REMAIN FOCUSED

Welcome to Thursday afternoon in South Australia and in the northern hemisphere morning is on its way to you.  Mother Nature has been tossing all sorts of tantrums here today - we have had the full gamut of winter weather - hail, rain, wind, thunder, lightening, flooding and storm damage.  Road weather alerts and flood alerts are still out - but in between all of this we have seen glimpses of sunshine (albeit it has been very cold) but nevertheless the sun has shone and it has been my focus for the day.

When I did my shopping this morning - there were many people with umbrellas blown inside out and some were not happy about it - I laughed as I hurried inside the complex along with another lady - we were wet but we shared laughter. 

In all of this my daffodils have stood tall and strong and bent in the wind, not broken and have brought much joy.

As I write now the rain is tumbling down again and the day is coming to an end, lights are on and I feel for people getting off trains and buses coming home from work.   It is much better though to get wet coming home than going to work - nice hot shower and warm clothes and we can soon settle again.

I checked the clock during the afternoon and at the time the school children would have been leaving school the rain poured down - lots of lovely puddles for children to play in - but I suspect that most of them would have been collected by car and no time to play in puddles.

It is important that we remain focused in our lives and don't become derailed by the events and circumstances that happen to us, and there is always something beautiful around us for us to focus on.

The periods of sunshine today have been my focus - bright and beautiful and all sorts of sunshine yellow things have kept me on target and chased away any sad thoughts.  My daffodils dancing in the wind have brought much joy to my day but for the most part I have been inside and keeping warm.

I had good intentions for today to sort through my bead collection, but somehow or other it did not happen and they remain messy for another day - if tomorrow is like today I shall certainly set some time aside to sort them.

I also have a quiet weekend so by Monday I hopefully will have things sorted and put away.

I don't remember winter being this cold or wet - maybe during our drought times we have had much milder winters and I have forgotten the biting cold winds and the driving rain.  Although I am feeling the cold I much prefer it to the blistering heat of an Australian summer.

I have been listening to the radio with matters of politics and defamatory allegations - I know this happens the world over ~ I am losing faith in the integrity of the media, electronic and paper and find all the leaking of documents, allegations and the slur campaigns and the downright venomous allegations distress me.  Apologies are made, but the damage is done and the malicious damage cannot be undone and I question the integrity of many.

For me it is a matter of staying focused on what I believe and being very glad that I didn't take up the opportunity of entering politics.

It gets to the stage that we don't know who to believe and who is doing the outright lying - it makes me disappointed and distressed.

Staying focused is my goal and not being part of lies and deceit and I have so many positive things to be focused on.

My life is changed - there is the "new normal" and I concentrate on the positives, see joy in the little things, and tend not to sweat the small stuff, and it is all small stuff really.  I try to "always look on the bright side" and be positive, encouraging, supportive and loving.

This is my journey and there is joy in my journey.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart - a heart that feels sadness at some events, but remains focused.   I keep my eyes on the hedgerow and not upon the thorns.

Love and hugs,

Linda. 

24th. August is Daffodil Day - please buy a daffodil to raise funds for 

cancer research. ..............Thank you  

RAY OF SUNSHINE

Welcome to Friday evening and the chilly winds are blowing in my City right now - but that is good compared to what they were doing overnight - they howled and roared and the rain bucketed down - a real winter night which I shared with my electric blanket, my lovely downy quilt and pillow.

In spite of the wind and heavy rain my daffodils were dancing this morning in their tub - strong and beautiful.  They withstood the storm - and I was encouraged when I send a picture of them to a friend and said they had "stood strong in the storm" to receive a message back saying "of course they did and so did you ~ Well done" a short sentence but such encouragement to me ~ an acknowledgement that I have withstood the storms that raged about me.

This message was a real ray of sunshine at the start of my day ~ simple words of encouragement and how much we need those. 

See if you can be someones ray of sunshine by a kind deed, a cheerful word of encouragement, a phone call, a message and believe me it will make all the difference to how that person handles the day in front of them.

The week seems to have gone quickly in many ways and yet in others it has been slow going - I had a clinic appointment at Flinders yesterday at the Dermatology Department and that, instead of being tedious and boring was turned into a pleasant time by the rays of sunshine emitted by the Student
Doctor and the Dermatologist - positive encouragement and advice about soap substitutes and moisturizers, sunblock, hats and long sleeves.   I am in remarkable shape for the skin I am in - despite the scarring from the Stevens Johnson and the star patterns from the Prednisolone ~ all is well ~ thank goodness the heaters were on because it was cold taking off my clothes.

