Nature Walk - Creative Monday Blog Hop

    One way to lift the spirit is to go on a 'Nature Walk' armed with your camera to capture favourite scenes. These days it is good to see these flowers that are beating the summer heat. Interestingly they remain closed for most of the day and usually start opening just after 5 p.m. I had a good time taking pictures and oh how I love the colour! 

    Hello and welcome to Creative Mondays hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy H-J's Thoughts where you can link up all your creative posts.

1. Link up your Crafty, Recipe, DIY, Fashion, Creative writing, Photo, Family Tutorials, Favourite, Helpful, Make-up, Outfit or anything creative posts here...

2. Link as many posts up as you like.

3. Please visit a few posts and leave comments.

4. It would be great if you could grab the Creative Monday button and place it somewhere on your blog.

5. We would love for you to follow some way by GFC,Google+,Facebook, Twitter or Email.

Happy Creative Monday and have a great week.

Olympic Memories

Flag of Jamaica on Copyright Free Images

   
     I can hardly believe how quickly the London Olympic games have come around. I am here reminiscing about the last Olympics in 2008 when Jamaica did so well winning 6 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals.  My family including my twin sister Janine and brother Sutcliffe were glued to the television for many of the major events. Our favourite has always been athletics although we have shown interest in a wide variety of sports.

    The death of my twin almost killed my interest in sports and it was quite a struggle to regain it.  Nevertheless I have always been determined to do everything to cope. As I write this post and consider how things have changed in my life over the last 4 years I ask myself this question “What would Janine and Sutcliffe want for me?” Without any doubt I know that they would both want me to enjoy these games. That is what I aim to do as I recall this powerful saying "Have faith in God and no matter what happens in life you will find strength." – Catherine Pulsifer

    This year Jamaica celebrates its 50^th anniversary of Independence and we look forward to our athletes doing their best and the Jamaican flag flying high.

Palm Seed Beauty - Wordless Wednesday Linky

   Welcome to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy H-J's Thoughts where you can link up your Wordless and not so Wordless photo posts.

How I use Hair Accessories - Creative Monday Blog Hop

   Over the years my twin and I never missed an opportunity to buy hair accessories whenever we went shopping in Kingston, Jamaica's capital or Ocho Rios, one of the popular tourist resorts. Now I have quite a collection. Recently the collection increased! I was thrilled to receive these beautiful dragonfly clips that were made by my cousin Marlene who lives in Massachusetts.

  Below are pictures of how I use these accessories. I brush back my hair in one and hold it together with a rubber band. After that I use the clip to hold up the end of my hair neatly and also to cover the rubber band. There are also times when I only use the accessory to hold my hair together.

    Hello and welcome to Creative Mondays hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy H-J's Thoughts where you can link up all your creative posts.

1. Link up your Crafty, Recipe, DIY, Fashion, Creative writing, Photo, Family Tutorials, Favourite, Helpful, Make-up, Outfit or anything creative posts here...

2. Link as many posts up as you like...

3. Please visit a few posts and leave comments

4. It would be great if you could grab the Creative Monday button and place it somewhere on your blog...

5. We would love for you to follow some way by GFC,Google+,Facebook, Twitter or Email.

Happy Creative Monday and have a great week.

Book Review - Beginning with the End by Mary R. Morgan

   'Beginning with the End' is a compelling book dealing with the loss of one's twin. Author Mary R. Morgan lost her twin Michael Rockefeller in 1961 when he disappeared on an anthropology expedition off the remote coast of New Guinea. As the daughter of then Governor of New York, Mr. Nelson A. Rockefeller, she had to deal with this crisis in the glare of the public eye.

   Throughout the book she gives important insights on the experiences that one encounters following the loss of one's twin. The information will not only resonate with fraternal and identical twinless twins  but anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one. Her personal account of what it means to repress grief over a long period and how the support one gets from family and friends affects an individual is very instructive.

   The need to adjust to life without a twin is dealt with in a detailed manner. The steps she used to achieve this are interesting. I was particularly struck by the use of imagery and the impact of nature.

    Serious food for thought is given to the twinless twin as he/she learns how crucial it is that you do not try to see your twin in another individual as it causes a myriad of problems.  Mary reveals this as she relates how it affected her relationships.

    The feeling of being off balance is an important revelation. Mary’s account is a real eye-opener for those of us who have had a similar experience.

    Her flashback to moments spent with Michael encourages the twinless twin to treasure memories while trying to adjust to a whole new world. Immediately the saying “Once a twin always a twin” comes to mind.

     Mary holds a Masters in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University and has played an important role as psychotherapist to other twinless twins. Of particular note is her assistance to those who became twinless twins following the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster.

     I recommend this book as it offers an unique perspective on loss and grief as well the healing journey that one must take if life is to continue to be meaningful. 

Roaming Time - Wordless Wednesday Linky

   Welcome to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy H-J's Thoughts where you can link up your Wordless and not so Wordless photo posts.

Golden Raisin Cake - Creative Monday Blog Hop

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

2 1/8 cups of baking flour

2 medium eggs

1 cup of raisins

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 teaspoons baking powder

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar.

2. Add whipped eggs and beat well.

3. Add the flour, baking powder and milk. 
4. Add the raisins and vanilla.

5. Pour into a greased pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

     Hello and welcome to Creative Mondays hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy H-J's Thoughts where you can link up all your creative posts.

