Wednesday, December 8, 2010

A NEW GALLERY

I am so thrilled and appreciative that my books and photos are now for sale  in Trillium online gallery, which is a newly created gallery produced by the talented Maureen Maliha and her vision. Maureen is a gifted photographer as well as being an insightfully perceptive human being who cares about the universal creative spirit of art and vision.

Please do take a look by clicking on this link:

CHARMIENE'S PHOTOGRAPHY AND BOOKS


thankyou so much for following my Blog, I really appreciate it!!!



Wednesday, November 24, 2010

My Photo Site

I have just updated and edited my RedBubble Photgraphy site, please take a look .........I have developed a passion for photography!


http://www.redbubble.com/people/sita


Happy Thanksgiving!!!!


Thursday, September 16, 2010

A renowned author was asked in an interview why she writes  - her answer was:


"Because I love it and I need it"


This is short, simple, honest - and exactly my answer too.



I really appreciate you visiting my Blog and my photo gallery (below)





Sunday, September 12, 2010

My PHOTO GALLERY

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PHOTO GALLERY


I have recently joined a site called RedBubble, which has given me an opportunity to showcase my photographs.  I fell in love with photography about 2 years ago when I needed some photos for my book covers and my books themselves. I began with a simple inexpensive phone camera and now I use a dijital point and shoot Lumix camera.

My photos are for sale as greeting cards and framed prints.

 I am also getting ready to approach various Animal protection charities in San Antonio Texas because I would like to donate some of the earnings from my photography and books towards the protection of animals.   I am sad to say that in Texas, dogs and all animals are officially treated as possessions -  in the same category as furniture and  owning your furniture is the same as 'owning' a dog.  Dogs are not considered to be living (loving) beings with a heartbeat.  There are so many stray dogs around San Antonio and the culture appears to accept that as being acceptable.  Dogs are left in back yards in all weather and I have asked myself why people even have a dog - well the answer is - it is a cheap alarm system and when this alarm system breaks down - it is easily replaced with a new one

Besides my passion for photography and writing and gardening, I have a passion to try and ease the plight of dogs and offer assistance to those organisations that dedicate themselves to educating and rescuing abused pets.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

ENGLAND

I was born in Axminster, Devon - England - before leaving for East Africa at 6 weeks old!

My family still live in England and I consider it to be my home and 'my roots' even though I seem to have travelled, lived and worked in other countries.

I love England and here are some photos that I recently took, because for the last two years photography has become a great passion! I find it soothing, uplifting and such a wonderful way to express one's heart.


This is the beach in Budleigh Salterton, it is a lovely pebbly beach with a wildlife sanctuary of marshes nearby where the birds and wildlife are protected.




This is the lovely Exeter Quay, where swans float and glide along the river and walk around with their baby cygnets on the grass.



This photo is in Instow, North Devon - it is a lovely place with a lot of historic and old world cottages. Across the bay is Appledore.



This is called Blackbury Camp, it is near Beer (seaside village/town) and you have to drive down a small country lane to reach this place - and when you get there it is an enchanting sanctuary where the bluebells carpet the woods in Springtime. It is wonderful to be there. This locarion is also an ancient and sacred place in the Iron Age times.


This is my book about England which can be viewed and purchased online in USA or Europe

EUROPE TITLE

USA TITLE


thankyou so much for visiting my Blog!! I appreciate it very much

Sunday, August 15, 2010

ZURICH

Here are some photos of Zurich, it was my home for 15 years and I still feel a deep attachment to this wonderful city. Mostly I lived inThalwil - but I also lived in Munstergasse in the enchanting Niederdorf when I was at University. These photos have been taken in the last couple of years when I came for very short and nostalgic visits - and it rained!  Nevertheless I basked in the memories of an impressionable time.
Zurich University was the epitome of happiness - I was ecstatic to be accepted and registered as a student to study Ethnology, Psychology and Folk History. I lived in Zug (near Lucerne) for a year when I worked as a nursing auxilliary at Burgerspital, which was located on the lake of Zug - what a beautiful sight with glorious sunsets -  I saw every evening from the hospital windows.



A misty rainy day but beautiful view from the University. You can take the Polybahn up to the University and look over Zurich.




An evening view of the Limmat and the bridge that I know so well


This is the on the Bridge  -  a very rainy day!


I remember going to the Alpli Bar with Daniel and having their special fluffy drink of milk, raw egg and brandy


This is near The TurlerSee, where I was walking with Denise when I visited last year




This is the lovely place called Stein am Rhein


OK....... no more misty rainy photos of Zurich ......Zurich really is sunny, green, colourful and gorgeous in summer. Switzerland has so much crispy snowy beauty during winter in the mountains.

