Gifts in Spring

Let me try a Tuesday this week...

Three things today:

* gifts
* culling books and furniture
* spring garden 

Last week brought two packages to my door. The first was a gift from my friend Deanna at Creekside Cottage — lovely handmade pillowcases with French seams and decorative top-stitching. True confessions now ... both John and I like to nap on the sofa so we have a regular pillow there for just such a snooze. These pillowcases match my old, but new-to-me sofa. Perfect!  Love them! Thank you for thinking of me, Deanna. 

The second box arrived with a thwump on my side deck. My heart sank when I saw the word "fragile" in block letters on the side. What a happy moment when I unwrapped the gifts and found that each one was intact. Such cute gifts given with thought and in friendship. The giver focused on my love of yellow. 

I had such fun spreading the yellow around. Here...

Here...

 Here...

and one more place, but I'll leave that for you to find.
This Dear One has asked to remain anonymous, though I am sending her a big thank you. What a sweet surprise! 

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Our living room has needed some culling for quite some time. It meant removing a chair and adding a pair of auditorium seats for a place to sit and remove shoes and boots. 

John's chair has moved yet again (this is what I do, shove furniture around) making room for him to actually access his books. It's so cozy in his corner. 

It also means some tidying the bookshelf. John decided to do some culling of books. I find that chore difficult myself so I wasn't surprised to find him back in the chair already distracted by the first book he pulled! That grin is in response to my making some wisecrack about it.

  

