Personal Blogs

I have been reading "Aesops fables."  This is a wonderful collection of short stories with a wise message or moral meaning.

Aesop lived in ancient Greece between 520 and 564 BCE so long before Jesus Christ , he had once been a slave, who had then risen to a high position in the society, because of his wise counsels, especially within the circles of the upper classes. He was also an incredibly good story teller and wise adviser.

His stories were carefully collected and were then published in a book titled  "Aesop's Fables"

Today I read the story whose title is-

"The Kingdom of the Lion"
It is the story about a Lion who was wise, gentle and never cruel. The beasts of the forest chose him to rule over them as their King,  because he was wise and kind. During his reign he issued a royal proclamation and sumoned all the beasts of the forest to attend the meeting. He announced to them, that it was his wish to have universal peace in the whole animal world.

He wanted the wolf and the lamb, the panther and the kid, the tiger and the stag and the dog and the hare to live together in perfect peace.
When he heard this the hare said  this "O how I have longed for this day" when the weak shall live without danger by the side of the strong"

From A  Selection of Aesop's Fables retold and edited for schools by Gordon Maxwell. London, James Brodie, LTD. Denmark Place. WC2

These are sweet little stories you can read to yourself or to your children or grand children. They are witty and full of wisdom and good instruction.

Some of these ideas are not new. Man has always searched for ways  to find peace. We can hear echoes of these ideas in the scriptures of the Bible where it says and the lion shall lie down with the lamb
Compare Isaiah 11 v 6-9 with Revelation 21 v 1-4 in the Bible.  

Will there ever be peace?

https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=584346944

This weekend was so very different from last weekend,  because last weekend it had been warm and busy. This weekend on the other hand was much cooler and more quieter in the neighbourhood. There didn't seem to be that many people about either in the street. or outside in the gardens today.

I took my son for a walk and there was hardly any children playing in the park. Then I realised it is because this is the last weekend before the school term starts again ,  many families may have gone out to the local beach just a few miles away.

We were able to slowly walk around the quiet park, to sit at the picnic tables under the trees and to eat our sandwiches , while looking up at the lovely ancient trees blowing in the wind. We drank a cup of hot tea from the flask and ate some biscuits.

There was only one family on the very far side of the park. They were busy trying to fly a kite, they eventually managed to get the kite successfully up into the air at last. It was a beautiful brightly coloured kite it was flying well,  very high, and doing loop the loops in the air.

We watched for a while as the kite swooped and dived. The wind dropped and the kite plummeted down to earth. The family waited until another gust of wind took hold of it again then the kite was able to soar up into the sky once more, this time the kite stayed up there for much longer!

My son and I then walked the footpath back around the field,  then past the cemetery, and up the small hill leading back into the village. We walk past the market place then church street then back home. 

It was quiet in the street and gardens around where we live, so I sat quietly on the bench in the back garden, overlooking the green lawn. I admired the wild flowers near the lawn and ferns growing in the border.
Sitting out here in the garden I was able to read and to enjoy the peace and tranquility in the green space of the garden. 

I enjoyed watching the birds landing on the bird table and  on the  birdbath, further along the end of the wild border. The cat was fast asleep on the bench next to me and was oblivious to any kind of bird activity!
The wood behind me at the side of the house was also full of birds chirping cheerily.

 I could hear the little fountain running gently nearby, the next door neighbours wind chimes were tinkling in the wind. I could see the wild flowers growing in the border to the left side of the gatden, and I could smell the roses in the rose garden just near the porch by the door.
What a wonderful cool quiet Saturday it had been!

On aurait dit que tout le quartier était dehors aujourd'hui !  c'est lundi férié. Certains voisins sont dans leur jardin, Les plus jeunes dans la rue sont assis dans leur garage et écoutent de la musique forte ! Tout le monde profite de ce beau temps chaud et venteux

Ma voisine d'à côté est entourée de sa famille, ils sont dans le jardin de devant, assis sous l'auvent, à table, discutant tous ensemble de manière très animée.

Les autres voisins en face de nous sont sur leur terrasse en train de faire un barbecue. Beaucoup de rires venant de là.  Ils sont cachés derrière les arbres pour que nous ayons tous notre intimité !

Mon jardin est sauvage et verte par endroits, mais l'herbe n'est pas trop longue. À gauche de la porte il ya des roses, principalement des rouges, quelques blanches et quelques roses. Il pousse un peu à l'état sauvage et contient également quelques autres fleurs, comme des myosotis et des coquelicots.

 Dans les bordures sauvage, l'herbe est assez longue, donc quelques fleurs sauvages poussent entre les roses. aussi dans  la bordures sauvage se trouvent la fontaine, le bain d'oiseaux et la station d'alimentation pour les oiseaux.

