A Day with Nan

There is not one thing unusual about a trip to the town dump. This is where we, the townspeople, in an effort to save on taxes, handle all our own refuse and recycle everything from tires...





to kitty litter... Yes, it's enough to give anyone pause.

Then it was off to see some flowers...



Then to lunch where I remembered to wash my hands before enjoying my lunch of fish and chips.

More flowers and barns...





This was my favorite flower...verbena...such delicate shades of coral. I think it would look good with the little wee green house.



Range deer, for those who asked, are raised for meat and usually sold in the Adirondacks at hunting lodges. Believe it or not. ;>



Nan likes to watch them eat pellets... That's right, Nan, get out your own danged quarters because I am not spending mine for this.





By the way, has anyone else been receiving secret messages in the word verification codes?

Heeding a Suggestion

Today my sister is taking my mother off for a fun day. It's 9:35 and they're probably already on the road. This leaves my grandmother home with my father, her son-in-law. Say no more, eh?

So when I was visiting yesterday I suggested to Nan that we have a little day ourselves. Her eyes lit up. "Oh???? What shall we do?" Right off the top of my head, without any thought whatsoever, I came up with an itinerary: a trip to the town dump, lunch out, a look at the public garden, and a visit to the range deer. I'll take my camera.

In the meantime, I have followed Mari-Nanci's suggestions concerning cropping, which she left in comments yesterday. See what you think. You can go back and forth between yesterday's and today's posts to see the striking changes. Striking! Oh yes!









She's on to something, which you can check out right *here.* Thanks, M-N!

Flowers, Bananas, and Where Did I Put that Print?

Gracious! My titles are so mundane these days. Please forgive me, perhaps the title fairy will visit me in time for tomorrow.

The azalea is in full bloom and buzz, covered as it is with large blossoms and honey bees. I have been trying to take some artsy-fartsy shots; I need lessons. Perhaps my neighbors would like the picture of their home above.

Then I tried to capture the bay window as I peeked at it through the branches. Even less successful.



Next a photo of the phlox with the rhubarb doing well behind. Chicken poo, who knew? Lovella, that's who! (ETA: I'm sorry about mentioning brownies in this context, but Lovella has a brownie recipe up...yay!)



I'm just gonna toss in everything save the sink. Have you ever heard that a banana grows in three long segments...something about the way it develops from a banana blossom? Don't ask me, I am no botanist. But here are some photos to show you what I mean. Now you can amaze your children or, heck, this even amazed the adults in my crowd.











Finally, I am certain that you've all been in knots wondering where I might put the print that I showed you Monday. It was a gift from my daughter. She likes where it is. I was sitting with it for a while and now I'm almost convinced that I really like where it is, too. (If you don't, it's okay, just don't tell me. I'm that fragile about my decorating choices.)

Here's the before (don't get too scared now)...



And the after...



And from the side...



The light is changing so rapidly with the tree canopy growing larger every day. We're going from open skies to a verdant cocoon all in such a short time. It is messing with my photography. Right! That's as good an excuse as any!

Tea Room Ventures and Venues

May 11 – May 17

Share all about one of your favorite tea rooms. Use photos and descriptions to tell about the decor and ambiance, menus, service, and what makes this tea room special to you. Does this tea room have a gift shop? What kind of special treasures does it contain?

Tuesdays mean just one thing here at A Haven... and that is participating in LaTeaDah's Hospital-i-tea. (I'm already fretting about what Tuesday will mean when this wonderful event ends. I've enjoyed it so much and hope that you all have, too.)

This week's assignment has proven a bit more challenging because I don't have lots of pretty photos, etc. What I do have is lots of warm memories so if you have time to read... Otherwise, skip on down to the photos.

Sometime in the 1980s, my grandmother told my mother about one of my mom's old school chums who was making her way back home to Maine after having lived and raised her children in California. This friend and her husband had run a series of successful B&Bs and were planning to start another back in Maine.

I can't tell this part of the story without getting out my tissues...excuse me for a sec...

Some time later, my mother wanted to visit her friend who was now well established in a beautiful Victorian B&B with a gift shop built into the shed that linked the home to the barn. (A typical old-fashioned New England set up.) My mother had not seen her friend since they were ten years old and had not attempted any contact with her up to that point.

So here the two of us were, Mom and I, wandering around in the gift shop with no one in attendance when we heard footsteps coming through the house and then a beautiful blond woman came in smile first. She welcomed us and I could tell that my mother was sizing her up and trying to decide if this could even be her childhood friend. The two of them carried on a pleasant conversation about the dolls and things in the shop. After a few moments, the blond lady stopped and looked at my mom with a long gaze.

"Marilyn?" she said.

