Amazing Peace

By Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.

Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
implore you to stay awhile with us
so we may learn by your shimmering light
how to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.
On this platform of peace, we can create a language
to translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.
At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ

Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues the coming of hope.
All the earth’s tribes loosen their voices to celebrate the promise of
Peace.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace.

We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace.

We look at each other, then into ourselves,
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation:

Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul

Hello :)

Thought I'd just pop in to say hello to anyone who may read this. I haven't forgotten my blog, just been so busy lately. We had the Dance Sparkle show last week which took up a lot of my time helping out. I thoroughly enjoyed it and watching my little princess dance. She was so good considering how shy she used to be. Can't wait for next year's show now!
Went to see the newly renovated Winter Gardens yesterday with mum and sis and we had such a laugh. They had an exhibition on of old slot machines, a jukebox, side shows and hall of mirrors. Mum was hilarious laughing at herself in the mirrors. It reminded me so much of my childhood and what a fabulous mum she was and still is. We always have fun and a laugh. Roll on the next day out lol.
Actually, seeing the Winter Gardens in all its new glory gave me the idea to set up a blog dedicated to my home town. I love Blackpool and am so proud of its amazing heritage that I want to exhibit the many photograph's I've taken during the rejuvenation of the town. It may take me a while but I'm determined to pay homage in my own small way to the town that has given me and so many thousands if not millions of people who have either lived here or spent holidays and day trips here such wonderful memories :)

2nd January already!

Wow! Christmas seems a long time ago now even though it was only 8 days ago. Wanting to take the decorations down but I hate to tempt fate so we'll leave them until Epiphany (Thursday).
Aniello's making a nice Sunday roast of chicken so it's just another relaxing day for me. So spoilt! I may go up in the loft and begin the mammoth task of sorting out the hoards of games, clothes & memorabilia that I have collected over my 55 years on this earth. I'll probably give up after half an hour. I make a pile of wanted and unwanted items and then decide I still want the unwanted items and they go back on the wanted pile. That's why the loft can fit no more rubbish (as Aniello calls it) in. I know that if I carry on storing things up there that one day the whole lot will end up in my bedroom when the ceiling caves in under the weight!
Shower and dressed now then worry for the whole time that Lucia is out on her motorbike! :(

It's my mum's 77th birthday on 7th January. This is for her. For those of January May they always have Something fun to do For in January You start everything anew Jenny Diamond My messy loft

Happy New Year 2011!

Well! What a fabulous night last night turned out to be! Wonderful company, food and fun. We arrived at Jan & Enzo's at 7.30 pm and left at 2.30 am. The time just flew. First off was canapes and mulled wine in the sumptuous lounge then into the dining room for a splendid feast! Janet does a wonderful themed table each year but she surpassed herself this NYE. Black & gold was the theme and it was stunning! Even if I had unlimited funds I would never be able to create such a fabulous table.

For starters we had prawn, avocado with salmon and rocket salad. Wonderful! Then we had a quiz of 16 Winter/Christmas themed questions. I scored 12 and a half points and won woohoo! Didn't expect that with Grammar school educated people in competition with someone who failed her 11 plus HA! I won a lovely enamel butterfly bookmark which will be treasured. 

Next came the main course of fillet steak for the ladies/ribeye steak for the gentlemen, accompanied by asparagus spears and mini roast potatoes served with a pepper sauce. Such a gastronomical delight that I could actually eat it all again right at this minute!

This was followed by a game of family fortunes. What a great game with the buzzer doing its da dah sound. Margaret and I were made captains of our respective teams and although my team was winning into the fourth round ( thanks to Chris ) we lost to Margaret's team in the end. A terrific game for all the family.

