Sailor Boy

If a little boy were to sail away,
Yeo ho for the sailor boy!
He'd certainly come to France some day,
Yeo ho for the sailor boy!

Yet the sailor boy would not feel alone,
Yeo ho for the sailor boy!
For in France he'd find some good friends of his own,
Yeo ho for the sailor boy!

~ Taken from Nursery Friends from France
To Peter and John is the nursery rhyme.

This morning I leave for France for three weeks.
My posts will be sporadic during that time, but I
hope to share a few stories, maybe a friend, and some
pictures along the way. It is indeed a trip of a lifetime.

Come, Sit awhile!

What is it that is so inviting when I see a Adirondack chair?
The soft lavender of these chairs sitting at the Port Williams Lavender Farm were calling to me to sit. Can you just picture a lovely purple teapot on the small table? A time for quiet, a time for peace, and a time for a chat with a special someone. Care to join me?

There were still some blooms to touch and smell.
Do you walk by lavender and just can't keep your hands off of it?
Reach out and touch! What a delight!

Tea at Port Gamble

Last Saturday my husband and I join Val and Dee for tea in Port Gamble, Washington. Val is a friend I met online and have been able to share tea with twice now, once here in Port Gamble and once in Southern California. How fun to meet online friends for tea.

This lovely tray of food was presented in a three tier server.
Aren't the scones huge! They were about 5 inches across.
And so many little sandwiches, some of them went home.

Each of us had are own pot of tea. I had a black tea from Nilgiri, India.

Lovely artificial flowers sat at the top of a glass candle stick.
A very fun idea!

The end of the meal was fresh fruit served with three different chocolates to dip the fruit in.
What a nice touch for a tearoom that specialises in chocolate.
It was a lovely afternoon spent with friends.

It's Time

It's time to announce the winner of the Monday Linen Days give away.
The winner is Laurie of Blue Waters, musings from my side of the pond.
Congratulations Laurie!
Please email me your address and the linens will be on their way.
Thanks to all of you that followed along my linen journey.
It was great fun.
Starting in late October I will have another Monday journey with a give away at the end.

Skater Dreams

Saturday I was walking by a skater park and wanted to test myself taking a few action shots, but the real reason was to dream for a few moments of what it would feel like to fly on a skateboard. This kid loved performing for me. He would tell me where to point my camera and what he was going to do to entertain me. I asked him why there were no girls skating. He said they come and crash once and never come again. He wanted me to take this picture touching his board. I also took one of him "doing air", but all I got were his feet. He flew so high.

Now secretly (I guess the secret will be out now) I was a quiet girl growing up, but also a daring one. If I had known of skateboards when I was a girl, I would have certainly been out there with the boys. For a few moments I dreamed of being that skater girl, flying "doing air".

Don't forget to leave comments for the linen give away. I will announce the winner tomorrow morning.

Wish

I Wish

Good health for each of you
Food enough for each person in the world
Peace in the World and peace in each heart
Sunny days full of flowers and fruit
Love and acceptance of each other
Laughter
Hugs
Smiles
A touch
Moments of quietness
Beautiful sunsets
Clear skies free of pollution
Water free of harmful bacteria
A world where dreams come true for each of you
And a winner for my Monday Linen Day give away
Please remember to leave a comment
The drawing is Thursday morning

What do you wish for?

Final Monday Linen Day

Did you think I forgot you?
I was gone and now am back for the final Monday Linen Days.
I have thought and thought about what someone might enjoy
for the give away to celebrate the final day.
Finally I decided to give a pretty apron, two embroidered doilies, and a surprise tablecloth.
I had to give something with embroidery as I had one reader comment I had inspired her
to start embroidery again.
I haven't picked the table cloth yet, because I want to pick with the winner in mind.
So for everyone that leaves comments here today and until Thursday morning,
I will be drawing a special linen gift.
The drawing will be announced Thursday morning (PST) and sent on Friday.
I hope you have enjoyed the Monday Linen Days series.
I have enjoyed sharing my linen collection with you.
There are more Monday series in mind for the future.

Traveling Teapot

About two weeks ago the traveling teapot arrived at my home.
It is a fairly basic teapot of a lovely blue. I called my sister
and said "would you like to meet me in the park for tea?".
We met yesterday under that beautiful oak tree and
had tea with the traveling teapot. I spread a vintage table cloth on the table with a touch of yellow. The yellow and blue colors reminded me of an upcoming trip I will be taking in just a week and a half.
We shared the last pot
of the LeFrance tea I brought home from California in May. Oh, I will miss that one.
I made the sandwiches, which were egg salad (my favorite),
black olive (my sister's favorite), and pesto pinwheels (very good, a new recipe).
My sister brought the sweets, which were cherry tarts, oatmeal raisen cookies, and M&M cookies (all very good). I brought a bottle of bubbles to blow and we took a lovely walk along the river. What a perfect afternoon for tea with the traveling teapot.

This weekend the traveling teapot will travel with me to Pt. Townsend, Washington for tea with my mother-in-law. Then it will be ready to travel onto another tea lover.
Have a great weekend. I will be back Monday afternoon for my final day of linens and a give away.

Fall Flowers

Dahlias from the garden make a beautiful fall bouquet.