Friday, August 13, 2010

LYME REGIS

Here are some photos of a beautiful  part of the Dorset coast called Lyme Regis. I went to school at The Woodroffe School and my family lived there for a few years before moving to Marshwood in Dorset. Lyme Regis is part of the Jurassic coast where ancient fossils can be found on monmouth beach. Mary Anning was an eager fossilist in this area in the 19th century.  Jane Austen wrote her novel Persuasion while residing there and the movie with Meryl Streep 'The French Leutenants Woman' was filmed there. It was a mystical sight to see her standing at the end of The Cobb.

This is the Cobb in Lyme Regis - what an amazing walk this is - and scarey on a windy day!



The Cobb Arms a well known pub by the beach - I remember having prawns and chips there many years
 ago!


This is the Alexandra hotel, it is lovely to have tea on the lawn!
I used to go to my ballet classes at the back of this hotel.



this is a landmark - a pretty cottage as you drive into Lyme Regis



this is one of the fossils embedded in stone, I saw it on Monmouth beach this year




The Harbor



This is Golden Cap

Hope you enjoy them

you can see more of my photos at:

Thursday, August 12, 2010

HOUSEKEEPER BOOK

Hello,
 this is quite an eclectic collection of true life stories that are amusing and thought provoking. My stories reveal an interesting theme where the unspoken chasm between employers and employees is highlighted in a playful light. The era of 'upstairs downstairs' appears to continue in today's world - those who pay and those who are being paid seem suspiciously guarded towards each other - I often wondered who is taking advantage of who! My book describes a mixed bag of characters, places and situations.




You can purchase or preview my book at this link:

www.lulu.com/content/2881985


Monday, August 9, 2010

AMERICA

Hello, this is my book of narratives about America. Some observations and insights while living in Hawaii, Alaska, San Diego and Seattle. Alaska is one of those magnificent places where nature showers one with beauty and strength. My story about Mount Susitna, known loaclly as 'The Sleeping Lady' is still one of my favorites. My beautiful Sheltie dog, gave me love and joy. I named her 'Passion because Alaska is a land filled with passion.




The fragrance, music and colours in the tropical paradise of Hawaii makes the heart dance! Plumeria blossom, will always have a place in my memories. The indigenous and spiritual connection with nature, touches one's soul in this enchanting land. Pele, the majestic Goddess of fire resides on The Big Island.








see my book at this link:





Sunday, August 8, 2010

A Medley of Reflections

Hello .......This book is a collection of short and in my eyes, meaningful observations and insights about our daily life. I have highlighted some personal experiences that gave me 'food for thought' and I have commented on some incidents that reflect our shared journey in life. Hope you enjoy this book!



You can purchase A Medley of Reflections at this link:

www.lulu.com/content/1723268

I would really appreciate any reviews or ratings you can post for my books on amazon.com and/or http://www.lulu.com/
Thanks so much!!

Have a great day.



This photo is Ladram Bay in Devon, England

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Reflections of Childhood

Click to view: Childhood Reflections


This is my Dad at Lake Victoria in Kampala, where we all swam and by doing so,  contracted the illness Bil Harzia, which was cured at the London hospital of Tropical diseases a few years later.


HELLO, while I was working as a caregiver in England I took care of an elderly lady in Henley on Thames and during my time off I sat with my lap top computer and wrote a book about my childhood reflections. Though I was born in Axminster in England, at 6 weeks old I moved to East Africa. My father was offered a fantastic job as an agricultural consultant and inspector in the coffee industry. He loved his 'safari' life, driving out to coffee plantations so that he could inspect and grade the coffee beans. I remember going with him a few times and to this day those recollections are exciting and memorable. My dad loved his life there - and I think he was the happiest that I have ever known him; after moving back to England when I was 8 years old - dad's life never seemed so fulfilling. My mother on the other hand, pined for England and that was the deciding factor. We lived between England and Africa for the first 8 years of my life, so I have some adventurous memories of air travel in the 1950's. There was one time we couldn't land in Cairo because people were shooting at the airplanes, so we continued on to the next airport. Flights in those days had to make numerous stops to refuel. We left London and stopped in Paris to refuel, then in Cairo, Benghazi and onto to Kampala.   I think we even stopped in Rome on a  couple of those  flights to Africa.
It was also during that time that Idi Ahmin began to oust the Europeans from this country and as we lived in Kampala, Uganda - there began a precarious time for us. 