No, I do not intend to float that table smack dab in the middle of the floor. Good grief!
~~~~~~

Not a lot going on in my spring gardens. The chives are up, the rhubarb is, too; the front garden has one dandelion, grape hyacinths, and coral bells. I was able to get the yard work accomplished with the help of my neighbor who swept all the debris caused by the snowplow off from the front lawn. Now we are ready for warmer days and some blooming flowers. I can't wait! 

The inserts are more or less where they exist in the actual garden. I was experimenting at PicMonkey with the collage maker when I decided to attempt something different.

Over and out...
ツ  

Still Water or This, Too, Shall Pass

As I write this on a Tuesday morning for a Wednesday morning post, it is raining a cold, gray, steady rain. Talk about a nasty April thus far. Oh well, at least it is not snow and thank God that John had the foresight (when I did not) to fill that oil tank one more time. Ever notice that the weather can often mirror life's circumstances? It feels like that around here these days. I'm in a cold, gray frame of mind.

Moving right along — this month is poetry month and so I am featuring a poem that speaks to me, though, trust me, I have not reclined on the ground any time lately. 

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the Grace of God, and am free.

~ Wendell Berry
The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry
Source

Now if you check the source, you'll see that I changed things a titch because I don't feel that nature heals me, though I do feel that God created nature for me and you to enjoy. (Truth to tell, I should change it a little more to match my beliefs, but Mr. Berry's poem has been fiddled with quite enough.) 

~lacking a wood drake and hoping that a forced forsythia will do~

Even Jesus had to get away from time to time for prayer and direction. Whenever my mind slips into cold and dark, it's time for getting away or changing things up. Soon the weather will turn and the flowers will bloom and I will not concern myself with a polar vortex. I'll be busy in the garden getting that blanket of leaves off the flower beds and looking forward to all the warmth and beautiful colors. 

P.S. It just donned on me that I should have asked John to write me a poem this year as he did  *here* nearly four years ago. Oh I do love that poem! ☺

A Successful Day

She has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; Who has enjoyed the trust of intelligent women, the respect of pure men, and the love of little children; Who has filled her niche and accomplished her task; Who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it; Who has left the world better than she found it, whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul; Who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best she had; Whose life was an inspiration; Whose memory a benediction.

~Bessie Anderson Stanley

(This quote has been feminized.)

Well now, that is lofty *thud*— and more a description of a successful life rather than a single, successful day.

So let's take it in small chunks. What do you consider a successful day? Lately, I have been calling a day successful if I get something accomplished. Preferably, lots of somethings.

 ~last Friday morning when it was warm enough to be misty~

Last Friday, I had what I now consider the most successful day of the year thus far. Please don't laugh ☺, but it was so good that I made a list:

1. stripped the bed
2. dressed
3. swept basement floor
4. pushed laundry
5. remade the bed before noon
6. did the dishes
7. cleaned the kitchen

 ~cute napkins...PW's at Wal*Mart for $4.97 a pak~

8. grocery shopped
9. gassed up the car
10. visited dentist and paid the remainder of my bill
11. visited my mother's grave, cleaned it, and binned the Christmas decor (first day the fence had not been locked)
12. delivered the large Easter cactus to my niece...a late birthday gift

13. made a nice supper
14. dishes done by 7
15. in bed by 10

ETA: To clarify, I made the list after the things were accomplished not before.

Now was that so hard? Not on Friday. Let us not discuss Saturday and Sunday, thank you.

What makes the doing and the checking off the things from my list so satisfactory? Am I more loved? (No) Does my husband pat me on the back? (No, he rarely notices; though he always compliments me on a meal.) Do I feel better about myself? (Decidedly, Yes!) I am not meant to sit too long, even if I am hurting.

And nowhere on that list did I count as important any time spent on the computer. Progress right there, my friend!

Thanks to the Polar Vortex, this week means that I must be inside doing my chores and not outside as I had hoped. Last autumn's leaves still cover the tender plants. I hope that it is enough of a blanket to get them through. Poor things!

~meant to show you the howling wind, yet all one can hear is the coffee percolating~

Hope that you are not in the dreaded PV's blast...

See you next week, The Lord willing and the PV departing. 

A Good Long Run

It was a busy Easter weekend and I am late to post.

It was busy in all the good ways that make it celebratory and meaningful. It was not my year to host all the family, though Laurel (my daughter) joined John and me and that meant doing something a little more exciting than beans and hotdogs.

We had pork tenderloin (daughter hates ham), baked potatoes, honeyed carrots, a garden salad, a fruit salad, and Laurel brought lemon chiffon pie. Now remember, I don't do tablescapes and, having seen so many lovely ones this season, I am a little lot embarrassed to show you. 

~napkin rose tutorial~

My first choice would have been the pink tablecloth with my lovely green Noritake plates, but could I find the pink tablecloth? That would be no. About twenty minutes after I set the table, I found it hanging in the closet right where it belongs. This plaid springy looking one was my mother's and I always enjoyed seeing it on her table so I simply went with my everyday plates...always easier on my hands anyway.


Later in the afternoon, Laurel had planned an Easter egg hunt for the boys that culminated in finding an "X" that marked the spot where the final prize was hidden. They participated halfheartedly because they said that they were getting too old for such things. My daughter said that she might have to go home and have a good cry. She has always planned wonderful games for them and it has been a good run. They will remember them fondly, I hope.  

The remainder of the afternoon was spent playing many games of Connect 4. It was a favorite when my kids were younger and I think that it still is. The grands like it, too. 

This was a fun photo to get while Sam was waiting for his turn...Bible reading on Easter Sunday...excellent! 

All in all it was a sweet afternoon except that my daughter-in-law was home sick with strep throat. Hope that the few hours the guys were away was helpful for her. She needs her rest. I think this is the second time this season that she has had strep and Sam had it a few weeks ago. Praying that this ends the cycle for them.

