Loving yourself....

I came across a quote by Jack Kornfield and if you believe in the power of self-talk,
Mr Kornfield has this to share..

"Begin to recite the following phrases directed to yourself.
You begin with yourself because without loving yourself it is almost
impossible to love others.
May I be filled with loving-kindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy."


be good to yourself.....
steph

Art Book and Journal

some pages from an ongoing WIP which I prepared sometime back..

Happy weekend everyone!!

steph

Tea in Burma..

Today, I'd like to share a story about the village of Kayin Chaung,

which is 2 hours away from the city of  Yangon in Burma..

the journey took us on a boat ride.. 

pass fishing villages..

to the quiet and quaint village centre....

Especially so, this story will evolve around the children who experienced
Cyclone Nargis

Now, nearly 3 years later, life goes on.....

 "the entrepreneur"

 the student who only wanted to practice her English..(so proud of her)

happy kids,  playful kids....

and their amazing resilience and bravery...

These children came to the clinic as they apparently experienced partial hearing loss

after Nargis.. Thankfully it wasn't serious.. 

and after a day's work, we had a sumptuous lunch of local village food

followed by

burmese pickled tea leaves eaten with fried nuts served with tea...

and so this is Yangon....

Happy Tuesday everyone..

steph

artful exchange....

Happy Saturday everyone!

Corrine's package came in beautifully wrapped

in a cotton bag...

I adore handmade books and this one is precious...

Thank you soo much Corrine!!!
I love the cotton bag so much and coincidentally
it was also the perfect size for one of my latest handmade journals.

Well the cough is slowly settling

although not hundred percent..

but I hope to be back up and about pretty soon..

I must say this bug is one real tough bug to eliminate.. 

I have a tag to share and here's hoping your weekend will be
a wonderful and restful one..

Cheers!
steph

Zen-life

this collage was done just before we left for Yangon..
That's where I am right now....being in "Zen" mode....

10" x 10" mixed media collage on water color paper

""From concentration comes the birth of wisdom.
Meditation begins with calming the mind and collecting attention.
In addition to the feelings of restfulness and peace,
the state of concentration also becomes the basis for deepening insight and wisdom.
We find ourselves opening to the world's suffering as well as its great beauty"

Joseph Goldstein

Hope you had a good week...
will join you for tea next week...

steph

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Thank You everyone for your well wishes.

I've just returned late last night from Yangon, (in Myanmar or Burma)
we were on a working trip and it was a wonderful experience to be back in Yangon again.

I'll be posting more photos on the trip a little later but for now..
Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!!

stay happy!!
steph

Happy Tuesday!!

and it's our weekly T Tuesday post!!

A while ago,  Kimmie   sent me a beautiful water color tea cup..

isn't she pretty? look at the details...
Thank you dear Kimmie for this beautiful piece of art work.

Well, I am homebound today, nursing a nasty cold..
at the meantime preparing for an overseas working trip..

I've been drinking lots and lots of herbal teas and water....
It does feels a lot better right now and am hoping to
"tame the caugh" ha ha...with more herbal concoctions...

(sorry I have no pictures to show as I've been drinking them "on the go" )

and today...the body just felt like it wanted a nice and restful break....

Happy Tuesday everyone!!
steph

Letting go..

Happy Saturday!!
here's a tag I made sometime back...

and a quote from Jack Kornfield:

"When we let go of our battles and
open our heart to things
as they are,
then we come to rest in the present moment..."

keep well..
steph

Collage..

I simply love this medium...
whenever the creative mojo needs a jumpstart..
I'll start off with pasting down bits and pieces of paper
lying around and before I know it.... 

here's wishing you a happy weekend!!

steph

Respect and Tea..

It's the year of the Rabbit!!

and if you're born in the following years:

1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975

1987, 1999, 2011

go check out this link 
a brief description of what's in store for you this year.

and as it is the first day of the Chinese New Year,

we set off early to my mother-in-law's

for the traditional ritual....

of giving our best wishes for the New Year to the elderly.

We exchange oranges together with a red packet for good wishes..

and after which serve tea to my mother in law...

as a form of respect..

 We tucked into sweet treats and cookies and a hearty vegetarian lunch
with the rest of the family.

With happy children ( and adults too;) )
receiving red packets (with money enclosed) and

catching up with family and friends..
the celebration continues for the next 14 days...

and as for us, we'll try to catch up on our much needed rest
and my creative muse... ;)

I've been reading much about storms, blizzards and cyclones in different parts of the world..
Do keep safe and take care...

steph

The Reunion Dinner...

On the eve of the Chinese New Year,

the family will dine together..

and this is one of my favorites  as
my in laws will whip up special dishes
savoured only during this festive season. 

From the left, sweet and sour succulent prawns, roasted pork,

braised mushrooms with dried oysters, steamed chicken, lotus root soup,

braised abalone and fried fish.

Each of these dishes have special names bearing good wishes

for the New Year..

Take for example,

the fried fish and the abalone dish.

In Mandarin, fish is called "Yu" and the abalone is "Pao Yu" which means "abundance". 

Fried fish and braised abalone

and even dessert is made in the shape of a fish

Jelly

and what about these  steamed cakes?
when translated into Cantonese it means
"prosperity"

and not forgetting the orange which means "gold"

and here's another version of the steamed cake with oranges..

I'll leave you with some photos taken this morning..

 pussy willows

the night jasmine (in white) one of my favorite scented flowers


Well, we've had a most enjoyable dinner, catching up with the family..

Time for sleepies and preparation for tomorrow...

Here's wishing you prosperity, harmony, good health
and a year of abundance!!


be back tomorrow...
steph

Humility...

collage on archival paper  5" x 7"


I found a quote to share with you today on this topic..

" Humility does not mean believing oneself to be inferior,
but to be freed from self-importance.
It is a state of natural simplicity which is in harmony with our
true nature and allows us to taste the freshness of the present moment"

Matthieu Ricard

stay happy!
steph

PS lugging my camera to work today and hoping to capture some
activities at the wet market later as it's the eve of the CNY....back soon..