Blue and White Delights

These Two are a match Made in Heaven.

Think blue sky, white clouds. Mediterranean Sea and whitewashed Greek hilltop houses.

The oceans, sailors, and their navy blue and white striped tops. Fresh and clean, bold, always a success.

Smart, timeless as a white shirt with blue jeans.

There is an infinite variety of pattern and design, especially in old crockery and fabrics.

With china, mismatched makes it all the more charming.

Most of the older ware can't be safely washed by machine, but it's worth owning some anyway!

Like this lovely piece of BURLEIGH Ware.

Or this stunning Victorian dinner plate. These pieces have been picked up in vintage stores , garage sales and flea markets for a few dollars over many years.

More white and bluetiful.

Remember if you like this it can be collected slowly with very little cash

"Discontent with what you have and are, will direct your thoughts inward and generate depression"

Chase away the blues by  giving thanks for everything you are and have.

Simple joys like bright orange slices on a blue plate brighten a day at home or a picnic in the garden

Moroccan Dessert Oranges: Slice the oranges over a plate to catch the juice.

Make sure there is no bitter pith left on them.

Sprinkle with a little cinnamon and mint, and orange blossom water if you have some, and a smidgen of castor sugar. Chill. Eat slowly with a fork - This has a very exotic flavour that goes nicely with almonds as a finish to a Moroccan feast. Or use as an extra healthy snack.

 

Daniel 10, 18 -19

One in human form touched me and strengthened me.Don't be afraid He said " for you are deeply loved by God"

Lavender and Lemons. More Complements!

"Mere  Colour, unspoiled by meaning and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways."  Oscar Wilde.

 Lavender and Lemon are two of those colours that speak, with or without pictures.

They speak of sunshine, relaxation, countryside, prettiness, happiness, springtime and even summer.

Painting by Ben Nicholson showing just how evocative colour and light can be.

Of course both lemons and lavender have gorgeous aromas too which means they are useful for many things in the home and in food creation.

Homemade Lemonade:
Peel the zest from 3 lemons or 2 lemons and 1 lime.
Put it in a bowl and add 2 cups of boiling water and some sweetener - honey or sugar or artificial sweetener. Squeeze the fruit and add the juice, let it cool. Strain it.
You could have no sweetener and add sweetened tonic water or diet lemonade later when it's cooled.
Add a sprig of lemon balm or mint and plenty of ice. Some Angostura bitters add a pleasant touch.

English essayist John Lubbock said:
 Happiness is a thing to be practised, like the violin.


"I am the Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won't have to stay any longer in the dark" The Message. Jesus' words. John 12.

Red and Green-Opposites Attract.

             Opposites on the colour wheel make each other zing.

    Everyday objects found around our home.

Red apples with green leaves, chartreuse pears and cerise cherries. Scarlet skies  over emerald seas, minty taste with tomato paste, ruby ring by a  jade vase, grass  growing - fire glowing, vermillion loves viridian.
 Green eyes and red lips, rose red in a sage bed, Granny smith meets Rome beauty. Blood drops shed in an olive grove, sea glass  found on a carmine rock.

Red planet  glows with green light, grasshopper  caught by Robin redbreast, redcurrants sour as gooseberries,  cucumber cools a hot  chilli.
 Claret  with a squeeze of lime, pistachio sorbet and raspberry gelato, rouge cheeks - verdigris.
 Green beret and a red badge of courage. It's a red-letter day don't pine away. Greengage plum by a poppy patch, red fox in a verdant field,  bottle green dress with scarlet shoes...
  Please add more !

    Art deco vase and hand painted vintage plate, knife and spoon.

From Tricia Guild's Painted Country

Zucchini, blanched for 1 minute then left to cool, then grated. Added to the centre of a red cabbage  or radicchio leaf, sprinkled with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Topped with toasted pine nuts and garnished with coriander/cilantro or other fresh herbs. This makes a lovely extra side salad.

The Message: 1 Peter 2
Tell others of the night and day difference He made for you -
from nothing - to something,
from rejected - to accepted.

Oldie but a Goodie Idea for Table Flowers

This is not new.