Enzo's wonderful dessert creations followed and we all had a piece of each one because we couldn't decide which one to go for. They were utterly delicious. One was a pavlova and the other a sponge gateaux with lashings of cream. Divine! Nigella would have been proud :)

Feeling utterly stuffed by now it was time for another game this time pictionary. That was a fun game too and I must get ours out of the loft and give it a dusting over. We'll play it the next time my kids all come for dinner!
After pictionary we saw the New Year in with fireworks and Chinese lanterns although one firework failed to go off properly and two lanterns almost set Ciro and Enzo alight! Scary stuff. When we'd seen the New Year in we had cheese and biscuits, liqueurs and coffee. A nice chat around the table for another 2 hours and then home at 2.30am. Unheard of usually but such good company was hard to part with. 
A wonderful end to 2010 and a great welcome to 2011 thanks to our wonderful Brother and sister-in-law x
Today has been a total chill out day. It was a rainy dull day but it didn't stop my mum calling round for a New Year's visit bless her. Lucia ended up having to go to the walk in centre because of a pain she's had in her side for 5 days. The Dr reckons she has an inflamed stomach so has put her on some tablets for a week. Hopefully she'll be well by then! Anyway bedtime for me now as it's actually taken me all day-on and off- to write this account of how we spent the last day of the decade ;)
I'm going to try my best to keep a diary on my blog so let's see how long it lasts.

Love this quote

We will open the book.
Its pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called 'Opportunity'and its first chapter is 'New Year's Day'


Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Officially the last day of 2010

Well this is it! The final 24 hours of 2010. My wish is for my family to be healthy and happy. A very tall order but if I don't have hope that it will happen then what's the point to anything? I want my sister well again and for her to find peace in her life. My mum and dad to stay as healthy and active as possible. My hubby to get a bit fitter and lose weight (along with me!) My daughter Lucia to find the man of her dreams and be happy because I can think of no-one who deserves it more than her. It breaks my heart in pieces every time she gets hurt by yet another so called man who cannot see the beautiful person that she is both inside and out. My daughter Antonella to be healthier and be rid of the terrible migraines that blight her life. I hope she stays happy and contented in her relationship with Laura. My son Mario to decide what he really wants out of life and to go for it both personally and professionally. I pray that my health doesn't deteriorate more and that I can find the energy to do something fulfilling with my life other than fritter away the years I have left. God bless all my family and friends and may 2011 be a new start for us all!

Miserable day!

I'd rather have the icy weather we had recently than the horrible dark, damp day that today has been. More forecast for tomorrow too. I don't know why I love cold frosty days so much but I do! I shouldn't really because they bring back childhood memories of ice on the inside of my bedroom window and being able to see my breath! Wow! It's hard to think it was ever like that but the only heating we had was a coal fire in the living room. No central heating for us in those days. I do remember getting into a freezing cold bed every night. When I was older I had a hot water bottle that I used to put in 10 minutes before going to bed, then when I was actually in bed I moved it around to warm the parts the bottle hadn't warmed. Oh the good old days!
I have been doing lessons on my DS today. Aniello bought me the game Art Academy for Christmas and it's excellent! So far I have learn't how to draw an apple, tree, sunset, lime and pear. Also how to shade and use colour and different size brushes.Why didn't I take more notice of art when I was at school? I would love to be able to sit and paint a beautiful picture of nature. Maybe one day but my poor brain doesn't retain information as it once did. They say youth is wasted on the young and it is so true! I'm enjoying learning anyway and you never know, I could be one of those artist's that only became famous after they passed away :/
Well tomorrow is the last day of 2010 and I for one am sad to see the end of it. Not because it's been a particularly good year for me but because it means time is marching on relentlessly. It's frightening how much more quickly each year passes than the last (or so it seems to me)! When you're a child all you want to be is an adult but when you finally do become one....with all the problems and worries it entails....you soon wish to be a child again. The older you get the more desperate the wish becomes!
Anyway enough of my ramblings for today. I have two Gorjuss cross stitch kits that Lucia and Mario bought me for Christmas so I think I'll make a start on one tonight. That's art for you! :)


A Few pic's

My cross stitch kits

My drawing of a pear

My painting of a lime

My painting of an apple tree

My painting of a sunset

My drawing of an apple

HA!