Animal Wednesday / in the garden

Here you can spot 3 generations of fish

 Croc on the look out................

 Feeding time

 Time for Sjimmie's dust bath

 On a clean patio

 He was in a fight with a big rat yesterday

But Lars chases him away with a broom. We want to keep Sjimmie in one piece

 Picture time....You need us?

 Sarah enjoying the lovely weather after 2 hot days.

3 in a row.........

Happy Animal Wednesday!

Josje step 7 / Ta-da!!!!

 Here The mandala is finished. The 3 clouds have become 3 Hibiscus flowers.

Hibiscus is a tropical flower which belongs to the family Malvaceae. Its name originated from the Greek words Hibiscus meaning “mallow” and rosa-sinensis meaning “rose of China” thus the flower is also known as rosemallow. Hibiscus is large and trumpet-shaped, with five or more petals, ranging from white to pink, red, purple or yellow. It is an exotic and gorgeous flower that has symbolical meaning as well. It blooms only for a short period of time so it is considered a symbol of delicate beauty.

Hibiscus has been called “Flower-of-an-hour”. When someone gives you a hibiscus, it can also suggest “Seize the opportunity” which of course is represented by the hibiscus’ full bloom which can end anytime.

Hibiscus is commonly associated with Hawaii, the yellow variety being its official state flower. A red hibiscus behind a girl’s right ear meant “ I have a lover” and if its behind her left ear, it meant “ I seek a lover”. A girl with hibiscus on both her left and right ear wants to convey the message that she has a lover but is seeking for another lover. In Hindu worship, hibiscus is used as an offering to their goddess while in Singapore it is regarded as a flower of celebration.

This picture was taken at Josje's home and somehow the colors are more true here.

Hope you enjoyed the process ;)

Today I am cleaning my patio with a pressure washer.

I am half way. I am enjoying this job. After 3 days of being lazy and tired I finally have energy to do something.

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday.

♥♥♥

Josje step 6

The back ground color is green the color which belongs to number 4.

Her life path number added with the number of her zodiac sign 3 + 10 (Capricorn) = 4

This number is important because it's traits will help you to reach your goals and learn your lessons in life.

To stick to the rules, hard working  and discipline will help you in this. The number 4 will appear later in your life so eventually it will be easier for you.

Tomorrow I will show you what became of the yellow clouds I only sketched them so far as they will overlap the green a little and I have learned it is better to paint the background before instead of working around a design.

Today it has been raining all day...... Good for the grass and all the green ;)
My deer are due any moment so I hope they will get their babies tomorrow. They always give birth around Fathers day so that was one week ago. Tomorrow will be a sunny day.
I really hope they will before I go away next Saturday. And I hope they will do it on a dry sunny day, but who am I? Nature will just do what is best I suppose.............
Hope you will all enjoy a wonderful weekend!!!!
♥♥♥

Josje step 5

All her numbers added together gives number 3 as a life path number.

Here you can see the yellow circle with 3 yellow clouds which will become...........well you will see that later. Because first I had to paint the background which I will show you tomorrow.

Something about life path number 3:

The 3 loves connecting with people. The characteristics of the 3 are warmth and friendliness, a good conversationalist, social and open. A good talker both from the standpoint of being a delight to listen to, but even more importantly, one who has the ability to listen to others. Accordingly, the life path 3 produces individuals who are always a welcome addition to any social situation and know how to make others feel at home. The approach to life tends to be exceedingly positive. Your disposition is almost surely sunny and openhearted. A happy and often inspired person, you are constantly seeking and needing the stimuli of similar people.

Josje step 4

Josje is born this year. So for 11 I used 2 (2 x 1) red Malas. Buddhist prayer beads are a traditional tool used to count the number of times a mantra is recited whilst meditating. They are similar to other forms of prayer beads used in various world religions: thus some call this tool the Buddhist rosary.

A mala has 108 beads. You can read an interesting article about the mala here.

This chain of beads symbolizes the endless repetition of life. The color of this chain is red , the color that belongs to the number 1. The first color in the rainbow.

