WALK SAFELY THROUGH THE MISTS

Good Morning from Adelaide where the sky is blue, there is no wind and the temperature is deliciously cool - a delightful relief after days of blistering, debilitating heat.

It occurred to me recently how much the weather affects our lives, our moods and our daily living.   We listen carefully for the weather forecast and then poke fun at the Meteorologists when they get it wrong.

We all want a perfect day for a wedding, a party or a picnic - we want sunshine and gentle breezes.    There are other weather events which can be just as beautiful.    Soft refreshing and gentle rain to walk in, a stormy windy day by the ocean with the foam blowing up onto the shore line.  Gentle enveloping mists and fog.  Here in Adelaide it is rare for us to get mists and even rarer to get a thick fog, but I remember the days of my childhood when the fog would roll in over the River Mersey and the fog horns could he heard loud and long indicating safe pathways for the shipping.  I recall when the days were so thick with fog that the Bus Conductor would walk in front of the bus and guide the driver.   I can recall walking to school and not being able to see the buildings from the road and thinking "Yippee school has disappeared."

Life is like that - there are times of sunshine and glory days and then there are the rain events and the dark and gloomy fogs that envelop us and we have no choice but to keep walking on through the mists and come out the other side.

It is often we enter uncharted territory and walk alone and afraid, losing our way and then finding it again and we are changed forever.

I have walked through thick fog and felt lost and afraid but thanks to the love and support of family and friends, when I did come out the other side I was able to pick up my life and claim the victory - but I am changed.

I was treated with love, respect and dignity as I received the most amazing medical and nursing care - parts of those days are missing for me in a blur of pain and medication.   There are however, moments of clarity when certain individuals come to mind and I recall their tender hands and gentle voices and the wonderful care they gave me.   Their reassurance as I tried to put my feet to the ground and stand for the first time!  The gentle hands that showered me and washed my hair and the sweetest of voices that would sing to me.

Yes, the fog was thick and dense, but I kept walking and came through it - but I am changed.    The things that bothered me before no longer matter,  I don't sweat the small stuff and I continue to remind myself to be present to the moment each day.  To find joy in the little things, the cute and funny things, the blossoms on the bough and the fruits of the season.  Cutting into a fresh home grown peach the other day reminded me of the rolling on of the seasons and how blessed I am.  How blessed I am to be able to notice that the sun is coming up later these mornings, that the leaves are starting to turn and autumn is heading our way.

I am changed -  I am older, a little wiser, my hair has lots more grey, my skin is damaged (but it is functional although not decorative) and I have scars which I carry as marks of victory.   Yes I am changed but alive and well and living every moment of my life.  I find joy in writing and sharing through this Blog and I hope there is joy for those who read it.

Whatever day it is for you - enjoy it - if it is night time - then sleep warm and well and sweet sweet dreams be yours and I thank you for visiting the Musings from My Heart and walking through the fog for a while with me.

Be strong, be brave and walk safely through the mists.

Love and hugs, 

EMBRACE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Good afternoon from a very hot City of Adelaide in a Country being hammered by Cyclones from the North and on the Queensland coast.  Tropical Cyclone "Marcia" crossed the coast near Yapoon this morning and caused significant damage to buildings and trees, power lines are down - it is being down graded back to Category 2 instead of 5.    We have cause to be grateful that there appears to have been no loss of life and no injuries.    It is time to be grateful for those blessings.

Rain is bucketing down and the Cyclone is joining with another wet weather event and there has been torrential rain all down the Queensland Coast.

Our Northern Territory has suffered at the hands of Cyclone Lam and again there is much damage.    Flooding is the main concern in many areas.

While my North American friends are experiencing extreme cold weather conditions, we have it hot and wet.

There is always something to be thankful for - and I am sure that there will be many stories of close calls and lucky escapes and hearts that are filled with gratitude.

It is so important that we teach our children to be thankful - and in memory I went back to childhood days and remembered singing this little verse both at home and at Sunday School:

Wherever you are and whatever your situation please try to find somethings to be thankful for and to enjoy.

There will be many more images coming through of both Cyclone areas - check them on line - Cyclone Lam and Cyclone Marcia.

Thank you for visiting the musings of my heart - a thankful heart for safety through these storms and for the technology that keeps people in touch.

Teach your children/grandchildren well about the beauty of gratitude.

Love and hugs,

This map with give you some idea of where the States are that I mention - Queensland and Northern Territory and I live in Adelaide, South Australia.  

