A short video from our trip to Italy, the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

ITALY

You who are not kept anxiously awake for love’s sake, sleep on.
In restless search for that river, we hurry along;
you whose heart such anxiety has not disturbed, sleep on.
Love’s place is out beyond the many separate sects;
since you love choosing and excluding, sleep on.
Love’s dawn cup is our sunrise, his dusk our supper;
you whose longing is for sweets and whose passion is for supper, sleep on.
In search of the philosopher’s stone, we are melting like copper;
you whose philosopher’s stone is cushion and pillow, sleep on.
I have abandoned hope for my brain and head; you who wish for
a clear head and fresh brain, sleep on.
I have torn speech like a tattered robe and let words go;
you who are still dressed in your clothes, sleep on.

By Rumi ~ Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad

Translated by Jack Marshall
Arabian Nights Coffeehouse Press, October 1986

ANDORRA

As I have previously posted I love reading Alexander McCall Smith books.

I can never decide which series I prefer, No1 Ladies Detective Agency, Scotland Street, or the Sunday Philosophy Club series.
I think I prefer whichever series I am reading at the time.

The most recent Alexander McCall Smith book I read was, The Careful Use Of Compliments; Sunday Philosophy Club series.
I absolutely loved it, and I can’t wait for the next installment.

Synopsis ~ The Careful Use Of Compliments ~

For philosophically minded Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, getting through life with a clear conscience requires careful thought. And with the arrival of baby Charlie, not to mention a passionate relationship with his father Jamie, fourteen years her junior, Isabel enters deeper and rougher waters. Late motherhood is not the only challenge facing Isabel. Even as she negotiates a truce with her furious niece Cat, and struggles for authority over her son with her formidable housekeeper Grace, Isabel finds herself drawn into the story of a painter’s mysterious death off the island of Jura. Perhaps most seriously of all, Isabel’s professional existence and that of her beloved Review come under attack from the machiavellian and suspiciously handsome Professor Dove. A master storyteller whether debating ethics in Edinburgh or pursuing lady detectives in Africa, here Alexander McCall Smith is as witty and wise as his irresistibly spirited heroine.

ITALY

From groves of spice,
O’er fields of rice,
Athwart the lotus-stream,
I bring for you,
Aglint with dew,
A little lovely dream.

Sweet, shut your eyes,
The wild fire-flies
Dance through the fairy neem;
From the poppy-bole
For you I stole
A little lovely dream.

Dear eyes, good night,
In golden light
The stars around you gleam;
On you I Press
With soft caress
A little lovely dream.

by Sarojini Naidu

DUBAI

I love bangles and bracelets, even though I am usually cold and therefore wearing long sleeves, so my bracelets/bangles are not on show.

These bangles are cool and cheap. They are from ASOS and cost €11.12.

I have mentioned previously that I like to make jewellery, and I would like to have a go at making some acrylic pieces, but when I looked in our local art shops I couldn’t make head nor tail of the products.
I guess I really do need to understand more French.
Seeing these bangles has refreshed my interest in acrylic jewellery, and I have lots of ideas for what I’d like to make, so maybe I will have a look online and buy the items I need to make some acrylic jewellery of my own.

FRANCE

This is cool.
Emilio Pucci multicolored cinguettio silk print tunic top with embroidered bib. It has an open neck, three-quarter length sleeves, and a zip fastening on back. 100% silk. Price about €985.

Usually when I see something like this item, I like it, until I see that’s it’s made form synthetic fabric ~ Yuk! This top is silk, so it shouldn’t cause any static shocks.

ITALY

I was warned against writing this book.
People said:
If one did not watch out,
It could be burned.
So I did as I used to do as a child.
When I was sad, I always had to pray.
I bowed to my Lover and said: “Alas, Lord,
Now I am saddened all because of your honor.
If I am going to receive no comfort from you now,
Then you led me astray,
Because you are the one who told me to write it.”

At once God revealed himself to my joyless soul, held this book in his right hand, and said:

“My dear one, do not be overly troubled,
No one can burn the truth….
The words symbolize my marvelous Godhead.
It flows continuously
Into your soul from my divine mouth.
The sound of the words is a sign of my living spirit
And through it achieves genuine truth.
Now examine all these words—
How admirably do they proclaim my personal secrets!
So have no doubts about yourself.”

“Ah, Lord, if I were a learned religious man,
And if you had performed this unique miracle using him,
You would receive everlasting honor for it.
But how is one supposed to believe
That you have built a golden house on filthy ooze…
Lord, earthly wisdom will not be able to find you there.”

“….One finds many a professor learned in scripture who actually is a fool in my eyes.
And I’ll tell you something else:
It is a great honor for me with regard to them, and it very much strengthens Holy Christianity
That the unlearned tongue, aided by my Holy Spirit, teaches the learned tongue.”

by Mechthild of Magdeburg 1210-1285

GIBRALTAR