Animal Wednesday / Josje step 3

Josje is born in 2011, so the next step is the ring with  the 2.

The color which represents 2 is orange. For this ring I chose 2 orange cats.

Cats stand for deep understanding in this natural world. Cats are very treasured animals, due to their beauty and gracefullness, they were once worshiped as a God, a female God named Bastet.

People do not seem to realize the depth of the cats' knowledge because of their fear for them. Cats are very loving creatures, they know their master's emotion by sensing and examining them, they seem to be very watchful too.

Symbol of independence, energy, mystery, pride, confidence, love, happiness and comfort. Among animals, the cat is the most important emblem of beauty and grace. In India, the cat symbolizes a spiritual dimension and bliss.

HAW!!

Father's Day

When I heard this song a while ago I had to cry and think of a picture I knew I had.

Last Wednesday I searched the attic and finally found it.

So happy with it.

I hope that  your Dad  is the best Dad in the world. If he is not around anymore I hope you will cherish beautiful memories just like I do. 

I still miss my dad....................

Happy Father's Day!

PS . This picture was taken last Friday, when Germain, Marinka (Germain's sister from Paris)and I visited Myrthe (Germain's daughter) and Josje (Joséphine)

Unbreakable Love

Step 2

Josje is born the first month of this year so for that I painted a red ring, which symbolizes unbreakable love.

Empress Joséphine

Here is step 1 of my mandala for Josje, which I gave her today.

She is born on the 7th so a violet flower with 7 petals in the middle.

And guess.... what is the name of this clematis?

Empress Joséphine!!!

How appropriate since Josje's name is Joséphine Charlotte.

(picture from Garden Harvest Supply Inc.)

In real the leaves are more pink, but just like a poet I allowed myself some artistic license here.

The clematis symbolizes ingenuity or artifice. It stands for creativity, intelligence and idealism.  The clematis also means mental beauty.

Animal Wednesday / Veere

 When I saw Lo's post it reminded me of an encounter with a calf last Wednesday

 It was near the picturesque town of Veere

 Where we were camping with the kids

 The kids gave this calf their mineral water and he loved it 

 and he enjoyed all the attention 

The kids (most of them) loved to touch him

 Happy Animal Wednesday!

Happy Cactus Monday!

I have no idea if this is a succulent or cactus and what it's name is......

I got it from my tennis friend Christine who gave this in a container with other plants.

One of my cats thought it was cat grass and destroyed the other plants. He/she even bit off the tips of these leaves!

I saved it and now it is blooming. Wow, how special after all this poor plant has been through.

But that is the amazing thing about cacti they are expert survivors. They also survive my care of plants and the attacks of my cats.

I have been on school camp last week.That's why I was not around. It was fun but my........I came home exhausted.

(picture from the internet)

I have been sleeping a lot this weekend. 

I am still tired, but I still have one week of summer holiday before I fly to Panama Sunday.

So I hope to catch up some sleep and do some blog visits too. I am behind with everything it seems.

Hope you are all doing fine and see you all soon.

Happy Cactus Monday!

To see who else has cactus fun to share visit Teri, our chief cactuteer ;)

Animal Wednesday / Tineke

Tineke (17-05-1951)

My Mantra teacher turned 60 last week so I made her this birth mandala

I used violets and a poppy, because I know she loves flowers.

In one of the workshops I gave she made a mandala with only flowers and no other symbols.

I wanted to do the same, but somehow I just had to put the butterflies in (click to enlarge to find them)

I really don't like to make a birth mandala without a animal totem.

Tineke was very happy with her mandala and the butterflies, she told me that their was a butterfly on her birth announcement 60 years ago......... This gave her goosebumps.
I like it , when I find out I have picked out the right animal for someone.

The butterfly is about transformation. Butterfly fearlessly leaves the safety of its cocoon to meet a new world in a new form, trusting its untried wings to allow it to fly. It is a powerful symbol for anyone who's contemplating or in the midst of a major change. It is about bringing color and joy to our lives, learning to dance with joy as we make those changes in our lives transforming us and our lives.

Wishing you a colorful day filled with joy ;)

HAW!

♥♥♥