
Red colour people are explorers and pioneers, and on the down side can also be aggressive and argumentative. They have a need for power, like to control and are hard workers.
The colour red is regarded as a lucky colour in Chinese culture and is a sign of purity in Indian culture and a touch of red is often added to a wedding dress to symbolise the bride’s purity.
My appetite usually doesn’t need any help getting motivated, but apparently my red bowls are helping anyway!
Also known to stimulate an appetite, red is often used in the advertising and business colours of food outlets. (I’m thinking of McDonald’s here!)
Too much of the colour red surrounding a person can also have an adverse reaction, making them feel irritated, even to the point of becoming angry. If a person is feeling unwell or under any kind of emotional stress, red is a colour to steer clear of, due to the high energy levels that red generates.
It is suggested that a dislike of the colour red suggests that you may find anger, which too much red can promote, a difficult emotion to cope with, therefore you will avoid the colour. Hmm, I can totally relate to that! Too much bright red really can upset my equilibrium, to the point of feeling extremely agitated and I don’t cope with that feeling well at all!
However, like I said, I have a preference myself for varying shades of red, so I have researched this aspect of the colour also. I don’t see myself as a power-hungry explosion of energy, that’s for sure, which is how a red personality person seems to be portrayed, so here are some variations on the differing shades of red ~
Those who are drawn to the colour maroon are more controlled in thought and action than their red-favouring friends.
Burgundy is associated with a more serious and sophisticated personality, and is less energetic than a “red” personality. (Whew, that’s a relief to know!)
Those who favour crimson are still known to be determined to succeed, but will do so without stepping on anyone’s toes, unlike their red loving friends.
Scarlet is also known as a less intense colour, indicating enthusiasm and a love of life.
Favouring the colour pink is a whole separate topic again, but just as the colour is softer than red, the suggestion is that “pink” people are much gentler in personality.
So as you can see, there are many diversions to the psychology of a colour, it’s not just a simple matter of the associated personality traits all being “black and white” (yes, pun intended….groan….)
I’ve enjoyed researching the indications of preferences for colours, and how each colour can affect our personalities. I do hope you have enjoyed reading this too, just for a bit of fun.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether you agree that colour choices we make and colours we favour can have a psychological impact on us and influence our lives in any way, and whether or not a colour can be associated with a certain personality type.
If enough interest is shown, I may even follow up with some more research into the other “colour” personalities on the spectrum of life, but for now, I think I’ll head off, (wearing my dark red jumper, blue denim jeans and deep pink Ugg boots,) for a cup of coffee, in my red roses cup, of course. 🙂
In My World 