Two Weeks Ago

Easter Sunday morning, my son in New York messaged to ask if I had heard about what happened in Sri Lanka.

I hadn't yet watched any news for the day so had to look it up and then immediately messaged our friends in Colombo.

As you can imagine, they were devastated and heartbroken.  Senseless bombings that took so many lives and injured so many more.

We usually visit Sri Lanka in February but weren't able to this year because we had to go to Jerusalem.  In February 2018, we stayed at the Cinnamon Grand, where we've stayed many times over the years.  It is one of the hotels that a suicide bomber went into where he stood in line at the breakfast bar before detonating.

The Shrangi-La and Kingsbury were also targeted.

These major hotels are all within walking distance from each other along Galle Face Road so we pass them each and every time we are there.  The Taj where we've stayed before is also in between them so I wondered why it had been spared.  Turns out the bomber meant to go there chickened out.

We had plans to visit next month during the Eid Holiday but have canceled.

Makes me very sad.  We've been going there nearly every year since 2010 and have met nothing but smiling, warm, wonderful, welcoming people everywhere we went.  I hate that the wicked ways of a few were able to cause so much death and destruction.

Last year we attended a farmer's market where I bought one of these wall-hangings made out of recycled wood.

Love All, Serve All
Help Ever, Hurt Never

Messages to live by.
Sunday blessings,

Saturday Crafting

Hello everyone!
Hope you are well.
As usual, it's been awhile.

This morning was the regular meet-up of my craft group, Kuwait Crafters.  We meet every other Saturday at a different location.

There's always some show-n-tell to begin.

Then the crocheting and knitting and cross-stitching commences.
Sometimes there's also something sweet to be shared.

Vegan red velvet cupcakes made by Rene and they were scrumptious.

One member of the group recently returned from Egypt so we all got a little gift.

I was also informed that this is Star Wars Day, so this photo that I took at Dubai Mall when we were there in March comes in handy after all.

May the Fourth be with you.

Walk With Me

One sure sign that the weather is warming up is the fact that the ants start taking over my potted plants outside and they also manage to find any little crack to make their way inside.  It's become a real battle when summer rolls around.

For the past couple of days, I've stayed home to clean.

Cleaning leads to organizing and that leads to messes.

Another battle.

One that seems to be never ending.

But today I needed to go to the grocery store so managed to take a little walk while I was out.

The palo verde are a gorgeous golden sight to see with their pale green trunks and pretty yellow blooms.

The bees are still out in full force feeding on nectar and pollen.

Moment is a flower.

Mindfulness is sipping the nectar of that flower.
(Amit Ray, Mindfulness Living in the Moment - Living in the Breath) 

 Really love seeing the transformation of these beautiful flowers into fruit.

Ancient Egyptians regarded the pomegranate as a symbol of prosperity and ambition.

Mulberries are similar to blackberries and are very much loved by the birds.

I recently finished reading The Nature Fix which I really enjoyed.

It's an easy book to read and highlights some really interesting research that's going on regarding the benefits of spending time in nature.

As long as the weather is bearable, I'll be out getting my fix.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Sightseeing Sunday: The Old City

For those of you who have been following me for awhile, you might recall that my husband is from Jerusalem and has lots of extended family who live there.  

We try to visit at least once a year and one of our first stops is always to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be where the crucifixion of Jesus occurred and where his grave is located.

We have friends who always send money with us so that we can make a donation to the church and light candles in memory of their loved ones.

Even though I've been to Jerusalem many times over the years, there's still places I've not visited, such as The Garden Tomb.

This tomb was discovered in 1867 and some believe that it might possibly be where Jesus was actually buried and resurrected.  The garden is maintained by a Christian non-denominational charitable trust based in the UK and is a popular place for Protestant devotion and reflection.

 When we are with family, we do a lot of sitting and eating and drinking of tea and coffee.

So to counteract all that, it is necessary to walk as much as we can, and what better place than the old souk which is a visual feast for the eyes.

We visited two other places that I'd not been to before but will save those for another time.

Sunday blessings,

Hello Friends!

Oops!  It's been awhile.

Obviously much has happened in the past 6-1/2 weeks.

A couple of trips have been taken.

Jerusalem

And Dubai.

Spring has been in full swing with an explosion of colorful flowers and painted ladies taking over the skies.

I read that California had a mass migration of painted ladies this year, too, because of all the rain and that's exactly what happened here.

April started off very dusty.

But thankfully cleared up and was nice for a walk this morning with hubby who has a day off from work.

Just wanted to stop in for a quick hello.
Will spend some time this evening doing some blog hopping.

Hope you are all well.
Best wishes,