Page 121 - Lovely quote today, I sometimes feel we never fully appreciate nature. How everything harmonises, the colours, sounds and shapes. How much have we interfered with this over the years? Animals and plants are threatened, we lose countryside. How much more has to happen before we realise the harm we are doing! But we can still enjoy it all. Went for a walk in the bluebell woods and took some lovely photos of these delicate flowers.

Today I have played with my photo and superimposed me over the picture of the bluebells.

Page 120 - Today's quote could have been aimed at me as I walk my dog straight after reading the day's prompt! During this walk I often come up with the ideas I want to write and how to do my page! Today I would have taken a photo but as it was pouring with rain I left my camera at home!

I love to go walking, alone with nature, look at all the beauty and listen to the sounds! It almost feels cleansing, blows away my cobwebs and helps me to think more clearly! A time to work out problems! And the walking is good exercise for me! Sometimes what I see can inspire my crafting, be it colours, shapes or objects.

You have to leave the city of your comfort
and go into the wilderness of your intuition.
What you'll discover will be wonderful.
What you'll discover is yourself!
Alan Alda - actor and producer.

Page 119 - today Anna asked us to find our own quote to reflect how we feel after so many days of taking our own photos! This quote says it all! Well, I have never taken pics of myself before, or been over keen on having my pic taken by others, but I have survived it all! Today's photo was taken by dh over the last weekend! With this challenge I feel I have grown as a person, and hopefully my photography has improved too! I have thought about and looked at all sorts of things from different angles, explored my feelings about subjects and best of all made new friends on the 365 thread on UKS. I am really happy I took on this challenge and fully intend to see it through! I am discovering myself!

Page 118 - Not many of us get the chance to help others in a great way such as Live Aid but there are many small ways to help! Just a few coins in a charity box, a little time delivering leaflets or helping to organise an event for charity. Over the years I have done all these! But it isn't all about charity, just a kind word or deed, a helping hand in times of trouble or keeping in touch with people are all ways to help. Sometimes it is the little things that help more than grand gestures! And money doesn't solve all problems. One of my small ways of helping these days is to recycle as much as I can!

Page 117 - I take this quote as meaning to live life to the full, whatever you are doing! Even with household chores! Be a little bit daring, try to do something different, listen to others and act upon what you hear, take care of yourself but have fun. Don't look back and regret as things cannot be changed. I do appreciate my good friends and will continue to nurture their friendship. I always try to do what I love, like my hobbies. This is my one and only life so I should make the most of it! I will make mistakes, but hopefully only once! This does not mean be selfish as so many of these things can be done with others!

Page 116 - Well, we all have idealistic dreams when we are young, but should we stop having them as we get older? I don't believe so! What harm does it do to dream? And most dreams are beautiful, against human nature to dream of bad things! Having our dreams gives us something to aim for! Some of my youthful dreams have come true, but not all! But there is still time! My future is unknown but I will continue to believe in my beautiful dreams!

Page 115 - Today's quote about not giving up trying to do what you really want to do! How easy it would be sometimes to just give up, with so many pressures in life these days! Who says it gets easier as you get older? We all need love and inspiration to help us! I know many times I have been given that extra bit of love or inspiration to spur me on, and been grateful for it! It may come from family, friends or just an odd comment or act that I hear or see. So many people out there doing things against the odds can inspire and make my trials seem trivial in comparison. I might not want to climb Mount Everest or swim the Channel, but there are things I still want to do and see, and with that love and inspiration I will strive to do what I really want!

Page 114 - how true is this quote! We never know what is round the corner in life, and probably it is a good thing. We should enjoy each day for what it is and not fret about what may happen. But when we turn that corner, are we brave enough to take that road or go through that gate? Sometimes it feels safer to turn around to what we know! I like to feel I am brave enough to face whatever is round that corner, be it good or bad! Sometimes I don't have the choice! Looking back over my life, I have been brave on many occasions and faced the unknown, and hopefully benefitted from it. Sometimes we dream of what may be beyond that gate, but do we really want that? Again I have added more personal journalling to the back of this page!

Page 113 - back to quotes today! Well, what is a real man, or woman come to that! Throughout life we all learn from events that happen, a smile in times of trouble can help to raise the spirits, distress gives us strength we didn't know we had, and on reflection, each event makes us that little bit braver. Life is just one large learning curve and if we approach it in the right way we should learn. Having said that, some people never seem to learn.

A real person is true to themselves and their beliefs!

Page 112 - PRUDENCE. One word jumped out at me from the definition, discipline! I am a great believer in discipline and think children have to learn discipline to be able to learn self discipline, a virtue which seems to be much lacking in some areas of our society! But I won't get on my soap box about that! I believe I have self discipline in my life, but it may wobble at times! Most times I do weigh up the pros and cons of situations to see the likely outcome rather than charging in head first! So yes, I think I am prudent!

Page 111 - TEMPERANCE, moderation in all things, both said and done! Not so easy though! Moderation with food and drink, most of the time! Moderation with words, depends on the situation, very hard sometimes but I do try to think before I speak and not say anything hurtful! One thing very hard to be moderate with is stash for my hobbies! But I try! So many things to be moderate in, but I believe it makes a better life, rather than "having it all!"

Page 110 - JUSTICE, immediate thoughts of law and punishment! Is this a word used too much and out of context today, to describe what we feel is unfair rather than unjust? Can I turn my back on injustice, I don't think so! There are so many cases of injustice in the world today! Sometimes I can do nothing about it, but others I can and feel I should! Not always an easy choice!

Page 109 - FORTITUDE, the power or courage to bear pain or danger. Not sure I have been tested on the danger part of this, no facing wild animals or other such dangers, and hopefully it will stay that way! But thinking about it, is driving everyday on our roads not putting myself in danger, sure feels like it at times. And crossing a road? But I don't think this is what is referred to!

Pain, a different matter over the last few years! Physical pain, I can put up with a lot and rarely let on to anyone, which may be silly. Emotional pain is for me, a lot harder to bear, and there is quite a lot around at the moment! Can I bear it with fortitude, I hope so!

Page 108 - CHARITY. An act of kindness! Most often thought of as giving money to a worthwhile cause! So many charities out there all begging for our money, how to choose? I have my favourite charities which I will help, but do object to so many jingling tins under my nose, or knocking on my door, I will not be forced to donate, so politely refuse. It is so wrong that so many charities need to exist, hospitals and hospices should not have to beg for money to keep going, children should not have to rely on charity.I could go on and on!

Page 107 - HOPE! Hope springs eternal! Where there's life there's hope! So many sayings about hope. I hope the world will become a better place! I hope man can learn to live in harmony, no wars! I hope we can all be equals!

More personally I hope my family have long, healthy and happy lives. I hope my grandchildren will be happy and fulfilled. We hope in the belief that many things may be attainable.

This is the third little album I have made for this challenge. Each one contains 20 page protectors to hold my 6x6 lo's, all held together using my BIA. Might add ribbons to the spines at a later date. By the end of the year I will have a mini library!

Page 106 - FAITH, a simple word. To most people it means religion. I do have faith, but sometimes it wavers! Faith in God, but why do such terrible things happen in this world? Faith in people, even though at times they let you down! Faith in myself, to trust my instincts!

Page 105 - SLOTH, yet another sin I have been guilty of! As a teenager, definitely, when working, not much chance, when children came along, definitely no chance! Now my time is my own I do not lie in bed in the morning, but I do put off doing chores if I can, so that must make me guilty! I would rather be indulging in my hobbies or walking the dog than do those jobs, but they do eventually get done!

I have known some people who would do anything rather than work! But as my dad always used to say, "hard work never killed anyone!" These days I am not too sure about that when I see some people who work long hours and suffer physical and mental effects. Maybe a little bit of sloth isn't so bad occasionally!

Page 103 - Anger! Oh yes, I am guilty of this sin! Maybe not so much as I grow older and have learnt it doesn't accomplish anything, not even make me feel better! As a red head I am supposed to have a temper!
There seem to be so many angry people in the world today, youngsters who feel hard done by, people and politics........... Why can't we all show more love?











Page 104 - Greed! Another sin I am holding my hands up to! There are not many people who would not desire more wealth, or more material possessions! Stop and look at the poorer countries, and realise how lucky we are! Age has it's compensations and you realise how lucky you are to have what you do! Why should we want more than we can possibly use? Greed is a strong driving force!

Page 102 - Lust, why does this word immediately conjure up thoughts of sex? We can also lust after material things, such as a new camera or jewellery! In the beginning of a new relationship, physical lust may play a large part, but as the relationship grows, so does love! Yes, over the past 60 years I have been guilty of this sin!













My week 14 lo using the prompt Touch.

Page 101 - Gluttony, yes I am guilty of this sin, as my figure will testify! I know what and how much I should eat, but somehow cannot resist that extra little bit! Many restaurants now serve larger portions, so many different foods are available for us to eat, temptation is all around! Young children seem to know instinctively how much to eat and stop when they are full, this worries parents and they try to cajole them to eat more. Should we do this? Maybe we should listen to our bodies and only eat when we are truly hungry and stop when we are full. So often we eat without taking much notice of our food and only stop when we feel stuffed. Wise words? But not easy to put in to practise!

