a cooking pot and twisted tales
Thoughts and Tales…A Lifestyle Blog with a Zing.
I saw the beautiful, interesting vase standing alone in a quiet corner of the mall as I nosed around. I noticed a chipped bit around her neck, but the questioning poem came to my mind. I wondered who the sculptor had in mind when he/she was creating this.
Have you been clicking your camera recently? Any interesting finds? Enjoy your day.
Nature wore her splendour in golden tones and everywhere looked so pretty even though our thoughts were heavy at the moment and our demeanours were sombre.
It was Ms. Maisie’s funeral and I simply knew within me that things would never be the same again because no one could be like Ms. Maisie our Sunday school teacher.
Every citizen in our little township had felt the warmth of her neighbourly love and almost everyone turned up to pay their last respects. She taught us more than the beautiful stories of the Bible in this little prefabricated structure built by the joint effort of the community and for a few minutes, my senses conjured up the delicious whiff of her melt-in-the-mouth butter cookies that she always had in a tin and shared generously.
My eyes drifted out to stare at the yellowing leaves of the Dogwood she had planted years ago and I saw a beautiful, brown Owl perched on the wire fence looking back at me. I’d never seen an Owl in my life and wondered if there was a reason behind this. I knew everyone said that an Owl is the wise one and Ms. Maisie was certainly a wise lady.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Thank you, Phylor, for the photo and Priceless Joy for hosting this charming platform where we unleash our stories
Mundane Monday Challenge is created to find beauty in almost everything.
The challenge is simple. Find beauty in everyday mundane things, capture the beauty and upload the photographs.
Looking at this shrub that jutted proudly and stubbornly out of the half cemented, sandy patch brought a lot of thoughts to my mind in relation to human life and I’ll share a few:
My mother always says that “when the beat to the dance changes, you change your rhythm or you are out.”
When life gets uncomfortable one just doesn’t give up, but they look for other ways of turning the discomfort into a comfort zone. That’s the only way to survive, for surely harsh times will come, but might not endure.
When others are planting shallow roots, take the extra time to make yours several inches deeper, because a strong foundation withstands more turbulence.
Sometimes, when our circumstances change, we should take our eyes away from the immediate picture that doesn’t look too bright and focus on the strength within as well as the bigger picture ahead of us. Like is said back home “that food that is hot right now, will eventually cool down, for no condition is permanent.”
It’s amazing how a small, jutting proud piece of grass made me philosophical, but what is the alternative to standing one’s ground?
Giving up?
That’s not an option!
Have a great week.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Support me – Buy my book and leave a review. Thank you.
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‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’
Today’s featured blogs posts are:
Skin Scribe: I love poetry that paints conflicting images on my mind. Short and spicy 🙂
The Six-foot Bonsai: Have you met Stacy Gleiss, the author of The Six-foot Bonsai? Her About page caught my attention because I know there’s a lot of story in here. Say hello 🙂
Walk: I love a good walkabout. Not only do you get to stretch those limbs, but you get to ruminate over issues on your mind, enjoy the antics of the neighbourhood puppy, wave a hello to that neighbour who peeks through the window curtains and smile in encouragement at those who do the things that they do to support their community 🙂
Wordless: The images speak for themselves.
Light a candle: Losing a loved one is never easy even when they die from natural causes. Losing a loved one from suicide is tragic, hurting and those left behind always sadly and silently questioning why. We must do our best to be supportive of those around us. A listening ear can make a whole lot of difference. Prevent suicide.
Do step in and show some love.
‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’
Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.
Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.
Thank you for your understanding and regards.
I hear the reverberations of the magic that’s hidden within.
Well, who says that if we can’t go to the exotic Island of Hawaii, that we can’t bring Hawaii to the desert and possibly have a good Luau while at it 🙂
Aloha!
Support me – Buy my book and leave a review. Thank you.
When we sit idle and make redundant wishes, hoping that X, Y, and Z will happen to bring about the changes that we seek, we are possibly wasting time and valuable opportunities. A wishful thought can only come to fruition with action.
If you don’t like where you are planted, then consider shifting around for a better spot.
If you don’t like how your life story reads, turn another page and start a new chapter.
If you don’t like certain things about your community, what are you doing to make a difference, no matter how small?
Every step taken brings you closer to your hope as long as you are taking that step.
Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Support me – Buy my book and leave a review. Thank you.
You meet some people and the connection is so awesome that you are simply thankful you got to meet them. ‘
‘Nedu is one of such people that I’ve met in cyberspace and when I call her my home girl and sister, it’s for many reasons that goes beyond enjoying her entertaining posts.
