Wednesday's Inspiration

"If a man speaks or acts with an impure mind, suffering follows him as the wheel of the cart follows the beast that draws the cart. If a man speaks or acts with a pure mind, joy follows him as his own shadow."
_____ The Dhammapada

Tuesday's Inspiration

"There are those who discover they can leave behind destructive reactions and become patient as the earth, unmoved by fires of anger or fear, unshaken as a pillar, unperturbed as a clear and quiet pool."
_____ The Dhammapada

Monday's Inspiration

Water

"I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness."
_____ Abraham Maslow

Weekend Inspiration

Martha Washington Geranium

"We all carry within us our places of exile, our crimes, our ravages. Our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to transform them in ourselves and others."
_____ Albert Camus

Friday's Inspiration

"If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred. If you want to see the brave, look for those who can forgive."
_____ Bhagavad Gita

Thursday's Inspiration and Tatting Too

"The art of living..... is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive."
_____ Alan Watts


I finally managed to get some time to do a bit of tatting and this cute butterfly is from Lady Shuttlemakers new book ..The Exquisite Collection of Tatted Butterflies II Original Tatting Book (click here) If you are thinking about buying this book I would recommend it as the Butterflies are wonderful and Lady Shuttlemaker does a great job writing and illustrating patterns so you can understand them easily.
I have not been able to do much tatting since December as the pain I have been living with makes it impossible to concentrate on anything on anything for any length of time. As you may remember I had hip surgery in November, well unfortunately the surgery did not help and I have been in incredible pain since then. I am finally booked for a hip replacement on April 13. I am looking forward to the surgery and being able to returning to a more normal life and being able to enjoy tatting.

Wednesday's Inspiration

"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well."
_____ Gandhi

Tomorrow after a long absence this blog will be showcasing some tatting. Happy tatting everyone.

Tuesday's Inspiration

Double Hibiscus

"The first step to the knowledge of the wonder and mystery of life is the recognition of the monstrous nature of the earthly human realm as well as its glory, the realization that this is just how it is and that it cannot and will not be changed. Those who think they know how the universe could have been had they created it, without pain, without sorrow, without time, without death, are unfit for illumination."
_____ Joseph Campbell

Monday's Inspiration

"He who thinks to reach God by running away from the world, when and where does he expect to meet him? We are reaching him in this very spot, now at this very moment."
_____ Rabindranath Tagore

Weekend Inspiration

"As a mountain is unshaken by the wind, so the heart of a wise person is unmoved by all the changes on this earth."
_____ Buddha

Friday's Inspiration

Interesting shot of our backyard.


"You must not let your life run in the ordinary way; do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God's creative principle works in you."
_____ Paramahansa Yogananda

Thursday's Inspiration

"Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control. We can love and care for others but we cannot possess our children, lovers, family, or friends. We can assist them, pray for them, and wish them well, yet in the end there happiness and suffering depend on their thought and actions, not on our wishes."
_____ Jack Kornfield

Wednesday's Inspiration

Orchid display at the Royal Hawaiian. Made by stringing orchid blooms onto bamboo skewers.

"Doubt everything. Find your own light."
_____ Buddha

Tuesday's Inspiration

Ali admiring the wave petunia's

"If your eyes are blinded with your worries, you cannot see the beauty of the sunset."
_____ Krishnamurti

Weekend Inspiration

Bougainvillea which you see growing everywhere in Hawaii

"Once we recognize that thoughts are empty, the mind will no longer have the power to deceive us."
_____ Khyetse Rinpoche

Friday's Inspiration

Foxtail Fern in planter painted by Clyde

Sorry Thursday's inspiration was missed but I had to have an urgent MRI done. I am going to find out on Monday if and when I will be having hip replacement surgery done. Here is today's inspiration.
"To live here and now you must train yourself. In the seen there will be the just the seen, in the heard just the heard, in the sensed just the sensed, in the thought just the thought. That is the end of sorrow."
_____ Buddha

Wednesday's Inspiration

"Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace.....Peace will be the last word of history."
_____ John Paul II

Monday's Inspiration

"Meet the transient world with neither grasping nor fear; trust the unfolding of life, and you will attain true serenity."
_____ Bhagavad Gita

Weekend Inspiration

A look through the palm leaves.

"I claim to be no more than the average person with less than average ability. I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith."
_____ Gandhi

Friday's Inspiration

"Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame."
_____ Benjamin Franklin

Thursday's Inspiration

"You hold in your hand an invitation: to remember the transforming power of forgiveness and loving kindness. To remember that no matter where you are and what you face, within your heart peace is possible."
_____ Jack Kornfield

Wednesday's Inspiration

Pacific Fan Palm, this one is growing in the ditch.