Using several jars or bottles filled with a flower or flowers is as old as your nana. But you can make it totally your own. It always works providing you follow a few basics.

Here the layout is random but holds together because of similar bottles and similar coloured blooms.

This little group works because the jars , though old and mismatching, are all similar in height and are plain glass. The sprigs are similar too. Save your old and pretty jars for long outside table displays or even an outside wedding.

Sit the jars on a row of coloured fabric or in this case tiles. The colour should be in the arrangement somewhere or complementary  [opposite ] to it on the colour wheel. These were the only flowers in the garden, spirea and periwinkle.

At night you can alternate the containers of flowers  and leaves with candles.

For a change, hang the bottles from a branch indoors or outside. These are really Christmassy and could be cut down at the end of the evening and given to the guests. Any party with a theme, for e.g. birthday,  wedding and so on would be brightened up with these little beauties or similar. Name tag them for a personal touch.
Great Idea: Buy one bunch of flowers and split them between many bottles, one bloom in each.

Psalm 7 I'm thanking God, who makes things right. I'm singing the fame of heaven - high God. The Message.

A Walk in the Park

'A walk in the park' is an idiom which means  an easy thing to do. Well, on a sunny day it really is easy and very pleasurable to have a brisk walk  or a saunter in the beautiful park very close to our home.
This park is a working farm, so has cattle, sheep and a few chickens. A pheasant or 3 were spotted on the weekend.
The old oaks and others were planted by some early settlers who came to New Zealand from England.

All Aucklanders are grateful to the people who planted these trees and left this park as a gift to our city.

The gardeners have planted, among the old stone walls, vegetables that have the most beautiful flowers and colours that harmonise with the lichens and the grey of the rocks.

Inspiration for a home garden. You only need to allow your herbs and vegetables to go to seed to produce beautiful displays and be sure of another crop seeding itself next season. 

'You pulled me from the brink of death,
My feet from the cliff-edge of doom.
Now I shall stroll at leisure with God
In the sunlit fields of life.'
Psalm 56 The Message.

An early settlers cottage in the park and an old stone farm wall.

Country in the city.

Classy Glass.

Glass is gorgeous, it's old and it's new.

Just by placing it within the sun's rays you can increase the amount of light refracted from it, much like a prism, and fill up your house with extra sunshine.

Inexpensive, free

or costly, your choice.

 Often simple is best.

Old jam jars or mustard pots, decanters or cheap recycled glass bottles-

All work to produce that lovely light filtering effect.

Use them in groups or alone

with one sprig of something fragrant or 

shapely and colourful.

A lone Gerbera

always looks bright and cheerful.

Just found a site

which allows you to add text to a photo

and it's free!

It's called

ribbet.com

Just Keep experimenting.

Keep your creativity on the go

and your mind 

in learning mode.

Life is brilliant.

Please feel free 

to comment.

It started when God said
" Light up the darkness!"

2 Corinthians 4
New living.

Beautiful still life painting of gorgeous antique glassware.

Always Loved Glossy Magazines?

Wouldn't it be fun to create your own magazine?

I expect when you were very young you created pretend, or to you, quite real magazines , books or illustrated comics. This same childlike desire remains in us  - who we are doesn't really change.

Of course time and circumstances can do terrible things to the person that is the true you. Good news: It's NEVER too late to get your real self back.

Recently found a very cheap app for helping photos look a little more like those favourite magazines. Although it would be nice to learn professional techniques for producing the images one would be proud of, right now I'm still in the process of learning a little, almost daily, about everything really, but particularly about blogs. Until I know how to produce those great looking pages I will experiment with things at hand. For e.g. PicFrame this new revised app from Apple. The picture above is an example. Here's another:

What do you think?     The first is of a beautiful old jug I found in a second hand shop. It's got an exquisite design of the English countryside on it, my water colour is in the background. The second is our front garden, now, in spring, in  New Zealand. If you live in the northern hemisphere just hang on, this is what is waiting for you after winter.

Try to bring to mind what it was you loved doing as a child-It's significant.

"Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." The Message, Luke 18.