Tag Archives: Support

Lens – Artists Challenge #135: Glimpse into your world

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This week, the theme from Sheetalbravon is ‘A Glimpse into your world’. She invited us to show the things we love that make our world spin or things about our world that make us delirious with joy.

The immediate world that fills me with inspiration and amazement is my garden. My morning routine, especially in the summer, is to visit the garden while I drink my coffee. After coffee, with the gardening tools in hand, I check the flower bushes, trim the dead branches, or dig up weeds.

I started feeding birds from 2014 and the regular visitors are Ruby Throat Hummingbirds, mourning doves, American Finch, American God Finch, Scrub Jay, Song Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, and a few I couldn’t quite identify. Over the years, there were baby Mourning Dove, baby House Finches, and One baby Hummingbird born in my garden.

There are other animals such as squirrels, stray cats, and lizards roaming during the day or at night.

I have many hobbies, more than I have time to fully enjoy each of them. Not included in the images here is photography, which I started as a teenager when the photos were black and white. Another hobby is ceramic. I did the whale free hand with clay. I made it into a nightlight for my baby daughter. When my daughter was nine years old, we took a ceramic painting class together in the summer. It’s something we continue doing separately until these days.

I learned to draw and watercolor painting as a young adult. After retirement, I took classes on both and used some watercolor painting to illustrate the poems in my book.

My immediate community of 35 years is a church fellowship and the group of ladies. They are a part of my world for fun, for friendship and support. Some of these friends’ kids and my daughter grew up together. The ladies gave a bridal shower to Mercy for her wedding. Some friends still send gifts to my granddaughters as their own.

Music has been my world since I was a kid. I didn’t have a family background to nurture my love of classical music. It seems to be a natural favorite. The first time I performed Handel’s Messiah was when I was still in Hong Kong.

Most of my family except for one sister are in Hong Kong. Lynton’s family is my extended family, and we see each other regularly.

The biggest world to me is my daughter’s family. My granddaughters lighten my heart and give joy every day. My daughter has a TinyBeans.com account where she posts multiple photos and videos daily to chronicle the kids’ growth and family activities. There was not one day I go without checking on what they do. Nora’s birthday on March 22, and I wish to visit them.  

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Thank you for reading. I hope to hear what the things you love that make your world spin or things about your world that make you delirious with joy.

Lens – Artists Challenge #135: Glimpse into your world

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Meet Sue and Join The Sue Vincent Rodeo Classic

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I’m happy to announce an exciting event in this blogging family. We gather around to cheer and support one of our own – Sue Vincent.

Sue is living in the south of England. She is a poet, a commissioned painter, an accomplished writer, and a director of the Silent Eye, a modern mystery School. She is a supper-supportive blogger at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo where she hosts the weekly #WritePhoto challenge and posts all the works from the participants, and writes #Midnighthaiku. She invites bloggers to guest post on her “Be My Guest.” Click any link to find more about Sue or participate in her #WritePhoto at https://scvincent.com/2021/01/28/thursday-photo-prompt-guarded-writephoto, or read her #midnighthaiku at https://scvincent.com/2021/01/29/gifts-midnighthaiku-5.

I love landscape painting and chose this as Sue’s sample paintings.

Oil on Canvas by Sue Vincent

Sue has been a caretaker of her son for 11+ years since he suffered from the traumatized attack. Besides the challenge, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. This is the time she would appreciate the support when she can’t run full speed because of the side effect and the exhaustion from the treatment, plus the impact from the Covid pandemic.

Carrot Rach has created a Rodeo Classic to orchestrate the support event. It calls for a 99-words flash fiction contest. To take part, you write a flash fiction story of 99 words or a poem of 99 syllables, using the photo prompt at Carrot Ranch to find the “Hidden” Inspiration, and enter the contest using a form on the post, then you’d be invited take part in a small donation to support Sue.

“Each story needs to have a beginning, middle and end. Poems must have distinctive theme, movement, and rhythm; no rhyme scheme is necessary, but neither will rhyme be punished…” – H.R.R.

There is a $100 grand prize and five runners up will each receive one paperback from Sue’s collection of published books (those who live in a region where the paperback is unavailable may receive an e-Book instead).

The contest will close at midnight on Friday, February 19, 2021. Winning entries will be announced and read at CarrotRanch.com/blog on March 22, 2021.

I hope you would participate and enjoy the fun!

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You may find Books by Sue Vincent and those written with Stuart France available in paperback and for Kindle via Amazon.

Sue Vincent – UK – USA – France – Germany – Japan – and India.

Stuart France: UK. US. France. Germany. Japan and India

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Weekly Photo Challenge – Beloved

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I met my beloved husband Lynton in a church group for single parents. It was the last meeting before summer break. The group didn’t meet again until the following fall season. We exchanged phone numbers and that was the beginning of our twenty-four years of relationship.

One of our first dates was going to a Motivational Leadership Conference. I know, it wasn’t too romantic, but we both were interested in administration and management. When the conference was over, on our way to the parking lot, I thought, it would be nice to keep an admission ticket as souvenir. I turned my head and looked at him. Before I said anything, he reached out to his pocket and took out a ticket, asked if I would like to keep one. It impressed upon me that our antennas received signals from each other already.

Lynton has been supportive of me in many practical ways. I had the administrative credential seven years before we met. For various reasons, I didn’t feel I had the strength to hold an administrative job. An administrative job is a twelve-month, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. position whereas teaching is a ten-month, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. position. When I was promoted to the administrative position in 1998, I was ready to accept it because of Lynton’s support.

He was a great cheer leader when I decided to get my doctorate degree in Educational Leadership. I went to school full time in addition to my full-time job. All my evenings and weekends were spent on assignments and projects and dissertation in the final year. For three years, he watched television wearing a headphone. I worked on assignments in my office with the paper and books laying on the floor. And I did my reading in the living room where he watched television. At least I was in the same room with him. I dedicated my doctorate degree to him.

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We now both are retired, we go to the gym together three times a week. As I mentioned in the previous posts, he is doing all the cooking, doing dishes, and working on many house projects.

We remind each other again and again that it was a divine appointment in which we met. It’s His guidance and our respect for each other that sustain our relationship!

Weekly Photo Challenge – Beloved

Wonderful Baby Shower

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Mercy had a fun Baby Shower on Saturday. Many friends came from near and far. The hostess was very creative in decorating her house for the party. There were several activities such as filling out a “Guessing” card, guess the gender, the weight, height, eye color of the baby. Another activity was filling out an “I Wish” card addressing to the baby of the thing they wish the baby will be or will do. After eating, Mercy opened the gifts. The person who gave the gift also gave her some advice or insight of being a mom. As part of the support, the hostess had the ladies sign up a “Meal Train” to bring meals to Mercy and Will after the baby is born. It was a successful party full of surprises and laughter.

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