NATURE, NURTURE AND NOURISH

Good Morning on Sunday Morning from the Fair City of Adelaide, where, in my little corner of the world it is peaceful and calm.   The sky is silver grey with patches of blue and some fluffy white clouds.  A cool and refreshing summer breeze is blowing and somewhere in the distance I can hear the sounds of a lawn mower and children playing.

I spotted a spider web on my gate this morning and was captivated by this wonder of nature - the skill, the patience and the design amazes me.  It must be hard work for this little spider working away.   There were no dew drops on this spider web but the potential is there and I will leave the web for as long as the spider needs it there.

Nature is wonderful and is all around us every day if only we will slow down in our tracks and see it - so very many things.     A new leaf bursting through on a plant (either indoor or outdoor), the constancy of growth and the pure joy of picking the fruits of the plants you have nurtured.

it is a delight to see raindrops on plants and to watch bees buzzing around and pollinating the lovely flowers and to find a tiny ladybird on a leaf and see a butterfly gently leaving the garden.

The shades of sunlight in the morning peeping through and the glorious long and golden rays of sunset thrill me.    Sitting in a garden and suddenly feeling a gentle cool breeze embrace me is magic.

Nature is all around you and will nurture and nourish you if you will only notice it.    Find the small things around you and enjoy them.   Feel the velvet petal of a rose and smell the glorious fragrances which float through the garden

Accept with great thanks a posy of "flowers" which are actually weeds, brought to you in a chubby little hand - see only the beauty and not the pest that those weeds can be.

Accept the changing of the seasons with good grace and enjoy them - the daffodils in spring time standing tall and strong against the chill winds that blow, the heat haze of summer, beautiful autumn leaves and winter with it's snow flakes and cold winds - all beautiful in their own way.

I hope that wherever you are today, no matter the season, you are able to find some joy in nature and allow it to nurture and nourish your soul.  Go for a walk in the snow and listen to the crunch beneath your feet.    If summer time is with you, get a cold drink and sit in the shade with a book and enjoy the anticipation of the changing of the shadows as the seasons change.  Listen to the rain as it gurgles its way along on its journey and splash in puddles.

Visit nature and allow it to nurture and nourish you on this January day.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart - a heart today thrilled by the wonder of it all and at peace.

Love and hugs,

A WEDNESDAY POST ON A THURSDAY

Good morning on Thursday morning with a Wednesday post.   I was unable to access my computer yesterday because of thunder storms, so here I am a day late.

Our fires continued to rage out of control but Mother Nature was kind and sent rain - much needed and much appreciated by everyone.

Even though we had storms - we still had heat and the weather became very steamy - and late in the evening we had hail - the world weather seems out of control, and hard to cope with.

The rain means that ash and fire retardants will wash into our local reservoir and now we must listen to the experts as to how dangerous this will be.

It is hard to trust and accept the guidance of Government at times - it is hard to live with the difficulties that no one really understands how to cope with.  BUT  trust we must and go on with hope in our hearts.

I love the quote at the head of this page - and there are days when I crawl, but I am still moving and that's a blessing and I am not giving up.

I hope that wherever you are in this beautiful world you are able to find some peaceful time and a peaceful spot to rest and recover from the stresses of daily living.

Be strong, be well, be happy and be present to the moment.   Find joy in the little things and let your little light shine.

Love and hugs to you all and thank you for visiting the Musings of My heart.

Take Care,

THANKFUL THURSDAY - A GREAT DAY

Thankful Thursday once again and it is a very different day from yesterday when it was sunny and warm.    Today is wet, cold and windy with thunder and lightening.

It has been a good day and it was a day with a good start and with a positive attitude.

Life can be grey and dreary and the only one who can change how things are going is YOU.  You are responsible for your attitude to everything and being positive is a state of mind.   Being positive is good for our health - worries and stresses can pull us down.

A positive start to a day can come if instead of rushing out of bed you just stay there for a few moments and think of all that you have to be thankful for and how blessed your life is.

Be positive about your life, your health, your family and how you spend your days.   Of course there are going to be worries and cares that are not easy to move, but those good things are still there in spite of the fact that you may be looking for a job, have problems with a child's behaviour, coping with elderly and frail parents, looking for new direction etc.

The good times should buoy you along - a holiday, a day off work, a meal you didn't have to cook, coffee brought to you when you come home, a movie with friends - all of these things should bring you joy and carry you on your journey.

