Oh Paris.....

I've no doubt you are all as alarmed as I am 

at the horrific and tragic happenings in Paris last week.

It is very sad to see French soldiers on patrol

at Paris monuments

protecting both french citizens and tourists.

On Friday evening at 8pm

the lights of the Tour Eiffel

 were turned off for six minutes

in respect for the citizens who died

in the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

Please pray for the families of those who

lost their lives in this atrocious attack.

My regular followers will know how anxious I feel

having members of my family living so close to Paris.

Please keep them in your prayers

asking God to protect them and keep them safe.

Merci.

I am joining Karen for Sunlit Sunday

Karen, I know this isn't a "sunny" post as such

but I would like to share it here as a reminder to us all

of how lucky we are to live simple lives

in our little necks of the woods

far away from the "hot spots" of today's unfathomable world.

I'm also joining Judith for Mosaic Monday.

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

I  love Paris

Five on Friday...

I popped in to say hello to Amy at 

Love Made my Home

and discovered she hosts a Friday party called

Five on Friday

It seems to me like a good way to look back on

what has happened and where I've been over the past week.

It is a weekly photo journal that I can

email to my family in France as well.

Two weeks ago we did a little road trip

from Auckland to Palmerston North...

1000km in total... not so little!

I wanted to visit my elderly Aunt and my cousin.

The weather that day was dull and overcast

not good for taking photographs

but great for travelling - not too hot.

We passed by Lake Taupo which is a mecca

for trout fishermen and women.

In fact people come from all over the world

to fish here!

We stopped at the southern end of the lake

for a picnic lunch.

There are beautiful streams and fishing pools

just a short walk through the bush.

Driving through the central plateau

there are three mountains

Ruapehu, Ngaruahoe and Tongariro.

I took this photo of Mt Ruapehu out of the car window

(flying along at 100kph!)

I was hoping the cloud would lift

so I could get a better photo for you - sorry, no such luck!

The day after our journey

we took my Aunt for a drive through the

beautiful Botanic Gardens.

Palmerston North is well known for it's rose gardens.

I was impressed, the garden was immaculate

all the roses are named.

I was back at work this week...

it's always hard starting back after a holiday!

If you would like to join Amy's

Five on Friday

the link is at the top of this post.

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

Beatrix Potter's Art

Wishing all my dear friends a 

Happy New Year

2015

I found this sweet 'New Year' card 

drawn by one of my favourite artists and writers

Beatrix Potter.

We had a wonderful Christmas

with my son and his partner who live in the country.

They cooked a turkey with all the trimmings!

My contribution was to make our starter

of smoked salmon with a cucumber salad 

and a trifle with all the berries...

yes raspberries, strawberries and loganberries!

Remember it is summer on my side of the world

so it was a beautifully warm day.

Many New Zealand families have now opted

to have a barbecue with salads as their Christmas meal.

However for me Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas

without the traditional fare of roast turkey

cranberry sauce and all the trimmings!

I created this collage from the images

in one of my favourite books

Beatrix Potter A Journal.

Speaking of rabbits
Suzy of Rustic Vintage Country
is having a delightful rabbit
Giveaway here

I'm joining Karen of My Little Home and Garden

for Sunlit Sunday

it's so nice to be joining you for Season 4 Karen - thank you!

and

Judith of Lavender Cottage

for

Mosaic Monday
and
Stephanie of The Enchanting Rose
for
Roses of Inspiration
a new weekly party each Tuesday.
Do come over and join us!

I've enjoyed a break and had a much needed rest.

Today was my first day back at work -

so here we go again!

I'm looking forward to catching up with you all.

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane