Doormats, when used figuratively to describe a person is not very nice. No one wants to be called one, let alone be one.
Literally, however, every home ought to have one to welcome family, friends and invited guests.
I prefer the big bright cheerful kind of doormat with a huge welcome sign – very assuring and cheerful. It is also in keeping with my personality!
The sunsets are spectacular. It is as if God was moving His paintbrush over the skies.
The long shadows are crisp and clear. The air is fresh and cool. I find myself snapping away and discovering a new scene and different play of light and colour with each frame.
My amateur camera, what I describe as a “point-and-shoot” is one recommended by a friend. I am so glad I listened to him and got it despite its price.
Look at this gem. This was shot from a boat, about 5 feet away. I am amazed at the clarity.
And I love the little birds. So many of them. There are kingfishers and swifts and swallows and egrets and eagles and hornbills… so many. Speaking of the hornbill, did you know they mate for life? Love it.
This is a couple. The tree was full of figs. They kept taking the figs and amazingly, they fed the figs to each other! Isn’t that such a loving gesture! I love the hornbill!
This is one of the places I had hoped to visit. Amazingly the opportunity came and happily, I was able to take time off. What a 3-day 2-nights it was.
I never knew there were so many different types of hornbills. Even kingfishers were a varied lot.
But wait. I run ahead of myself.
We had fantastic weather throughout.
We are so very glad that we grabbed at this chance.
So let me post in installments…..
The young man likes to cook. He cooks well.
He is a bit of an entrepreneur too. So he invites us round for dinner and charges us to taste his food!
Not bad eh?
He enlists people to help. They have to pay for their food too.
How does he do that?!
Anyway, the evening is a resounding success and he has new clients now. They order food and go by to pick the dishes up. He still can’t drive.
Like I said, he is a young man!
Don’t laugh.
In my pursuit of good health and better shape, I decided to do something pretty desperate.
I went for my first ever ballet class.
Did I think I would be svelte and graceful and slim and lovely to behold after one session?
All it did was to emphasize my thick hips, clumsy footwork, awkward arms, terrible posture and uncoordinated limbs.
At least the first lesson was free!
I sew.
Just try to do the straight lines. Nothing fancy.
So my old sewing machine died. It wasn’t from overwork. Just old age.
Hubby bought me a new one. Maybe he had visions of me churning out curtains and cushion covers and drapes and shirts and pants and what nots…. saving him tons of money.
Alas for him, the new machine didn’t produce a new wife. I still sew. But only attempt to do the straight lines.
That is, until the needle broke. Rather suddenly. It gave me quite a shock. The sharp end flew at me. But thankfully, it was still attached to the string and that held it back. Otherwise I dread to think where the broken piece would have ended up. In my eye? That thought gives me the shudders!
As it was, shaken though I was, I continued and finishing sewing up the handle of the bag. Otherwise I might have lost my nerve!
Arrow #3 agreed with me when I said that her room needed a new coat of paint. A faded shade of purple, it was not very bright nor cheerful. So I proposed a project – we would paint the room together!
It brought back memories of when I used to paint our room as we grew up. There was another time we painted the gate and my little sister fell into the drain, but that’s another story!
Back to this one!
So Arrow #3 and I decided to go on this project together. Of course, being the “pro” that I was, I decided we didn’t need to measure the walls. Just go along and estimate the amount of paint needed.
I did so, and I was right. Except that it was only enough for one coat of paint. The underlying purple was still showing. So back we went to get more paint.
Then because she wanted stripes and Momma here didn’t want to get wallpaper for it, and of course it would be fun to teach her to use the spirit level, etc, we decided to paint the stripes on. Well, what we didn’t reckon on was that the masking tape wasn’t enough! So we needed MORE tape as well.
Having said that, mission accomplished after two days of work.
And Arrow #3 is more than satisfied.
As is Momma! (Aches and pains aside)
The tree in the hotel lobby is up. This tree must be about 30 feet high. (Don’t ask me in metres because I am old school!)
But the lights are not on. This picture was taken last year.
I am told that the tree lights will only come on in early December. That gives me time to get my office decorations up too, to coincide with the hotel’s decorations!
I love putting my tree up. I love decorating my place.
It’s something I have triedto do for my children ever since the first Arrow was born. 
It’s part of making memories for them. It’s part of making them feel it’s a special time of year. It’s part of reminding them that we are a family who celebrate Jesus.
I have five boxes of decorations but have only used one so far. Four more to go.
Perhaps today?
This is something I hope I never take for granted.
Each time I walk into the lobby of this hotel, I will hear the sounds of the local instrument being played. A series of different sized gongs hit in a particular, with a special rhythm unique to this part of the world.
Situated in the main entrance, it is quite a sight. A solitary musician with a beaming smile. Playing his gongs. He makes it look so simple!
There are bigger ones too, but the little ones that he uses are big enough to make a melodious sound that reverberates through the entire area. Nice way to be welcomed if you are checking in.
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