What Possessed Me

Melissa loves : What possessed me

Hello my dear WPM readers! 

                    Melissa from Melissa loves here....so honored and happy to be helping "hold down the fort" while the magnificent "P" is in beautiful Iceland. I would have loved to have been clever or funny here on WPM, but, I could never be as clever or funny as Miss P. So...I thought I would pick out lovely things instead!  I couldn't resist putting together a virtual giftbag for P, of sorts. Things I think P would like, that remind me of her. Her humor, her brightness, and her infectious laugh and sparkling smile( plus dimples!)  So, these are for you P...I know how you love things with an ethnic flair...deep, colorful, rich and sparkling. Just like you! I hope all of your lovely readers enjoy them as well.

1~ to brighten P's skies

2~ a pillow for P's head 

3~ to adorn P's neck

4~ to keep P warm 

5~ to delight P every morning 

6~ a lovely place for P to tread

Thank you for having me my friend and I hope you are having a glorious time in Iceland! 

We miss you.....

xo

Melis

All the cool kids live in Asheville...

 

...raise chickens, keep bees, and know how to can. I know this because I'm a slave to Small Measure, a blog by homesteader, author, and sustainable living aficionado(a?), Ashley English.

Ashley fulfills all of my fantasies about country living - cuddling chickens (you know how I feel about chickens), eating lavender-scented honey from your own bees, cooking wholesome, organic food from your own garden. Think Laura Ingalls Wilder with sassy glasses and a sense of humor. 

Here's a sweet idea: Ashley is holding a canning contest on the first Monday of every month. Leave a comment on the contest post and if you're the lucky duck, Ashley will send you something delicious she canned herself using recipes from her upcoming book, Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving. Peach and lavender butter: HELLS TO THE YEAH.

Ashley, please do not be alarmed if I show up unannounced at your doorstep, attach myself to your leg, and cry like a petulant child when you ask me politely if I would please piddle outside. 

All images from Small Measure.

Guts

Three hundred Afghan women gathered in Kabul last week to protest a new law for Shiites that permits violence against women such as marital rape and further restricts their mobility and personal freedom.

In a place where human rights are deteriorating rapidly - where women are flogged for leaving their homes without the permission of their husbands - imagine the courage it took to stand before an angry, violent mob shouting "Get out of here, you whores!"

Imagine the guts it took to counter those screams with "We want our rights!" and "We want equality!" Imagine risking beatings, imprisonment or death to give your daughters a life better than your own.

I am in awe of this incredible act of bravery. Afghan sisters, I salute you.

Photographs from The New York Times.