SATURDAY, POSSIBILITIES, AND CHILDREN

Good afternoon and welcome to my Saturday which has been a little crazy today, but I am now settled down for the rest of the day.  I woke with a headache this morning and was rather slow getting going, but I was able to seize the day and go to have breakfast with Grace and Henry who are in the City for the weekend from the Farm.

It was a lovely time - we talked about all sorts of things and Henry gave me the low down on his favourite toys from the  "Octonauts" and I was able to learn lots of things about the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it.   He really enjoys the television program and all the characters.

Grace gave me a lesson about "homonyms"  (words that sound the same but have different meanings) and "synonyms" (words that are different but mean the same thing.)  She is doing very well and it was great to hear the understanding that she has. 

We also talked about their "Super Hero" day yesterday and I learned that it was a fund raising day for the Little Heroes (our Children's Hospital) and that it had been a fun day.

I then did my grocery shopping, had coffee out, called to see a friend and then came home in time for lunch.   Since being home I have two slow cookers working with Pumpkin Soup in one and Beef and vegetable in the other.

It is now 4.30 in the afternoon and the day is drawing to a close, the sun has gone and the air is chilly again - a typical winter day, or rather today has been almost spring like.    My new neighbours were working again but must have declared a holiday for the afternoon as all is quiet now.

I like Saturdays because those I love and who work can get some rest and take pleasure in doing relaxing things and those of us who don't go out to work get the pleasure of their company.

I looked at the children this morning and thought about their future - there is so much ahead for them and they are quite computer literate, so for them it won't be the trauma that it was for many adults.   Life is indeed a field of unlimited possibilities, there will be no holding these kids back, and we as adults should not hold back either we should accept the possibilities that are there for us and "Seize the Day".

However you spend your Saturday I wish you love and laughter and happy times, rest and relaxation and the sense when the day is done that you have done well and achieved much.

Thank you for visiting the Musings of My Heart - a pensive but happy heart today.

Love and hugs,

I live in possibility. 

SATURDAY MORNING - LOVELY COFFEE

Good Morning and welcome to Saturday morning in my little corner of the world - where the air is cold and damp but the coffee hot and strong.  A new day in front of me and one I have started well with a big pot of soup already on cooking - warm, welcoming and comforting.

I hope the sun shines for a while this afternoon because I would like to get out and pull some of the weeds that have flourished during the wet wet weather we have had, but if that doesn't happen - there is another day tomorrow.

Two of my girls are heading home today from a week at Port Elliott - a break they both needed very much - they work very hard and a winter holiday by the beach would have been lovely for them with walks on the beach and relaxing times. - lots of meals out too.

Now that I am back Blogging I am going to try to do this early in the morning and will have to tomorrow because we have power cuts for maintenance work from 8.00.a.m. - so there's a challenge for me.

I have reached this stage of my life with very few regrets and can honestly say I am pleased to be a work in progress. learning and growing each day.

The things that happen to us change us and I believe my illness and transplant has changed me into being a better person.   I am at peace with myself and feel "at home" and they must surely be good things.

I count my blessings every day and can always find something to be thankful for - yes there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for - even in the darkest hours.

I have no idea exactly what this day will bring forth - but I am open to the challenge and excitement and anticipate it with a smile.

My words for 2013 - are 'CELEBRATE' and 'EMBRACE' and I certainly try to do both of those things every day - I celebrate the little things and embrace the changes and challenges and always try to be present to the moment.

If it does rain this afternoon - a movie may be on my agenda with hot chocolate and some knitting - who knows and that's part of the challenge and adventure?  

I wish you all a wonderful Saturday and hope that you can find something nice to do - just a restful time, making cookies with children, a walk in the park or on the beach with the one you love.   I hope the phone rings for you with that call you are waiting for, you get green lights when you are out driving, and that the shop has exactly what you are looking for and you don't have to wait too long.

I wish you love and laughter, health and happiness, flowers on your pathway and diamonds in your sky.

Take care and please remember to be present to the moment,

Love and hugs,

Linda

(a work in progress.)

COME SATURDAY MORNING - SUNSHINE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg0-a4zlwNM

Come Saturday Morning - The Sandpipers

Well here we are at Saturday morning and already it has been a busy time for me.   The sky is blue, the sun in shining and although cold, today promises to be a lovely day.

