Saturday, 7 April 2012

Like something out of a dream...

The title may seem a little vague...you're probably thinking: Explain yourself Gina! It's not that mystical actually...I probably just chose it to be provocative ;) Well, the long and short of it is that we had an afternoon which was just amazing and it came totally out of no where.

Literally, we were trudging through the usual grey, cloudy school days and suddenly WHAM: Blue skies, sunshine, warmth! We'd been planning on going to the river anyway for my photography A2 (I'm doing portraiture) but it was like God had suddenly blessed us - an example of his grace, totally undeserved favour!


The sun was so perfect, it made my pictures ten times better than what they would have been without it. And these guys were just so natural and willing and just flipping awesome!

We started off at my house, just picking a spot and snapping a photo. We grabbed a few props - a twee and quite cheesy basket of flowers and a book, and began to stoll around school. Eventually though our wandering feet took us through daffodils, berries, trees and down to the river where we found such a picturesque little spot - a guarenteed picnic site for next term.


'The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
'
Psalm 19

~


~


~


Thank you sunshine, thank you friends, thank you God!

Gina

How To Learn a Quote

This may not seem like the most interesting blog post ever, but hopefully- in the season of exams and past-papers and revision- it may be a helpful one! At least to any English Lit students out there...

1) Make a list of the ones you want to learn. Start with the first one and repeat it over and over. Then say it, add the second one and repeat the second over and over (make sure you say the first from memory.) Then say the first and second once, add a third, and repeat the third over and over. Then say the first and second and third once, and from memory, add a fourth, and repeat the fourth over and over. Guess what comes next... :)

2) How to get them to stick whilst repeating them:
A- Set a rhythm to the quote, and make sure you stick to the beat.
B- Say it and stress a different word each time
C- Make actions up to it
D- Associate an object with it, then when you look at that object, you'll always remember it. In theory...
E- Put it on a Post-it note and stick it up in prominent places in your house
F- Blur some of the words together into a new, more interesting word, that'll stick into your memory!
    Here's a few my sister and I had (I reccomend doing this with someone! It's funny, and humour makes it stick!) If anyone can guess them I'll be impressed...
> Yoothsumalov
> Ajwintersgell
> Medicinufahouse

Hahaha.

And G) Go into town, grab the nearest stranger and shout it in their face.

That last one was a joke. I find B, C, F particularly helpful. Others... not so much.
Happy working!

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Unforgettable Memories ~ A Series

I have to say when I read Eve's first post of this series that I was powerfully moved. And at her prompting invitation at the end to add one of my own unforgettable memories, my initial thought was this:                .


Blank.


White.




Nothing.


Following this, when I tried to scramble for a memory, none of them felt right. I think I was trying too hard. Just a few minutes ago, after eating a picnic lunch outside in the ridiculously unusual English weather, sun beating down on my head, a few celandines caught my eye...




This immediately took me back to a truly unforgettable memory for me. My fingers instantly started weaving, punching holes and posting more celandines through each other until ta-dah! I had a Celandi-Chain (Is that a word? It is now.....)




As I sat there, gently, absentmindedly creating my childhood head garland, my mind wandered back to when I first learnt about Celandines. It was once again, a sunny spring day when I was 5, and my extended family and I were wandering down a village path to a small church. There were plants and weeds jumping out from every crack in the pavement and cobbled wall that they could. Being my true self, flowers were, as ever, of utmost importance. And this gleaming yellow flower, beckoning my eye to catch it's light, immediately made me burst out - 'BUTTERCUPS! Look, Mummy. Bapu, come here! It's nearly summer!!' Such innocent excitement. Bapu (my Grandpa.....it came from my cousin's interesting first attempt to say Grandpa!) knelt over next to me with an 'oof' and said - 'Ah, Sarah, you've not found a buttercup there. It's not quite summer yet. That's a celandine that's caught your attention!' After letting out a few bemused looks, a shy little smile came across my face and I exclaimed - 'Is it like a buttercup, just this is spring's one, and summer gets to have the normal buttercups?'

'Well, nearly,' said Bapu, 'it's just that if you look really, really closely, you can see that the celandines have more petals, and they're more pointed. Buttercups are rounded, more "cup" shaped like their name suggests!' He laughed a gentle but hearty chuckle and pulled himself up with another 'oof'. Off I ran with a wide smile on my face, burst into a conversation and said - 'Mummy, mummy! Look I've found a CELANDINE!' More smiles. And more hearty chuckles ring in my ears, even now, as if it were yesterday.

