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10553421_324060444467123_5326136477975057857_nBliss comes in many different forms, through many different channels, and for many different reasons.

If we are proud of our professions, accomplishments, our family, and our homes…we happily stand up and claim the accolades that are often bestowed upon us as being, at least in part, responsible for the results.

Should we not be just as proud, with a huge dose of thankfulness, for Jesus Christ, the one who listens, guides( if we listen) and forgives ( when we don’t.)

The journey is the focus, the destination will adjust accordingly .

As humans we will take many paths in search of the needs that come with being “human.”

Ask, and ye shall receive…understanding, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Not just once…but once a day, every day, for all our days.

Embrace the gift~

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A few interesting facts about the color “Red.”  It is not for the faint of heart…..Red equates to “bliss” in my world.

Red means “Beautiful” in Russian.

The word “ruby” comes from the Latin word rubens, meaning “red”.

The color red doesn’t really make bulls angry; They are color-blind.

There are at least 23 different shades of red crayons.

The red stripes on the United States Flag stand for courage.

Chinese brides traditionally wear red wedding dresses for good luck.

Seeing the color red can make your heart beat faster.

As few as two percent of people in the United States have red hair.

The color red is most often associated with power and passion. It is a fierce and emotionally intense color. Red symbolizes speed, sexuality, and style. Fast cars are red. Beautiful women wear red clothes and red lipstick. Red is also the color of romance and love. If you want to express your love for a woman with flowers, the flowers must be red. In all cases, whether red is worn by a woman, or used in home décor, it will always attract attention.

 

  • Red often gives conflicting messages. Red means “stop” when used on a street light, but it means “go” when worn as lipstick or given as flowers. Red means danger when used on signs and fire extinguishers. Red means both romantic love and sexual lust. Red is the color of Communism, but it also symbolizes Christmas when mixed with the colors green, white, and gold.

 

  • Fashion experts always recommend at least a splash of red when dressing for a job interview or any other important meeting, because red symbolizes power, decisiveness and leadership. In home décor, red is rarely used as a base color but often as highlights. One wall of a room may be painted red to create a feature wall that attracts attention. A sofa may be splashed with red cushions. A centerpiece of red flowers may be used for a special dinner event.

 

  • Red is so intense a color that it doesn’t suit everyone. A rule of thumb: drive a red car, but wear black. Red clothing has the effect of making a person look fuller than they really are. In all instances, red is an extreme color and should be chosen with caution.

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I’ve read, heard said, and come to believe…woman or man…our shoes speak loudly to our personality. So…whether you are dining, dancing, or gardening…take a close look at those shoes…if they spark a wild thought….

Some fun shoe facts~

Shoe sizes were first established in the year 1324! in England by King Edward II. He declared in 1324 that the diameter of one barley corn (one third of an inch) would represent one full shoe size. This this standard of measure is still used today!!

Ancient Romans were the first to construct distinct left and right shoes. Before that shoes could be worn on either foot.

  1. 4,000 years ago the first shoes were made of a single piece of rawhide that enveloped the foot for both warmth and protection.
  2. Sturdy shoes first came into widespread use between 40,000 and 26,000 years ago, according to a US scientist. Humans’ small toes became weaker during this time, says physical anthropologist Erik Trinkaus, who has studied scores of early human foot bones. He attributes this anatomical change to the invention of rugged shoes, that reduced our need for strong, flexible toes to grip and balance.
  3. The first known images of footwear are boots depicted in 15,000 year old Spanish cave paintings.
  4. In Europe pointed toes on shoes were fashionable from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries.
  5. In the Middle East heels were added to shoes to lift the foot from the burning sand.
  6. In Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries heels on shoes were always colored red.

7.  Shoes all over the world were identical until the nineteenth century, when left- and right-footed shoes were first made in Philadelphia.

8.  In Europe it wasn’t until the eighteenth century that women’s shoes were different from men’s.

9. The first lady’s boot was designed for Queen Victoria in 1840.

10.  Six-inch-high heels were worn by the upper classes in seventeenth-century Europe. Two servants, one on either side, were needed to hold up the person wearing the high heels.

