Little bit of Paris

Today we are having some amazing wind and rain storms, this somehow made me think of the time we were caught in an awful rainstorm with our French cousins at the zoo.  Brought back to mind that sweet little video sixpencenonethericher did way back when. I felt a bit like the moose in "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" Enjoy :)

Winter Blues?

For those of you getting the winter blues enjoy the following music below by IZ.  If you are in the north close your eyes and pretend the scraping sounds of the snow plow are the soothing waters of the beach, if you are in the south pretend the gusty winds are blowing across the big blue ocean instead of the miles of sand without any trace of water whatsoever..... ok I know it isn't quite the same.   But I am a firm believer that IZ' music can bring a smile to your face.  Most of you probably know his rendition of "Somewhere over the rainbow/Wonderful world"  But in truth all of his music is absolutely stunning.  Enjoy!

WHITE SANDY BEACH

Never Too Late To Learn

This past weekend was absolutely lovely.  We had a small group over after meeting Saturday, Sunday we decided to embark on our first day of our learning adventure attending a Spanish meeting, and wrapped it up by joining a dear family from our congregation out for dinner at a fabulous Southern Mexican restaurant. 

We've decided to start attending one Spanish meeting a week in order to add  Theocratic Spanish terms to our vocabulary as we endeavor to learn Spanish.  In the ministry it is an abosolute necessity to be familiar with Spanish as for the most part all of those we speak to when canvasing, the families of the Deaf, and the Deaf themselves primarily use Spanish. 

Attending some Spanish meetings when I was younger and our lovely brothers in Youngstown were struggling to start a Spanish group I remember the scattered feeling of not knowing for sure where we were, which paragraph they were asking a question to, and how in the world they could possibly read off big numbers so fast.  I was pleasantly surprised to find now that we have been here over a year I was able to follow along just fine and actually focus because I wasn't having to scramble for anything that may sound familiar.  Jehovah provides us with such wonderful opportunities to learn no matter what language group we may be in.  It was such a joy to watch the young children comment, and see that no matter what language you are in it brings a smile to your face to hear one of our dear elderly friends state the answer under their breath loud enough for all to hear.  What a blessing Jehovah's organization truly is!

Mondays and Art

Today I heard a brief excerpt on NPR discussing the fact that children today have little appreciation for classical art here in the USA and that the museums are concerned that by the time they grow up many museums will have to resort to becoming storage facilities due to lack of funds.  Although I beg to differ, knowing many fine art appreciators, young and old alike, I do find at times the incredible urge to share beauty, such that can be found in the classical artists, with others.  August Renoir has always been one our family's favorite artists.  From the time I was little I remember staring at a beautiful print my Mum had of Renoir's painting of two young girls playing the piano.  His impressionistic style seemed to capture realistic touches that other artists of his genre missed in an effort to inculcate light into their works.  I absolutely love the painting which I've posted as background today. It is such a gentle painting yet so full of life.  I thank my parents for the many joys they've inculcated in us children, especially their love of art!