A Heart-Shaped Day

Heart Shapes are always lovely to create and I love to make mine in crochet. 

This one is attached to a small branch of cherry blossom.

The pretty pattern comes from

Anabelia Craft Design

I made another one in pink which is next to my Sonny Angel doll

dressed in cherry blossom clothes.

I received these beautiful pink and red roses in a bouquet

which tempted me to make a garland of mini hearts!

There's something special about anything heart-shaped, don't you think?

We have had many sunny days this month and I have been enjoying them to the full.

I liked this little leftover leaf from autumn, still hanging onto the branch.

Now I have to take you for a walk along the lake. I have been there several times

in the last week and the lighting has been perfect.

The mountains were slightly misty and the lake was a lovely shade of blue.

A slight breeze ruffled the surface of the water.

and there have been fresh snowfalls.

The bright sunshine created a myriad of sparkles on the surface of the water.

I was so glad that I was down by the lake that day.

What peace on this particular day.

I walked a lot and sat on a bench for a while, soaking up all the beauty and peacefulness.

We can see the tower of the hotel and restaurant called Le Château d'Ouchy.

I really enjoyed observing two Great Crested Grebes doing their courtship display

It was all quite enchanting

If you would like to see a short video clip of them doing their dance.

You will see it HERE

I always find this sailing boat very elegant.

Another small boat and a pretty misty background shrouding the base of the mountains.

Sunbursts and sparkles on the water after a night of rain.

I've joined a group of photographers to practice self-portraits

and our challenge of the week was to take reflections.

Hello to you all!

The first spring flowers are starting to appear.

The Snowdrops and darling little Violets, winter-flowering Viburnum and Primroses.

Two hearts for you for Valentine's Day!

We are in for a mostly rainy week, but we have been so spoilt with sunshine

and we must be happy for the flowers and the whole of nature

who need rain as much as they need sunshine.

***

Remember to click on the photos to see them in a larger size.

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.

I Bring You Flowers and Art

 

The florist's are selling their uplifiting spring bulbs already.

I really liked this watering can planter filled with pink Hyacinths.

The words on the can say:

La Vie en Rose

Bleu Ciel

Plein de Soleil

Meaning:

Seeing life through rose-tinted glasses

Blue Sky

Lots of Sunshine

That first phrase, is best described as living with an attitude or outlook of positivity.

Trying to see the beauty in the everyday,

rather like when you first fall in love!

On January 6th, which is the Epiphany, it's tradition to eat a Galette des Rois.

They come in different forms, but the most delicious one is made with flaky pastry

and a ground almond filling.

There is always a tiny 'king' statue or similar figurine somewhere in the filling.

The person who gets the slice with the tiny king gets to wear the crown

and is king, or queen, for the day!

We had a few light snowfalls at the beginning of the month

and after watching the beautiful flakes float lazily from the sky,

I noticed my little glass dish of marbles catching the reflections from

the crochet cloth below.

Early one morning, there were beautiful pink and blue colours in the sunrise

and I ran out on the end of my balcony to capture them.

Can you see the tiny bird in the distance flying high? 

It's very small, but if you click on the photo, you will see it better.

I set off for a walk to the higher part of my neighbourhood.

I love passing these tall poplar trees on the way.

The branches are still bare so early in the year, but look at that blue sky!

When I walk uphill for about half an hour, I can reach some fields.

They were quite muddy, so I only stayed at the edge to see the view on the mountains.

After a period of misty and fairly warm days, it became much colder again

bringing a big drop in temperatures, to about 2C in the daytime and below zero at night.

A few days of cold wind, blew the grey skies away and we are experiencing blue skies

and sunny days. It's so uplifting, don't you think?

A cheerful collage of yellow Primula flowers on my spring cloth.

Little sunshine flowers that remind us that days are getting longer and we shall soon

have gained a whole hour of daylight since the winter equinox on December 21st.

My deep red velvety Amaryllis gave me twelve beautiful big blooms

over a long period.

I love having these plants in my home over Christmas and the new year.