We are both Nigerians and of the Igbo tribe. I am not sure she knows this, one of my native names is also Chinedu – short for ‘Nedu like her’s and lastly, we both love Lagos. She currently blogs from Lagos and even though I left many moons ago, I’m still a Lasgidi chic.
Whenever I get to go home again, this enterprising, fine chic owes me some pepper soup and small chops. 😉
Thank you, sis, for granting this interview.
My name is ‘Nedu Ahanonu, I work as an Investment Analyst by day, Blogger by night and DIY sewist at the weekend.
I enjoy well-crafted satires and clever puns. I like genuine acts of kindness and I dislike an unfounded sense of entitlement.
As I’ve gotten older and wiser, I’ve come to the realisation that life is as simple as we choose to make it. One must learn to take full responsibility for both their enthusiasm and happiness.
It all started as a blog where I’d showcase my completed personal sewing projects, then it gradually evolved into a fusion of both my musings and the sewing construction process.
My main motivation was to show readers that sewing wasn’t rocket science at all, it simply required practice and a can-do attitude.
Blogging has been a wonderful experience, it’s giving me a platform to share my thoughts. I’m particularly thankful for the opportunity to build a supportive network of virtual friends.
The post about Lagos I-live-here was a big hit with readers because they could relate with the many idiosyncrasies of a fast-paced city.
My favourite post has got to be this one- I’m-not-giving-up-on-you because the underlying message about having a positive perspective, inspires me.
My weekdays are pretty much routine, commuting to the office, working and commuting back home after conquering the monster that camouflages as Lagos traffic.
Weekends are far more interesting, there’s always something to do in Lagos! I go shopping for fabric and sewing accessories at least once a month, there’s something about fabric that excites me, I guess it’s the possibility of creating a beautiful garment.
So, what plans do you have in the offing?
I’m an avid muser and it’s my deepest wish to write a book someday once I convince myself that my past and present experiences plus my imagination are sufficient material for a best-selling novel.
With regards to the sewing aspect, I recently launched a Sewing Club, which is a nice transition from simply writing about my hobby to actually teaching a live class.
Viewpoints; that’s what it’s all about, or should I say the point of view – POV. We are all created and given the free will to have independent views which must be balanced against the views of others. One’s point of view determines how tolerant and understanding of others they are.
For sure, we all view things differently even when we share similarities in our POV’s, however, when we are obliged to express our own views, we should have the understanding that others are entitled to theirs as well. That’s why it’s free will.
Individuality means that two people can look at things and their views will differ in several ways, yet it’s amazing that some people expect others to accept their POV, hook, line and sinker without questions and when the other party differs in opinion, misunderstanding begins to brew.
When a POV is so narrow, myopic and self-centred, the person tends to become a know-it-all, a bully, it’s my way or no other, I am right and everyone else is wrong.
I’ve learnt to understand that how one views life is equally how life will look at them in the face and as the popular saying goes, “your attitude determines your altitude.”
Do you open up your window to see the beautiful open sky, the blooming Bougainvilleas, the child skipping down the road, the strangers walking down the street, the neighbour watering his plant or mowing the lawn…What do you want to see? A hope-filled day or a hopeless day?
Even the brown dust of the Earth is beautiful without which those plants won’t grow and bloom. The view is all dependent on you.
P.S. My Stream of Consciousness Saturday post is late today because my internet service providers decided to show me another view of their service yesterday. I chose not to give in to frustration and happily went photo hunting.
Have a hope-filled view of the weekend and stay blessed.
Jacqueline.
I went to buy a bit of ground cinnamon and found myself buying a few curious blend of spices that I’ve never tried before.
I also bought some Chickpeas that I’ll use to prepare Hummus and I’ll share the recipe with you later 🙂
Let me introduce you to my latest strategic partner, Anna. We connected and have been interacting in the blogosphere for over many months. Anna uses her blogging platform to share her experiences with Type 2 Diabetes as well as sharing helpful, educative and informative articles on how to manage this independently. I don’t have Diabetes, but I read her posts and find them quite useful and often filled with humourous anecdotes.
I’m urging her to think of writing a little memoir or self-help book of an ordinary woman living with Diabetes 🙂
In her own words on her about page, you can get to know Anna much better. Please do say hello. I am restricting comments here and you could show Anna some love and comment on her blog.
P.S. Would you like to partner with me? You can shoot me an email: JacquelineObyIkocha@gmail.com or through the contact page on my blog.
a cooking pot and twisted tales 