Several googly-eyed Roros get ready for their new owners.

"it shall be life"

Thus, if there are afflictions, there are also comforts: great consolations, great chastisements. There is a comforter, and there is a chastener. Every man must taste of death: every man must taste of life. It shall not be all bitter nor all sweet for any. It shall be life. The unseen ministers of a stupendous equity have their eyes and their hands about every man’s portion; ‘as it is written, he that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.’

It is the same earth for all; the same earth for the dead, great and small; dust to dust. The same earth for the living. ‘Thorns, also, and thistles shall it bring forth,’ and God provides the flowers too.

(J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Wylder's Hand)

~* the shop is up! *~

The Bikbik & Roro shop is up! Well, the skeleton of it is anyway (technicalities sure are a chore). With God's help it shall be officially open in the next few days (weeks?), with a few Bikbiks and Roros :)

Mrs Harriet Maybell-Winthrop

OK, I don't really know her name. But wasn't she a beauty?

having a great life

The other day a nice customer service lady at one of the major clothing companies was emailing me about my order, and in closing she wrote the usual, "Hope you're having a great weekend".

It was a routine, standard courtesy and I don't think she expected any response from me, but on the spur of the moment I decided to write this back:

"YES, I am having a great weekend really. I've been enjoying myself with my kids, spending so much fun time with them, shopping, eating well, and then having a lovely peaceful home to return to to rest and relax. I am so blessed!

I realise as I get older that it really boils down to one's attitude, doesn't it. like, you could choose to fixate on something that you think isn't right in your life and let that get you down, or you can choose to rise above it and be grateful for all the blessings you do have.

more and more I see that it is wasteful to think that you'd be happy when such and such happens.. like you'll be happy when your knee stops aching or when you've gotten or done whatever.. you have to choose to be happy NOW, whatever your circumstances, and not waste any time worrying or fretting about the future or what you cannot change.. being happy and content really has to be a conscious choice one makes".

I apologised if that was too much information, but explained that I had been contemplating life a lot lately. Now I didn't expect any response from her (except perhaps a mental rolling of the eyes at her end), but this is what she wrote back:

"You are so right. Life is way too short to get caught up in the little things. Thank you for sharing that. I needed to read that and be reminded. It really did make my day".

Honestly, I felt SO happy when I read that. You just never know when, how and to whom you can be a help and a blessing, however small.

latest distraction: cat vomit

Sophie contemplates the results of her sensitive stomach and unnecessarily rushed eating.

Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

blessings

keep smiling

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7).

O, this is handy (and look at those adorable illustrations)!

So I get the flu, right after getting the flu shot. Fine. I requested "drowsy-causing" meds, but needless to say, they had no effect on me at all. Headache, sore throat and the excessively sensitive hot-cold of a fever have got to be among the more aggravating human sensations available.

Moon. Lighthouse. Flower. Tree. Starry night. Orange balloons. Perfect.

As Le Fanu wrote of his Dorcas Brandon: "I suppose she knew I was looking at her; but she showed always a queenlike indifference about what people might think or observe".

my sketchbook at 16

Nice hair.

Someone is really really into the new Barbie Fashionista dolls. She says she's "Sassy".

at my workspace: the unknown girl

I drew her after seeing her ambrotype in an antique shop. I think she must have just been a teenager, but she had the most intense, solemn expression. It makes me wonder who she was, what she was like, what she did with her days. I so regret not buying her photograph after all. If the person who has it now sees this, please get in touch with me!

it's pronounced leff-anew

OK, fine. I see now why Dracula is the book he's known for. The first half had been so promising! but midway through it was like even he was getting uninspired. So, on to something new, by someone who's always proved interesting, and brilliant with the language too (I think Mr Stoker's favourite word is "heartily"). I haven't gotten much into it yet, but isn't the cover art great?

words of wisdom

Gotta love those Japanese crackers.

hair

B has decided she wants to cut her hair. When it's loose, she can almost sit on it. So I'm taking pictures of it every now and then before we go to the hairdresser (maybe, perhaps) this weekend.

not just dracula

What I'm reading now: The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker. Yep, Bram Stoker. The book was published in 1903, some six years after Dracula. It's an absorbing read, intriguing in part because of the way it captures Edwardian England's fascination with ancient Egypt (plus, it's cool to get a little shiver from a good old-fashioned supernatural thriller).

bear on skates

B is a bona fide Build-A-Bear collector. We're running out of space for them, so rather than get her yet another BAB bear for her birthday (yep -- "BAB" -- that's what we people in the know call it), I agreed to let her get skates for one of her bears. She chose Bruin, her BAB pug. I have to say he looks kinda neat and is pretty fun to pull around. The cat doesn't look too impressed though.

today at church

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind (James 1:2-6).

Well-timed message to me again: Press on.

the night is serene

I'd been going through the past week with this cloud over my head, but now! thank the Lord! it's been lifted. The night is serene, and so am I, as Jane Eyre said. I praise God for this deliverance! It's truly been a lesson in patience, pressing on, and the knowledge that someone up there does indeed care for me.

favours

Shopping for party favours for a large bunch of kids is an annual exercise in bargain-hunting. I got these fellows for 50 cents apiece and feel inordinately pleased with myself.

setting up shop

Hm. Setting up an online shop is a little intimidating. For a technophobe like me anyway. And every time I'm about ready to settle down and do some reading up on how Etsy works, something will come up. Like an order from a physical shop or a friend's friend. Or the kiddos' stomach flu. Or my own "stuff".

hello!