Step-by-step

Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air — explode softly — and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth — boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn’t go cheap, either — not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.
~Robert Fulghum~

There was a time last year when I had heard about The Secret Garden but had no idea where it was located.  Now that I'm involved in the planning of the yarnbombing project, I've lost count of how many times I've been out there. 

 The project is slowly coming together, bit by bit, piece by piece, step by step.

It's amazing what color can do to brighten up a space.

On yet another sad note, I read yesterday of the passing of Marinke Slump of A Creative Being.  If you are a crocheter and have ever searched for mandala patterns, no doubt you have come across Wink and her wonderful blog where she shares many free patterns and is well known for her vibrant, colorful manadalas.  Her first book Boho Crochet was published earlier this year and her second book is due out in the Fall.  She was a creative, beautiful soul who suffered from depression and sadly took her own life this past Friday.

Kathryn of Crochet Concupiscence has organized a crochet project in memory of Wink that you can read about here.

Blessings to all,

Craft as Therapy

“It is only with true love and compassion that we can begin to mend what is broken in the world. It is these two blessed things that can begin to heal all broken hearts.”

Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

I published my Five on Friday post before we heard the horrible news of the suicide bomber at a mosque here in Kuwait.  My husband and I were actually on our way home from one of the malls when his aunt called from Jerusalem wanting to make sure he was okay,  It was the first we heard of the blast that killed 26.  As a young lady said on her Instagram account, "Terrorism knows no religion."  Ramadan is supposed to be a holy month but has now been tainted for so many who lost loved ones.

This type of act is meant to incite fear and dissension within a community or country.
The only way to fight back is to unite and show solidarity.

A  meeting of our crochet group for The Secret Garden project had already been planned for Saturday afternoon, and while some did drop out, we still had a nice group of 7 meet up.  More squares were donated and there was much discussion of how we will proceed and what our future plans will be.

It's nice to come together with like-minded people for a common cause.  On Instagram, there is a hashtag called #craftastherapy which is certainly accurate.  Our 2 hour meeting flew by in no time.

I hope you find time today for whatever brings you comfort.
Best wishes,

Five on Friday

"It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary."

Paulo Coelho

Thankful for my little balcony garden where doves find respite.  I enjoy watching through the window as they eat from the plants and drink from the bowl of water I've placed in one of the pots.

It's also Jingles favorite spot for relaxing and exploring.

I'm always delighted to find volunteer plants growing, even if some people consider them weeds.  The one on the right is called common purslane and grows wild here.  It is used in salads or as a side green and provides 6 times more Vitamin E than spinach and 7 times more beta carotene than carrots.  It is also high in Vitamin C and other vitamins as well as an essential omega-3 fatty acid called alphalinolenic acid.  Not bad for a little wild weed.  

Anything that's green is allowed to grow in my garden and is especially appreciated when it has pretty little flowers.

I've gathered together some of my cotton yarn with plans to crochet some colorful potholders today.

And I'm reading The Alchemist right along with my husband.   I started it years ago but never finished it even though I enjoyed it immensely.  Ironically, someone recommended it to my husband yesterday and insisted it was a must read so he came home with a different release of it.  He's already 15 pages in and loves it.

So that's my five.

Enjoying, relaxing, delighting, crocheting, reading.

Sharing with Amy for Five on Friday.

Have a fabulous day!

Bittersweet June

Can't we friends, compare the passing
      And the life of this cocoon
      To man's lowly, dark existence
      'Neath the stars, the sun, the moon

Ere he sheds his shell of matter,
Tries his Spirit wings in flight,

      Leaves the house that he has lived in,
      And goes forth, where all is bright?
(Gertrude Tooley Buckingham -- "The Cocoon", 1940s)

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?

Yesterday I posted about the dance of life.

Today, my youngest son learned that one of his former middle school teachers died this morning from complications of malaria.  And just moments ago, my husband came home to tell me the father of one of our friends passed away.

June is the month in which my mother-in-law passed away 10 years ago.

It's also the month in which my husband and I met on a blind date 23 years ago.

A bittersweet month of love and loss.

Peace and blessings to all,

The Dance

Everything in the universe has a rhythm; everything dances.

(Maya Angelou)

Last week while out running an errand, I was drawn to a group of pigeons.  Their habits are quite fascinating to watch.  To the one side, it looked like a female had died and a male was circling her in confusion; as if he was willing her to get up.  (Of course, that's just my interpretation of what I saw.)  Pigeons and doves do form very strong mating bonds so I imagine the loss of a mate would be significant.

 To the other side, a mating dance was taking place.

 It's so funny to watch the male twirl around, fan his feathers and puff out his chest hoping to attract the female who usually seems to be completely oblivious to his attentions.

