Simply-Spectacular-Designs

I’d like to think of this blogging venture as the “little blog that grew” in its own time. I loved my brother’s blog and his posts. It was on a whim that I wrote my first blog post. This happened after a visit to Niagara Falls where I visited the Butterfly Conservatory. I took many photos and made up a post called “Metamorphosis.” I shared this post with my brother and told him to link the two - mine and his. Even then, I wasn’t really sure what I was asking him to do. He immediately hosted me on his blog under the name I had chosen - Late Blooms. The date was April 22, 2012. This was how it all began. ...

I have lots to be grateful for each day. This post is a special one to express my gratitude to my brother, Ronald Janki, for updating Late Blooms for me. I received a text from him a few days ago saying that he had been doing some “big changes” on the site and for me to take a look. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. We hadn’t had any discussion about this which makes it especially meaningful to me. The changes are awesome! From the very beginning of my blogging adventure, he’s the one who has enabled, encouraged, and promoted this site. This adventure has brought much joy and meaning to my days and I am truly thankful. “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ’thank you?” (William Arthur Ward)My own experience of being grateful in life has taught me that the more grateful I am, the more good comes to me. I’ve noticed that people who do nice things for others are often genuinely caring and kind people whose hearts are in the right place. They are not seeking anything for themselves. Their own joy comes from making others happy and promoting their well-being. This is certainly the case with my brother. “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” (Albert Schweitzer) ...

[caption id=“attachment_2487” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] Ah! what pleasant visions haunt me As I gaze upon the sea! All the old romantic legends, All my dreams, come back to me. (Henry Wadford Longfellow)[/caption] Beautiful pictures take us on journeys we might never pursue ourselves. Artistic expression comes out of the artist on to the canvas or computer and we decide for ourselves whether it has an emotional appeal for us or not. It’s not always a conscious decision but rather something that takes place within our hearts, souls, and spirits. Just as we choose that “Like” button so frequently on Facebook to express our approval of what we feel about a certain image, a “Like” happens within our hearts on viewing a beautiful image. The artist’s rendition resonates within us on a deep level within. “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” ~ Aristotle ...

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden (Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe) As another year comes to a close, it seems like a good time for me to look back on the year past and reflect for a short while on my journey through the course of 2014. It seems that it wasn’t so long ago when I began “Late Blooms” and wasn’t quite sure what I was doing. At the same time that I had the opportunity to make collages, I started writing, scrapbooking, and all the other elements you see displayed in my posts. I`m still learning and evolving as I go along and having fun at the same time. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that there would be 51,727 reads of my posts. It is very humbling and, at the same time, very encouraging. Thanks to all of you out there and especially to my brother of Simply Spectacular Designs who gave “Late Blooms” a totally new look just before Christmas and is hosting this blog. ...