J'essaie de créer un jardin de style Monet - La pelouse verte ressemble à un étang, elle a des fleurs blanches au centre de la pelouse, mon banc peut être positionné en bordure de la pelouse, avec vue sur l'étang aux nénuphars. La clôture ressemble à un pont japonais au bout du jardin. 

Avec un peu de chance, les visiteurs pourraient rentrer à l'intérieur. Je peux sortir m'asseoir en toute tranquillité sur mon banc pour lire mon livre et contempler mon Bassin aux Nénuphars de Monet !

Le bassin aux nénuphars de Monet se reflète sur ma pelouse !

A good spot for a picnic beneath the Lime trees.

Bluebells

Orange pansies

Some delicate yellow flowers

We sat on a wooden log beneath the trees in the sunlit park.

Some bright yellow flowers in the wood

Dandelion clocks and yellow flowers in "Fairy woods".

Bluebells under the trees in the park.

Ruby red flowers growing in the woodlands.

A closer look at some beautiful bluebells.

My neighbours are very kind and friendly people, unlike the other neighbours who we had previously, who often seemed hard and cold, stand offish, very rude, downright offensive, playing their music too loud and even throwing their rubbish into our garden!

I said my neighbours, but in fact it is now only one neighbour, the lady of the house,  as her husband died very suddenly not so long ago.
She is still in mourning at the moment,  but she has been incredibly brave. We have been around to see her and offered to help if we can. 

We try to help her out and ask if she needs any shopping doing.  I hugged her, we cried together,  because my husband and I were also fond of him. We shall miss his cheery humming in the back garden each morning and his friendly banter.

He was a  jolly man, a really good guy and always willing to help others. Like the time when he came round to trim our trees, when they had became too tall and unruly. He came to the house, himself and his son, who had also brought along his chainsaw with him." We will trim your trees if you like while we have the chain saw with us" he said.

I wanted to pay him for his work, but he said no could he just have a little bit of wood for his log fire, so we said "yes take as much as you want"  

He also cleaned the guttering out on our roof, whilst he was  cleaning his own guttering out, a week later. This saved us the bother of having to call and pay someone to come out.

Ed was ever so nice to talk to and as well as that he often came and gave us vegetables from his allotment. " No I don't want any payment"  he would always say "except another jar of that Chutney you gave us a few weeks back." 

Well I had almost forgotten about my home made chutney that I had given to his lady wife !
It had  just been a friendly gesture, appreciation for what they had done by helping us tidying up the garden for us.

I think good people are often remembered long after they die. They are by far the nicest neighbours we have ever had living next door.

We must seize this opportunity in this generation, to do all that we can to combat global warming and climate change. The days we are living in are ever changing, more action is needed while we still have this window of time. 

Are we recycling as much as possible all our old unwanted items?
Don't forget Charity shops can take discarded items, furniture, electricals, books, CDs, DVDs and clothes. Remember- Your old cast off clothes and bric - a -brac items could be someone elses treasure!

Some libraries take unwanted books that are still in very good condition, (or less than 5 years old) so just enquire first if they have this service available.

Supermarkets take unused food items that are still within their sell-by- date for food bank collections.

There are often some battery recycling schemes for your unwanted batteries.
Also there are mobile phone recycling at some shops.

Churches or schools will also take any  disgarded childrens clothes,  as well as school uniforms for their clothes bank. For those struggling to clothe their children.(how children grow out of clothes so fast! It's hard to keep up with them!)

Think before you bin it! Can it still be used again. Could it be repaired, cleaned, washed or recycled?

We can all do our little bit towards helping the environment as well as caring for the communities in which we live.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/creamy-mushroom-spinach-pasta

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I can't help admiring our french cousins. They are on average a lot slimmer than the US or UK  citizens and eat smaller much healthier portions!

This is probably due to their eating habits of a more Mediterranean diet. We in the UK on the other hand are much stockier and plump, living on an island that sees much colder, wetter, wilder, weather in general, so we have to eat a diet with lots of carbs particularly to survive the harsher, colder weather conditions.

However, the french love food and especially fine cuisine!
"Mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup" meaning "eat well, laugh often, love much" is a common saying in France that sums up the nation's enthusiasm for food.

Note the "eat well" rather than "live well" - eating is to be savoured as a central part of life itself.

French movie star Leslie Caron knows a thing or two about French food, having run a restaurant near Paris for nearly 20 years.

"I eat sensibly – every day at lunch I have a steak with a big salad and I eat fruit, vegetables, yogurt and muesli," she says. "I seldom eat pastry – maybe once a year. I never eat desserts and I don't drink. That makes a big difference."

