Gentle Breezes

 WuWo Tea Ceremony in my backyard.

 The gentle breezes of Autumn surrounded me

as I sat in the sun of an October day.

Sipping tea,

feeling the breezes blow around me,

and quietly meditating on the day

with small cups of tea.

They delighted me.

The flavor of sweetness or plums,

 a smokey flavor slipped down my throat;

I smiled and lifted my head to the sun.

I notice the breeze blowing my hair

and tickling my face.

The colors swirled around me

in a joyous song of Autumn.

Oh Autumn, you just make me smile.

Your colors make my heart happy!

Monday's Tea Quote

I am sitting in the blue chair listening to this stillness.

The only sound the occasional gurgle of tea

coming out of the pot and into the cup.

How can this be?

Such calm, such peace, such solitude

in this world of woe.

~from The Sixth of January by David Budbill

as collected in Good Poems, ed by Garrison Keillor

Sitting and Dreaming!

Newport, Oregon

Whidbey Island, Washington

Trout Lake, Washington

Victoria, BC, Canada

Northern Washington State

I have a "thing" for Adirondack chairs.

They just call me to sit and dream,

especially when sitting by water.

Yes, I am a water girl at heart.

Once swimming like a fish, I dreamt.

Could I be a mermaid or a fish?

Swim in the deepest seas?

Rise to the surface and feel the sun on my back?

I can dream, can you?

Are you a water girl or boy?

Or are you a dreamer in a different way?

What pulls at your heart strings and causes you to dream?

Note: I know I have shared this before, but when I got my "big girl" camera

a friend asked what I would take pictures of.

I said "Adirondack chairs by water".

Always on the look out for just this,

the above pictures are a few I have found in the Pacific Northwest.

In your part of the world do you search for them too?

What does your heart search for?

Happy weekend, dears friends!

Continue on with the search for places to sit and dream.

One Little Boy at Teatime

Not exactly a princess tea time,

for me there is one little boy to share tea with.

So we started out when he was just tike.

At 2 years old we shared tea time in his cottage.

Oh what fun we had!

And then there were times when at his little table we sat

as he learned to nibble cookies and pour the tea.

Then the day came when we sat in the garden

and honored the Mad Hatter with tea time.

Several hats were tried.

Tea was poured.

 Then during the winter we had a Harry Potter teatime too.

 He is getting older now, so off to the Lan Su Chinese Garden

where we sipped flowers in the teapot.

According to parents desires, the tea is herbal in the pot.

In the pink wings and cowboy hat below he is serving tea to a friend.

And this takes place as he is 5 years old.

He is learning to appreciate tea time with Mimi.

Each year it becomes so precious to me to celebrate with tea and 

my special "D" over tea.

This last celebration was to celebrate starting kindergarten soon.

So tell me this!

Why is it so often about little girls having tea parties

and not the boys?

Yes, he loves playing like a boy and being adventurous too;

but tea parties for little boys can bring out a whole different side of him.

It can be a time of teaching, but also celebration,

or just savoring the day over a cup of tea.

Waiting!

Quietly I sat by my breakfast window.

Waiting!

If the hummingbird sees me, he won't come to the feeder.

And so I waited with bated breathe behind the curtain.

I could see him in the distance.

He sits at the top of the dogwood and watches.

Always on the look out for movement.

I stood very still.

And finally for a quick sip he dashed to the feeder.

Can you see him under that branch?

My camera finger was ready.

I had to be quick.

It was only a moment, but the visit was my reward.

Another day there might be a better picture

for today I will wait again.

I love hummingbirds.

There is one variety that stays even after the flowers are gone;

so the waiting will be rewarded on another day.

Do you care to wait with me?

Patience in the wait!

Savor the day!

Taking the picture behind the curtain and through the window

doesn't give the best picture, but it was what was needed just yesterday.

Monday's Tea Quote

Willow branches graze the grass,

As I sit in the shade drinking tea.

A note from a flute blows clearly,

Mingling with the sound of rain.

I could sit here alone forever,

And still I'd never feel lonely.

—  Anonymous poem inscribed on an old Yi Hsing tea pot

Sitting right here with my morning tea.
What a delight in the quiet of the morning!
Have a good, good day!

A Rose is a Rose

 My "live-in gardener" and I love roses.

We can't resist adding a new one to the garden from time to time.

Each of the roses today is from the garden.

Right now there is a bouquet with roses in several places in the house.

And when the garden is finished I will buy a rose at the market for the bud vase.

They just make my heart sing with JOY.

 "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose."

~Gertrude Stein

 "Go lovely Rose,

Tell her that wastes her Time and me,

That now she knows,

When I resemble her to thee,

How sweet and fair she seems to be."

~Edmund Waller

 "As sense-bludgeoning as a rose."

~Diane Ackerman

 Sometimes a single rose will enchant,

while other times a full bouquet delights.

There were roses in my wedding bouquet.

There are roses on teacups.

There are roses in the fabric on my chairs and pillows.

There are roses on my wall.

and

Most of all, there are roses in my garden.

 "There is simply the rose;

it is perfect in every moment of its existence."

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Do you love roses?

Do you bring them into your home?

 All roses shown are from my garden, which is still blooming in October.

Happy weekend, dear friends!