I have been shopping and to be bank for money for my beading class and of course to get some nice things for the lunch I need to take.  

I am all ready and quite excited about going again - this time working with larger beads and I feel that will be easier for me.

I hope the weekend is full of delightful things for you and that you can enjoy time with friends, family or even time alone.

I already had a lovely interlude and chat at the shops.  A lady not collecting the vouchers for the schools offered me hers and she had done a lot of shopping - Grace will be pleased when she gets the collection I have amassed for her School.

Time taken out of a busy schedule to learn a new skill is always special - and I shall again enjoy the time with Narelle.

This is going to be a long day for me as I am going to have dinner with Narelle, Ilona and Dianne tonight - so a quiet day for me tomorrow and lots of catching up to do.

I shall enjoy the company, the care, the conversation and of course dinner.

Whatever is on your agenda for Saturday - I hope that you can sing when Saturday morning comes and that there is sunshine and laughter in your heart and home.

Thank you for visiting The Musings from my heart and I send love and hugs your way.

Linda.

SATURDAY AND THE RAIN TUMBLES DOWN IN JULY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDA8NREnX1Q

Slim Dusty - When the Rain Tumbles Down in July.

Good Afternoon and welcome to Saturday in my little corner of the world and it is July and the rain is certainly tumbling down.  I really like this song sung by Slim Dusty - an Australian Icon and I miss that he is no longer with us.

It is a very wintery day today - very dark and gloomy - midday and lights are on and the rain is still tumbling and will for the day I think.  I really nice day to be home and inside and catching up on some on line things.    Shopping is done and put away and today is going to be a good day.   Both John and I are aware that we had a fall and apart from a sore head for him and bruises for me we are fine.  It did shake me up a little - shaken not stirred.

We spent lovely time with our daughter last night while she waited for her partner at a concert. It is always good to be together and talk and discuss things and I am sure both John and Rebecca enjoyed watching football together.

I missed Thankful Thursday altogether because of a technical hitch with Blogger- but my gratitude is great for so many things.  There has been improvement in health conditions of two very sick little children.   Ethan may be able to transfer to Ronald Macdonald House on Monday and Kenzie's surgeries have gone well, and she is showing signs of improvement.

Life is moving on and the seasons roll along and here we are in Australia past the shortest day of the year and our northern hemisphere friends have gone past their longest day - soon it will be hot for me and cold for them.   Now we are in the second half of the year it is time to start thinking about Christmas and preparations, gifts, menu etc. I love it all and will enjoy the anticipation.


Having checked the weather charts this morning I see most of my Australian friends have cold weather and some have rain,  I hope you can find a weekend space to enjoy whatever weather you have - if you are in the warm sunny days of the Northern Hemisphere I hope you can find things to do that will leave you with memories of "the good ole summer time".
Water, splashing, and we can both do that - you in your pools and us in our puddles.


Splash in the puddles, dance on the wind and in the rain and find joy in the very fact that you are alive.


Love and hugs to you all and a genuine thanks for dropping by and reading "The Musings from My Heart."

SATURDAY MORNING PINK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD8MnvyAi6I

A White Sport Coat and a PINK Carnation

Good Morning and welcome to Saturday Morning - grey and dismal in my fair City this morning - damp and misty but hopefully it will clear as the day progresses.

I have been shopping early and am sitting reading the shopping list I forgot to take with me - and you got it there are several items I have forgotten to buy.  Well never mind they are going to have to wait.  It's coffee time for me and time to forget the disaster shopping trip.  Nothing went right - but we all have those times and we cope and get over them.  Nothing drastic but it just didn't go to plan so I relaxed and gave in to it and did what I had to do and came home.

Pink is my favourite colour and the image above shows lots of shades of pink and I have been thinking (dangerous you say) about the phrases we use relative to the colour pink.

"In the Pink" - being well

"Tickled Pink" - absolutely delighted

"Strike me Pink" - Well, I'll be darned. 

"Seeing pink elephants" - after an over indulgence in alcohol

"Pink Collar: -jobs usually done by women

The organization raising funds for research into Breast Cancer has adopted the colour for it's campaign and the phrase "Think Pink" has come into effect.  Lots of companies have special promotions of their products in pink and an amount of money is donated to the research.   At different times during the year I can buy pink

clothes pegs

hand cream

underwear

socks

toilet rolls

paper towels

shopping bags

mops and brooms

and I generally do buy them all.