Take care on your journey - life is a journey and not a destination and truly the joy is in the journey.    Friends along the way make it extra special.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart and for sharing my journey with me - each day is a thrill and pleasure.

Love and hugs,

IT'S FABULOUS FRIDAY AND THE WIND IS HOWLING.

Good Afternoon and welcome to a wet, windy and very wintry afternoon in my little corner of the world.   The entire State has been under a sever weather warning for damaging winds and hail for over 12 hours and remains thus.  Such a different day to yesterday when the sun shone and the sky was blue.

We are blessed with a pewter coloured sky today that is full of heavy clouds holding much rain.  It is certainly an inside day and a day that calls for comfort foods and my slow cooker is seeing active service again with another big pot of soup.

There are lots of puddles about and when I checked my letter box I just couldn't resist splashing in those in the drive way and I could hear my new neighbours laughing from their front porch.

Waiting for the storm to pass is going to take a while here from the forecast - we have rain forecast every day until next Thursday and whilst the weather is like winter - it is also spring like because of the way it is so changeable.

I have a raincoat, an umbrella and a car so it isn't going to affect me too much.

It's funny how the weather affects us in so many ways - the grey skies often make people feel miserable - but I am very much a winter person and like to snuggle up warm and cosy with a book.

It is a Fabulous Friday - each Friday is as I make my journey through life - "

"some days are diamonds and some days are stone."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQW87VU__Pc

Please enjoy John Denver singing Some Days are Diamonds. Just click on the link above.   

Following Fabulous Friday comes the weekend and I know how much those of you who go to business, school and factory long for these two special days for rest and recreation.  Two days of less routine, two days with those you care about, two days to go visiting friends and family or just to kick off your shoes and take some time for yourself.   I hope you can find some special time over this coming weekend to sit and talk, read, have coffee with friends, do some shopping.    To those who keep "the home fires burning" - I hope you enjoy having your loved ones around you and that it is indeed as special time.

Summer is drawing to a close in the northern hemisphere so those of you who live there - please make the best of these last few weeks and enjoy splashing in the pool, sitting in the shade with long cool drinks and feeling the warmth of the sun because soon enough the chilly winds will blow.  Cram as much as you can into your weekend now that your children are back at School after the summer break.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart - again a heart filled with wonder at the many special things that have happened to me.   I am not a victim I am a survivor and I will not be defined by the things that have happened to me.   I am me, alive and well and loving life.  I am determined to be present to each moment of my life and hope that I can encourage you to be present to each moment of yours.    Don't miss a thing - enjoy it all.

Love and hugs,

POSITIVE THOUGHTS ON WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY

Good Afternoon on Wonderful Wednesday - a day where in my little corner of the world the wind is blowing strongly, the rain is pouring down and the sky is grey - well that's one minute and the next the sun is shining and the sky is changing to a watery blue.   Spring is definitely in the air and the bulbs are flowering and the blossom petals are presenting a carpet at my feet.  One minute I am sure we have spring and the next we are back in the pewter greys of winter - I am certain Mother Nature cannot make her mind up quite yet as to what to do.

Spring is beautiful and we need lots of rain to make it special with flowers and blossoms and I am certain the daffodils are dancing a welcome routine.

 The Transplant Community is saddened by the loss of a lovely young woman who had a heart transplant but gained her angel wings yesterday - and I try to fill my mind with the positive thoughts that she had a few extra years due to her transplant and that they were happy and healthy years.  It is a tight knit community and everyone feels the loss of a member and it brings us all back to the thoughts of just how lucky we are and encourages us to fill out minds with positive thoughts.  Dance on the wind Lisa you will be greatly missed by many who called you friend.

We are very aware that we live on borrowed time and positive thoughts help us to make it through each day with a song in our hearts and gratitude in our souls for the gift of life.

I claim positive thoughts as I travel the journey of my life and I am pleased and proud for all those who journey with me and share the ups and downs of the journey for certainly, the joy is in the journey.

How are you travelling your journey today ?   Are you happy or are you blue?   Claiming positive thoughts will dispel the blues and miseries of life - it may not always go as we would like it to or as we had planned, but we have today and that's all we are promised.   Take today and look for the little things that bring a smile, remember to share a kind word or deed, make a phone call, send a message and be positive about your journey.  Share the little things in life with those who travel with you, be sure that those you love know that you love them.  

