Colours, ideas and budget all becomes part of any remodeling/redecorating projects. I often check out the new schemes offered by various decorators just to see what is offered these days...Yes, just dreaming...I like colours which reminds me of the ocean...light, airy and a part of my Nordic upbringing I suppose. At the opposite, my (very British) husband leans towards the earth, natural colours. When thinking of his taste, I always visualize cozy rooms, endless book shelves, red walls with English country scenes, a few brass ornaments, well worn chintz covered armchairs occupied by the family cat and the smell of leather accessories...In fact along the years as we moved, we always seemed to decorate our living room in such a fashion although we only recently added a cat to our little family! Moving to the island we found our new home's interior walls painted white, with wall to wall light beige carpeting...The exterior was an ugly beige yellow with green trimmings, the first to go albeit it took 3 years to convince my family! It is now in different shades of blue with white trim. It took 4 years to paint our (brown) kitchen cabinets the colour of the sky, our bathroom a warm aqua and our bedroom a lovely shade of lavender. All this meant patience and careful consideration but the results was well worth waiting for! Our budget only called for a fresh coat of paint but how refreshing!So this year I came back from overseas with a treasure of white sheers from the haberdashery and patiently anticipated the next phase in my ever dream scheme: painting our living room/dining room area. Deciding on the perfect colour was easy: a neighbour and close friend was redecorating his bedroom and came up with a sample we could both agree on: we chose Antique copper. And with three quarter of a gallon later we thought we would go ahead and start on the hallway...I discovered Blue Cloud, a colour I can live with for the vestibule and trim and voila!With the raining season here soon to be followed by winter, it remains for us to decide on a pattern for curtains and perhaps a few accessories such as pillows for the living room and even a new chandelier for our dining room. I came to the conclusion ocean colours compliments earth tone wonderfully thus allowing both of us to have our ways yet feel comfortable in our home even after 35 years of marriage. Compromise, such a little thing and yet not always easy to balance.As to the finished product, well we still have a few pictures to hang and decide how many bookshelves we will share, the best place to put the cat tree, our corgi's basket...Continuity, another vital ingredient in the balance.
Max Lucado is an excellent writer and his latest book Outlive Your Life is no exception! What sets this book apart is of course the subject: the first twelve chapters of the Book of Acts.Each chapter starts with a verse from Acts doing what Lucado does best, telling a story about you perhaps or me to include many examples of life changing messages and finishing each chapter with bible verses thought provoking yet so inspiring.In typical Lucado fashion he challenges us to get out of our comfort zone, to help those who are hurting, to look for those in need and to truly give of ourselves just as Jesus did.His message is one of hope whilst teaching us that Love, Compassion and Character are the essentials Jesus himself taught us through the example of his own life.Lucado shows us indeed that even with a limited income we can and should make a greater impact on the lives of others from the making of the tiniest of doll sizes clothing for premature babies to the stitching together of disposable pads for cancer patients.Easy to read, hard to put down, Outlive your Life by Max Lucado has the potential to change many lives and I definitively give it 5 stars.I received a free copy of Max Lucado's book from the Publisher as part of their Blogger program and I was not asked to give it a positive review.
Summer is slowly coming to an end and there is an abundance of fruits available. Those little markets along the country roads beckons!A few days ago a good friend and neighbour brought us fresh figs and I made a lovely compote. And since we are leaving for the mountains for some relaxation I hope to pick up a bushel or two of apples. I love baking and can be on occasion very creative, something my family never complaints about! I know the house must smells like a bakery but it is such a comforting smell!Staying at our cabin for a few days means we are a bit challenged in regard to our diet since we have no refrigeration. Fruits are always on the menu, corn on the cob, bread and cheese - we keep a cooler with 2 frozen gallons of water for freshness - and of course dry and canned food.Depending on the weather we might even be able to lit up our wood cooking stove and if so I see pancakes on the menu early in the mornings!And since I have learned to like watermelon (pasteque) I discovered recently seedless watermelon! All those little seeds use to be a challenge but since it is so refreshing I was very happy to know there is such an alternative especially when I found this recipe!Once tried, I just knew this was just what I needed after a long day's work! Jus de PastequeIngredients:1 ripe seedless watermelonsugar, preferably organicwaterTo make:remove rind of 1/2 of the watermeloncut fruit in small cubesprocess in blender, add water and sugar to taste.I like to steep a few pieces of fruit in a glass jar in the fruit juice to add more taste and voila!And while you enjoy this, I will be dreaming in the mountains... See you in a few days!
