Tuesday, 23 February 2016

Day 287: Puppy love

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." - Bernard Williams

 

Project 365: #287

Well, more than a week has gone by, and I have just not got around to posting my daily gratitude or thoughts....it's not that I haven't had anything to be grateful for, but life just seems to by flying by...and to add to the already existing chaos in our lives we have added a new baby - Riley, the rescue pup :) He is a heeler/pointer/terrior who knows what, but is a bundle of cuteness....when he is sleeping (he even tucks himself in, under the covers, head on the cushions, ON the COUCH!)...and a little terror when he is awake!! As you can imagine, our lives have been turned upside down, and we all need a little adjustment, especially the kitties who look at him in great disdain!....anyhoo, Riley has won over all our hearts, and willingly dishes out plenty of  puppy kisses. He has definitely lifted the mood in our house, and is much cheaper than a psychiatrist....we have been rescued by our rescue!


Wednesday, 10 February 2016

Day 286: Ash Wednesday

 "Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the divine therapy. It's a time to look what our instinctual needs are, look at what the dynamics of our unconscious are." - Thomas Keating


Project 365: #286

There is something very beautiful about freshly fallen snow - when the wind is not blowing it accumulates on the trees and branches, much like ash after a heavy bush fire, but without the destruction. There is something refreshing and renewing about the snow. It strips everything of its color, leaving just black, white and grey, with occasional splashes of other colors. As it melts, the colors slowly seep back, washed and fresh. Ash Wednesday heralds the start of Lent, which is a good time to wash the soul, and renew ourselves in divine therapy. It is a spiritual time-out and re-set to focus on the right path and direction. It is much easier to be grateful for what we have when we sit in quite reflection.



Day 285: Perfect shadow

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow." - Helen Keller


Project 365: #285

Important advice! For if we keep looking forward, we can move beyond the shadows in our past! Mouse's perfect shadow below the important motto of 'Dream, Believe, Succeed'! Keep your face to the sunshine and don't stop dreaming, and believing, and your dreams will become reality, flourishing in success!




Day 284: Coffee and rusks

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr.


Project 365: #284

We woke up to a light dusting of snow this morning. Sadly not enough to declare a snow day, especially after Super Bowl Sunday! Anyhow, it discouraged me from dashing out into the snow for my morning exercise fix. Instead, I opted for coffee and homemade rusks...a good ZA staple! Yum! This is my comfort zone. When I don't know what else to do, it is always good to fall back on comfort. However, if we had not been extended with all the changes and moves we have made recently, we would not know what we are capable of. It is awesome to see what the girls have been capable of when everything they know has been challenged. The experience has grown them in so many different ways, way past their comfort and convenience, into confident, successful young ladies, well-equipped with new life skills to face the next challenges in their time-lines!



Day 283: Super Bowl Sunday

"The truth is the Super Bowl long ago became more than just a football game. It's part of our culture like turkey at Thanksgiving and lights at Christmas, and like those holidays beyond their meaning, a factor in our economy." - Bob Schieffer


Project 365: #283

Our first experience of Super Bowl Sunday! (Just in case we thought we would miss rugby). I could see this becoming an institution! Nicole went to her own party, and Caitlin and I ventured to ours with appetizers and drinks in hand (Mike watched at home, in case he missed anything!) Well, we had fun, and did actually watch some football, and thoroughly enjoyed the ads, and halftime entertainment (and the local breakdown of them). What a great way to become immersed in the culture. Oh yes, we played the most entertaining board games in between. What fun! Thank you to our friends for inviting us, sharing with us, and teaching us some of your culture!




Saturday, 6 February 2016

Day 282: Cosy fireplace

"For me, there's nothing better than curling up in my favorite blanket on a cloudy or rainy day and just knit. Especially in front of the fireplace" - Magdalena Neuner


Project 365: #282

The highlight of my day today was testing out our new fireplace...I have been nagging for ages, and now I know why there has been a reluctance....maybe it is because it smokes the house out and sets off the carbon-monoxide sensors....anyway, once we worked out the system it was awesome to sit and relax in the lounge, enjoying our first fire in the fireplace. I curled up on the couch, under a blanket, with the cats (naturally,) and enjoyed the peacefulness that it brings.



