Weekend post

Hi Everybody!

The weekend is nearly here - enjoy!

Our weather was a bit less windy today, and dry - 2 days in a row! But we have been promised another storm for the weekend. The mild temperatures have given us lots of spring flowers, and the trees are beginning to blossom and sprout their leaves. Spring has arrived about 2 weeks earlier than usual this time.

I already used the background of this painted page to make a hybrid journal page, which I showed recently. Now I have added to it  using various stencils and black acrylic paint applied with a sponge. I am getting on quite well with my left hand, but hope that I can sooner or later use my right one properly again:

This was the background beforehand:

And then I did some more digital add ons using some little hearts to make it fit the challenge at AJJ, which Elizabeth is hosting. This is the third and last variation - at least for the time being! I am also linking to Paint Party Friday.

Lovely daffodils:

My windowsill garden is growing very fast:

The hyacinths on the balcony are growing, too:

It's aways lovely to see the sun after a cloudy start to the day:

The sheep are happy munching their way through the fields:

Somebody made this lovely chain from stones and hung it on a dead tree by the path:

 And today we had blue skies:

And of course, I needed a coffee:

Have a great day, take care,
and thanks a lot for coming by!

Rain's Thursday Art Date - wisdom of the ages

Hi Everybody!

I can hardly believe it, but today it didn't rain at all, and this afternoon even the wind died down, so that was really lovely. But they've promised us a new storm for Sunday....Still, we need to enjoy the good days whenever we get them!

Rain's theme this week is a very comprehensive one, and it would take weeks to list all of the wisdom of the ages, so here are just a few examples:

The ancient Egyptians were master builders and constructors, and the remaining examples of their constructions and art always amaze me. This illustrates an old proverb:

This is another ancient Egyptian proverb:

And springing forward a few thousand years we come to Sigmund Freud, whose theories were supposed to be full of wisdom.  Unfortunately he didn't know that cigars and cocaine were dangerous.... But he founded the science of psychoanalysis and enabled people to learn about themselves and their feelings. The quote here is part of a song from Peter Sarstedt:

Some of my fave Freud quotes:

One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.

Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.

The wisdom of owls is also legendary (quote from Rumi):

And one of my fave wise people was Albert Einstein, who was clever and funny.

(Photo from Pinterest)

The idea of being borne away by time has always fascinated me, here in the words of a hymn from Isaac Watts:

This piece is to honour a very wise lady, Dame Julian of Norwich.

She lived in the 14th century. Here an extract from Wikipedia:

Julian (or Juliana) of Norwich, also known as Dame Julian or Mother Julian (late 1342 – after 1416) was an English anchorite of the Middle Ages. She wrote the earliest surviving book in the English language to be written by a woman, Revelations of Divine Love. She lived in a little room built onto the Church, with a window to the world, where she spoke to people and gave them advice, and on the other side a window to God, where she could look into Church and take part in services.

One of her  'mantras' was:

 “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” “He said not 'Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be diseased'; but he said, 'Thou shalt not be overcome.”

And the Bible is also full of wonderful passages and texts - psalms, proverbs and stories, which tell of an age old wisdom. This is one of my faves:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 American Standard Version (ASV)

3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

And I love this quote, honouring women:

I could carry on with this topic for days, it takes me back to my studies of  religions and philosophy, but I'll stop now before you all fall asleep!

Some random pics from my walks:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!