Thank You

Thank you one and all for making my first blog anniversary special.

The lovely comments you posted made my heart sing.

Annie xx

Pink Slippers and Rumination

Rumination

1. To turn a matter over and over in the mind.

2. To chew cud.

How in the devil's name is this word and it's meaning associated with a photo of pretty pink slippers you ask?

My gorgeous new slippers are the perfect foot attire when sitting in my rocking chair to Ruminate. Mr red roses informs me I ruminate a lot. Maybe chewing some cud might be beneficial although I'll keep that up my sleeve for desperate times.

For several weeks (probably more) I have toyed with the direction of this blog and how I need to proceed. Often I have wavered with throwing in the towel like all bloggers who are finding their own unique path and not because I run dry of ideas but dithering over HOW often do I want/need to post. The direction I'm journeying along has become apparent to me and herein lies a dilemma. My creative side is nudging me to be more prolific with posting with emphasis on a photo to convey my thoughts because I'm no wordsmith. Sure I can string a sentence together but if I'm honest I find composing time consuming and laborious and I truly admire bloggers who write so eloquently (and probably don't do a gazillion drafts with endless checks in the process).

Changing to a different format like Tumblr was considered but my kids and a couple of wise fellow blog friends advised I can still mould my blogger blog into what I desire and I ran the risk of losing my connection with my blog readers which didn't appeal.

A part of my blog journey has been to answer all comments because I appreciate and value the effort my readers take to do this. There are literally thousands of blogs circulating so to capture the dear folk who stop by RRC astounds me. The rapport I've built up with many of you since commencing the blog last August has brought me untold joy and I certainly don't wish to lose this camaraderie.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if I step up my input into this blog I may not have time to answer comments as frequently, sometimes not at all? Also I want/need to find time to follow and comment on my favourite blogs which is important to moi. Truly there just isn't enough hours in a day and I suppose we each need to discover what works best for ourselves.

Even as I waffle here about this issue I'm feeling overly dramatic but I would be sad if any reader felt I had lost interest in what they had to say. Far from it, I read every comment twice before publishing and again after publishing. Your words make my day!

Finding the quirky angle or beauty in a photograph brings me a silly amount of joy and I'm revelling in this. Who knew! 

The Instagram app on my iPhone has become addictive due to the fact it is quick, easy, followers can easily leave a comment or push the Like button. Instant gratification which has lead me to question the merits of blogging for me personally. So much so I find I'm taking photos that could be displayed to perhaps better effect on this blog. I'm no photographer as such..heck my hand-me-down SLR is still on auto, I don't use any whizz bang features or tricks and I still haven't learnt how to crop. *Note to self...Read the Manual Annie.

Finding something to snap helps me focus on the beauty in my life and surroundings plus it's also a great stress reliever and stress is front and centre in my life at the moment. My husbands workplace is going through very turbulent times and I have a health condition I need to get my head around. 

I do feel like I'm waffling now so I hope you get what I'm saying. Basically I'm going to attempt to bombard you with more frequent succinct posts which hopefully are entertaining.

Well that's the plan! I live in hope.

Now if all this talk of Instagram wets your appetite please don't ask me how to set it up to link to your blog from your smart phone because I took the lazy easy option and asked my incredibly smart son to install it! However you can visit here where Beth has written a post on how to set up the gadget-thingamy-whatsit.

For those not familiar with the workings of my Instagram sidebar just place the cursor over a photo and a brief description appears then click on the picture for an enlarged vision. Each day I usually place a couple of pictures of whatever takes my fancy. 

Fun fun fun!

Righto then I'm off to boil the jug for a cuppa and contemplate reorganising my wardrobe. A far bit of cajoling is happening to get my daughter on board to do the deed for me!

Take care one and all...

Annie xx

An Award and some Blog Love

To my surprise I was very kindly given a blog award by The Silver Bunny.
After I sent off a reply to Silver Bunny to accept I remembered that last December I was also handed The Liebster Award which set off a Oops! am I being greedy moment, but I quickly decided to accept graciously in the manner with which SB bestowed the award. After reading through the stipulations I realised that perhaps I should have pasted the tag on my blog as an indication of being a previous recipient (which I may add I've tried to add to a gadget thingy with no luck).