"Yes, hello, Betty." replied my mother.

Then they were in each other's arms hugging each other for dear life while I watched this all unfold.

"How did you know?" my mother asked.

"Your eyes. Your beautiful eyes."

*Sniff* Told you that it makes me weep.

Anyway, thus began a rekindling of an old friendship that continues to this day.

After running the Victorian B&B for a few years, Betty and her husband actually moved to the very same town that my mom grew up in. They established "The Carousel" and that was the best thing that had happened in that little community for years. There was a big, wonderful gift shop housed in the barn with a glorious view of Mt. Katahdin.







The F*riends, isn't that a great surname for B&B owners, were warm and always welcoming. One entered their home via the back door directly into the kitchen where one or the other was preparing the luncheon or tea. All preparations would be left as everyone received a hug. This was true for every single person who entered whether one was a personal friend or not.

There was a beautiful fireplace on one end of the kitchen with two wingback chairs drawn close. A vaulted ceiling on that end had windows above the mantel that were tall and showed a meadow rising high behind the house.

The Tea Room, as it was actually called, was a large center dining room with three tables...only three. Each was very different in style...Victorian, French Country, and something else that escapes me at the moment.

The first thing that I always noticed were the stacks of tea cups sitting on a sideboard. From these, a guest selected a favorite and then tea was served.

My grandmother's 90th birthday was celebrated there among family and friends. This is a very grainy, poor picture. I can see the watercolor of "The Carousel" there above the buffet.



Not long after this event in 2000, Betty sold the B&B retiring to New Brunswick, Canada. Edited to Add: Betty now makes her home somewhere in Texas.

So this is not so much a story about a favorite tea room as it is a story about friendship, love, and hospitality. It's the stuff of life that makes it all worth while.

Monday. Monday.. Monday...

Howdy! Hope that everyone had a fantastic weekend! I'm beginning this post with my weekend project and ending it with a photo montage of my weekend.



This is my favorite apron because it's comfortable and roomy fitting my ample figure and it is lined. The lined part works well because I am a messy cook. I do wish that it had a pocket and am thinking of adding one. So, this was a gift from a student whose mom made it over twenty years ago. It's held up very well. It isn't my prettiest apron, my oohh-la-la is the prettiest, but it sure gets worn a lot.

I've never made an apron before, but it seemed like time.












And the finished apron joins the chorus line...



The table posies (yellow mums) are a gift from my son and daughter-in-law. They also gave me a gift certificate to the bookstore.

These yellow tulips are a gift from my niece...



And this beautiful picture is a gift from my daughter. She's a sneaky one taking me out for supper on Friday evening and listening very carefully as I oohed and ahhed over various things. She nailed it!



You'll have to keep checking back to see where I put it. I do plan to place it even though it may be coming down again very soon. You'll be surprised!

So my daughter has been raving about this sandwich called a UFO. We shared one Friday evening and a friend brought me another last night, which we shared. Not an imposition when you see how large it is! I'm going to look like a UFO myself, if I keep this up.



But these are my very best gifts...







It's always fun to have the house hopping. My little grandson marched in for the first time on his own steam and said, "Hmmmmmmmm, cake!" He's no slouch is that one. A cake in the oven, M&Ms in the candy dish, flowers, laughter, fun, a great weekend.

I spent Saturday afternoon with my mother and grandmother and we are planning a supper out some evening this week. So the honoring of mothers continues.

Hope your week is off to a great start.

A Home for Our Souls

Chances are you've given little thought to housing your soul. We create elaborate houses for our bodies, but our souls are relegated to a hillside shanty where the night winds chill us and the rain soaks us. Is it any wonder the world is so full of cold hearts?

Doesn't have to be this way. We don't have to live outside. It's not God's plan for your heart to roam as a Bedouin. God wants you to move in out of the cold and live...with Him. Under His roof there is space available. At His table a plate is set. In His living room a wingback chair is reserved just for you. And He'd like you to take up residence in His house. Why would He want you to share His home?

Simple, He's your Father. ~ Max Lucado (The Great House of God)

(Imagine a Thomas Kinkade painting of a beautiful home upon the water's edge and you seated inside reading by the lamplight.)

Dear Your Name,

...He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. ~Philippians 1:6

Mother's Day

Enjoy the Happiest of Mother's Day Weekends...

Vickie has posted a wonderful essay on motherhood at Sand Flat Farm. You'll be blessed by it!

(Source)

A Merry Heart and All That

Today I am merely serving as a tour guide to a few of the funniest blog posts written in the past few weeks.

These bloggers have made me howl with laughter, sort of the way that C.C.'s beagle Toby howls whenever she takes him for a walk. You can read all about it here: The Worst Walk. Honestly, I'll mail you a dime if you can keep a straight face.