On the other hand, numerous studies have indicated that red wine, and French red wine in particular, contains high level of antioxidants. So French women can rest assured that one or two glasses a day are not only pleasurable but beneficial to their health as well. Santé!

Unlike the UK or the US
Food portions are much much smaller in France. It is quite common for french women to leave half her plate or save it for later!

Food is celebrated in France and enjoyed with  family and friends.  The french eat 3 times a day but they never eat between meals!

Food should always look pleasing to the eye and beautiful on the plate. Nouvelle cuisine is the popular choice of meal and remember less is always more.

1. Exclude All Processed Foods. ...
2. Emphasize On Whole Foods. ...
3. Shop At Local Food Markets. ...
4. Think Quality, Not Quantity. ...
5. Cook Every Single Meal. ...
6. Eat A Wide Variety of Foods. ...
7. Eat Everything In Moderation. ...
8. Stay Thin simply by living your life. (Everyday excercise.)
9. French women walk everywhere!

So I think we can learn a lot from our french cousins. Bon appétit!

* Sources - Stylist.co.uk

*leoncechenal.com/french-diet- how -to - like- a - french-woman

Today was Easter Saturday, the sun was shining and the weather looked good. I asked J if he would like to walk with me across the field to the next village. He said he would and would be glad of a walk.

Set off walking across the fields, walking along the footpath. The first field was a small cabbage field, the smell of cabbage was quite pungent!  We laughed, but I happen to like cabbages so I didn't really mind. From here we came into a lovely wild meadow, where we spotted wild yellow primroses, crocus,  yellow gorse bushes. king cups, wood anemones, harebells and other wild flowers. 

There was also the pretty white Hawthorn flowers growing on the hawthorn bushes, by the side of the footpath and the field.

J soon spotted 2 rabbits at the edge of the field scurrying quickly away, we watched as their little white fluffy tails disappearing quickly down the rabbit hole on the bank at the side of the field. When we came to the little footbridge over the stream, I commented about how deep the water was, and how fast it was flowing after the recent rainfalls. J agreed the streams were fuller than usual.

We sat on the footbridge to rest for a little while. By now we were about halfway there, but I felt tired already,  so it was nice to sit and rest and drink a fruit juice. The sun felt very warm, but fortunately there was a slight breeze too.

Played at throwing sticks onto the water from the footbridge and waited until they appeared on the other side of the bridge. I think mine must have sunk as I couldn't see it anymore!  J cheered as he saw the stick appear again still intact on the other side.

Next, we took the narrow footpath that ran along the backs of the gardens, beside the cows field except no cows were in there today,  because they were in the lower meadow, beside the lake.🐂🐄 (thank goodness I am a bit scared of cows!)

We both liked looking at the back gardens as we passed by on the footpath, there was a riot of colours! One garden was full of brightly coloured tulips while another garden was full of golden yellow daffodils of all varieties. 

 There were quite a lot of different  butterflies about,  we saw a peacock butterfly, a yellow one, common white, a red admiral or painted lady? and a little blue one. A few very large bumble bees buzzing around the flowers too.  Some ducks were quacking noisily, beside the pond in another garden! 🦆🦆

Soon we arrived at our destination, which was the little chapel in the centre of the woods hidden beneath the trees. Here, we were able to rest inside the little warm chapel for a while, and I whispered a little prayer of thanksgiving,  that I even made it there, my first real long walk since covid!

I like this little chapel, with its quiet altar, its flowers, the candles and behind the altar on the wall, the words of the Lords prayer on the left  side and the 10 commandments on the right hand side. Just to remind us what God expects of us.

On the way out of the church we saw the lady vicar just leaving the house of one of her parishoners nearby in the village, so I waved.. She knows me and she waved back. "Would you both like a lift back home?" She asked. "Yes please, that's very kind of you" I replied and gave a big smile and huge sigh of relief!  "Thank you." I think God just answered my prayers, as we were both feeling so tired after that walk!

Easter is a time of renewal, of new life. Emerging from the dark winter days, we look forward to a new life in Christ. Christ who has died, Christ who has risen and Christ who will come again. Jesus Christ died for our sins to bring us closer to God.

All our sins will be wiped out, when we believe in Jesus's sacrifice, that he died for us to take away once and for all every sin we have ever committed. Only then can God look upon us as his pure children.

Repent, believe, receive!

"Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be white like wool."

https://www.biblegateway.com/

NIV version
Isaiah 1:18

Matthew 20:28

"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” That was his purpose, his mission on earth to show us the way and to lead us to God.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Ref. The Bible
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