My personal things are often pink and I have the following:  pink diary, address book, notebook, pen, bed linen, towels, glasses case, manicure set, travel bag, toiletries bag, nightdresses, shopping bags, jewellery, watch bands and so much more.  Gifts are often pink and one of my daughters matches the gift with wrapping paper and card (all pink).  Stationery, scissors, hole punch, stapler, notepad holder.  I have my eye on a pink keyboard and mouse but that's going to have to wait a while.  I also have an email address that includes the word pink.

Health wise I am "in the pink" and doing really well - life is good to me and I feel a warm and rosy pink glow - I feel quite mellow and at peace with my world.  I am about to go and pick a pink rose from my garden (I noticed it as I drove in this morning).

Whatever the weekend holds for you, wherever you are - I hope you feel warm inside and that there is peace in your heart.

Share the warmth by being a little kinder than you need to be - help someone carry their burden and enjoy every moment of every day.    Thanks for visiting and reading The Musings from My Heart" and I would be tickled pink if you would leave a comment for me - I try to respond to all comments and they are appreciated.

Love and hugs,

SATURDAY MORNING MISTY AND DAMP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMGli8I2c4U&feature=related

Enya "Paint the Sky with Stars" from The Mists of Avalon

Welcome to a very beautiful Saturday morning in my little corner of the world - I woke early to a beautiful world wrapped in a damp mist.  Mother Nature was very elegant this morning dressed in grey chiffon heavy mist clouds with silver trimmings.  The silence that comes with the mist is also very beautiful and I was enchanted.

That was a few hours ago and now we are being treated to patches of blue and brilliant golden sunshine.  What a canvas before me today - it almost leaves me breathless with wonder.  Certainly it left me "misty"eyed.

I love Saturdays and the weekend - not that these two days are very much different for me - but they are different for so many people who are tied in to the work day routine Monday to Friday - for these people the weekend can't arrive quickly enough nor can they fit in all the wonderful things they want to do.

I am joining some of my "Workaday" Friends this afternoon for a movie and ice cream - we are going to see "Water for Elephants" - a film about which I know very little, but my daughter thinks I will enjoy it and so too does the young lady who served me at the Supermarket  this morning.   I really enjoy these spontaneous conversations with strangers and her eyes sparkled as she said how much she had enjoyed the film and thought that I would too.  She asked me to let her know next time I was in the store as to whether I had or had not enjoyed it.   She was special and very bright and certainly made the humdrum of shopping disappear for me.

Those conversations with strangers who become friends for just a few moments of our day are to be cherished and enjoyed - there is an openness and an honesty there and the smiles are wonderful too.   These conversations do make a difference to the day and life of many people.

I also met a man this morning who does not speak English very well (if at all) and I smiled and he smiled back and stopped and struggled with two words "Good Morning" - I returned the "Good Morning" and for those few seconds we were able to communicate - It  made me feel good and I hope it made him feel the same and that he will be receptive to others who communicate with him.

I can't imagine not being able to understand or be understood although I recall very clearly when in ICU with all the tubes in how frustrating it was not to be able to speak.   I indicated by actions that I wanted a note pad and would write my needs and requests down.  We found a way to communicate as did this Gentleman and I this morning.   I am very much a words person and love communication in any form - written, spoken or sung and often use the international language of a smile to touch other lives.

Enjoy your weekend - walk, talk, sing and smile and find pleasure in what you have to do.  If you have to work then take that smile into work with you and see the difference you can make to a day. Write a note to your partner/children and see the smile on their face as they read it and you will be surprised at their response.

Enjoy words - all words - short/long/descriptive/funny and interesting - learn the meaning of a new word each day and then use it in conversation - my dictionary is my most used book and is rarely on the shelf - mostly it lives on the table and is used frequently.

I love crossword puzzles and particularly cryptic ones and I am now off to make coffee and settle with a puzzle and there goes the rest of the morning.  Oh the bliss of Saturday mornings.

I wish you a beautiful, exciting and interesting weekend spent in solitude or in the company of friends and family and walk safely through the mists.

Thank you for visiting these "Musings from my Heart" and I send love and hugs to you all.

