Something's Missing...

First Piano Lesson....Purrrfect.

Optimism...

Real optimism is aware of problems but recognizes solutions;

Knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome;

Sees the negatives, but accentuates the positives;

Is exposed to the worst but expects the best;

Has reason to complain, but chooses to smile.

~William Arthur Ward

Of Friendships and Fish & Chips......

I was digging through some photographs yesterday, and came across this picture.

It was sent to me several years ago, from my childhood best friend Caroline, (on the right), taken standing in front of her parents Fish and Chip shop in my hometown.
I think we were about nine years old, and inseparable.

At some point the photograph had been torn, and Caroline had taped it back together, which accounts for the distortion in her little face.
I think someone may have told me NOT to smile :)

Her younger brother (David), shown in the middle of the photograph was a "live wire", always teasing us girls.
Sadly, he has passed away, from complications with his diabetes.
He was much too young to have left this earth.......



We made some wonderful memories in the age of innocence.....

Life's Little Rules....

Stay out of trouble.....


Aim for greater heights...

Stay focused on your job....

Exercise to maintain good health.....

Practice team work....

Rely on your trusted partner to watch your back.... Take your time trusting others.

Save for rainy days....

Take time to rest and relax.....

Always take time to smile.....

Realize that nothing is impossible.......

Mothering Sunday...

A "Happy Mother's Day".... to all of our wonderful mums.

"A Mother holds her children's hands for a while
.......their hearts forever."


His Mother
Even He that died for us upon the cross, in the last hour,
in the unutterable agony of death,
was mindful of His mother,
as if to teach us that this holy love
should be our last worldly thought - the last point of earth
from which the soul should take its flight for heaven.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



Mother Love ~ James John Hill


“Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well? My mother”

~ Anne Taylor


Reading to Mother ~ John Morgan

Gone To Pot....

Busy running down the road to the garden center today...

Passing my favorite old homestead

Down the country lane

Waiving " hello" to the old weathered barn


Now where did I leave my gardening gloves ?

The iris are in bloom ...

New wellies...

I think I'll make a cuppa and sit here for a spell.......mulling over my plans.

The Loot....

Rain stopped play....

My Little Pony.....

Toy horses are usually pink and plastic – and aimed at young girls ,
but this little pony is 100 per cent natural – and ready to make friends with anyone her size.

Going for a walk: Sam leads the way, followed by Bliss and her tiny new daughter.

Born ten days ago at a stud farm in the southern state of Victoria , Australia , the 15in miniature

horse is yet to be named, but has already formed a bond with Sam Leith, 12.

'It’s amazing to see a horse so tiny. She’s about the size of a week-old lamb.

'The horse is the smallest born at Riverdance and its arrival surprised even its breeder.'

We were told the mare wasn't due for another four weeks but on Sunday morning I walked outside and called her, and out ran the little foal behind her.'

Silver dun tovero in colour, she was given a clean bill of health – and should reach 24in when grown.

The birth has generated such excitement in the community that local people are entering a competition to give the horse a name.

Owner Lee Scown said she wanted a name that reflected the tiny, unique nature of the horse.

'It’s the smallest horse I’ve ever had and she’s so gorgeous,' Ms Scown said.

The horse, currently only a little taller than this book, is expected to grow to about 24 inches.

Photo & story credits: Newspix/ Rex Features

Grinning Like a Cheshire Cat......

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."
~ Lewis Carroll

My hometown in England is home to renowned Victorian author, Lewis Carroll.

Lewis Carroll - 1832-1898

Born on January 27, 1832, in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was the son of a clergyman, and the third child born to a family of eleven children.

From a very early age, he entertained himself, and his family by performing magic tricks and

marionette shows, and by writing poetry for his homemade newspapers.

In 1846 he entered Rugby School, and in 1854 he graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford. He was successful in his study of mathematics and writing, and remained at the college after graduation to teach. His mathematical writings include An Elementary Treatise on Determinants (1867), Euclid and His Modern Rivals (1879), and Curiosa Mathematica (1888).

While teaching, Carroll was ordained as a deacon; however, he never preached. He also began to pursue photography, often choosing children as the subject of his portraits.

One of his favorite models was a young girl named Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean at Christ's Church, who later became the basis for Carroll's fictional character, Alice. He abandoned both photography and public speaking between 1880 and 1881, and focused on his writing.

Alice Pleasance Liddell

Many of Lewis Carroll's philosophies were based on games. His interest in logic came purely from the playful nature of its principle rather than its uses as a tool. He primarily wrote comic fantasies and humorous verse that was often very childlike.

Carroll published his novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, followed by Through the Looking Glass in 1872. Alice's story began as a piece of extemporaneous whimsy meant to entertain three little girls on a boating trip in 1862.

Both of these works were considered children's novels that were satirical in nature and in exemplification of Carroll's wit. Also famous is Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky," in which he created nonsensical words from word combinations.

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to

Alice: I don't much care where.

The Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.

Alice:..... so long as I get somewhere.

The Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

Lewis Carroll died in Guildford, Surrey, on January 14, 1898.

The Lewis Carroll Society Website - Homepage

Photo credits: Literature Network. Wikipedia.

Raining Cats and Dogs.....

"Rain, rain go away, come again another day".........

We have been literally deluged with rain, for the past three days and nights. Water, water everywhere.

The Spring rains have certainly stood up to their legacy this year,

wonderful for all those new seedlings,

not so good, if the fields are now standing ankle deep in water.

I puddle up the neighborhood

I make the postman mad

I wake the worm and spank the frog

Sleeping on his lily pad

And when the tulips in their beds

Nod happily, it's true,

I shake the petals of their hands

And say, How do you dew?

Poem credit: J. Patrick Lewis