The rugosa rose blooms throughout the summer and still blooming into the fall. Now it is beginning to form beautiful rose hips.

Flowers recently given to me from a dear friend. It is a set of 6 cups, saucers, and dessert plates. She thought they would look good in my turquoise and yellow kitchen. Do you think they are a match? I love them and can't wait for the perfect tea time to use them.

Morning

Morning

Salt shining behind its glass cylinder
Milk in a blue bowl. The yellow linoleum.
The cat stretching her black body from the pillow.
The way she makes her curvacceous response to the small, kind gesture.
Then laps the bowl clean.
Then wants to go out into the world
where she leaps lightly and for no apparent reason across the lawn,
then sits, perfectly still, in the grass.
I watch her a little while, thinking:
what more could I do with wild words?
I stand in the cold kitchen, bowing down to her.
I stand in the cold kitchen, everything wonderful around me.

by Mary Oliver

Enjoy the morning light.

Is this the face of a Stranger?

I was sitting in a restaurant waiting for my food when a
little girl sitting in the next booth turned and looked at me.
She said, "Are you a stranger?".
I asked her if she knew me and she said, "no".
I said I must then be a stranger.
Her mama had told her not to talk to strangers, but
she wanted to talk to me. She was trying so hard
to figure out what a stranger looked like.

I have thought many times since then, how do we
teach our children to be safe, but still be able
to talk to strangers? I had gotten so I didn't
talk to strangers either and it narrowed my world.
Many of you I have not met, does that mean you
are a stranger to me? There are many people out there
that I want to know. Blogging has helped me to meet some
beautiful people and has opened my world. I find I am also
talking to people more at the market or when I am out and about.
For the most part I am finding people want to interact.
So how do we know who the stranger is?
And how do we teach our children to know, but still
be open to the people that have beautiful hearts?

Monday Linen Days

Vintage pillowcases are a luxury I use everyday, but
sometimes they wear out. So when they wear out, I make
small pillowcases with the embroidery. They are pockets
to wrap a special gift in.

Here are some of my pillowcases. The one with the yellow
flower is my favorite, but it is beginning to wear out.
Have you thought of this? When you make the bed, do
the ends of the pillowcase over lap to the next or are they
facing away from each other? Are they communicating or
ignoring each other? Maybe it is just me, but I always
think that when I place the pretty pillowcases with
the pillows inside on my bed.

Next week is the last day for Monday Linen Days.
Please make sure to visit, as there will be a give away.
I still am not sure what it will be, but it will come
from my linens. I will be out of town; so my post will
be later in the day on Monday.

Whisper in the Air

An edible chrysanthemum in my garden.

The only pumpkin in my garden.

There is a whisper in the air,
seasons are changing.
It is a time for gathering in,
taking in the end of the summer warmth.
A time for harvesting,
soaking in the last rays of sunshine.
Preparing for the winter time.
What are you doing to prepare?
Are you harvesting from the garden?
Sitting in the afternoon sun?
Take in the memory of how the sun feels.
Remembering also the warm tomato,
eating the warmth of the sunshine.
Remember how it feels as we step forward
into fall.

Are you rich?

Recently I was asked, "are you rich?"
It took my breathe away.
"Oh no, I am not rich" I said.
We had planned for joy.
We intended to take joy, but rich - oh no.
But, yes I am rich.
I am rich in joy and love.
I am rich in friendship and family.
I am rich in home and a world of beauty.
Yes, I am rich.

The Library - Concordia University

Saturday I traveled to the library. It wasn't a very long journey,
as I only had to walk two city blocks to arrive there.
It is a new library, just built this summer on the campus
of Concordia University. You can see the new grassy amphitheater
from inside the library. They were playing Shakespeare out
on the lawn.

Isn't it beautiful? I am so excited, as the library will be open to
the neighborhood too. There is a coffee shop at the far end.

The new bell tower on the other side of the lawn.
What a wonderful addition to our neighborhood.
****
I wonder if you love libraries?
What are your memories of your first visit to a library?
Can you still imagine the smell of all those books?
Did you ever go there for story hour?
***
I love libraries.
It is so exciting to wander through the aisles and see all
the words that are available at no cost to me, but time well spent.
As a young girl, when I learned to ride my bike further than just on
my street, my mom would let me ride to the library.
I would explore for hours and come home with
books of adventures of all kinds, but mostly about
women in history. They were my favorites.
If you can't find me sometime and you wonder where I am,
I will be off to the library.

Friendship Reflections over Tea

Reflections in my cup of tea last week with a friend.

"There are volumes to speak of the friends who have
chosen me. For is that not what our friends do? Is it not
that choosing that makes friendship the divine gift that
it is? And there is no pantheon among these chums who make
our journeys with us. I have heard friends described as pillars
on a porch, always needed, but also silently standing by,
supporting our lives with understanding. Oh, my dear
friends, how often I have felt unworthy of you all.
But thank goodness you looked beyond my bluster
and foibles to make my journey so much more beautiful.
What a pure thing friendship is."

This paragraph was taken from Jenny Walton's Packing
for a Woman's Journey by Nancy Lindemeyer.
I thoroughly enjoyed the description of a friendship.
Thanks for being my friends.