Beauty to lift the Spirits

Another beautiful cup that belonged to my

darling mother

sadly this one is an orphan

I don't know what happened to the saucer!

I won the beautiful decorated burlap sac

in a giveaway by

Marie of Lost Bird Studio

Merci mon ami!

By pairing the sweet cup with my

Spode Camille saucer and plate

I think I have a match made in Heaven

what do you think?

Our family still feels anxious with 

the recent happenings in Paris

so I felt the need for some beauty

to lift my heart and spirits today

I am focusing on the beauty in the world

....my beautiful family and my love for them

....focusing too on our amazing planet

made for us by our Creator

Who has an unending abundance of love for

each and every one of us.

Focus

On

The

Beauty

Thank you all for your recent encouraging comments

Welcome

to my lovely new followers

it is so good  to have you here

thank you for being part of my blog

I'm linking to 

Stephanie for Roses of Inspiration

Ruth for Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Bernideen for Friends Sharing Tea

Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday

Take care and

be kind to one another

Merci à bientôt

Shane

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