ps: i had troubles with adding new friends on my blog, so please if you have noticed me visiting your blog all the time, i was not stalking you guys, just trying to copy your URL and add it onto my blog ... i still don't
know why but on some days blog shows me that i follow your blog and on some days it doesn't ... and i don't have enough time and patience to try to figure it out ... :-)
"We're sitting on our blessed Mother Earth from which we get our strength and determination, love and humility - all the beautiful attributes that we've been given. So turn to one another, love one another, respect one another, respect Mother Earth, respect the waters - because that's life itself!"
-Phil Lane, Sr. (Yankton Sioux)
We all want to live a long happy and healthy live.
What do we do for it?
We eat the right diet, we exercise, we reduce the stress.
Some of us are aware that this only is not enough.
We recycle and we protect our planet.
We are aware that we need to stop producing just to produce.
Do we really need to buy a new cell phone (...) while our old one is still working perfectly?
Are we really so limited that we believe all the advertising?
etc.
You have most probably heard about the destruction of the Amazonian forests.
A massive destruction that enriches some
and that, if we don't stop it, will kill us all.
Thankfully there are peoplewho do care.
And today you can help too!
You can sign this petition to help to safe the Amazon!
This is mostly a sentimental reminder of the things that I enjoyed this weekend but I welcome you to read along and maybe share the things that made you happy ...
- bedtime stories and cuddling with my son
- practicing yoga in the garden- sheer bliss (after the rains we finally got some sun and dry weather)
- experimenting with curry leaves in the kitchen
- painting with my son
- letting the sun to soak inside my face
- reading a suggestion that I could call myself a household goddess
(that really does help when I clean the toilets - lol)
- listening to Marshall Rosenberg talking about Nonviolent Communication
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend !!! And that you will have even a more wonderful week ahead :-))
I got very excited when I found out that there is a little farm nearby where we can pick up our own berries and flowers.
Let's go! And we did.
It so reminded me about my childhood and about the times we went to pick up our own free and totally organic berries and mushrooms in the woods and on the meadows.
This time it was not for free but it was the second best to my childhood memories. We got a paper boxes at the entrance and off we went through the alleys picking up raspberries. I was so happy to be able to show to my son how the berries grow and how we need to pick them up. So that he can understand that there is a whole story behind those he can already see packed in the stores. He did love it. And for an entire hour our 3 year old was picking those raspberries with enthusiasm and determination :-)
Then we picked some flowers as well.
Back home I made my first jam. I was not planning on that but we have got sooooo many of the raspberries that I had to. First I was a bit 'sad' that I don't have nice jars but then my eco heart reminded me that those jars I have are just fine and that it is good to recycle :-)
I'm happy to report that my first raspberry jam is yummy :-) And I'm even more happy for the wonderful time we have had out there together - the raspberry farmers as my little one said :-)
Raspberry hugs !!!
ps: maybe you noticed that I usually write in 'blue' and italic ... it looks good and easy to read on my screen
but I'm wondering whether the blue and italic is easy to read on your screen? or whether the text in black
like this post is easier for you to read ... please, let me know, so that I can improve that ... I don't want
you guys to leave my place with a huge headaches ;-) ....
Hello friends! Do you still remember me? I know I said two weeks ... but summer (that btw. feels more like monsoon rains this year) seems to be such a perfect time to gather together with family and friends. And that's exactly what we were doing lately. And we have many sweet memories of that.
But today I want to share the celebration which we were part of just yesterday.
When my friend called me to invite us to her marriage with some 200 other people I was a bit reluctant. I don't like crowds. I really don't. I had nothing to wear. I swear I had not! And I imagined our 3 y/o and how difficult if will be to keep him silent in the church. Our little one just loves to talk and he loves to talk out loud :-)
But then I thought how selfish of me. My friend wanted us to be part of her big day and so I said 'of course, we will be delighted to come'. And we were!
The best part of it was to see the bride and the groom so happy. He touching gently her back. She trying not to tear up (btw. me too trying not to cry but I was not the center of the attention thanks goodness - lol - so it didn't matter ). And the music. The beautiful African drums. The singing. Just so very beautiful. Two people that met one day. They didn't speak the same language. They came from a completely different back rounds. They felt in love and from one they became two and then three.
And yesterday was the day when they wanted to celebrate their joy of being together with their families and friends.
I'm so happy we could be part of that day. I'm wishing them from all my heart that their journey together may be filled with love, joy and health.
Love. One love.
ps: I cannot wait to visit with all of you soon!!! and please forgive me for not being in touch neither via emails, I'll get back to that as well!!!!
"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking." - Friedrich Nietzsche
And we walked peacefully
his little hand in mine
his happy chirping
made me feel like the most blessed one.
