Awareness

"Awareness is like the sun.

When it shines on things

They are transformed."

 Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddhist teacher and Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh left this life very recently.

He was 95 years old.

His teachings held so much wisdom and I have several of his books, like the one above.

There are so many beautiful quotations in his books:

" Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful."

On the table, you can see my Tingsha bells, or cymbals. 

I have had them for many years and love their sound.

Just listening to them gives me a feeling of peace.

If you would like to hear these bells you can do so on this link:

Tingsha Bells

My bells are the 3-inch ones with a slightly deeper sound.

I am not Buddhist, but their teachings resonate with me.

When we set a pretty table for breakfast, we eat more slowly and consciously

and appreciate each mouthful.

This morning I made an apple muffin made with almond flour.

Being in nature and literally becoming part of it through my shadow!

The Witch Hazel is a welcome sight while the spring flowers are still shy of blooming

after a return to colder temperatures. 

As I was walking back from the shops yesterday, I looked up to see this lovely

cloud formation, momentarily hiding the sun, but we can see some discreet

sunrays slightly above and below the cloud.

I am taking part in a private self-portrait group and this week,

our challenge was to take silhouettes. 

When I was walking in front of my glass-fronted bookcase, I noticed

my silhouette against the window.

I bet you didn't know that I lived in a bookcase in my spare time!

Another bookcase photo, with my focus on the frame and the contents, but less on my silhouette,

making it look more dreamy and contemplative as if I were looking out of the window.

I found it interesting to note that the shadow of my head highlighted the gold writing

of a book entitled 'A New Earth' by teacher and author Eckhart Tolle.

Space, lightness and simplicity.

Have you noticed, that when there's too much going on,

we just need to create some space around us. let in the light and return to simplicity.

Finding my centre

Space, lightness, simplicity

Show be how to be.

I hope that you are finding lightness and laughter in your own life,

remembering that our smile makes life more beautiful, both for others and for how we feel inside.

Day 30: Jam Making

Apricot Jam

Irresistible!

Making this particular jam has become a tradition.

I only use half the amount of sugar as the weight of the fruit.

I also use a small amount (about 100 grams) of raw cane sugar, called Sucanat.

It gives a delicious flavour and colour to the finished jam.

This year I added the scraped out contents of one vanilla pod.

It adds a little something special.

The apricots this year are exceptionally sweet and juicy.

They are great to eat raw all on their own.

The coffee is gurgling

The nut bread has been sliced

and the freshly made apricot jam is waiting!

Breakfast on my balcony

is the most wonderful place to be!

A small bowl of floating Phlox flowers for my breakfast table.

Why Blog?

On Saturdays, I love to have breakfast out before doing my marketing.

Some years ago, when I first created a blog, it was to have a place to put my pictures and connect with other people around the world who also enjoyed sharing their photography.

These days, blogs are being abandoned everywhere and many of my blogging friends have disappeared, sometimes without a word, other times to post on Instagram and Facebook.

I miss by old blogging buddies and their blogs and the easy exchanges we all had with one another.

I suppose I need to ask myself why I blog. First and foremost, it's to have a collection of my favourite photos in the same place for a given period, usually one or two weeks. It's a journal in images.

I also like to write, but to do that I need to be in the right frame of mind, so sometimes there are mainly photos and other times there is mainly writing.  I go by how I feel in the moment.

Is it important for me that others be interested enough to want to visit my blog and maybe leave a comment? Yes, it is rewarding and I really enjoy exchanging with other bloggers and visiting their blogs or sites too.

Does it touch me that I get less visitors and less comments than I used to get a couple of years ago?

I have sometimes wondered what visitors expect to see or read. It is possible that what they find in this space is personally uninteresting to them!

Am I posting here for my own pleasure? Does it really matter if others appreciate it or not?

I do not put up images or write because it's what I think others want to see and hear - I would lose myself and my integrity if I did that. Yes, I am posting for myself, sometimes just writing things out makes me see more clearly, but I do love to get feedback from my visitors when they have the time to linger!

Above all, I need to be who I am in depth and I always speak from the heart, so what you see or read here is really me, not someone I pretend to be!

So for the time being, I will continue this space here, because above all, it's a place I like to be.

When you visit and when you leave a comment, I am happy too, but this cannot be my main motivation. It's a gift when others come in to leave a visible trace of their presence.