1. Link up your Crafty, Recipe, DIY, Fashion, Creative writing, Photo, Family Tutorials, Favourite, Helpful, Make-up, Outfit or anything creative posts here.

2. Link as many posts up as you like.

3. Please visit a few posts and leave comments.

4. It would be great if you could grab the Creative Monday button and place it somewhere on your blog.

5. We would love for you to follow some way by GFC,Google+,Facebook, Twitter or Email.

Happy Creative Monday and have a great week.

Favourite Drink & Special Glass

   It is summer and the heat is on! Orange juice has always been a favourite for Janine and me with Pineapple juice coming a close second. Recently I enjoyed the orange juice in the glass above. My mother bought this glass 60 years ago!  I will now allow it to remain as a special glass. I would not want to be the one to break it!

I'm Watching! - Wordless Wednesday Linky

   Welcome to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy H-J's Thoughts where you can link up your Wordless and not so Wordless photo posts.

Cards From Old Calendars - Creative Monday Linky

       Here is another way that I use old calendars. First of all I get some cartridge paper.  After that I select my favourite calendar pictures, cut them smaller and paste them on cartridge paper to make cards. I have made Mother's Day and Birthday cards with them. Many will not be surprised that I favour the pictures that feature birds and flowers. Below are birthday cards that I have just made for pals.

     Hello and welcome to Creative Mondays hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy H-J's Thoughts where you can link up all your creative posts.

1. Link up your Crafty, Recipe, DIY, Fashion, Creative writing, Photo, Family Tutorials, Favourite, Helpful, Make-up, Outfit or anything creative posts here...

2. Link as many posts up as you like...

3. Please visit a few posts and leave comments

4. It would be great if you could grab the Creative Monday button and place it somewhere on your blog...

5. We would love for you to follow some way by GFC,Google+,Facebook, Twitter or Email.

Happy Creative Monday and have a great week.

Lovin' The Weekend Blog Hops

Welcome to the thirty-ninth weekend of Lovin' the Weekend Blog Hops.

Giveaway Linky is the bottom linky!

First things first:

Don't forget to check out my co-host's blog

In case you didn't know, I have also started randomly choosing a Featured host each week from the Lovin' The Readers linky. This week I would like to introduce you to Judy from Judy H-J's Thoughts-A Twinless Twin

Here is what she has to say                  
                                                                     " I am a

Jamaican Freelance Journalist. I have had articles published in local

and international publications as well as on websites. I started my

Blog in March 2011. This was 2 years after grappling with the loss of

my identical twin sister Janine. I decided to use Blogging as a

continuation of the healing process. I share my experiences on being

twinless as well as the many interests that my twin and I shared.

Blogging has also helped me following the death of my brother

Sutcliffe last December. My aim is to help others to realize that

there are positive ways to cope with the loss of loved ones. My blog

covers a wide range of subjects that can interest others who have also

not shared my experience."

Please make sure to stop by and say hi, let them know you are visiting from the Lovin' The Weekend Blog Hops. Don't forget to link up to the Lovin' the Readers Hop if you would like a chance to be a Featured host next week. Please comment with a way to contact you, especially if there is not an obvious way mentioned on your blog. I would love to include a little write up about you and your blog in the next week's Lovin' The Weekend Blog Hop post, including a link to your blog. And you will get to include the linky codes on your blog. Sound fun? I'm looking forward to getting to know my readers better.

Here's how this blog hop works. I would appreciate it if you would follow myself,  my co-host and the Featured Host via GFC. If you no longer have GFC please follow me some other way. After that there are three different linkys you can link to. Whichever one you choose to link to, please grab that button and share it on your blog (the codes are on my sidebar). I'd love it if you could tweet or in some other way share about this blog hop, the more people who know about it, the more potential visitors and new followers of your blog. I'd love to meet some new friends this weekend.  

I have noticed that some people are more interested in just increasing their numbers, while others really want people who appreciate their blog and want to keep up with their posts. So, I decided to create two separate linkys. The third linky is for you to link up your giveaways.

If you are interested in increasing the number of followers to your blog via GFC, Linky Followers, email, Twitter, Facebook or Google+ link up here. I will follow you back if you follow me (just note which one you are linking to):

If you are interested in gaining followers to your blog who will read and comment and truly find an interest in your blog, link up here:

If you have family friendly giveaways to link up, here's your spot. Please make sure to include an end date for your giveaway.

I am so glad you stopped by. Please leave a comment if you link up and I will be sure to stop by and follow back.

Don't forget to check out my "Blog Hops" page for other great weekend blog hops!! Check out my Back to Preschool Giveaway Blast information post to see how you can join in.

Special Little Thermometer

  

   As I think about the many favourite things that my twin and I had over the years I must include this little thermometer which came all the way from Japan about 30 years ago. My twin and I would check it often to see what the temperature was especially when it was very hot or cold.  After all this time it is still giving me accurate temperature readings. It was about 28oC when I took this picture. 

Beautiful Peacock - Wordless Wednesday Linky

   Welcome to Wordless Wednesday hosted by Clairejustineoxox and Judy H-J's Thoughts where you can link up your Wordless and not so Wordless photo posts.