Hope to visit soon. As you probably have figured out, I no longer visit each day nor do I comment on every post. It's been a good, long run. Life is getting too short to spend so much time in Blogdom. There is much to do and everything takes three times longer to do it!  Thank you for stopping by today...
Popping in another that I had forgotten to add...

This Week's Offering

Like many of you we are enjoying biding the  snow~on~daffodils weather today. It is a frustration just because we have been so thoroughly spoiled by the mildest winter in recent memory. 
Still, it is not nearly as frying as finding that my  icon blog roll took it upon itself to dump many blogs. I have been busily trying to reconstruct it. Just thought of another one! Little Birdie Blessings is gone. Coffee Tea Books and Me had been, Creekside Cottage as well...oh-oh and Hospitality Lane is another. See, I should get a list to remember them all. I used to think it was just a few and now I know that it has been several dozen. Yikes! If I am among the missing in your corner,  please ring a bell and let me know. My poor brain is just now coming out of its month long fog.
Okay, moving on. I may not have the energy it requires to explain these random photos. With the exception of the one below, they are a collection of my week.

~↑my wee house↑~

I showed my view last week, which happens to be my neighbor's home and tricked a few people into believing that that big, beautiful home is mine. Not so, this is my wee haven pictured in January from beside the flag. We never had more snow than this. There's my kitchen window and the main entry to my home because the front door is not used. 

Back inside on the kitchen windowsill...a can of herbs growing...basil just up. The fork in the tea pot is being used as my garden rake.

This is how John takes care of Daylight Savings Time. We like the additional light at the end of the day, but I know that some do not. Either way, I hope that a week of DST has helped with the adjustment. We noticed this morning that we are back on schedule after a week of being a little off.

This was my nod to St. Pat's Day. It's a

Tea-Soaked Raisin Tea Brack.

It was delicious and we really enjoyed it as toast.

By the time I return next week, Good Friday and Easter will have been honored. May you have a blessed springy week.

(Yes, some fine day, I hope to have a real post, whatever that is. )

ツ

A Nod to the Coming Season

Haven't felt like doing much for weeks now. This week, I just had to get things in gear or else St. Pat's, Easter, and spring itself might get away from me. Just popping in a few photos of the little changes I've made from winter's decor.

I never thought to use the cocoa pot for spring and summer decor before because it is, after all, a cocoa pot. 

The shamrock tea cup is one of my nods to St. Patrick's Day. I only started celebrating a little when I learned that I have a few ancestors from Ireland. Don't we all? The other is a birthday gift mug from Sam my grandson. 

Seems that Sam and his mom enjoyed a leisurely shopping experience at the local flea market that just opened in town. Sam may even have been bitten by the flea market bug. Someday, I'll take you on a tour. It's in a refurbished chicken barn.

While reading at Jane's this week, she mentioned how her husband fixed her bunny banner. I really liked it. You can find hers *here* along with other sweet spring decor.

*leaping rabbits*

~↑not my house↑~

The view just outside the dining room window. (I do love my neighbors and their house!) Spring has truly arrived early, which is very rare indeed for my corner. Is spring early in your corner, too? (Hope that mention of this does not mean an imminent snowstorm.)

The vintage photo on display this month and probably through summer. No, I have zero idea who these adorable sisters are. They remind me of my nieces. I love the 1940s outfits and hairdos. Most of all, I love the clasped hands and the obvious differences in their personalities.

It's funny, but certain faces seem to go in and out of style. You look at old photographs and everybody has a certain look to them, almost as if they're related. Look at pictures from ten years later and you can see that there's a new kind of face starting to predominate, and that the old faces are fading away and vanishing, never to be seen again.

~Alan Moore 

Personally, I think these sweet faces will never go out of style!

If all goes well today, I hope to catch up with many of you in Blogdom. I am well aware that I have been remiss. 

 

Trust

Come walk with me along a beautiful brook with lush green foliage on either bank. I have needed such a walk after this week. These are beautiful promises for those who yield to Him. Sweet and peaceful...

Comments always closed for Sunday...

A Wee Chat

Perhaps it is time for a little chat since I have nothing exciting, important or even interesting to tell you. Inspires confidence in this post, right? ☺
*****
Oh. The tooth. Such a little tooth to have caused all these troubles. I have to wait awhile because the dentist to whom I have been referred is booked for several weeks. I am going to call around and ask about prices and wait time this morning. In the meantime, I am on a second round of antibiotic and feeling nearly normal. Cost thus far? Nearly five hundred dollars and counting. <  thud  >
*****

The Easter cactus is going to bloom in plenty of  time for Easter. Always good. 
*****

Let's see, we did have a very cute and charming visitor last week. John's eldest daughter and her grandson made the trip up from Virginia to visit. You last saw them *here* and, believe it or not, that's the last time we saw them, too. (The post is dated 2013, but it was actually taken in 2011.) Needless to say, John was very happy to see his daughter after nearly five years. And to say that he thinks the world of this little fellow goes without saying as well. Yup, he was (we were) definitely smitten. ☺ John's granddaughter, this little guy's mother, is serving our country in the Middle East. 

*****

Both John and I have had birthdays in the past week. Here was a gift waiting his attention as soon as he arrived home from church. Good thing I knew what it was or I might have had to open it myself. My birthday gifts were in monetary form and they really were a blessing with the tooth. (Here's another promise...no more mention of said tooth.)

*****

Closing with my Downton Abbey thoughts...

Well it was the most disconcerting thing. Somehow I had a narrator throughout the final program. I did not like her and tried looking up how to give her the boot. Sadly, I could not figure it out so I may have missed a few things even as the narrator described every single thing. Annoying. If anyone has any experience with removing narration for the vision impaired, feel free to fill me in.

The final episode of Downton Abbey settled most scores, a remarkable feat. I will miss these characters...most of them that is...and I will miss the estate itself, which is a character all its own. (I do not envy Edith's castle...terribly austere, though the interior is nice enough.) Those closing shots were terribly poignant. And the narrator said, "fade to black."

🏰