I have a little list of the things that I am intending to put on here and one of them is a blog that I read everyday called Pam's Perambulations.  I'm one of those people who do actually say prayers and read the Bible every morning, and I do it (shock horror) before I turn the computer on!  Then when I have done all the stuff I do on there, before I go away and get on with my real life, I read what Pam has blogged for the day.  The reason I am mentioning it today is that when I looked yesterday morning it was just obviously the next post for here. HERE is the link and if you click on it you will see what I mean.  But don't just go there today, visit regularly if you can.

Some of the things that are in my garden at the moment. This may well become a recurring theme!

Good colour vision has always felt like a blessing to me.  I knew someone years ago who saw everything in greyscale and he could never grasp the joy of art or nature, even the trivial things like clothes and wool shops.

I went to my weekly Bible Study yesterday.  Such a lovely group of people, we can talk about anything (and we do) and share things completely openly and honestly and I find it a great blessing to be able to do that

One man's (or woman's) blessing may be another's curse.  I love the sound of the sea, watching the waves roll, the spray and the foam.  Watching and listening to it brings me some of those calm and centred moments that I have spoken of before. But the moment I am very aware that so many people are suffering because the sea has invaded their homes, places of work and communities.

Having the courage not to conform.  Within reason of course.  I think, as I get older, I worry less about what people think of me and do sometimes speak up about things when I feel strongly about them, even if I am not going along with the general attitude, view or belief.  I hope that is a blessing but maybe I am on my own there!  The picture is one I doodled a few years ago for a thing called Illustration Friday. I must look at that again.

The pale green oval is me, enjoying a few moments of solitude and calm after a rather stressful day yesterday. Every other week my mum comes to stay from Thursday to Sunday.  Sometimes it gets a bit wearing as she needs a lot of attention, not her fault bless her.  So this quiet time after I've got her to bed is very welcome.

There are lots of fabulous sounds that I count as blessings and I will be sharing them in the course of this year, but today I am just thinking about what a blessing a good sense of hearing is. 

Old ones, new ones, loved ones, neglected ones.  If you know where this comes from then you are older than you look!  I'm on the subject of friends again.  This time it's an old friend, who I neglected for some years and then we became friends again - and she is loved and a blessing.  We met in 1966 at school but lost touch after we both moved away from our home town.  Never entirely, Christmas cards and the very occasional telephone conversation, but then 18 years ago she had her daughter and we started making more regular communication and now try to make the effort a bit more often.  If I ask advice she is one of the few people who will always tell me what she really thinks and there is that shared history, the fact that she remembers my mum and dad, for example, and my granddad, that makes it special.  The picture is a quick re-do of one I drew about 40 years ago, it's here somewhere but I haven't been able to find it.
And the quote at the beginning?  Just one of those radio programmes from my youth.  Answer is here

I came out of Tesco's (other well known supermarkets are available) as dusk was falling.  There was a fab sunset so I took a picture with my phone and when I got home I used a program on it to turn it into an oil painting.  Beauty is all around us, even in the most mundane places.  keep your eyes open (and your mind) today

I was blessed with the lack of any wish to have children.  I know many people struggle to understand this, because most woman (I guess) have such a strong desire to be a mother that they can't imagine what it is like to be without that.  For me, it was a blessing because I never had the opportunity, and I know people who have experienced real distress, wanting a child and not having one.  I love other people's babies, they are fun and make me laugh when they are happy.  But a baby is a blessing, not a right.

I spoke about Twitter yesterday.  I found it well nigh impossible to make new friends when I moved to Suffolk, I met people through work. I joined things, of course, but no one ever seemed to want to meet up outside of the group involved. They all had their friends already. I do have a couple of very good friends from my school days. They are very special to me and will no doubt be getting a mention on another day but they don't live close by.  But then I met someone on Twitter.  She knows who she is.  She is a blessing. (Oh, and we know each other in real life now too!)

Twitter and Facebook have been a blessing for me.  I used to work in an environment where I was interacting with a lot of different people a lot of the time but that was whether I felt like it or not.  Now I have to spend a lot of time at home these social sites mean I can still talk to people, but now it's only when I want to and I can choose who I talk to as well! And I have found some real friends too, but more of that another day.