My words for 2013 are EMBRACE and CELEBRATE and I encourage you all to embrace your life and to celebrate it in every way possible.   Walk through the leaves, splash in puddles, sit in the sun, dig your toes in the sand and walk at the waters edge.  Breathe deeply of the salt sea air and be refreshed.   Walk by the River and watch as she speeds on her way singing.

Listen to the music that stirs your soul and sing loudly and long, laugh with children, smile at a stranger and feed your soul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IyDjhyqZps

Enjoy Enya and her song  "How can I keep from Singing."

Thank you for visiting the Musings from my Heart - a heart a little saddened but with so much to be positive about  "how can I keep from singing.? "

Love and hugs to you all and peace and joy for your journey.

EMBRACE AND CELEBRATE

Welcome to Saturday morning in Australia - where the day is hot and the sky is blue - this is officially the last weekend of summer, but It will be hot for a while yet I suspect.

We were forecast rain last night but nothing eventuated and the air is very dry, the ground dry and grass crunchy beneath my feet.  Hand watering of plants takes time and is never the same as natural rain.  I usually play in the water when I do my plants at the end of a hot day and enjoy splashing.

The temperature is forecast to be fairly consistent for the next few days - hot and mid thirties which means I will be finding cool spots to hide and spend my time.

The news on the radio this morning was filled with sad things - we have flooding in Northern New South Wales and Queensland and the reports were of a two year old drowning in a dam, and a teenager being swept away.  There have been shootings and a woman had her car stolen at knife point at a suburban shopping centre.    All very distressing and upsetting, but for all the bad things, there are so many nice things that happen and so very many kind and loving people out there.   

My words for this year are CELEBRATE and EMBRACE and when I found this lovely quote I knew I wanted to share it with you and to encourage you to embrace all the lovely things around you.   Take hold of the changes, embrace them and make them yours.  Embrace this moment and spend it wisely.

There are so many things happening for people - plans being made, dreams and schemes being shared, hopes for future days (that may or may not work out) but hoping and planning is a good thing too.

Embrace whatever life brings your way - embrace the time with your children, the conversation, the laughter and the deep and meaningful discussions we often have with teenagers.  Time moves so very quickly and suddenly those days are gone and in the blink of an eye they are off making their own wonderful lives and we are left with the memories of those times and we then embrace our memories.

Embrace your older folk - embrace their memories and spend time talking with them - they gave us so much of their time it isn't too much to ask for a little of ours.

Share the concerns of a friend,. go shopping with a sister, work alongside a brother, make cookies with your kids (Grand kids)  - embrace those times with open arms.    Welcome your loved one home from work and embrace them, both physically and emotionally - let them feel that they are appreciated.  Cook a special meal - make coffee or hot chocolate just the way you know they like it.

Pick up the phone and call someone you have been intending to call - send an email, write a letter - embrace all the wonderful forms of communication we have available to us.  Send an SMS to that special someone - even if they are in the same room as you - embrace every moment of love and life.

I have the whole day in front of me (well it's almost midday now, but the rest of it stretches in front of my like a blank canvas waiting for me to embrace it and splash it with many colours.

"My destiny calls and I go, 
And the wild winds of fortune 
Will carry me onward, 
Oh whither soever they blow. 
Whither soever they blow,"

Have a wonderful Saturday when it arrives for you in your little corner of the world - celebrate and embrace life itself and I wish you love.

Thank you for calling by to visit the musings of my heart - today a heart filled with warmth and love and embracing and celebrating love and life.

Love and hugs, 

THE DAY THAT THE RAINS CAME DOWN

Good evening from a very wet city of Adelaide - the day that the rains came down - it has been wet, wet, wet - and did I tell you it was raining.

Much needed and wanted rains and hopefully in the catchment areas and hopefully on the farmlands that need it so much.

No matter how much we water by hand there is nothing like a good soaking rain to nourish, nurture and encourage our gardens (and weeds) to grow and gardens all over the world benefit from the "soft refreshing rain" - although listening to the noise on my roof right now - there is nothing soft about this lot of rain.

We were on the road this afternoon to Flinders for my Dermatology appointment and boy oh boy were the roads busy and hectic - visibility was very low, lights were on and traffic was slow.   We are home safely and for that I give thanks.

My appointment was good news too - it seems I am in "particularly good shape for the skin I'm in - it is damaged from the Stevens Johnson, but is functioning very well.   I had the reminders about sunblock, hats and long sleeves but all in all it was a wonderful appointment.   Spent some time chatting to a young Doctor from Southern California - who shared her delight that she is "going home for Christmas" with me.

