Tag: love

A Sense of Spirit · blessings · daughter · gratitude · Mum · son

Mother’s Day 2013.

Joanne7 Comments
Happy Mother's Day to my friends.
Happy Mother’s Day to my friends.

“The most precious jewels you will ever have around your neck
are the arms of your children.” ~ Unknown.

I write this the morning after Mother’s Day, on a cold and misty Monday morning here in Australia. There was no time for sitting at my desk yesterday, I was far too busy enjoying my four children, who all spent most of the day with me for Mother’s Day.

We enjoyed lunch together, ate way too much food, followed by cakes and coffee. My mother-in-law was here as well and the four of us girls chatted away together at the dinner table long after the meal had ended, while the boys watched football matches on the television.

What more could a mother ask?

If really pushed, I could answer that question in an instant ~ if I could have seen my own mother at the table with us, chatting with us as she so loved to do, oh, how wonderful that would have been.

I know she was here, I just couldn’t see her. She visits me often, I know, and I do talk to her, I just don’t hear her replies.

That’s the way it is though, with mother’s and their children, the bond lasts forever, nothing can ever part them, and we rejoice in the new generations whilst holding the past generations still very close to our hearts.

With the time differences throughout the world it may still be Mother’s Day in your part of the world as you read this now, and if so, I wish you the happiest of days filled with the love of your children in your heart. And even if, like me, you are too busy with your babies and are reading my wishes after the actual day, the wishes still remain. Don’t you think that every day is a very special day in the world, when we are the mother of someone?

I know I do.

So, from my heart to yours, I wish you the happiest days forever and always, days filled with the love of with being a mum. xxxxxx

My mum and me. This tiny doll stands at only three inches tall and was saved by my mum for many years after I had finished playing with it.
My mum and me. This tiny doll stands at only three inches tall and was saved by my mum for many years after I had finished playing with it.
happiness · rain

The Most Romantic Non-Proposal of All Time.

Joanne13 Comments

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“Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.” ~ H. Jackson Brown Junior.

It’s St. Valentine’s Day, a day when apparently many love-sick men propose marriage to their heart’s desire, as they bury said lover in mounds of fragrant roses whilst simultaneously slipping thousands of dollars worth of diamonds onto their beloveds petite hand.

I’m afraid the idea of such a proposal leaves me feeling rather flat.

How about some uncommercialised, straight-from-the-heart, free-from-gushing honesty this year?

One of the most romantic scenes I have ever seen in a movie is from “Three Weddings and a Funeral”. It is pure honesty at it’s best. I love it!

How do you feel about St. Valentine’s Day? Is it overrated, or do you enjoy the gushing and glitz?

blessings · Changes · enchanting · happiness

Summer’s Enchanting Changes

Joanne13 Comments

flowering pony tails

“And meanwhile the beautiful golden days were dropping gently from the second week one by one, equal in beauty with those of the first, and the scent of beanfields in flower on the hillside beyond the village came across to San Salvatore whenever the air moved.” ~ The Enchanted April.

The year is a whole two weeks old and summer, although slow to start in my corner of the sub-tropics, has made up for the previous lack of hot summer’s days during the past week.

The highest temperature we have reached has only been around 34 degrees Celsius, which is easy to cope with, if it wasn’t for the humidity. During days of humidity there is nothing else to do other than to lazy around, drinking cold glasses of water, windows opened wide, trying to catch just a hint of a breeze wafting through, even if only for a moment or two.

Change can be such a fickle little creature though. Never become resolved to expecting almost intolerable heat for the next few weeks, once it seems to have set in. You may be surprised by the cool winds of change, gentle rain, cool breezes, and temperatures dropping by ten degrees within a few hours….

wet web

Ahhhhh, the relief the cooler air, the ever so slight chill on my arms and promises of a night of sweet dreams, unhindered by the heat, after I have finished reading the last chapter of “The Enchanted April”.