There are still many people in this world who do not have the chance to be gluttons!

Page 100 - ENVY. I know I am guilty of this sin at times though maybe not as much now as when I was younger. We may envy other people their looks, slim figure, ability to do things, and their talents. But we all have different attributes, some they may not have, so why waste time in envy? I am happy with my lot so no need to be envious!

Page 99 - PRIDE, is it really a sin? Yes when taken to extremes, but I was brought up to take pride in myself, my appearance and anything I did, especially when I was working! I don't think that is wrong! When worded as Vanity, then it does take on a different meaning to me. I'm afraid I go for the simple, easy to care for hairstyle, very little if any make up and do have "old clothes" which I wear around the house (why wear out good ones?). But I will not go out looking a mess!

I well remember being told "Pride comes before a fall", and learning that lesson the hard way!

Page 98 - Habit and 6th sense, how do they relate? First thought was the habit of always eating at meal times, over ruling the sense whether we are feeling hungry or not! Not listening to others because we have to a certain thing at a set time, ignoring the sense of hearing! My mother always told us as children that she had a sixth sense, that let her know what we were up to, and she always seemed to know! I believe as a mother we do have this sense where our children are concerned, we know when they are ill, in trouble or just need us! Some people seem to have the ability to know when things are going to happen, can this be explained? Our sixth sense is certainly not as obvious as the other five! Is it a habit?

Page 97 - I would rather have eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, lips that cannot speak, than a heart that cannot love! That is today's quote! My heart, one of my vital organs, I cannot live without it. But do I need it to feel love? Why is the heart associated with love? If I couldn't see, hear or speak, I would still feel love, we do not know exactly what it is but know it when it comes along. Love in degrees? Love for family and friends. Love for animals. Love for the world. We give love and receive it back. Love yourself to be loved! Do we use the word love too freely, sometimes I think so! Love is time spent with someone, not spending money on them! We all need love! I cannot imagine not being able to love and be loved!

Page 96 - Touch, another of our senses we would find hard to live without! We need to touch to know how things feel! All our skin is capable of touch, not just the fingers! The touch of skin when having a cuddle, the touch of lips during a kiss, nice touches! The touch of skin when being pinched is not so nice, as are some other sensations! Babies learn through touch, and some lessons they have to learn for themselves no matter how much we tell them not to touch certain things, they will! I love the touch of babies soft skin, an animal's soft fur and many more, even my dh's stubbly beard!

Page 95 - Taste, another sense we tend to take for granted! Pleasant or unpleasant, we all differ in our likes and dislikes! Sweet or savoury, hot and spicy, sour, tart............the list goes on! For me my mood dictates whether I want sweet or savoury! I love all spicy foods, nothing bland for me! Sometimes the taste of chocolate needs to be satisfied!

A baby learns taste slowly, trying new bland foods and working up to tastier treats! If only they weren't given sugar so early and more fruit and veg we would solve a few problems!

Page 94 - Smell, another of our five senses. We don't really think about smell until we have a cold and can't smell things! Smells both evoke and enhance memories! Certain perfumes remind us of certain people, which may be good or bad! We all have a favourite perfume! Do we really need all these smells we cover ourselves with each day? We are told they inhibit our natural pheromones, is that good?

I love the smell of coffee brewing, baking, fresh mown grass, babies, the list goes on.................

Some smells turn my stomach, sewage works, stagnant water, diesel fumes.........................

Page 93 - Hear, listen! Well, I found this prompt very similar to one a few weeks ago, so had to think hard. Apart from the hearing but not really listening I thought of all the noise of modern living, how much noise there is in our lives. Whirs and hums of household equipment, car engines, lorries, aeroplanes, trains, mobile phones ringing with annoying tunes, MP3 players, loud music in shops and restaurants, people shouting. I could go on and on............. All these sounds drown out the pleasant ones, birds singing, children playing, wind in the trees, gentle sound of raindrops..........

I will hear all these noises but listen for the pleasant ones! Very occassionally there is the sound of silence, and I savour it!

Page 92 - Look, see, view. How often do we look at something but don't really see it? More than we care to admit! From a person's expression we can tell their mood! Look at body language! Look at nature and work out the season! We need to view everything in a new light! Sometimes we only see what we want to! Take off the blinkers and view the world! Eyes are precious, we need to take care of them!

I have now been doing this challenge for 3 months, and done a 6x6 lo for each day, so am building a collection of small albums! My journey so far has seen me taking self portraits, and letting other people see them, and using my own handwriting! It has also made me think in a different way!