I have some pictures to share with you of gardens on both sides of the world.

A beautiful rose growing in USA 

I hope you can see the butterfly in this picture

These photographs of my precious daffodils have brought much sunshine and pleasure to a winter day - I hope you can see the raindrops on them.

So as I sit in the warmth of a winter evening writing to you - I am very aware of the beauty that is in my world - no matter which side of the globe.

There is beauty in nature - in bugs, birds and my beloved butterflies, there is beauty in the raindrops that glisten like diamonds.

There is beauty in the silver bead curtain of rain that falls from a pewter coloured sky.

There is much beauty to be found all around us and in every situation ~ there is the beauty of friendship and the beauty of knowing we are loved and cared for.

There is beauty in good reports from medical appointments - beauty in the conversations with a total stranger ~ the sharing of hopes and dreams for the coming year -and while it seems strange to talk about 2013 - it is on it's way and I have an appointment already for August 14th. 2013.

I took my Diary down for the year of my transplant 2009 and there are many appointments and hospital stays mentioned in there - 2010 also holds many appointments and less hospital stays, and 2011 and 2012 hold even less - I am blessed indeed to have made such immense progress and to be as well as I am.

I am thankful to my Donor and his family, to the Donors of those I love and care for - and with a very thankful heart I am happy to enjoy the winter season and the rain - because it means I am alive and another spring is mine - heralded by these beautiful daffodils.

I wake each day with a thankful heart and actively try to find something beautiful to photograph each day - I took this photograph on Tuesday in a shopping centre car park - a miniature bottle brush.

There is beauty all around us if we but look and see - and I wish you a day in which you can find beauty, can enjoy the flutter of a butterfly's wing, and express disappointment when she flies away.   I have found beauty today in the diamond raindrops on my daffodils.

I wish you shelter from the storms of life, a calm and peaceful place to read or rest, a comfortable bed and a soft and downy pillow on which to lay your head.   A good book to read, coffee you didn't have to make yourself and green lights in traffic and fair winds to fill your sails as you navigate the sea of your life.

May there be beautiful music to stir your soul and bring joy to your heart.

Thank you for visiting the musings of this thankful heart - I give thanks for all who visit here and may blessings abound for you.

Love and hugs,

Linda. 

SECOND BITE AT THE CHERRY

Welcome to my Thursday evening where the storm is raging and the winter wind blowing and rain falling heavily at the moment and the days when cherries are available in abundance are yet to come for us.   Our northern hemisphere friends have the sweet pleasures of summer fruit at the moment and I know they enjoy it.

Cherries are my favourite fruit (although there are others close by) and I enjoy the summer days with a bowl of cherries, some shade and a good book.   Turning the pages slowly as I read and spitting the pits into a bowl.  To have the sweet sweet taste of cherries, I must also have the pits and how I handle them is up to me.

I can moan about them or I can just spit them out and go on enjoying the beautiful cherry flavour and that's what I do and intend to go on doing.

I can't have the cherries without the pits, the sunshine without the shadow,

the rainbow without the rain but I can spit the pits out, turn my face to the sun so that the shadows are behind me and I can put up an umbrella in the rain.

Life is very tough for many people at the moment with severe illness, family members who are in the last days of their life, those who are ill in the grip of an illness that only a transplant will save them from and those with children who will always be children and linger in the shadows of childhood.

There is little I can do to ease the pain of these dear people, but I can be supportive, prayerful and encouraging.

I can be an advocate for the things I believe in and as a living, breathing example of the success of organ transplantation that's my intention to be part of a team to educate and inform members of the community about the very special wonder that organ transplantation is.

I have friends who are actively involved in this all over the world and next week a dear friend is stepping up to the first meeting post transplant. 

It is rather like going to AA - when asked who you are and what is your connection to transplant  my response is "I am Linda and I am the very fortunate recipient of a new liver".   It is wonderful to share with people the difference that transplant has made in my life and the lives of many I know.  I have contact with many people in various stages of their recovery - one back to work almost full time, planning trips, gardening and living each day present to the moment.    Another walking daily, riding a bike, walking the dog and celebrating life with a thankful heart.

As a group we are very blessed to have been the recipient of an organ because someone made the decision that when their time came they wanted to "donate life" and they did the most important thing of all

THEY DISCUSSED IT WITH THEIR FAMILY - so that there was no doubt in the minds of family members as to what their wishes were.