Oh how I have enjoyed reading this book, taking virtual walks through the gardens of the Italian castle on the shores of the Mediterranean Ocean, with Rose, Lotty, Lady Caroline and old Mrs Fisher, each in their own time experiencing the bewitching spell which is cast over them by the beauty and magic surrounding the castle by the sea.

This place, this time, has changed all of their lives, forever.

purple

I am completely and thoroughly besotted by this book. It has touched my heart with its simplicity. The old world charm of the text is simply delightful. Moments of dry humour are dotted throughout the story. Each chapter holds within its pages the promise of magic and love, happiness and wonder, and gardens filled with the fragrances and colours of the season.

“In the garden that second week the poet’s eyed narcissus disappeared out of the long grass at the edge of the zigzag path, and wild gladiolus, slender and rose-coloured, came in their stead, white pinks bloomed in the borders, filling the whole place with their smoky-sweet smell, and a bush nobody had noticed burst into glory and fragrance, and it was a purple lilac bush.”

Simply enchanting….

Australia · friends · happiness · new · old house · photography

As “life” interrupts my dreams, of old loves and new….

Joanne20 Comments

fixer upper

“Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” ~ Napoleon Hill

Really and truly, I must have rocks in my head to think I can consistently blog, on a regular basis, when I have so many unexpected interruption out in the “real world”!

ripples

At times, I do wonder which world is actually my “real world”, after I return to my blog, begin again to visit the blogs of my friends, and feel the warm and inviting sense of friendship and belonging which exists here in the Blogosphere. Do you feel it too, the friendship and caring that exists between the thousands of miles that span the world, when we visit with friends we have yet to meet? It’s the feeling of meeting up again with old friends, friends who mean the world to you, friends who you could not imagine life without, now that you have met.

old boats

For the last few weeks I have been mostly working, although I have managed to fit in some very enjoyable days, hours and moments. Photos have been taken, time has been spent with “offline” friends, I’ve even managed to fit in a weeks holiday….

About three hours drive north of here, at Noosa in Queensland, there is a resort that my family and I have visited for over fifteen years now. I call it my “home away from home” and we have managed a short break there recently. I love spending time in and around Noosa and thought I had explored every single corner of the area, until this visit.

hidden

I fell totally and absolutely in love with a secluded little corner of land, just a few minutes drive from Noosa, which I had never visited before. I didn’t even know this place existed! It is a remote little corner, tucked out-of-the-way of the main roads, with a huge lake and just a few streets lined with cosy little homes. That’s it. No shops. No clubs. No schools. Nothing. Just the lake, with an atmosphere of joy and love and happiness. And promises of  time spent strolling along the water, feeling the gentle breeze dancing across your skin and listening to the water calmly rippling over your feet as you stand beside the shore….

….or sitting beside the shore of the lake in a tiny, fold-up chair, just passing the time of day reading, or drifting along in the water in a little boat, which you find hidden away in among the trees.

park

Such a beautiful dream, which may one day become a reality.

As I dream of my new-found love, Christmas is approaching, there are puddings to prepare, mince pies to bake and Christmas cakes to ice. Yes, the “real world” is calling me again and I must answer her call….

inspiration · photography · spiritual · vision

Imagine…

Joanne13 Comments

Today is the International  Day of Peace and rather than talking about peace, I would like to stay silent.

Talking has its place, but can be so over-rated at times, so on this day of peace, I will simply offer scenes of those things which bring peace to my days.

“There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.” ~ A. J. Muste.

“It is possible to live happily in the here and now. So many conditions of happiness are available—more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don’t have to run into the future in order to get more.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh.

“Yes, we are all different. Different customs, different foods, different mannerisms, different languages, but not so different that we cannot get along with one another. If we will disagree without being disagreeable.” ~ J. Martin Kohe.

“Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.” ~ Buddha.

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” ~ Dalai Lama.

“People suffer because they are caught in their views. As soon as we release those views, we are free and we don’t suffer anymore.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh.

“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.” ~ Dalai Lama.

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day you will join us and the world will live as one.” ~ John Lennon.