Yesterday was my aunt's funeral.  I know, at her age (87) we could have expected it, but after being sick only for a few weeks, it still was a short time to say goodbye.  She has gone to the other side as quietly as a fading candle, which made it a lot easier for the family to deal with and we should be grateful for that.

Finaly the end of January !

I haven't been creative at all this month, it's been 2 weeks since I took a picture... Maybe it's the lack of sunshine.  We had only half the hours of sunshine we normally get in January, together with some real smog-days and lots of ice-days, this makes people stay inside and get depressed.  My son catches one cold after another and my daughter had the flue last week, for the second time this Winter - there should be a law against this ;) I'm trying to stay hopeful by playing with the new seed catalogs.

We had snow again this morning

Who needs a cuddle ?

If you like pink

Karen is having a blogiversery and pink givaway, isn't this pretty, if you want to enter hurry to her blog !

Sad news

My aunt, the last family I have from my fathers site and also my godmother, is diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  She's considered too old for surgery and too weak for any other treatment.  The hospital won't keep her because they can do anything more and she can't go home because she lived alone.  So now they brought her to a nursery home where they have a special wing for palliative patients.  All she wishes for now is that it will go quick and painless.  There should be a better way to leave this earth.

Winter Blues

Is it just me, or do winters get colder and longer year after year.  I feel like a bear wearing 4 layers of clothes, and I want to go in hibernation like one too.  Just snuggle and sleep until spring. I've so had it with dirty snowboots in the hall and hats, scarves and gloves drying everywhere in the house. But I have to admit, for some of us this is plain fun ! I don't know who is happier, Domi or Benji ...

 

 

A new year, a new family member.

Santa brought a very special present for us this Christmas ... meet our newest family member ! He is about 20 months old and we got him from the animal shelter. He is a real sweetheart but he doesn't know how to walk on a leash yet so going for a walk is great exercise for me too... Here is BENJI !

 

 Happy New Year Everyone !

The return of the Light !

Merry Christmas ~ ~ ~ Happy Yule

A Heartwarming Story

It's cold outside -13°C/8°F but this story makes it all warm inside...

'The Cracked Pot' story

A water bearer in India had two large pots,
one hung on each end of a pole which he carried
across his neck. One of the pots had a crack
in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always
delivered a full portion of water at the end
of the long walk from the stream to the
master's house.  The cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it
spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.
"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

Why?" asked the bearer.

"What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house.

Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side?

That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers
to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots.

But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there.

There is a lot of good in us!
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life!

Thank you to the cracked pots in my life.
You have made life more interesting and beautiful

We have Snow !

It started snowing yesterday, this is a view from the front door at 5pm

This is how it looked this morning. My poor car had to sleep outside, can you see it under the white blanket?

Now I'm ready for Christmas !

Christmas 'Doors of Welcome'

Today is the 3rd part of 'Doors of Welcome' hosted by Karen 'Some Day's are Diamonds'

Let's start with my new wreath.  I though the traditional Christmas colors red&green wouldn't do well with my gray door, so instead a used more silver to make the wreath.

An empty coffee-tin, an old piece of chicken wire and a tour in the garden gave me this :

and of course Santa is coming ! The little airplane was given by a friend to JP a few years ago. (Santa fell on the flour when I unpacked it, and a piece broke from his bottom but I could glue it back in the cockpit without showing the damage.)

and here's the completed 'Door of Welcome'.

Thank you for your visit and don't forget to visit the other Doors, there's a list on Karen's page !