Strange but true! What's happened here...?

I have been taking care of my seeds and seedlings, protecting them with plastic and watering them every night so I was really surprised when I noticed that the seeds on only one side of my container were growing...what happened to the other seeds on the other side? This is so strange! I noticed from this picture that the soil seems more moist on the side where the seedlings are...could it be that the protective plastic or the position of the container caused this to happen? Maybe a bird found its way through and had a feast but why on one side only?

Well, so many questions? Any answers or suggestions will be most welcome ~ thanks!

Just before Sunset...Glory in the Heavens...

~ Pictures speak louder than words ~

Just as we finished dinner this evening, my husband called me to the balcony to witness this beautiful scene, need I say more...I just rushed to the rooftop with my camera and here I am sharing this beautiful gift we received today.

Birthday Blessings

A Birthday is a special day,

an occasion for celebrating life,

for cherishing the past and reflecting on the present,

for thinking of the future and feeling happy in continuing my journey.

And most of all it is a time for thanking God for the gift of life

and for all that He has done in my life,

for all the miracles, big or small,

for every person He has put in my path ~

It is a time to think of what is really important in my life, what really matters.

It is a time to tell my loved ones how much I love them and appreciate them.
This day has come and soon is gone as all birthdays do

And just like a changing season my life goes on, as I pray

'Teach us to number our days aright

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.'
Psalm 90.12

The memories stay and these I will treasure with all my heart.

D. Scerri ©

I haven't been able to be on here for a while for several reasons but here I am at last. In a way this is a belated Birthday posting, so a belated Happy Birthday to me if I may say so : )

I wish here to thank all my family, extended family, friends, on-line 'crafty' friends whom I have never met for all the good wishes, phonecalls, cards, egreetings, emails and gifts sent, you are all truly so very precious.

I thank my son's dear girlfriend who so generously drove us to the east coast for a stroll along the promenade since we are having problems with our car ~ we really enjoyed the cake treats at one of the cafetterias there. Also thanks Mum for treating us all out for lunch last Sunday!

One of the reasons I have not been able to be here very often is the fact that, as some of you already know, my computer unfortunately stopped working (eh yes, when it rains it pours). The service people said it was the motherboard and graphic card which, besides knowing it would be an expense, I was at a loss as to what I should do but decided to wait and while and see if maybe the parts would go on sale...I was definitely not going to buy a new one. In the meantime my dear son let me share his PC for which I am so thankful.

To cut a long story short, I was totally thrilled when on my birthday my family, that is my dear husband, daughter, son and his girlfriend surprised me with ALL NEW PARTS! So as soon as we find time to save what I need from my old hard drive, my son will be installing all new programs, etc. for me but I will not rush him as he is finishing his college assignments and those definitely come first. Thank you all so much <3

So watch out eveyone, I will be back on track soon!

A Birthday Blessing
Nothing is more sacred than someone's life, and no words more precious

than words that celebrate someone's life. And so...

read more here

http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/special/birthday.html

MAY...I garden...

May...spring...the outdoor life, what lovely thoughts!

After the long rainy winter and the hibernation that goes with it, I feel all set to be out, stay out and enjoy whatever space is available for relaxing outdoors. Our rooftop is one of them. Yesterday evening my dear husband and I spent some time re-potting and planting. Since we do not have a garden we try and make the best of pots, pots and more pots! Unfortunately our roof is not sheltered and it gets so very hot in summer that not many plants survive in the peak hot months. But some plants do thrive and we do enjoy some 'greens' around our barbeque area in the evenings so it is well worth the effort. I do hope the seeds will come through and flower, I'm keeping an eye on them...we even covered them with a plastic sheet to prevent the birds from eating them!



We re-potted our Basil, hoping it will grow well and abundantly...I love having a herb garden and mint, basil, rosemary and chives are our favourites......mint or basil are delicious on Hobz biz-zejt, that's our traditional summery bread treat/appetizer which is slices of crusty bread with olive oil, tomatoes, salt and pepper and other ingredients like sliced onions, capers, anchovies, etc depending on the individual taste...and great after a swim!






We ran out of potting soil so we will be getting some more to finish off our planting and re-potting. My husband says he is now going to revamp our barbque next so we will be getting busier and getting more of the outdoors again soon.

Handmade cards

Making greeting cards is such a rewarding hobby. You can enjoy making cards by yourself or with family and friends. I find I really work well when I am alone and find it very relaxing. Making cards with your children is an enjoyable experience too which gives them confidence in themselves that they can make such lovely cards out of practically very few supplies.

Making your own cards is quite easy and not at all expensive. You can start by using supplies you have at home and build up your embellishments as you develop this hobby. Basically all you need is paper, cutter, glue and some items you find at home (string, ribbons, buttons, glitterglue,etc.) and/or pictures you can create by using your graphic software.

You will also need a little patience and lots of imagination!

I made some cards last week using some of the papers in the package of lovely hand-decorated papers that my son and his girlfriend bought for me. The possibilities and combinations one can achieve with these are endless and I am still experimenting.

These papers are textured, embossed, stitched or handmade paper and I also used some papers I had at home.

I love the effect achieved with the motifs I cut out of white and silver paper doilies, don't you?

I added a special finishing touch with paper ribbons

and charms...you can also add buttons or stickers depending on the effect you wish to achieve.

The joy of making your own cards and finding different ways to combine your embellishments and the fun in building up your hobby as well as the delight that these cards give to the recipient are definitely priceless feelings.

I hope the pictures and thoughts here will inspire and encourage you to try this very rewarding craft.

There are of course many different ways how to make a pretty card but I will not go into that at the moment. I have built up my supplies and techniques over many years and I know you can too.

I hope you will try this fascinating pastime ~ before long you will find you are enjoying yourself and will look forward to mastering new techniques.

Creative Gift Packaging

I am so glad I had Cellophane wrap, baskets and ribbons to spruce up my gifts for Mom's birthday and Mother's Day gifts this past week. They made a great big difference to the gifts they contained and a real difference to my Mum. The Kalanchoe Plant I bought looked really nice wrapped up in shiny cellophane wrap with a gold ribbon at the top and my basket of creams and lotions looked so heavenly, Mum said she is not opening it until her other creams are all used up as she'd like to enjoy the gift basket as it is.

It is the thought and the way that gifts are presented

that counts and not just the gift itself, I love using

my creativity in this way as it makes the person

receiving the gift feel really special.

* * * * *

Hey Moms...it's back to work and some more play!

Now that Mother's Day is over, it seems it's back to normal and back to work. Whatever work you do be it as a Stay-at-home-Mom, work away from home, work from home, make sure you find some Me time. Do not wait for the weekend or for the evening...Me time can be yours at any time of the day so long as you find the time or rather make the time for yourself.
So grab that book you have been meaning to finish and enjoy a few pages (why not read it till the end) while waiting for your laundry, sit at your computer and add that little something to your blog (that is what I am doing right now!), get your cleansers, toners and give yourself some 'pamper' time, stop to look at the bubbles making their way up from your kitchen sink...You know what you wish to do or have been meaning to accomplish. The laundry will still get done, you are clever enough to whip up a healthy meal even if you give yourself a break and what if the dishes don't get done until a little later...

Believe in yourself!

Stop to smell the fresh air if you don't

have flowers in your garden

or just look at the sky at this lovely time of year.

Do give that special gift to yourself...you deserve it!

The picture above is one I found on the net

while browsing for Mother's Day ideas and thought

it was a great quote and craft which I hope to try soon.

If any of you have a craft you made for Mother's Day

and wish to send me a picture I will feature it on this posting.