Time to regroup, charge my batteries, centre. 
I may have over done it the last few days. I am so blessed that I can, when I need, just stop and have a lazy day and get my energy back. So many people have to keep going until they drop

The GP said "pace yourself" Ha! If I push myself on the days I have some energy then I don't feel so bad about lolling about the place like Elizabeth Barrett Browning on the chaise longue on the next day. Yesterday I was blessed with the energy to do a lot of cooking for my mum's freezer, and our's too. Today I have to go to mum's to do stuff, so I have earmarked Saturday as a lolling day!

I have the freedom to choose what I eat and when to eat it.  I can even fast if I want to, knowing that I shall have plenty the next day.  Google has given me some conflicting statistics but it seems likely that more than 900 million people do not have enough to eat in a day.  That's every day, without let up.  

The walk through the woods, which is only yards from my front door, is very special to me.  When we moved house we needed to be nearer the town and thought we would have to move onto an estate.  We were truly blessed in finding this house and it lifts my spirits every time I walk through the woods, even when it's going to the dentist!  It is quite dark in there in the winter but there is always a light at the end of the "tunnel of green gloom"

This is another one of those sketch pad pictures. I was inspired by a wonderful talk I found a few days ago and I do urge you to find 13 minutes to watch this lady. People like her are a blessing. Click this link Watch Lizzie

A frivolous one for a Monday morning. Internet kittens. I would love a cat but it isn't really feasible at the moment so when I need to put a smile back on my face I sometimes go and look at kittens on the internet.  There you are, you thought I was so grown up and sensible didn't you! Sorry to shatter your illusions.  The picture is one I screen captured from a live camera and then "doctored" with a painting program

Every move you make.....
Caring for both hubby and mum who have serious mobility issues makes me realise that my own aches and pains are nothing by comparison and that a blessing can sometimes be a matter of degree. Praise the Lord if you can move around pain free, or with only a little pain, or just enough to retain your independence.
By the way, the picture is a negative image from a bit of "light painting" I was experimenting with

Every breath you take.....
Most of the time we do it automatically, without thinking. If you have ever known someone who has experienced breathing difficulties then you will understand what a blessing easy breathing is

Memory. It's a funny thing, memory. It can mislead you sometimes and it can hurt you when you remember painful things, but it can surprise you too.  This is another picture I did with the sketch pad programme.  I think it is a sort of meadow and I think it is like somewhere I was when I was little. But it doesn't matter.

A place to be peaceful is certainly a blessing. 
This is a favourite, Sutton Hoo.  It is one of the few places I can go with my husband but I do go alone sometimes too.  
There is a wonderful atmosphere there, not only around the burial mounds but also in Mrs Pretty's house. You can go into a few rooms and they let you sit on the furniture and read the books and magazines that are of the time.  The restaurant in the visitor centre is good too!

I am so blessed in having such a lovely mum.  This is a photo of her from about 50 years ago. Although she is physically very frail I am so grateful that she has no signs of dementia and she is still the mum I know and love. My dad died 40 years ago and so it was just me and her for a long time.  We got to be more like friends sharing a flat, unless I did something she disapproved of!

Did you know that every rainbow is unique to the person looking at it.  Because of the way that rainbows appear even a fraction of a difference in the angle that it is viewed from means that it is not the same rainbow that the person next to you is seeing. The rainbow always cheers me up. It reminds me of God's promise to hold on to me no matter what

Today's blessing is the long tailed tit.  I think they are my favourite little bird and they do visit  my garden occasionally and crowd onto the peanut feeder although they never stay very long.  They are a blessing because they always make me smile

It's Sunday. No one will threaten me if I go to church. No one will threaten me if I don't. It is a freedom that so many do not have.

The NHS.  
Just think for a moment what life would be like without it

I had a surprise visit from a friend on New Year's Eve.  We were close at school but then drifted apart but now we are in regular contact again and she comes to visit when she can so I have chosen her as today's blessing. There will be other friends on other days.  Each one is special. Today's picture represents the relationship but I don't think I will try to explain

I have a safe warm bed to sleep in

This is just a quick picture I did with a very clever program called sketchpad.  It is meant to represent water and my first blessing of the year is the fact that I have access to clean water, from a tap, inside my house.