SATURDAY ON SATURDAY - CATCHING UP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM0sTNtWDiI

The Proclaimers - I would Walk 500 miles.

or if you would prefer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwB2A9HHaCU

Peter Paul and Mary - 500 miles.

Good afternoon and welcome to my little corner of the world this Saturday afternoon - I have been playing catch up with Blogger having been "off the air" for a few days.  Today is day 500 post liver transplant and I am delighted and full of thanks for the extra life that is mine.

Yesterday was my clinic visit and all is well - Liver Function test showed all is going very well - some high and some low spots with some medication which we can adjust so all is well and I share this news with a very thankful heart.

The weather in Adelaide is cold and grey - I think the sun has forgotten how to shine lately, but the silver sky is beautiful and often streaked with charcoal and several sunrises have been lovely this week.

Saturday again - where does the time go ?  Both my daughters are very busy with their work and I have had long conversations with them on the phone which is a nice thing to do.  They are full of their trips and their social lives too - I can't keep up.  I am glad they have such good lives/jobs and partners and that life is good for them and it brings me joy that I gave them roots to anchor them and wings so that they could fly.

Mid afternoon now and I am having a cup of tea as I write this to you and I want to wish you a wonderful weekend ~ one filled with joy and love and happy times.   May the sun shine in your heart even if not in your world.

Thank you for taking the time to read the "Musings from My Heart" and for sharing part of my day.

Love and hugs,

SATURDAY, SUNSHINE, LOLLIPOPS AND RAINBOWS , REMEMBERING AND HOPING.

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

Hello - here I am - much later in the day than I normally am - shopping and enjoying a glorious autumn Saturday morning - some Garage Sales and a little while spent with friends, crossword puzzles and a fleeting visit from Naomi and Alexis needing coffee cups for work.   Eight coffee cups gone and also a bag.  I hope that counts as "decluttering."  I still have shopping to put away.

The purpose of this music and the tags is, of course the pending Royal Wedding of William of Wales and Catherine Middleton.  This coming Friday will see London streets packed with crowds to view this beautiful young woman on her way to marry the future King.

Dignitaries will travel from all over the world to wish them happiness and I hope that their days are happy.  Diana herself would be delighted to see her beautiful son happy and would have no doubt had some words of advice for Kate.  He is so like his Mother and it saddens me that she is not here to see this day.

She was kind, compassionate, caring and very beautiful and the media hunted her and treated her badly. Let's hope there have been some lessons learned and they will be easier on Kate.

It is lovely to see them together and sense their happiness and it is my fervent hope that THIS beautiful young woman has a happy life and that the media is kind to her and allows her space and time to be herself.

  I wish them sunshine on their path and a diamond studded sky and I hope indeed there will be sunshine, lollipops and rainbows for them

I hope that Kate is able to choose the dress she likes and enjoy the day without too much media criticism - it is after all their day and they are no different than any other young couple.

Today is a beautiful day and I was thinking of the brides of today and knowing how happy the cooperating weather will make them.  There is just a gentle breeze blowing - so no veils being tossed in the wind.

Other Royals in the spotlight this week are the Danish Royal Family with our own Australian born Princess Mary and Prince Frederick, and the christening of their beautiful twins.  Prince Vincent and Princess Josephina.

Here they are with siblings Prince Christian and Princess Isabella.

Lots of us are fascinated by Royalty and watch anything and everything to do with them, but I don't envy them their lives at all - to be in the eye of the media all the time would be very frustrating and I guess that those who do follow them do so because they are caught up in the "Fairy Tale" idea of Kings and Princes.

I do watch with some interest but it only serves to make me more thankful for the simple life that is mine.  I can go walking and shopping without being recognized, I can come and go as I please and I have the freedom to be me. I can attend a movie or a show when I choose to and visit friends without an entourage of Body Guards and "Minders"  I can get in my own car and just drive and mostly there is no one with a camera just waiting for me to make a mistake.

"I am grateful for my freedom - of choice and speech."

I hope that this Royal Wedding is incident free and brings joy to many hearts, and I am looking forward to seeing photographs as these Danish babies grow.

It is seeming strange to me with the day half gone and I am only just writing this blog. Life got in the way this morning and I hope your weekend is a lovely one and I am thankful to you for taking the time to visit "The Musings from my Heart."

Love and hugs,