F is for...

... flowers

... freesias to be exact

... friends

... fabric

... fiction
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

...films

... fun

... felicita (felicity)

xxx

Spring!

This is what I did on the first day of spring:

reading the Shell Seekers

and enjoying a little bunch of flowers that a pupil brought me.
I read this book every summer

but this year I couldn't wait;

I've got a copy of the book in English since October.

I think I've waited long enough, don't you think?

It's the first time I'm reading the original;

before that, I used to read the Greek translation.

I love, love, love this book!

Happy spring!

xxx

Inspiring Words 5

~~learning~~

~~

The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.
- B.B. King



An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.
- Benjamin Franklin


You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.
- Clay P. Bedford



A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on a cold iron.
- Horace Mann
~~~~~

What can I say about learning, really?

I think I'd feel like my heart had stopped beating if I lost my urge to learn!

I enjoyed thinking of words that inspire me,

only I had great difficulty in choosing just five.

~~~~~

Have you visited Sarah, Claudia, Lynne and Lucy this week?

They have their own beautiful words to share.

xxx

Inspiring Words 4

~~joy~~

~~

When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace,
love, prosperity, happiness... all the good things.
Maya Angelou

~~~~~
Joy is not in things; it is in us
Richard Wagner
~~~~~

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
Kahlil Gibran
~~~~~

Joy delights in Joy
William Shakespeare


~~~~~

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.
Albert Einstein

~~~~~

Seeking joy in the simple things is something major, I think.

I've trained myself well to do so;

I try not to let joy slip through my fingers.

xxx

Inspiring Words 3

~~ creativity ~~

~~

The world is but a canvas to the imagination.
Henry David Thoreau
~~~~~
All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
Pablo Picasso

~~~~~
“The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done - men who are creative, inventive and discoverers”
Jean Piaget
~~~~~
I love the last quote. If we could only succeed in this...

I have no words for 'creativity', really;

I just can't imagine life without it!

There's one thing I can tell you, though;

I wish I were more creative with words!

~~~~~

For more inspiring words, visit some of the blogs in the list on my sidebar.

xxx

Inspiring Words 2

~~gratitude ~~

~~~

A gratitude-heart
Is to discover on earth
A Heaven-delivered rose.
Excerpt from My Sunrise-Heart, Part 1 by Sri Chinmoy.
~~~~~
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
- Marcel Proust

~~~~~
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for those which he has.
- Epictetus

~~~~~

My heart overflows with gratitude

for being here

to see the first blooms

from the bulbs I planted in November.

xxx

Inspiring Words 1

~~ serenity~~

~~

The Serenity Prayer
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
By: Reinhold Niebuhr

Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.
Jawaharlal Nehru

What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.
Henri Matisse

~~~~~

I have always admired and envied serene people.

I seek serenity and calmness;

I make conscious efforts to bring peacefulness to my life.

I often fail,

but I don't give up.

~~~~~

xxx

Five Years Ago...

... at 10.50 p.m - after many years of hoping and praying and crying and hoping again-

a baby boy was born,

almost five weeks premature.

An hour later, a doctor went to his mummy's room

to let her know he had trouble breathing

and would stay at the intensive care unit.

On the third day of his life,

the same doctor

told his parents

"we're all good now; he is probably out of danger now".

Probably? Probably?

mummy was devastated.

She hadn't realised his life was in danger.

And what did probably mean?
Day 18, a healthy boy came home with mummy and daddy.

He is now 5.

(birthday cake for school party)

(birthday cake for birthday boy, mummy and daddy;

can you see the sea-boat-sail pattern?)

~~~~~
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!

'Inspiring Words' week

~ a word a day

~thoughts, quotes, poems, images...

~~~~~

forgiveness

hope

peace

serenity

gratitude

love

devotion

creativity

appreciation

faith

determination

joy

commitment

compassion

optimism

simplicity

......

......

The list is endless;

I get to choose just five.

~~~~~

Care to join me?

Whether on one day or more,

I'd love to read about the words you find inspiring;

there's a button on the sidebar if you're interested.

~~~~~

xxx

March...

so far...

happy thoughts ~ little one will blow five candles on Friday

sad thoughts ~ nine months without my mum

~~~~~

great news coming from a dear, dear friend ~

blessings, sweetie; may things turn out as you deserve!

~~~~~

sunny weather

snowy weather

~~~~~

at work...

busy, busy ~ report cards this week

happy tears ~ "we love you Mrs Yiota"

~~~~~

winter crochet

spring crochet

~~~~~

Happy Spring!

xxx