I was early for the appointment and was seen early, had a great experience at the Pharmacy with another ray of Sunshine and in spite of traveling home in filthy weather, drivers were courteous and we made it home safely with a lovely beef soup bubbling away in the slow cooker and the house smelling lovely. 

John checked the Post Office today which meant I didn't have to go out at all, so I have spent the day catching up on letters, cards and emails and talking on the phone.  It is hard to imagine as we here in Australia shiver and feel the cold that our Northern Hemisphere friends are sitting outside on their porch enjoying coffee, company and a beautiful balmy evening.  The American children will soon be settled back in the routine of School and another education year started for them whereas we here in Australia will be into term four very soon and then it will be Christmas.  I think there are about seven birthdays in this family before Christmas and the weeks will soon pass.

"The Golden Girls" have bought a voucher for a long and leisurely breakfast soon and I for one will enjoy that.   I have two cooking classes before the end of the year and those sort of things slotted into my diary make me realize how quickly time passes.

I have taken on the monumental task of sorting my beads into appropriate size containers for appropriate sized beads and once done it will be much better - I have quite a collection and want to get into making some more things particularly for Christmas - but until this tidying and sorting is done - there is no way that would work.

It is early evening for me and my blanket is warming my bed and the day has come to an end - the darkness is with us and the wind still howls - hopefully by tomorrow Mother Nature will be over whatever it is that has upset her and will be more settled.

I hope wherever you are in this beautiful world that you are warm and safe and that you have a ray of sunshine in your life ~ I do in mine and I know how blessed I am.

Take care as the weekend settles in - those of you for whom Friday is dawning - all is well - Friday has been a good day and I gladly share it with you, for those heading off to bed soon I wish you peaceful slumber, be warm and safe and I hope your dreams are safe.

I have just compared the word "beading" and "heading"  and they are pronounced so differently although spelled the same - the complexities of the English language,.  My crossword puzzle companion is home from a few days away so we will get back into doing puzzles together and challenging our brains.

What do you have planned for this weekend ~ I know some of you have family celebrations and I am delighted that you are able to share family times together - make memories to last and enjoy it all.

Some have sporting functions and others no plans at all - whatever you do - do it with love and good grace and be sure to enjoy - I have some shopping to do but not a lot and hopefully next time I can report that this beads are sorted.

I plan to watch a movie while I am doing the sorting - not sure if that is good or bad but I will be warm and relaxed so I will find contentment in whatever I do.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart and I wish you happiness and good times this weekend.

Love and hugs,

Linda.

WALK WITH THE DREAMERS

Welcome to Sunday evening - it's been a cold cold day, but a watery sun has brightened our grey sky ~ it has been a quiet day ~ a time for dreaming and as time for thinking.

Oh how I need and enjoy these dreamers, believers, courageous, and cheerful people in my life - those who plan and do with great success and whose feet are firmly on the ground but their heads are in the clouds.

They keep me inspired and grounded by encouragement and faith in me.  Their words of encouragement are music to my ears and they bring joy to my days.

I hope I can be an "encourager", a planner and as doer as best I can and that my efforts are not in vain. I try to keep my feet firmly on the ground and to be realistic - but I am most definitely a dreamer whose thoughts often stray.

Summer is in full swing for our northern hemisphere friends, although the United Kingdom is having weather that is far far from summer with a great amount of rain.   The Olympic Games are upon us again and I do hope the weather in London clears up for those.

Large gatherings of crowds from all over the world will assemble in London in the true spirit of sportsmanship and fair play  - but no doubt there will be the usual drug scandals etc.  Will you be watching the games ?    I shall keep an eye out for the equestrian events but that's about it for me but I am always interested in knowing who has won and what the medal count is.

I did a little shopping this morning and was shocked and very surprised to find Christmas wrapping paper, cards, tinsel, glitter, table linen all beautifully displayed in one shop - 162 days to go - I have seen these things in the shops in August - but never in July before - it gets earlier and earlier and will no doubt upset many people who feel it is far too early.

I love Christmas but even I think this is way too early ~ I am a planner and have my Christmas plans well in hand for this coming festive season, but July is too early for the decorations etc.   I hope they can keep a lid on the Christmas music for a while. 

Another weekend is over for me and I hope those of you who live in my time zone have had a good weekend and go forward into the coming week refreshed and restored and for our northern hemisphere summer friends I hope you have as wonderful Sunday with picnics, swimming, relaxing times with family and friends.

Thank you for visiting the musings of my heart and walking along side me for a few moments of your day .

Love and hugs,

Linda.