"To see clearly is poetry, philosophy, and religion, all in one."
_____ John Ruskin

Tuesday's Inspiration

"There is only one world, the world pressing against you this minute."
_____ Storm Jameson

Monday's Inspiration

Coconut Palm and ferns, first signs of life in the lava flow

"The lesson that life reappears and constantly enforces is 'look under foot.' You are always nearer to the divine and the true sources of your power than you think."
_____ John Burroughs

Weekend Inspiration

"In calmness there should be activity; in activity there should be calmness."
_____ Anonymous

Friday's Inspiration

Banana blossom

"It is necessary to be noble, and yet it takes humility as a basis. It is necessary to be exalted, and yet take modesty as a foundation."
_____ Lao Tzu

Thursday's Inspiration

Our backyard gardens.

"You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now."
_____ Wayne Dyer

Wednesday's Inspiration

Silversword Plant only grows in Hawaii at the top of

Haleakala volcano crater area above 6800 foot elevation.

Silversword in bloom, only happens once and

plant must be 30 to 50 years old.

"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labour and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both."
_____ Francoise Rene Auguste Chateaubriand

Tuesday's Inspiration

European Fantail Palm

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."
_____ Ram Dass

Monday's Inspiration

Bromeliad

"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is in knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."
_____ Ray Bradbury

Weekend Inspiration

"Happy the man, and happy he alone, he who can call today his own; he who, secure within, can say, tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today."
_____ John Dryden

Friday's Inspiration

"If you understand, things are just as they are; If you do not understand, things are just as they are."
_____ Zen Proverb

Thursday's Inspiration

"Speak the truth, do not become angered, and give when asked, even be it a little. By these three conditions one goes to the presence of the Gods."
_____ Buddha

Wednesday's Inspiration

"The wholeness of life has, from of old, been made manifest in its parts; clarity has been made manifest in heaven, firmness in earth, purity in the spirit..."
_____ Lao Tzu

Tuesday's Inspiration

Lantana Bush

"Don't be surprised, Don't be startled; all things will arrange themselves.
Don't cause a disturbance, don't exert pressure; all things will clarify themselves."
_____ Huai Nan Tzu

Monday's Inspiration

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."
_____ Rabindranath Tagore

Weekend Inspiration

Painted church in Hawaii.

"In prayer, come empty, do nothing."
_____ St. John of The Cross

Friday's Inspiration

"The practice of true reality is simply to sit serenely in silent introspection. When you have fathomed this, you cannot be turned around by external causes and conditions."
_____ Hongzhi Zhengjue

A couple people have been asking where do I get my pictures from. The answer is photos I have taken from our trips to Hawaii and pictures of our gardens. I am glad that people are enjoying this feature on my blog. I am going to strive to make it a feature for the rest of the year so keep visiting, there are lots to come.

Century Doily/ Party Time Doily

The century doily that everyone is talking about was also published as the Party Time Doily from Traditional Tatting Patterns edited by Rita Weiss and I made it with Tourmaline Hand Dyed Thread from Yarnplayer size 80. This is my favorite thread that she makes so far.

I have also made this doily in Altin Basak size 50 thread which turned out very well. I would highly recommend trying this pattern. It was well written and the result is fantastic.

Thursday's Inspiration

"Be broad-minded, whole, without relying on others."
_____ Hongzhi Zhengjue

Wednesday's Inspiration

Coastline of Kauai (Hawaii)

"In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you love? How deeply did you learn to let go?"
_____ Buddha

Tuesday''s Inspiration

"How can we ever lose interest in life? Spring has come again and cherry trees bloom again in the mountains."
_____ Ryokan

Monday's Inspiration

I hope people are enjoying these inspirations. I post them in the hope that it helps at least one person start the day with a more positive outlook.
"Spring has it's hundred flowers, autumn it's many moons. Summer has cool winds, winter it's snow. If useless thoughts do not cloud your mind, each day is the best of your life."
_____ Wu-Men-Hui-Kai

Weekend Inspiration

Bannana palm tree blossom

"By sitting alone all day long I clear my mind of a thousand thoughts. To speak of this is beyond words; only by sitting under the quiet forest can we ever understand."
_____ Fa Yen

Friday's Inspiration

"Keep your head clear and transparent and you will never be bound. A single disturbed thought, though, creates ten thousand distractions. Let myriad things captivate you and you'll go further and further astray. How painful to see people all wrapped up in themselves."
_____ Ryokan

Thursday's Inspiration

"My advice is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate."
_____ Thornton Wilder

Wednesday's Inspiration

(This is the waterfall in Hawaii where they filmed the movie Jurassic Park)

"Sincerity is the fulfillment of our own nature, and to arrive at it we need only follow our own true self. Sincerity is the beginning and end of existence; without it, nothing can endure. Therefore the mature person values sincerity above all things."
_____ Tzu-Ssu

Tuesday's Inspiration

"There's no time for confused thoughts. Practice the meaning of single-mindedness."
_____ Godrakpa