A few months later, Bapu passed away, and I decided that whenever I saw a celandine, I would think of him. And more than ten years later, I still do. It's a beautiful, ongoing memory for me. I love the way that the yellow gleams with the shiny, inner layer it holds on it's magnificent petals, subtly reflecting the sun's beam.

Perhaps there's a metaphor in there for us to learn from...How can we be active, attention-grabbing, gentle and spring-ful reflectors of our Son, Jesus Christ's powerful beam of light? Do we remember to ask the Spirit to fill us up with His graceful, beautiful, transforming presence so that we can have a layer that gleams inside of us? Because it's real and powerful - 'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you' - Acts 1:8.

Have a great day!
And notice the celandines next time you go outside - maybe they can be a reminder for you to ask the Holy Spirit to fill you up.

Love,
Sarah



P.S. I've just come back from a lovely couple of days by the sea, so sorry this is late, but remember today's OPERATION SPEAK OUT! (See blog post below...)

Monday, 2 April 2012

Operation Speak Out

My friend Abi over at 'Creating Paper Dreams' (great blog, go and have a look...) had this brilliant idea of commenting on blogs, just for simple and honest encouragement on Thursday 5th April.

She says...
"On Thursday 5th April I am going to make it my mission to comment on EVERY BLOG I VISIT. Just for this one day I am going to speak out on these blogs. Blogs big and small. I will write a comment."
Let's join in... Have a read of her post:-

http://creatingpaperdreams.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/operation-speak-out.html

Hope you're well, and see you on commenting Thursday!

Sarah xx


Monday, 26 March 2012

A Dog's tale...

THEN

Lots of people. Big. Scared. New smells. TONS of them. What do I do? Scared. Strange room. Bright lights. Cage. Newspaper. Sick. LOTS of it. Whimper. Water. Food. Don't want it. Scared. More sick. More newspaper. Drink a little. Scared.

Howl. Howl. Howl. Person. Newspaper changed. Bed taken. Lots of hands. Eyes. Smiles. Curious. Food. Outside. Grass. New smells. Scared. Poo. Picked up. Back in cage. Bed. Tired. Sleep. Newspaper changed.

Lots of legs. Table. Loud noise. Scared. Toy. Chew toy. No. Shoe. Yum. Other dog. Play! Owch. Scared. Grass. Post. Wee. Ground. Ball. People. Hands. Pick up. Warm arms. Finger. Nibble. Person. Jump on. Yawn. Inside. Cage. Drink. Sleep.

It was comfortable...

Wasn't I ADORABLE??
.
NOW

Inside. People. Lean on. Shoe. Chew on. Human food! Big eyes. Stroked. No food. Aww. Outside. Hear a noise. Bark! Bark! Bark! No threat. Relax. Other dog. Take toy. No fun. Bored. Bug. Pounce. Eat. Sunshine. Lie down. Sleep. Sleep. Loud noise. Jump.

Person. Ball. Pick up. Run and get. Pick up. Run and get. Pick up. Run and get. Lead. WALK! Muzzle. Aww. Road. Smell. Mark territory. New scents. Grass. River. Water. Stick. Puppy. Growl. Whistle. Whistle. Whistle. Whistle. Run. Treat. Pat. Stick. Chew.

Home. Hose. Water. Urgh. Shake. Person. Lean on. Door. Lean on. Lie down. Tired. Sleep. Rattle. Food! Sit. Wait. Come. Yum.


Don't I have such gorgeous brown eyes?


Zzzzzz

 
 An insight into the life of Alfie. Do you have a dog as sweet as this one?

Gina x

Unforgettable Memories ~ A Series

So although I’ve been silent for a few days up until today (two in one day... Radical, right?!), I have been thinking a lot about what I want to write on here. I thought it might be nice to start a little feature for a week or two. I haven’t run this by the others, but I just thought it might be nice to write down some of our memories from the last 18 (or so) years…

I’d also like to take the bold step of opening this up for reader submissions. If you’re reading this and have a memory you’d like to share then leave a comment and we’ll be in contact ASAP!