This is what I wanted to share today, and these thoughts have been weaving themselves in and out of my mind on the subject for a while now.

I shall be interested to hear your voice and what you feel about blogging today.

Wishing you all a wonderful day and may February bring us fresh thoughts and new beginnings from wherever we were before!

Sandra

When there is a sunrise or a sunset in my neighbourhood, I first see it reflected in the windows of the building opposite.  

This capture is a recent sunrise.

It prompted me to go out on my balcony and catch the faraway trees

and neighbourhood church steeple:

***

A Breakfast Invitation

How about a glass of cooled orange juice on a hot morning?

The croissants and crunchy buns are still warm just out of the oven.

Don't they smell good?

Breakfast is my favourite time of the day to invite friends and family!

Though I know that nobody is such an early bird as me.

I always ask them to come at a comfortable time for them.

Eight-thirty is good for some and the others stretch it out to be a bit later!

The best time of the year to do breakfast invitations is definitely now.

In fact, as soon as it's warm enough to eat outside on the balcony!

We've all been wilting under a prolonged heat-wave over here in Switzerland

so early-mornings are the best times for walks and eating outside.

Would you like to pop in for breakfast one day?

I'd love to have you over for a chat!

Do you prefer tea or coffee or maybe Peppermint or Lemon Verbena?

Just let me know before you come!

I still have a pot of homemade apricot jam leftover from last year

so don't wait too long!

Fresh as a daisy

On a balmy summer's day

Petal poetry.

A May Birthday

I've always loved having my birthday in the month of May

It's in the springtime which is my favourite time of the year.

Rituals are created

and the main one consists of having breakfast out!

If the weather is warm and sunny, an outside terrace down by the lake

is the very best place to be!

A basket of assorted breads and croissants,

a freshly squeezed juice and a good coffee.

If a pretty birthday card is presented, it is put on show like this one.

Here is my favourite birthday breakfast outside terrace under white parasols.

It's at the Hôtel d'Angleterre.

After a leisurely breakfast,

a long walk along the lake in Ouchy

admiring water reflections on the way.

The weather-vane shows that a light north-easterly wind is blowing

and that's just perfect to keep the clouds at bay and the weather fine.

A beautiful steam-boat glides by on tranquil waters.

I laughed to see the formation of fluffy white clouds

 as if they were escaping from the boat's chimney!

We walk past sandy beaches and see the outline of the mountains

on the French side of the lake.

Just the right amount of breeze for this little sailing boat.

The furthermost tip of the coastline is where we're going to have lunch

in the village of St-Sulpice.

The walk from Lausanne takes about two hours at a leisurely pace.

This is the view from above the village

before taking a bus and metro back home again.

A special birthday cake that was waiting for me:

Chocolate Truffle with fresh raspberries within the mousse-like filling!

It wouldn't be the month of May without my favourite flowers:

Lily of the Valley

Hydrangeas

and  gorgeous peonies.

If your birthday is also in the month of May

perhaps you love these flowers too.

If not, I'm sure you have favourite things from your month of birth!

Breakfast by the lake

One of my favourite treats in the warm season is to have breakfast down by the lake.

The tranquility of the water, the graceful sailing boats gliding by

and, a little dot in the distance in the middle of the picture, watching

the old steam boats stop at the various ports

in Switzerland and  neighbouring France.

A delicious choice of assorted bakery

and a peach juice

and a double espresso coffee with a perfect frothy topping!

Lifting up our eyes, we saw a steam boat go by from our table.

Then I noticed this sweet little fellow sitting on a chair near our table, obviously waiting for crumbs!

Some fluttering and chirping brought my eyes back to my own breakfast being dive-bombed by a greedy little trio! A quick photo and then a mad wave of my napkin to scare away the cheeky sparrows!

A long walk along the lake front to take advantage of the lovely weather conditions and enjoy the view.

That little sailing boat turned round at the same time as us and we saw a rowing boat coming

into view with a very fit-looking crew manning the oars!

Yes, having breakfast down by the lake

is one of my favourite things!

An important note:

If you click on each photo, they will become bigger and fill your screen.

This option had not been working for a couple of months. I am happy to see that the photos can now be enlarged again on everyone's blogs, including this one!