Saturday, December 27, 2008

paradise by the sea


Time for a break, so we are off to Apollo Bay for a family holiday... and when I say a family holiday, I mean a FAMILY holiday! We will be staying with my Dad... my sister plus her husband and kids... and my brother plus his wife... all in a 3 bedroom holiday house. So it truly is a family holiday!

Looking forward to it... but will very much miss Mum. I haven't been to Apollo Bay since her burial three months ago, and I know that I need to visit the cemetery... but I am dreading it.


I plan to do lots of unraveling while I am away, so I can re-stock my stash. So if you happen to be down that way... and see a mad woman sitting in the park, unraveling what appears to be a perfectly good jumper... come over and say hello to me! I'd love to meet you...

So I'll be disappearing from blog land for a little while, but should be back feeling well rested by mid-January.



As the New Year approaches... I will be meditating on these 'rules to live by'... I believe they were written by Robert Louis Stevenson. There is something in them for all of us:

Make up your mind to be happy.
Learn to find pleasure in simple things.

Make the best of circumstances. No one has everything and everyone has something of sorrow.

Don't take yourself too seriously.

Don't let criticism worry you. You can't please everybody.

Don't let your neighbors set your standards; be yourself.

Do things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.

Don't borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than actual ones.

Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities and grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.

Have many interests. If you can't travel, read about places.

Don't hold post-mortems or spend time brooding over sorrows and mistakes.

Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.

Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.

16 comments:

Linda said...

Enjoy your holiday with your family. Those are good rules to live by. May your stash grow and grow.

Sam said...

I hope you have a wonderful, refreshing and uplifting break, and come back with lots of new projects to keep me busy ;-)

I hope the pain of remembering will be sweetened by the joy of being surrounded by so much of your family.

And now I have the image of a mad unraveller on the beach, stuck in my head, lol.

Those rules are excellent and I would do well to follow them.

{{{{hugs}}}}

Biddie said...

Have a good vacation!!

Karen said...

Have a wonderful holiday!!!! 'See' you when you return.

Islagringo said...

I guess I'm going to have to GoogleEarth Apollo Bay. It looks magnificent!

Anonymous said...

Have a very happy holiday with all your family by the beach...I'm sure I don't need to remind you about the sunscreen!

Love those RL Stevenson maxims...I'm sure you won't mind if I copy and paste over into my blog...

Robbie

Cats-Rockin-Crochet said...

Very inspiring words there Purple, thank you for sharing. Have a nice break away and leave the bark on the tree's alone they do not crochet up too well! LOL.

campbellgirl said...

Have a lovely holiday! I'm so glad to have found your blog, it's very entertaining and informative. Cheers, Diane.

takahashi said...

I love this poem. (from Japan)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the very inspiring word and enjoy your holyday.
Lili

Puglette said...

have a lovely holiday! we had a family trip in July for our summer vacation...it was so much fun! we all stayed in a vacation home, brothers, sisters, children...
hugs,
puglette
:o)

Unknown said...

Hi,I've just found your blog and I really like it! Love your designs especially crochet ones, as I'm a bit of crochetoholic myself ;)
Keep up good work, Ela

Anonymous said...

Lovely photos, and I love the words to live by! Hope you had lots of fun unravelling :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, I see for my inner eye the unravelling you on the beach. I love the sight! Look forward to have you back blogging soon, and thanks for those words.

Reyjr said...

Just got back from the beach myself! The beach is awesome isn't it. :D

laughing purple goldfish said...

thanks everyone - I had a wonderful, much needed break :)