You can purchase my book about Childhood Reflections at this link:

www.lulu.com/content/2828057


THE EQUATOR MARKER
sorry this is not upright - we lived on the Equator line so it was an exciting thing to see this sign

Friday, August 6, 2010

INDIA



I first went to India in 1981 to see the sage and spiritual teacher Osho Rajneesh in Pune. It was a momentous trip with Daniel Noll who was a devotee of Osho. We flew with Air Lanka from Zurich and arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where  we spent 3 weeks sightseeing the beaches and riding around on a motorbike. It was exciting and scarey on that mororbike because Daniel had been in a life threatening motorbike accident in Zurich the year before; he had faced near death and was now eager to live each moment to the full! We spent a week in Kalkuddah in a basic and simple hut right on the beach. Then on to India and the chaos of Bombay before a horrendous taxi ride to the hills of Pune. The ashram was a sanctuary filled with Europeans, Americans, Australians and devotees from all over the world. The Germans seemed to love the progressive encounter groups that were held in this ashram. It was a mixed bag of spirituality, laughter, therapy, dating club and the pursuit of enlightenment! What a playful and colourful environment!
I was to return to India as well as Thailand again in 1987, 1990, 1992 and 2001 - and each trip was different and involved a variety of experiences.

Here is my book, which is a collection of narratives about those experiences, observations and insights during those trips!

www.lulu.com/content/2797071

I would be grateful for your review or rating that you would like to post on http://www.lulu.com/ about my book.

thankyou so much

charmiene.............Sita.............Mouni



Thursday, August 5, 2010

SWITZERLAND

Today, August 5th, its a very significant day for me personally because it's the day my daughter was born,  37 years ago in Zurich Switzerland, when I was married to Felix Leyer. I imagine I may have grandchildren by now if Faye had lived. She lives on, in my heart now - never forgotton.
My book about Switzerland is a collection of narratives about my life there and the observations I made. I lived there for 15 years and as a teenage English girl coming to a new country and immersed in a young marriage, it took a few years to become accustomed to a different culture, which I did and Switzerland  became my home until a set of circumstances prompted a move to America.  I love Switzerland and my Swiss friends and I am overjoyed when I have the chance to spend time there walking around Zurich and visiting all the places that represented home for all those years and seeing some very dear friends again.

here is the link to my Swiss book: www.lulu.com/content/2828036




This is one of the chocolate shops in the Rennweg in Zurich - yummy!


This is my beautiful  daughter: Faye Claudia, Jennifer Leyer


Wednesday, August 4, 2010

ENGLAND

I began writing short non-fiction narratives about events, people, characters and ordinary daily observations that caught my attention. My book about England evolved as a collection of stories that are thought provoking, funny, meaningful and inspiring. This is the link to purchase my book about England:

www.lulu.com/content/2828015



I made a video of music and photos of England: it should be viewed on small screen because I forgot to make the photos a bigger size for full screen

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

TUESDAY

I would like to tell you about the first book I wrote while living on Dartmoor very near Haytor, in a beautiful rustic house that had no heating so we relied on a log fire. It was a really cold winter with snow everywhere so my arctic jacket  from Alaska came in very handy.  I used to walk through the woods with Scott (Leland) to the nearby pub called The Rock Inn, where we had tea and beer and some chips (french fries) while sitting by a huge log fire. On one of those evenings, when walking back to the house I felt  transported into another dimension - there seemed to be an enchanting circle around a big tree where fairies gathered.  No......I wasn't drunk (ha!).
We had just bought our first computer in 1991, and thanks to Scott's dedicated ability to learn new things and share that knowledge with me - I began writing on this computer! That was the start of my writing adventures. The computer was a catalyst for me to write books where I found myself in a wonderful sanctuary of timelessness.  My first book was about a fairy called Araminta. The book seemed to write itself as it flowed from my hands onto the computer screen. I felt very excited especially because writing seemed to flow like a river flowing to the ocean, it wasn't any effort. I enjoyed it so much that it became a form of meditation for me.


Araminta is a fairy who comes to planet earth, to share insights and information about her fairy world.  Initially I named this book 'The real truth about fairies' - because I felt that I was writing directly from the fairy world. Some may all it channeling. I have no lable for this flowing of energy except to say that it was an inspiring experience for me to write this book. I have since been researching some scientific discoveries about the cosmos, universe and the newly discovered 11th dimension; so this gave me a lot of food for thought after I had written my book, which I later re-named
'Araminta's Message - A communique from the Enchanted world of Fairies'

This book has gone through several revisions and now it is ready to fly into the world.  I wrote to a few publishers with no results, so I finally self-published on LULU.
You can see my book at this link:


www.lulu.com/content/2743734


It is also available on amazon.com by doing a search for my name: Charmiene Maxwell-Batten on the amazon site.


I would be so very grateful for any review or ratings that you could post for me on LULU or amazon.com

thanks so much!!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Monday

I am now going to start writing my daily blog - thanks to Heather from San Francisco, who has helped me dive into it  again. With  her expert knowledge of the cyber world, I am encouraged to get this blog going!!
THANKYOU Heather!!!

This is a photo of Texas Stonehenge - yes it's stonehenge in Texas - I remember being able to walk around the original stoneheng in England before it became a tourist attraction - now it is cordoned off so no more climbing around on those ancient mystical rocks,  as I did when I was in my twenties.


Tomorrow I am going to write a bit about my fairy book, which I wrote in 1991 when living in Dartmoor England.