But he doesn't give up.  He just keeps following her around, doing his dance.

While visiting with a friend on Sunday who just lost her father to liver cancer, I was reminded of the ebb and flow of life.  

She expressed how wonderfully rich and sweet and full life can be, but then .,..a moment comes along that stops you in your tracks, rips your heart out, and you wonder when you will be happy again.

Happiness, that grand mistress of the ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and meanderings, but leads none of us by the same route.

(Charles Caleb Colton)

Joy and sorrow; love and loss.

The only way to survive is to honor the feelings and embrace the changes.

It's all a part of the dance.

Have a blessed day,

Perspective

perspective

A particular attitude towards or way of regarding something.

Perspective has a lot to do with the way we view the world and our surroundings.  Yesterday I posted about the problem of excessive littering and trash in this country.  I read that there are supposed litter laws, but if there are, they are certainly not being enforced.  Seeing trash blowing everywhere is one of my biggest pet peeves and something that I can't overlook when I am out and about.  Others may be able to pretend it's not there or maybe they just don't care, but for me it is totally unacceptable to litter the land.

My view from our bedroom used to be of treetops and sky, but several years ago, the Ministry came around and cut them all down.  There also used to be a nice house across the street with huge palm trees surrounding it.  Now there's an empty lot for sale that some people seem to think is a landfill.

The word perspective came to mind when I was watching this dove outside my window.  Everything just looked so drab and dull.

But then the little dove took flight.

And landed right in the middle of my pot of moss roses.

All of a sudden the view was so much nicer.  Adjusting our range of vision is just like cropping pictures.  We can choose what we want to see.

To the left, palm trees.  In the middle, ugly empty lot.  To the right, beautiful green and blooms.  I choose to look left and right.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

The Irony

Because of our heat that is well above 100 degrees every day, I've not been walking at all.  I've attempted to go in the morning and evening after the sun has set, but both times left me feeling very sick.

Today I decided to try a morning walk along the beach thinking perhaps it would be a little cooler with a breeze blowing off the water.  Unfortunately, the problem was this.

Trash everywhere.  And I can't walk by and do nothing.

So I grab the nearest empty bag floating around and begin to fill it with garbage.

Someone had even torn apart an entire daily calendar and all the pages were blowing all over the place.

It is astounding to me that anyone thinks it is okay to litter.  Last week, I watched two 20 something boys fill their ice cooler outside the grocery story, then clean out their car right into the parking lot.  On the way home, a father with his children in the the car was throwing their lunch trash out the window.  At the beach, people eat and enjoy their time, and rather than using the numerous trashcans all along the boardwalk, they choose to leave it behind, or tucked between rocks.

I have a feeling someone is missing their little tennie shoes right about now.

I did collect some more familiar beach finds other than  just garbage. 

But after 40 minutes, I suddenly felt the urgent need to get to my car.  And sadly, here's the ironic part.  I was halfway there when a strong gust of wind blew through knocking over a trash container that was only a quarter of the way full.  I had just picked up bags of trash and now there were bottles and debris blowing everywhere.  I was so disheartened.  I righted the container and put it next to a bench, then started picking up the garbage that had fallen out, but couldn't finish.  I felt sick and my legs were getting wobbly.  I just wanted to get to my car and some air conditioning as quick as possible.  I couldn't even have a drink of water because it is Ramadan.

Betsy at The Simple Life of a Queen had asked about Ramadan in a previous comment.
The fasting hours are from sunup til sundown so there's no eating or drinking in public during this time.  Restaurants only open just before sunset and keep later hours than they normally would to accommodate.  This is the way it's done in Kuwait; not all countries have this law.

It's 8 hours later and I still don't feel quite right.  There are people who work out in the heat every day.  I truly don't know how they do it.

Have a blessed week,

Five on Friday: Simple Pleasures

Joining once again with Amy at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday.

Sharing 5 simple pleasures of the day or week.

Balcony adventures:  While I water the plants every day, Jingles gets to explore the great outdoors and eat a little grass, too.  It's hard to get her to come back inside sometimes.

 Cross-stitch:  Something I haven't done in a while.  I have a really hard time seeing the holes which makes for messy stitches.  My days of large patterns on linen are long over.  I'm happy just to do quick and easy projects.

 Crochet:  Lots of stashbusting is going on for the yarnbombing project.  I hope to go out tomorrow morning to install some of it.  

Yarn Thief:  Jingles might be 11 years old, but she still knows how to have fun and that ball of yarn was just way too tempting.

 Magazine:  A friend just returned from Dubai where she always picks me up a Mollie Makes.  Always a fun, inspiring read.

 Have a fabulous Friday!