A Happy New Year!

Wishing you a wonderful New Year! May your hopes be in Him alone and his mercies begin afresh each day throughout this year giving us guidance and direction!

Pink Violets and how I grow them

Many people like to have african violets sitting on their kitchen windowsill, maybe because of indirect sunrays and because they are easy to grow indoors. They can make any corner brighter, and I have my violets on a small table in my balcony. I have created many new pots over the years just by leaf cuttings and I have never propagated them by seed! Each leaf I cut and plant in damp soil grows into a new violet after a few weeks. My mom used to cut many leaves and later transplant them into new pots then she would give away the new plants. After they grow, they do not like to be over watered... so I water them only when they are really dry. Also, I keep water away from their feet and leaves. Last time I posted about African violets I received many comments and I promised to post more violets, and here they are!

To view more flowers, please visit Today's Flowers!

Spring has sprung

He loves me... he loves me not (in Portuguese: bem me quer, mal me quer). A little girl plucking the petals of a daisy... can you relate to that? I can! I wonder if this is a common rhyme in all countries, well, it is here in Brazil. Daisies are here... and it means Spring is here too!

This is my contribution to Today's Flowers hosted by Santilli.

A thank you note

My friend Connie who has a private blog had a giveaway and I won! I love coffee and the gift was just perfect! I enjoyed the delicious chocolate filled wafer cookies with a cup of coffee in a quiet afternoon... And as for the book... it is filled with facts and anedoctes about coffee, I can't stop reading it! Thank you Connie for being so kind and generous!

Dutch shoes do grow on trees!

A pittoresque Dutch town nearby and their traditional shoes on trees... A nice place to visit if you are looking for that Dutch accent, with beautiful flower shops, nice Dutch food restaurants and an European look and feel.

My amaryllis

My amaryllis... special delivery with a special meaning... delivered 3 1/2 years ago at the time our third child was born...a gift from my husband... Last week new flowers came out... and here is the sequence of photos I was able to capture...

This is my contribution to Today's Flowers hosted by Santilli.

Moss rose or portulacas

Moss rose (portulaca grandiflora) a morning bloomer... the blooms will go away in the afternoon to show their beauty again the next day. This plant reminds me of my childhood, many houses had moss rose (11 horas in Portuguese) in the garden, they are easy to grow and there are many colors available.
This is my contribution to Today's Flowers hosted by Santilli.

Show me... something that relaxes you

This is what really soothes me: a view of green pastures, farm life, hills and mountains. I grew up on a flat farm but married a man from the mountains! I took this picture on the way to my in-laws' farm. We had to stop along the way because of some unexpected road construction... I was about to complain when I thought to myself... There is got to be something good out of this situation, we had been traveling for almost 3 hours, the kids were tired of being in the car and we were very close to the farm... as I got off the car I was presented with the most relaxing view!

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul...
Psalm 23:2-3

Today's Show me project at Thought's of a father calls for something that relaxes you.

And this song came to mind mind: If you want me to (click to listen) performed by Ginny Owens.

Show me... a view!

A view from our balcony. I can see miles and miles away... We have gray skies today which is not unusual this time of the year and Spring is just around the corner! The trees are blooming all over. I can see mango trees, tabebuias of many different colors and sky rises surrounding the city...

This picture is part of project Show me that Robert is hosting this week, if you would like to see more wonderful pictures and stories or join in, please visit his blog.

Another view, to the right of the balcony, I zoomed in so I could show you a church that is across town, it takes me about 15 minutes to get there by car...

Show me... a trunk of memories

My mom gave me this trunk many years ago... it has a beautiful story behind it. When her father, my grandfather, made this trunk, her mother, my grandmother, was pregnant with my mom! I can imagine my grandmother wearing her long dress, and my grandfather carving the wood... Well, my grandfather passed away when my mom was only eight years old, and all I know is that he was a tall and very intelligent man, taught all his daughters how to read, and my mom still has his notebook with the birthdate of his children, they had 7 girls and only one boy. This happened in the 1930's... What a sentimental day... Robert at Thoughts of a father photo project for the day is to show an object of sentimental value and so many thoughtful and inspirational stories are being told...