Sandi's beloved husband Mac taught her the basics of semaphore years ago...years and years ago...years and years and years ago...anyway, you just know that this means F-U-N! Read about it on her post entitled Languages and settle back for a good chuckle.

Anybody's post titled Camping in My Own Backyard sounds slightly suspect, especially if we're talking about Judy. I'm beginning to say of these things..."Only Judy." Ha!

Mary's The Joy of Being a Woman is short and plenty amusing...had me grinning all day and now every time I think of it.

I'm Killing My Family One Pan of Paella at a Time
"That title is not exactly accurate because I've never actually cooked paella, but you have to admit that 'I'm killing my family one pan of chipped beef at a time' just doesn't have the same ring to it. Agreed?"

Sometimes I worry about the Farmer myself. Nah, most of the time, I just laugh wickedly over the things that The Farmer's Wife is up to at his expense.

I've never linked to Ree in a post before, but her You Know What I Hate is so inspired and so much fun that I think we should all get on board. Who couldn't employ her method?



Noooo, this is not a shameless rip-off. I used a yellow butterfly. Gheesh!

Edited to Add: No, there is no horse behind the yellow butterfly. As far as I know nothing larger than a squirrel uses the facilities...oh all right, maybe a cat, perhaps a dog on the loose. There's an old junked truck behind the butterfly and it has caused me no small amount of consternation while I attempt strange camera angles to disguise the thing. Thank goodness the leaves are growing larger every day.

The Home Land

One sunny May morning years ago at my first yard sale of the season, I found this little picture. It was priced right at twenty-five cents and that remains the best quarter I've ever spent. Here are the words:

The Home Land

Think ~

Of stepping on shore and finding it Heaven;
Of taking hold of a hand and finding it God's hand;
Of breathing new air and finding it Celestial air;
Of feeling invigorated and finding it immortality;
Of passing from storm and tempest to an unbroken calm;
Of waking up ~ and finding it HOME!

"In my Father's house are many mansions." John 14:2

Today's post is dedicated to Miss Sandy and her beautiful grandmother who now makes Heaven her home.

Seven Random or Weird Things About Me

Margo tagged me with the Seven Random or Weird Things Meme. I have to tell 7 random/weird things about myself and then tag 7 bloggers to do the same. If you're on my blogroll, please consider yourself tagged, but only if you would enjoy it. These things actually come in handy for days when the brain isn't firing on all cylinders or life is too busy, etc. If you do this, please let me know because I love learning more about you, too! So those are the amended rules. However, if you'd like the "real rules" you can find them here.

Seven Random Things About Me

1. I like to practice my handwriting. I make loops until the page is filled up with them. I know; I really DO need a life.

2. I like to sketch people's faces. They never look like the person that I'm sketching, but they do look like people and that's the important thing, right?

3. I have officially donned my red flip-flops through September. No more shoes for me for a few months.

4. Supper was an open-faced egg sandwich on toast with cheese. For dessert I ate a dish of fudge twirl ice cream with peanut butter sauce. (I sound like Happyone. ;>)

5. The last playlist I listened to was at Scooterblu's Whimsy. Very Lively! :D

6. Sometimes I play the piano for hours; sometimes I don't touch the piano for days.

7. In the morning, while I am still lying in bed, I like to pretend that I am in a treehouse.



Okay, what's the diagnosis, Doctors? LOL!

Have a great Wednesday, All!

Set the Table, Tea is On!

Share a creative afternoon tea table setting. Linens, serving pieces, teapots and teacup, tea accoutrements and accessories, centerpieces, tea trays or three-tiers, and more. Show one way you enjoy creating a memorable tea experience. This is your opportunity to show the world the fun you have when you create your own special tea experience. Then...invite over a friend or neighbor and share some tea together...



The forsythia is blooming and after days of rain, the sun was out and shining brightly so I decided to stage my afternoon tea on the deck. Yes, I said "stage." Now the thing is, I have already revealed myself to be a pretender after last week's confession that I am also a coffee drinker and I don't like loose tea leaves. So it didn't seem like too big a stretch to bake something and set up the deck a bit and pretend. After all, you know how I hate to miss a week!

In the middle of my preparations the carpenter called and asked about repairing the deck spindles. "Now? You want to come now? Well, okay, but how long is that going to take?" Gee, don't I sound all warm and welcoming?



Then I realized that I had a great helper on hand so out came the umbrella and the deck chairs. (Not to mention my first guest. ;>)



All we had was tea and cake...not much of a tea party, but a tea party all the same. Oh, I even dug out the sugar cubes and the sugar tongs.