11.  Grecian shoes were peculiar in reaching to the middle of the legs.

12.  The present fashion of shoes was introduced into England in 1633

13.  Up to 1850 all shoes were made with practically the same hand tools that were used in Egypt as early as the 14th century B.C. as a part of a sandal maker’s equipment. To the curved awl, the chisel-like knife and the scraper, the shoemakers of the thirty-three intervening centuries had added only a few simple tools such as the pincers, the lapstone, the hammer and a variety of rubbing sticks used for finishing edges and heels.

14.  In 1845 the first machine to find a permanent place in the shoe industry came into use. It was the Rolling Machine, which replaced the lapstone and hammer previously used by hand shoemakers for pounding sole leather, a method of increasing wear by compacting the fibres.

15.  In 1858, Lyman R.Blake, a shoemaker, invented a machine for sewing the soles of shoes to the uppers.His patents were purchased by Gordon McKay, who improved upon Blake’s invention. The shoes made on this machine came to be called “McKays.”

16.  In 1875 a machine for making a different type of shoe was developed. Later known as the Goodyear Welt Sewing Machine, it was used for making both Welt and Turn shoes. These machines became successful under the management of Charles Goodyear, Jr., the son of the famous inventor of the process of vulcanizing rubber.

17.  High heels for women are believed to have originated with Catherine de Medici, a 16th century Italian noblewoman who was short in stature and wanted to make a bigger impression when she arrived in France to marry the future King Henry.

19.  In 18th century legislation designed to create paved walkways within cities allowed women to wear less practical shoes with higher heels

20.  Sneakers were first made in America in 1916. They were originally called keds.

21.  The open-toed shoe became fashionable in the 1930s as a result of the new vogue for sunbathing.

22.  Roger-Henri Vivier is credited with inventing (or at least re-popularizing) the stiletto heel in the 1950s.

23.  Despite all of cutbacks during World War II, high shoes were very in style. Designers created tall, uplifting heels using materials that weren’t rationed, like wood straw and snakeskin.

24.  The boots Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in are still floating around in space.

 

And now you know….

Life-with-FatherBliss is just knowing, there is a favorite movie for gardeners, well, for this Gardner at least.

“Life With Father” is a 1947 film with William Powell, Irene Dunne, and a very young and delightful Elizabeth Taylor.

I watched this film for the first time in the 1970’s, it brought to the realization of how far removed from my roots I was living…my quest to get back to the farm began, took many years but I did return.

I have , from the first exposure to Irene Dunne, enjoyed everything about her acting style…at one point in life we seriously considered living in Madison, Indiana…fabulous river town just north of Louisville,Kentucky. To my amazement, the house I fell in love with was the old Irene Dunne home (I wasn’t aware of this when I first saw the house) Alas,…..after more consideration, and as much as I love Madison, Dunne, and vacationing there…it isn’t the “south.”

So…for a blissful evening, curl up in your favorite spot with your favorite brew…I will opt for a steamy Café au Lait…yummy!

As much as I love a red coffee cup…

Cafe au Lait

Similar to a Latte, but made with filter drip or French Press coffee instead of espresso. To make a simple Cafe au Lait, mix equal portions of brewed coffee and heated or steamed milk. The “French” style is to serve a Cafe au Lait in a white porcelain cup or bowl. Cafe au Lait is French for “coffee with milk”.

 

011When a special friend brings little gifts of friendship and without knowing that she is rekindling long ago loves…Makes a Blissful day for sure!

Sea-shells from a special Island.

Thank you Maria Elena Giles…they found a perfect place, under the protection of a Vintage Cloche ….

006After learning of a death by  a young woman who was once my student in pre-school, and friends who are also mourning the death of friends and family…I’m prompted to ask the age old question…”why?”

A lot has been written about death and the reasons why-I find if one strays too far away from the biblical truth on death, one is subject to much confusion and questions that have no answer.

1 Corinthians-15:21,45-47 “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. … The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.

I find the entire 15th Chapter of 1 Corinthians to be comforting in our quest to gain some understanding of death.

May we each keep in mind…”The Journey” defines and determines the destination.

Also recall in my explanation of Bliss…it is the assurance of a higher power in control of all that which we neither understand or have answers to justify the “why.”

002Beautiful and Timeless…Vintage and Bliss…one in the same-or- the same in one…as long as it sparkles and shines…

You can enjoy this stunning piece here, or you make it your own …yes, it is for sale. Contact me for details.

A day without sparkle is like a wardrobe without Red….