I’ll start…

On Wednesday the 7th of June 1994, Edward Lincoln Balshaw landed on the shores of Normandy. As a terrified, homesick and very wet (he was lowered over the side of the boat to test the depth of the water… he couldn’t swim!) 19-year-old boy, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see. Yesterday had been D-day, and today, I imagine, was something like stepping into hell.

60 years later, my Grandad returned to Normandy for D-day Anniversary celebrations. For some very different reasons, he was also unprepared for what he would experience.

On one of the afternoons, they had decided to present all the veterans with a special memorial medal/badge, my Grandad included. Grandad appeared in the morning wearing a light summer shirt, perfect for the blazing French sun, but rather unsuitable to hold the medals that he had pinned to the front breast pocket. Having never worn his medals since being given them at the end of the war, Dad handed over his own suit jacket, and Grandad was made a tad more presentable for the occasion.

We drove as close as we could, but the crowds prohibited much proximity to the main event, so we travelled the rest of the way on foot. As a young girl holding Grandad’s hand, I was relatively unaware of what was going on around me, and in the busyness and heat of the day, so was Grandad. Grandma, Jonathan, Mum and Dad were following us and we soon found ourselves walking down a blocked off road, with people lining both sides. As we walked down the middle we began to hear the pitter-patter of claps. And more. And more. All around us, applause was breaking out. (I’m starting to cry as I write this now!) Grandad looks up and sees crowds of faces smiling back at him and clapping and cheering. It dawns on him… They were applauding HIM. They were thanking him for the sacrifice he made, and the battle he fought for THEIR freedom. Slowly he pulls back his gently sloping shoulders, straightens his back, with his head held high, and grips my hand, walking on with an overwhelming sense of pride.

Suddenly everything that he had gone through was starting to make sense. The horrors of his time in that place 60 years ago had really counted for something. Without him, these people would not have the freedom to stand in the streets and salute the men who had given their all.

This is probably one of the clearest memories I have of my Grandad. Seeing the releasing of pain and fear that he had held up for so long is something I hope never to forget.

A picture of my Grandad and Brother taken a few months ago on my phone when we went to stay with Grandad for what ended up being his last Christmas.


How about you?

Sunday, 25 March 2012

mmmm....

The enchantment of outfit possibilities...

The therapeutic aroma of a flickering yankee candle...

The rich comfort of a fresh cup of tea...

The luxury of a lazy morning...

The blessing of clean laundry...

The settling smell of home-cooking...

The gentleness of an empty mind...

The peace of knowing the when's and where's, and the how's and the why's...

The overwhelming sense of 'belonging'...

Home.

Spring Art...


It was a beautiful spring day in the land of Daffodil-dom. The sun was beaming down, we could feel its smile on our skin, and a beautiful clump of bright daffodils seemed to beckon Kate and I to draw them, as a simple photo didn't seem quite enough.

So, we grabbed all the pencils, paper, rubbers, fine liners we could find, and with Switchfoot 'Yet', 'Your love is a Song', 'Lonely Nation' and 'Needle and Haystack life' playing sweetly in the background we drew and we drew and we drew on the banks of a small stream. Both cats paid us visits, then we had to draw ourselves away from the magical spot and drag ourselves upstairs to add watercolours to our drawings. These are the results....


Kate's pencil drawing - isn't it beautiful?!

Kate's fineliner Dafs before...
... after water!




My fine liner sketch..
...in colour

I hope you've enjoyed a small taste of our spring afternoon!

~ Sarah and Kate

A Revision Playlist

  1. There Can be miracles- Prince of Egypt
  2. Over my Head- The Fray
  3. The Things we go through- Hawk Nelson
  4. Do You remember?- Jack Johnson
  5. Not Sure- Fiction Family
  6. Here for You- Matt Redman
  7. Best of Luck- Nickel Creek
  8. For the Moments I feel faint- Relient K
  9. Over Thinking- Relient K
  10. The Fight Song- Sanctus Real
  11. Burn out Bright- Switchfoot
  12. Patience- Take That
  13. Almost There- 100hours

I'm not sure I'd advise actually listening to many of these when you revise, but it's a little humorous list to lighten up your working day! The songs I would actually listen to would be wordless (Wordless?? I mean...lyric-less...) ones, such as 'Test Drive'- How to Train Your Dragon, or 'River flows in You'- Yiruma, or the Pride and Prejudice score, etc.
What do you listen to?
If you're working this easter- Good Luck!

Love,
Milla