Then my mother dropped by after earlier saying that she wouldn't be able to and so what had begun as a "staged event" ended in a real tea party with two guests! We wiled away a warm afternoon in May sipping tea and having extra servings of cake and both guests said that it was grand fun and that we should do it again some day. I think so, too!



Enjoy more of the Set the Table, Tea is On at La Tea Dah's Gracious Hospitality.

It's Arts and Crafts Day...Isn't It?

First up this morning is the vintage tablecloth remnant, which is getting smaller and smaller. I've made three or four pincushions from it and a jelly cupboard runner.



By adding some of the rescued bias tape that I was bemoaning a few days ago, this table runner for the bay window now exists.



And, no more "stich in the ditch" for me! I can't make it come out as neat and tidy as Suzanne's or Alicia's. Now it's a switch from the stitch in the ditch to Martha's bias tape basics.

Then I made a tea towel for a friend's birthday, which I liked a lot. I used the old "draw it from the fabric technique" so it's very complementary. Sorry about the photo quality.



Finally, I have so many remnants now that I searched for ways to use them being a frugal gal and all.



It's a needlebook! Because it was an experiment, I used what I had on hand...no wool felt, but the next one that I make will be a proper one. This is the cover.



The crazy quilting was so much fun! It was! I would not lie! If you've never done it before and decide to give it a whirl, I found Purplepaint's Muse tutorial very helpful.

Another Monday post in the can and now I can put my little Genie away for a few days!

Truth=Freedom

"Truth sets us free; error binds us." Bob George

It's just that simple. And, if I am not free, I am living in error.



You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

That completes my standard Sunday morning offering, but I have a titch more to add for those who won't be bored or offended by it.

When I was ten years old, a good long while ago, an altar call was given in the church that I attended and I found myself going forward. The pastor led me in a simple prayer of salvation and noted the date — February 10 — and the time — 12:23 — on the flyleaf of my Bible saying that I would always be able to remember the time and place whenever the thief whispered in my ear.

The thief has done a whole lot of whispering and I have done a whole lot of listening. It has only recently dawned on me that I have lived in error for much of my Christian walk. Why? The usual reasons, I suppose: the false teachings of the churches I attended that offered a bizarre mix of Law and Grace, the advice I received from trusted Christians who were also living in error, and even some of the hymns and worship songs that I sang further enforced error.

Some of this is beguiling. Some of this is subtle. Let's talk about the WWJD (what would Jesus do) teaching. It's been around for over a hundred years! Who knew?! But it was revisited again in earnest in the 90s with many young people wearing wristbands or necklaces with WWJD on them.

What in the world could be wrong with WWJD I hear you asking. Just this...it removes Jesus from being alive and present in our lives to one who is a historical figure: Historical Jesus versus Alive and Present Jesus is error. Would you sit around wondering what your husband/wife thinks about anything when he or she is present in the room with you? Of course not! You'd ask!

I was guilty of teaching this subtle one to my own children, but I won't be guilty of teaching it to my grandchildren. Instead, I'll say, "Ask Jesus what He would do and what He wants you to do in this situation." I don't want anyone to stand around, scratching his head wondering what Jesus would do. And that's my two cents for the day!



Thank you, my Friend...such a delightful surprise!

Have a wonderful Sunday, dear friends.

It's On Its Way, Barbara!

At last! The sun, the moon, the stars have aligned in this one moment of time making it possible to accomplish my task. (Yes, I did take my drama pill this morning and thank-you-very-much for asking). Anyway, the package to Barbara is, at last, waiting by the door. Yes, I am mailing it t-o-d-a-y!

So this will be our little trans-Atlantic experiment: How long will it take this package to wend its way from the Wee House on the Eastern seaboard (US of A) to Barbara in England? I could have a contest. :D NO, no, I'm resisting the urge.

BTW, if any of you wondered about what was in Judy's package (she won the giveaway for my 200th post), she was so nice to post all about it right here. Do you suppose it holds any suggestions for what Barbara's package contains? Ha!

Hope that you have a wonderful Saturday and a wonderful weekend. Tune back tomorrow for my comments on WWJD. Later!

We Welcome Thee

(May), we salute thee with our early song, and welcome thee, and wish thee long! ~John Milton

Picture Source (allowed to stand)

May is my third favorite month right after October and September. It is also a month where I honor my beloved's passing so it can be a mine field of emotions. My fond hope is that this year I will discover that, after many, many years, I am moving past the sadness.

Months ago, I explained that I was "stuck." I'm just beginning to feel as if whatever is holding me down is being released.

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers yesterday even in the middle of my histrionics. You are all so appreciated and everything went very well indeed.

A beautiful May to you all!