Now it is the turn of the pink striped Amaryllis.

It's so elegant and somehow feminine and delicate.

This is the very first bud.

Then a second one opened on the other side.

Here they are both together with two more buds to open up.

"Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees"

Lawrence Weschler

I've always enjoyed creating the abstract quality of subjects to concentrate on shape and colour,

and in this case, flow.

This is the brochure of a wonderful Van Gogh Alive art exhibition

which is on show in Lausanne.

I loved it so much that I went to see it twice!

If you are a Van Gogh fan, you will love this exhibition.

Here is Van Gogh's bedroom which he painted when he was living in Arles in 1888.

His beautiful Iris

The Almond Blossom which he painted to celebrate the birth of his nephew,

also named Vincent, to his brother Theo and his wife Johanna.

Theo was an art dealer in Paris.

He was a good brother to Vincent, encouraging him in his art and helping him financially.

This was one of Van Gogh's Starry Night paintings.

It looks slightly blurred because the images are moving with shooting stars.

I'm showing it because of the sheer and beautiful intensity of the the famous blue

that Van Gogh liked to use.

The self-portrait in this collage is one of my favourite ones he painted.

The manner in which this exhibition is presented is difficult to explain, so I'm including two links

for you to see for yourself. The first one is here

in Lausanne

The second one is a longer YouTube clip is from the

Atelier des Lumières in Paris

I preferred the chosen classical music in Lausanne.

The whole show lasts for 45 minutes.

It's tragic that Van Gogh remained virtually unknown until after his death.

He died, far too young, at only thirty-seven

but he painted more than 2.100 works of art.

Some of Vincent's quotations were projected onto the walls and my favourite one is this:

" I dream my paintings and then I paint my dreams."

Thank you, Vincent Van Gogh, for painting your dreams and sharing them with us.

If you like Van Gogh's paintings, 

please go and see this immersive art exhibition.

You will come out of it transformed.

A New Year and Longer Days

Golden light for the grey days at the beginning of our winter!

This charming porcelaine candle-holder with bare branches and cheeful little birds

was given to me by a good friend at Christmas.

A touch of fairy lights and a pretty reflection in the polished wood of my sideboard.

When we were going through a series of grey days with wind and rain,

I thought it would be very cheering to take photos of the candle-holders

that have come into my life over the years.

This sweet house was given to me by my grandson a few years ago.

A fine porcelaine village scene with snow-topped houses and a church

and pretty pine trees.

Many of these photos were taken either in the early morning or late afternoon.

This is a flower-shaped faceted glass candle-holder.

The glass is neutral in colour, but it has taken on a red glow because of the red candle.

More faceted glass on a crocheted red mat and illuminating a beautiful snow scene

which is my son's Christmas card this year

A warm image created by a very pretty Swarovski crystal candle-holder

which my daughter gave me.

I made the three red crocheted little bells with silver edging this year.

I bought this Art Deco style glass heart-shaped container

from a Lausanne market stall many years' ago.

I like to fill it with some marbles and a candle and a muslin ribbon gave it a soft, flowing feel!

I have also used this little dish for homemade chocolates or biscuits. to serve to company.

This is the same glass dish in which we can see the glass stem, or stand.

I wanted something light and airy with a touch of gold to celebrate this first day of the new year.

The symbolic message I wish to share with this image is this:

Let's always rise above adversity,

 the flowing ribbons remind us to bring lightness and gaiety

into our lives and to nurture the child within us all.

The white candle makes me think of the white page in our book of life, 

waiting for us to write our continuing life story.

The flame of the candle shows us that whatever else is happening in our lives,

there is always a light shining somewhere to guide us out of the darkness.

For anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere, it's great to remember that right after the winter soltice. the days get longer by an average of 2 minutes and 7 seconds a day.

So that means between December 21 and December 31, we have gained 21.10 minutes of light!

Isn't that uplifting?

In the wise words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who recently died:

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together

that overwhelm the world."

I wish you all a Healthy and Happy New Year

filled with light, warmth and kindness, especially kindness.