Wherever you are in this beautiful world - if summer is your companion and summer fruits on your menu, or if you are relishing winter soups, breads and casseroles, sometime over dinner - bring the subject up and make sure that those who love you KNOW and UNDERSTAND what your wishes are ~ it will help them very much at a time of immense sadness and stress.

Have the conversation, register, talk to friends and give others like me the chance for a second bite at the cherry of life.   Yes there are the pits of medication, fatigue and constant blood tests and check ups ~ but they are nothing at all to pay for the price of life itself.

Life for me is definitely A BOWL OF CHERRIES.

Thank you for visiting and sharing the musings of my heart - one which is constantly aware of how blessed I am to be alive, living well and loved.

A heart that is thankful for my bite at the cherry and for the lives of those I love that have been saved by organ donation.

Love and hugs,

Linda.  

LIFE IS A MIXTURE

Good evening and welcome to my world where another chilly evening has drawn in and there has been rain in the last half hour, but parts of Adelaide have been deluged and there has been flooding in the Hills.   Wet weather causes all sorts of problems on our roads and Highways and Highway Number One is closed currently due to a major vehicular accident.  

Life is indeed a mixture of sunshine and rain ~ both literally and emotionally too.  Today is a day of memories for me  ~ it is ten years today since a very closed friend died very suddenly and I have trouble realizing that ten years have passed since that day which was an ordinary winter Friday until the phone call and then life was changed for ever for me, my family and people I cherish.  It was good to revisit that day and think of times we spend together and the things we did and places we went and there was laughter and a few tears.

There were dark days for a while, but the sun did shine again and life for me went on and my life, although changed is very beautiful.

I am blessed with the love of family and friends and a great respect for my own daughters who handled this experience in their lives with very good grace ~ indeed my younger daughter was beautifully gracious in her comments.

Today I was blessed to have a long and lovely conversation on video camera with a wonderful friend who was able to lovingly and bring me back from the shadows and back into the sunshine ~ I cherish these times.  There was laughter and a sharing of how days have been spent, music in the park and meals out at very special restaurants.  A sharing of special things bought while out shopping on a holiday Wednesday.

Winter is well and truly in full swing here but there are signs of spring with more growth of my daffodils and each day finds me out checking on them, and then talking to those I find peeping through - in one area I have one putting a head through (it must the the Scout checking out things.) 

My sleep last night was very poor and so there may well be an early night for me tonight and hopefully sleep will be sweet and peaceful. I have taken the day very quietly - sorted some beads and got things ready for my next class which is in a few weeks ~ I am quite convinced I am like a squirrel gathering beads and storing them and I do enjoy looking at them ~ their colour, texture, size and shape.  Happily I have sorted clasps, crimps, jump rings etc. into what is really meant for tablet storage. 

This will work with small amounts of findings for use and transport to classes and will store and pack well too.

I use one of these for my medication daily so it surprises me that I didn't think of this use for my beading supplies before - but it is working well and I am pleased.

If you, like my friend are enjoying a summer holiday I hope that you are able to get some rest, do some chores or just plain enjoy yourself in the warmth (at least the heat is not quite so intense as it has been.

Today is also the fiftieth anniversary of "The Rolling Stones" - now where has that time gone ?  They are still going strong and still enjoyed by very many people.

If, like me you are in your winter - stay warm and cosy and keep away from storms and lightening.  I have felt the cold more this winter than ever before, but I still am not a summer girl ~ how wonderful it would be if we could mix the heat and the cold and end up with a lovely temperate climate for us all.  Perchance to dream.

I have pressed my slow cooker into service again today with preparations for another pot of soup - I love the comfort foods of winter ~ John and I had dinner at "The Pub" last night - very nice ~ grilled Baramundi for John and Chicken for me with prawns and garlic sauce.  It was quiet, food good and staff lovely and we were home again very quickly.

So there you have it - the musings of my heart - a tender and pensive heart today, but a heart that knows for certain how blessed I am to live and love and take joy in my "gifted" life.

Thanks for calling by to visit - I love to see who calls by and read the comments you leave for me. 

Take today and make some memories with those you love - laugh and have fun, spend time together, listen to the music of your soul and live your life in the sunshine - turn your face to the sun and the shadows will be behind you.

Enjoy the lovely mixture that life presents to you.

Love and hugs,

Linda.