Tea towels and A GIVEAWAY!

Good Monday morning - hoping each one of you is healthy, happy, and

spent the weekend doing great things.

I have quite a pleasing collection of tea towels.

I like to set up my ironing board in the kitchen - I can watch the birds 

and squirrels, and the light is bright and cheery.

Ironing them is not a chore, for me it's more like quiet time alone to think

 and ponder, and these days we are all doing a lot of that!

I enjoy spending time smoothing, dampening down with fragrant linen water, 

ironing and folding.

 Over the years several tea towels have been delightful gifts, they have stories

 and memories behind them.

They are also an item often picked up whilst in a foreign country to bring back as

 a useful souvenir. I've discovered that Italy and France have the best ones.

They are beautifully made and never wear out. Several are pure linen - my

 favorites, others linen/cotton blend. All are lightweight and, when purchased on a

 trip, easy to tuck into that ever expanding suitcase being rolled along behind one!

Where do you iron?

What do you contemplate whilst ironing?

Do you have a special collection of tea towels?

I read about this recently published UK book by Marnie Fogg,

The Art of the Tea Towel - Over 100 of the Best Designs, and knew

 it would be interesting. It definitely is! 

It's the creative history of the humble kitchen must-have which we all use, 

from the 1950's to the present day.

I purchased two copies with thoughts of doing a Giveaway some day as

I know some of you enjoy collecting tea towels.

Well the time is now when we all perhaps need a little fun. . . . . and 

one of you can enjoy a package at your door!

So, just look at the tea towels displayed on the book cover, tell me which one 

catches your eye, and leave me a comment.

This Giveaway is open to all no matter on which continent you have your

 kitchen, or where you dry your dishes and wine glasses!!!

My personal dish washer/dish dryer, Mr. Bob, will pick a winner from his favorite 
Red Sox ball cap on April 13 (Easter Monday). Hope so much you join in.

Postscript:  FYI - we really go through a lot of tea towels as we prefer to wash/dry by hand!

My gift from canvaspop, and one for you!

If you are interested in a fantastic Giveaway - read on!

Recently I was contacted by Kristoffer

from the company called canvaspop

This online printing company has a "huge passion for quality art, photography 

and home decor". 

Kristoffer, who found my blog, offered me a free 16"X20" canvas print 

and hoped I would review their product here.

My print arrived yesterday and I must say I am thrilled with it.  

I wholeheartedly agree that this company is all that it states it to be on 

their website HERE

Excellent customer service - ease in ordering - fabulous product.

Be certain to watch their video showing the process of turning your photo, or 

any photo you love, into a piece of beautiful art to hang on your wall.

***************

How do you pick a special photo to turn into 'art' for your home or office?

If, like me, and most bloggers, you take a lot of photos, so you have many which you 

might enjoy seeing on your walls.

Personally, some very special days remain vividly in my memory from my 

overseas travels of the past several years and naturally I took a lot of 

photos in many countries.

Often it's a place and its people. The smallest nudge brings back the sights, 

sounds, colors and smells. Sometimes it's the smiles on the faces.

My day in Cochin, India a couple of years ago is one of those days.

I took many photos of the beautiful children and their mothers. I chose one

image for its colors and the lovely woman working diligently to support her family. 

Recently I have been collecting my many images of women around the world to do 

a special post. I just know there will be others I will want to have turned into these 

wonderful canvas prints. . . . . . . and  canvaspop will definitely be the company 

I'll be using.

Perfect timing - Kristoffer worked with me to assure my art would arrive after I 

returned from a trip - and not be left outside on the porch.  My canvas was 

carefully wrapped and shipped in a sturdy box ensuring no damage.

On opening the package I was immediately thrilled with the print. The colors are perfect, 

the image is amazingly sharp having been enlarged from my original small photo. 

I had the option of wrapping the print around the sides of the frame but, as I wanted 

to keep as much of the beautiful cobalt blue tones in the background at the top, 

decided on the white sides. The piece arrived with a hanger. 

Below you see it now on the wall here in my office where I'll be enjoying it every 
day when here at my desk.

So now the best part, for you my readers!

canvaspop
is offering one free 16"X20" print with a 0.75" deep wrap 
(just like mine) with free shipping - a great deal!
You must live in the US or Canada to win.

Please leave a comment on this post only - I will draw the winning name next week on Friday, April 10, 2015 

Also, any other commenters will be able to receive a 35% off discount on any size canvas with a discount code I will share from canvaspop

Come on, join in. Hang some beautiful art on your walls.

My Summer reads ~~~~~~

What are you reading?

I'm half way through an incredible book - definitely not pretty - in fact a very painful story to read.

behind the beautiful forevers

by Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo

If you've traveled to India, especially Mumbai,

you will want to read this story. 

Although I did see some disturbing sights around the city,

this book opened my eyes to what I didn't see when visiting 

there a couple of years ago.

"This book is both a tour de force of social justice, 

reportage and a literary masterpiece."

_____Judges Citation for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award

"Reported like Watergate, written like Great Expectations, 

and handily the best international nonfiction in years."

_____NEW YORK

"There are books that change the way you feel and see: 

this is one of them."

______Adrian Nicole Leblanc

"Pure, astonishing reportage. . .

an unforgettable TRUE story, meticulously researched 

with unblinking honesty."

______The Christian Science Monitor

"Extraordinary. . .moving. . .Like the best journeys, Boo's

book cracks open our preconceptions and constructs an

abiding bridge - at once daunting and inspiring - to a world we 

would never otherwise recognize as our own." 

______National Geographic Traveler

If you would like to have this book, leave me a comment in this post only.  I'll draw 

a winner next weekend then mail it to you as soon as I've finished reading it.

**********

Do you read short stories?

I like to keep this type of book nearby when traveling-----here, there, everywhere; but specifically for times when waiting for appointments, flight departures, a coffee break alone with nobody to chat with. . .moments in time that needn't be wasted by just waiting for something.

My current book of short stories is extraordinary and by a wonderful writer.

Brief Encounters with Che Guevara

by Ben Fountain

I was directed to this book when in Mr. B's Bookshop 

in Bath, England. Knowing nothing about this Dallas

author - acclaimed and awarded for his first novel, 

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (which I've yet to read)-

I took a chance and purchased it.

These are amazing short stories.

"Exceptional. . .Each of these eight stories is as rich 

as a novel. . .heartbreaking." 

_______NEW YORK TIMES 

*********

Waiting to be enjoyed again - 

- one of those all time favorites we each have - and I'm anxious to pick up my copy for what has to be the fourth time. Of course I've watched the incredible movie even more times. 

Out of Africa

by Isak Dinesen

My old, much-loved copy was printed in 1965. It's a bit 

dog-eared and stained inside from a folded 1992 

newspaper article. It details Karen Blixen's

(she wrote under the pen name Isak Dinesen)final refuge 

in her childhood home in Rungstedlund in the northern 

suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. 

She lived there the last 31 years of her life - it's 

where she wrote this book about her heartbreaking years on 

her coffee farm in Kenya.

If only I'd had time I would have visited Rungstedland, 

now a museum, in June when in Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, a journey in the not too distant future has once 

again put this wonderful story on my book list.