Friday, 5 February 2016

Day 281: Black and white

 "The snow itself is lonely or, if you prefer, self-sufficient. There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only." - Joseph Wood Krutch


Project 365: #281

The view on the way to school this morning, and disappointingly, there was not even a delayed opening! Sniff! It did mean that Mike was up early clearing the driveway and his car so he could get to work and we could get to school. This was the most amazing snow, as there was no wind, so the snow stuck to and covered everything, making the world look black and white, but mostly white. Snow is an amazing leveler, coating everything the same, uniting the world we can see, if only for a little while! It is good to see  a clear picture of everything with minimal details. The world is beautiful while it is snowing...can't say I am a fan of the mess it leaves as it piles up and starts to melt, and the work it inadvertently creates!


Day 278: Groundhog Day

"If it all just happens like this for the rest of my life, it's going to be one endless Groundhog Day. I determined that I was not prepared to submit to this regime, so I thought I had to do something about it." - Bruce Dickinson


Project 365: #278

"Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye
Now, this Second Day of February, Two Thousand and Sixteen, the One Hundred and Thirtieth Annual Trek of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club….
Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of All Prognosticators, was awakened from his borrow to the cheers of his thousands of faithful followers….
In Groundhogese, he directed the President and the Inner Circle to the precise prediction Scroll, which translated reads:

The inner circle goes to great ends  
To keep me abreast of latest trends
 Down in my burrow I never get bored   
Riding on my hover board 
And I sure have fun flying my drone 
But weather forecasting is my comfort zone 
Is this current warm weather more than a trend? 
 Per chance this winter has come to an end? 
There is no shadow to be cast,  
 An early Spring is my forecast!"

 Picture courtesy of http://www.visitpa.com/articles/groundhog-day

Well, it turns out that this is a big celebration just down the road from us, and it happens that 2016 is the 130th anniversary of Groundhog Day, which all started in 1886 with the celebration of Candelmas, a Christian holiday where candles were blessed and distributed. German immigrants brought the tradition taught to them from Roman legions, to Pennsylvania: if clear skies occurred on this day, then winter was declared over, or if the sun was out, and a hedgehog would cast a shadow, six more weeks of bad weather or "second winter" were declared. In 1886, "The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club", a group of groundhog hunters, proclaimed that Punxsutawney Phil was the "one and only prognosticating groundhog", and one of the members of this group, an editor from a local newspaper, issued a proclamation on Candlemas, spreading Phil's fame! And so the tradition has continued...and Phil officially declared an early spring this year, as no shadow was cast! Woohoo!!! Hopefully the snow-cast for later in the week will not hold true!

Anyhow, who really knows....the most important thing is to enjoy each day for what it is, and not have to get stuck in "Groundhog Day" in the endless repetition of life, not being able to break free to realize our dreams!

 All info on Phil courtesy of http://www.groundhog.org/groundhog-day-2016/.

Day 280: River ice

"While the river of life glides along smoothly, it remains the same river; only the landscape on either bank seems to change." - Max Muller


Project 365: #280

Same river, different day! With all the snow, and the rising temperatures, the  snow has started melting, increasing runoff and the level of the river, which has been melting the ice that formed on the surface. This has made for the most amazing ice formations and scenery, as the river snakes through the snow, breaking through the surface every now and again. The only way you can tell the river is nearby in some sections is the sound of the rushing water, which seems amplified by the ice and snow. It is amazing to think it is the same river that we see regularly, but it looks so different covered in snow. Life is pretty much the same, each day seemingly different and yet the same. Even generationally, the kids think everything is so different to when we grew up...somethings have changed, but fundamentally everything is still the same.








Day 279: Cat comfort

 "Cats are connoisseurs of comfort." - James Herriot


Project 365: #279

Cats truly are the connoisseurs of comfort....they always find the most comfy places to sleep in the house, preferably a warm and cosy rumpled up duvet in the sun for a nice long afternoon nap! I do often think that if I were to come back as an animal, it would have to be a cat in this house, as they completely rule the roost, and have everyone doing their bidding! Not a bad place to live! Mouse was even getting mad at me for taking photos as I was disturbing her! And small and cute as she may be, she is the most feisty, demanding, and temperamental cat I have ever met!



Monday, 1 February 2016

Day 277: Frozen lake

 "Hold fast to dreams 

For when dreams go 

Life is a barren field 

Frozen with snow" 

- Langston Hughes



Project 365:#277

It is fundamental to hold onto dreams, for when you get caught up in the everydayness of life you forget what you are living for, and everything becomes frozen and barren. Dreams keep life alive, and keep you working for what you believe in. We dreamed of getting to where we are now, but some days we forget that dream and are overwhelmed in the red tape, cost, sacrifice, and everything else that has to be carried out to make the dreams come true. Dreaming keeps you motivated, moving forward, knowing the snowmelt is on the way...eventually! In the temporary freeze, enjoy the scenery, it too is beautiful!