Show me... your front door

Welcome friends to my home and stay for a while... We live in a 3rd floor (4th in the US) apartment and the front door is boring, so I am showing here the balcony door too, which has a nice view of the city.

If you would like to see more front doors, please visit Robert at Thoughts of a Father.

Show me... your kitchen!

I love coffee, tea, blue stuff, crafts and small things, such as the little guinea fowls in my kitchen. The old coffee pot belonged to my grandmother and I inherited it...

Robert at Thoughts of a Father is hosting his first photo project and today's theme is kitchen. For more details on how to participate, please visit Robert.

Annatto flowers - Urucum

Annatto or achiotte, (bixa orellana L.) has the scientific name derived from a Spanish explorer in the XVI century. This plant is grown mostly in South America and Brazil is the main producer and exporter. Known here as urucum or colorau, the seeds are used as a natural red food coloring in the food industry, cosmestics (known as the lipstick-tree), to dye textiles and also for cooking, which I recommend. The color result is similar to paprika, it does not alter the flavor of the food though. Also, Brazilian indians and other Latin-American indians use the seeds to make body paint.


This is my entry for Santilli's project: Today's Flowers. You can add your flowers too!

Show me your glory

I find it hard to glorify nature without glorifying the Creator of all things... in the kingdom of nature there can only be a king... that shows us His glory and all things speak themselves to proclaim the works of God's hands...

Ecological Day is a monthly event started by Sonia, at Leaves of Grass, and the purpose is to write and post photos about anything related to Ecology. Let us reflect the love of the Creator for us by respecting and loving the planet.

This post was inspired on the song Show me your glory, by Third Day - Click the link to watch the video.

Paper flower - Bouganvilleas in bloom

Please click to enlarge.

This climbing vine is a native to Brazil, known as bouganvillea or paper flower, it was named after Louis Antoine de Bougainville, an admiral in the French Navy who discovered the plant here in 1768. The colorful bracts around the flowers can be pink, orange, red, purple, white, yellow... The white-cream flowers are very small and can go almost unnoticed.

You can grow bouganvilleas along a wall and you may consider pots too, but they prefer warm weather. They are blooming now where I live. In fact, they bloom almost year round!

You can see more flower photos from all over at Today's Flowers, please pay a visit and show your flowers too!

African violets are blooming around the house

My first African violet was a birthday present a long time ago and I remember it bloomed all the time. When I was in college I used to buy African violets of all colors and of course I did not take care of them, but I soon found out that they grow and bloom better if you do not water them often! That's the type of flower you want to have if you do not have time to water a plant on schedule or travel a lot. They do not miss water, but they love indirect sunlight.

My purple African violet bloomed with two different shades of purple this time as you can see on first picture, the second picture shows how it bloomed last year... maybe because now I added African violet food?

This is my entry for Today's Flowers, an event for flower lovers that runs every Sunday.

Olympic baloons to celebrate 08/08/08!!!

Have fun watching the Olympic games!

Celebrate the date 08/08/08!!!

A real B&W wedding picture

My grandparents got married in 1928, and they would be celebrating their 80th anniversary this year... I'm so glad I got to spend so much time with them and live close to them for so many years. When I left for the US to be an exchange student my grandpa said he would probably not see me again... so when I came back a year later, there he was, and he lived to the age of 86! Life is so short... and we live a hurried life...

My thought for the day is: take a deep breath and un-hurry, take a break to enjoy things that are important, make a pause to pray and thank God for the gift of life!

For more pictures featuring the color black, please visit Anna Carson Photography blog.

A church vitral

This image is filled with memories of my childhood... the church we attended had beautiful vitrals that were even distracting to a child. Going back to my hometown now with my camera gives me the chance to focus on the beautiful surroundings and places that are so dear to me.

This is part of Project black that Anna Carson is hosting. There are many other blogs participating and you can join in the fun!