So enough of my rambling and I shall plough full stem ahead and share some blog love.

The Silver Bunny is a new kid on the blogging block but already she is gaining a faithful following of readers revelling in her musings about life. I guarantee you will be entertained.

Liebster is a German word meaning "dearest" and the award is given to bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.

The award has a few stipulations:

1.  Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2.  Reveal your five blogger picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3.  Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4.  Hope that people you have sent the award to forward it on to their favourite bloggers.

Here are the five blogs which I have chosen to nominate and I trust you will enjoy visiting these charming and entertaining blogs. I certainly do!

A Welsh Girl in Australia

Fifi's Fabulous Things

Red Phoenix Style

McCarthy Designs


The Distressed Mother


Quite co-incidentally these blogs are all winging their way to you from Australia  xx

A Pretty Heart all Wrapped up in Blue

Yesterday I received a beautiful gift from Jane, a dear blog friend. Jane is a talented and crafty lady.
Handmade gifts are extra special don't you agree?

Thank you Jane for creating my 'heart from the heart' and I do believe it will look right at home in my precious favourite room.

Annie xx

Easter and Change

The other day I popped into a home wares store and these little bunnies jumped into my handbag. The perfect spot was waiting for them on the entry table. I smile every time I pass by these three cuties.

Easter holds different meaning for many folk these days. Throughout my childhood Easter involved a Good Friday breakfast of hot cross buns (never consumed before Good Friday, in fact the shops only baked them the week of Easter) salmon rissoles or baked fish for lunch then a quite afternoon viewing a biblical film on television with extended family.  Easter Sunday involved waking to chocolate eggs then a roast chicken lunch after attending Mass. Nothing has changed menu wise on Good Friday (being raised a Catholic I dare not consume meat...a lightening bolt will strike me down) but other traditions have changed. 

My children are grown and are enjoying spending the long weekend with their respective friends out of town instead of being glued to home and my dear mother lives in a care facility. Why is this different?

My Mum is no longer well enough to leave her residence to visit my home for celebrations and as previously mentioned, the kids are out living their lives. So in effect my determination to hold onto my idea of Easter with every family member around me has hit a wall this year. What to do? 

Absolutely nothing, except rejoice in the fact Mr red roses is rostered off from work for the whole Easter break which is the first time in living memory, I'll visit Mum tomorrow bearing chocolate and I am thankful my children have the nicest bunch of friends any parent could wish for. 

Sometimes one needs to let go of traditions, be it through choice or circumstances beyond our control.

 The sun is shining through the windows in my favourite room and I rejoice that I am here to enjoy it. So while my lifelong version of Easter is now different I still regard this blessed time of year as one to take stock and give thanks for just...Being.

Our plan today was to partake of a movie but I can't bare to drag myself away from home with it's view of majestic tall trees and bird song to sit in a dark theatre so instead we shall go for a leisurely stroll by the river later this afternoon and maybe a yummy Vietnamese dinner to finish off the day.

Wishing everyone a beautiful and restful Easter be it full of tradition or not.

Annie xx

Hello

A quick post to check in and say Howdy. 

Lately there's not enough hours to achieve all that I could/should/ and Mr redroses has some leave this week so we plan to move mountains at the hacienda and hopefully catch some quality moments together, hence my bloggy time might be rationed ie. I really should devote myself to other pressing stuff plus get this house in order cause it resembles a tip!

                                     A bit out of focus..still learning how to snap pics with the iphone camera

BTW I'm loving my new oven to bits and whipping up baked goods is giving me tons of pleasure. The eating is not half bad either.
I think a Kitchen Love post might be in order...

And Hello what's this! A home grown lettuce. The first from our little vege patch and boy was it sweet.

So take care all and I'll be back after we have moved those mountains :)

Oh and many thanks to the readers following, with thousands of blogs circulating I'm chuffed you take the time to visit Red Roses and Crystal x

Annie xx