I'm going to take two weeks break from Blogger. My family is coming next week to stay with us. The excitement is already here, the dishes are getting ready in my head. Yet I remain calmly in the present moment ... for more than ever I'm aware that ... this is the only real one ...
We are a bit under the weather here. The past rainy & cold days invited us to stay cozy under a warm cover with wonderful books. Or to just sit by the window and quietly listen to the rain drops to fall and to the sound of knitting needles. My dear friend Christina from Soul Aperture said it so beautifully " the sound of the needles is a meditation to me " ... She perfectly described what I feel when I sit and knit ...
Thank you to my another very dear friend Tracy from Pink Purl for always inspiring me so much. Many projects took place thanks to her ;-)
There was time for lots of giggles with our little pumpkin and time for some education ...
" no means NO " ... sigh ...
There was time for a little chocolate treat ... and for some loving kindness meditation ...
This is my favorite spot in the whole garden. This is what I see through the kitchen door when I cook. This view fills me up with serenity, with magic energy. It's my sacred place.
It didn't always look this way. When we started to rent this house, this place was filled up with ugly bushes and weeds. Lot's of weeds. I didn't like it. So last autumn I bought 'Boston Ivy' and I planted it
there. It was very small and I remember asking my dear blogger friends if anyone has any experiences with this plant, how long it takes to grow up ... Nobody really knew.
So I'm happy to report :-) that if you plant the Boston Ivy in the autumn, then next spring it will grow like crazy :-) However you need to be patient. In April I had a quick look at the plant and sadly I thought it didn't make it throughout the rough winter we had. So I took the rake and my gardening gloves and I went to 'dig it all out' thinking I will have to find more suitable plant for this place.
As soon as I did bend over to dig the first one out I spotted a very tiny tiny leave on one of the plants. I carefully analyzed all of it and I realized that it was starting to grow!! I packed the rake and I watered it. Within two weeks this Boston Ivy started to grow happily and beautifully, to my biggest joy.
It's leaves turn a beautiful red in the autumn.
I love when the sun falls on it like in the picture above. Do you have any favorite spot in your garden or in the nearby park? Do you have your own 'sacred place' that fills you up with serenity and joy?
"When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love. "
— Thich Nhat Hanh
How was your weekend friends? On Saturday I woke up to mindfulness. It kind of came to me spontaneously without any effort. As the day went by at times I needed to remind myself to stay mindful at times.
I had a wonderful Saturday. I think thanks to my mindfulness throughout the day I felt such an inner peace and joy.
However on Sunday after hubby mentioned 'vacation' I started to day dream and the mindfulness was gone and the truth is that the inner peace and joy was gone as well. And somehow, compare to Saturday my Sunday felt like a 'lost' day ...
Inner peace is something I have always been 'looking for'. As for me, it's the most important state of mind I wish to have. I believe when we feel inner peace we can also feel happiness, joy ... and I believe it's highly contagious. Why then, if it is not actually as difficult to stay mindful, I (we) don't practice the mindfulness more often? Why we don't make it a part of our daily life?
Anyone wants to join me in practicing more mindfulness in the daily life? ;-)
In the above picture a little sneak peek into our weekend. I did spare you of the bloody broken lip and nose of my little pumpkin. Bad fall but thank you Universe! it looked much worse then it was in reality.
The nose was just a bit sprained and not broken! *big sigh of relieve*
We have been under a dry weather for about two months now. The sheep ate all the grass. I know that they will come to drive them to more greenish place soon. Maybe even today.
So I quickly took this picture where all the sheep are together. Maybe you remember my excitement when they brought the sheep back. We soon became close with Rosy and her 2 babies. 3 weeks ago, after the return from our travels, we noticed right away that momma sheep with two new lambs were added to the group. I was so happy to see momma sheep again. The old good momma sheep. I think she must have remembered me because this time she would come for bread and take it from my hand. Yet she still was the same fearful one. And a very good momma to her babies. Every time they came to drink her milk she would stand patiently and wait till they were 'full'.
Contrary to Rosy. Rosy seemed to be very impatient. She would start to move and would not really allow her little ones to drink at ease. And Rosy would also try to hit Mr. T (our dog) as soon as he would go close to the fence to look for the rest of the bread that we gave to the sheep. Oh, Rosy Rosy ... I thought. Than one night as I was watching them from the window (it's much better then to watch TV, believe me :-) I saw Rosy cuddling with one of her babies. The lamb would push her head and Rosy would lick him and she was just so lovely playing with her lamb. I did like Rosy a lot but it was at this moment, after seeing how she played with her lamb, that I 'felt in love' with her.
There goes my another lesson on 'judgment' ... you see? ... I shall not judge anything today, I'll just be the silent witness to all that is ... sigh and smile.
There are many beautiful stories we have with the sheep. We are going to enjoy them as long as they are here and then we will have some sweet memories till they'll back which may take many many weeks.
