Month: January 2014 (page 1 of 2)

The Year of the Horse

Chinese New Year 2013

Happy Chinese New Year! I quickly shot this last night in the rain as I walked down one of my favorite side streets in China Town.

There were dumpling carts everywhere, all the shops were filled with lanterns and items pertaining to the Year of the Horse.

With the rain steadily trickling down and the wind making the ruby red lanterns sway it was magical!

 

Reading

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas

I LOVE to read! Although my journey in the morning and home at night is a bit lengthy, reading keeps me busy. I go through at least one book a week! I finished a book yesterday morning (a truly delicious read that I will share with you in due course) and started a James Patterson book that I had stuck in my bag on my travels home last night. I finished it 5 minutes into my last train home tonight and just sat in my seat, silently watching the world go by in a blur of lights. This book touched my heart. It is called Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas.

It is bittersweet, but filled with love and hope and kindness and wisdom and joy. For however brief the moments that we share with someone we are lucky to have shared them!

Suzanne writes in her diary the “lesson of the five balls”. While recuperating from a heart attack one of her doctor friends tells her this story and it goes like this:

Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls…are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.

Balance is something that I strive for. I am enjoying my new position, but work is not the be all and end all. Don’t work so hard to create a life that you can’t even stop to enjoy. Make sure you tell the one you love that you love them for time is precious and slips through our fingers like water.

Born Again

I came home tonight and as I headed upstairs I could hear someone playing their car stereo really really loudly outside.

I took a peak as I closed the curtains and saw it was a construction worker sitting in his van waiting on his mate. He was in his early 30’s, bald with some facial hair, and glasses. In fact, he looked a little like Walt from Breaking Bad.

His eyes were closed, his head was swaying, he was biting his lower lip, his right hand was raised in a small fist and he was beating the air. What was his listening to you ask? Was it a good 80’s rock ballad? Some heavy metal? Some old Rock’n’Roll? No, he was listening to the 1979 classic, I’m Born Again. He made me think of this guy. I’ll tell you, people never cease to surprise me. Never judge a book by its cover, for music speaks to your soul, not to your age.

Happy Friday!

Winter

Mark Hearld Winter Fox

Winter is a slow, low time. Everything
is hiding from the cold; just staying alive is
enough. Days are short, but the long frosty
nights blaze with stars and spring
is just a moon or two away.

I saw the most delightful children’s book this weekend. It was illustrated by Mark Hearld. An artist whose work I truly admire.

This was one of the first pages I turned to. With my love of foxes, I was sold! It has gone on my wish list of books, at it has been so charmingly constructed.

{A First Book of Nature, by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld}

The Washing Machine Blues

Whirlpool Surgomatic Washing Machine Ad

I’ve got the blues, the washing machine blues that is! Our machine stopped working last weekend, and a repairman came this week and he “thought” he fixed it. However, after my first load of laundry in 6 days was done yesterday we realized he didn’t fix it, so unlike the lady above, I am not really smiling.

We had wet clothes hanging in every available doorway and on every available space. Looks like a trip to the old laundromat for us this weekend! Because “Mount Laundry” is getting bigger by the day!

Nothing More

Last night we started catching up with a few of our shows that we missed just before Christmas. One of them being NCIS. This song was used at the end of their Christmas episode and it just seemed fitting.

It is by a band called The Alternate Routes. And the song is simply titled “Nothing More”. For as the lyrics state: “We are how we treat each other and Nothing More”. For reasons of my own this week, this song just spoke to me.

Happy Wednesday!