Happy Halloween

 

 

 

Happy Halloween, dear friends!
Walking in my neighborhood this is what I see.
Scary, isn't it?
Do you love a little scare at Halloween
or are you into princesses and fairies?
Will you dress the part and play along?
Or just watch the goblins walking by?

My basket of goodies is ready for those little goblins.
Oh I hope the little ones don't get scared and run away.

Textures

 

Textures delight the eyes
Textures in Time and in Memories
Do you just see a texture or is it an ebb and flow of life?
Is it smooth seas or rough roads?
Is it a bit of give and take?
Or facing the wind?
The textures of life, the ups and the downs,
all put together in a wonderful you.

What do you see when you look in your face?
What brings to this face the textures of life?

A Nest

 

A lovely nest I spied just the other day.
Tucked in a corner of the garden.
Sitting there to delight my soul with a chestnut
open and revealing it's heart
resting in the nest.

At night when I tuck in bed with pillows all around,
a book in hand,
a cat nearby,
and the warmth of blankets encircling me,
I feel as if I have entered my nest,
protected and warm.
A safe place to open and reveal my heart
while resting comes in the night.

Notice those small things tucked in corners.
Discover and Delight in the Day.
What are you noticing today?

Monday's Quotes

 

If you listen real carefully
when the breeze blows,
you can hear God's whispering.

The Family Circus

Autumn in the Garden

Each season at the Lan Su Chinese Gardens brings a special delight.

All over town the colors are spectacular,

but in the garden there is a special subtle touch.

The colors peek from the trees of the pomegranate and the persimmon.

The touches of color in the leaves speaks of Autumn too.

But the chrysanthemums sitting here and there just sang to my heart.

What are you noticing?

What colors are delighting and singing to your heart?

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Jane Came to Tea

 

We shared tea under the tree behind my house.
Yes, Jane was there with me, sipping tea.
It was a delightful afternoon respite.
Now Jane is on to new travels in the world,
but for Monday afternoon she sipped tea under the tree.

You can find her at http://www.bingleysteas.com/http://www.bingleysteas.com/

Silently

 

Taking a pause just the other day.
The fish swam by in the silence.
They were savoring the sunshine,
I just know they were.
Silently they swam on by.
Together in just being.
Sometimes it is the just being in a friendship
that is so special.
Not having to say a word,
but experiencing the day together.

Earth's Last Hurrah!

Pumpkins at the Apple Festival delight!

Oh the apple in any flavor just make me smile!

Yes, the colors of Autumn are especially vibrant,
as it celebrates with one final hurrah before Winter settles in.

What are you noticing in your part of the world, is it a hurrah moment
or a welcoming of Spring time bursting forth?

Monday's Quotes

 

Lives of great men all remind us,
we can make our lives sublime,
and departing,
leave behind us,
foot prints on the sands of time.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Haiku my Cow

 

The cows do gather
Surrounded by a grass field
Trees protect from rain.
~m.miller

Loved visiting this farm once upon a time.
Another form of poetry, haiku.
One I am just learning about and intrigued by.

The Art of Poetry

 

With my love of words I ventured out just yesterday to a poetry reading.
The poet loves nature and all it's beauty, but I took notice
of a small book about China.
A few excerpts by Tom Crawford, http://www.tomcrawfordpoetry.com/poems/

"From the wooden stool I watch him 
pound down the dough
then roll it out, sprinkle in chives,
Sichuan peppers, fold it over,
roll it out again.
Now he takes a black kettle from the stove
and offers me green tea.  Together
we sip from our cups and share
a hot shao bin he's torn in half."

Han
"We have come here to be stalled
by our own green hearts, waylayed
by what's past, the way in crosshatched
and slow as the oldest painting,
the black buffalo small against the mountain
still pulls the whole country along
on a single plow
one hoof at a time.

As a young girl I thought all poetry had to rhyme.
Fascinated recently by poetry, I have come to appreciate many styles.
 I find writing and poetry are another form of art.

The Art of Glass

 

 

 

 

 

When heat combines with raw material such as silica glass beauty appears.
Sometimes in life we need the heat to mold us into what we become.
A beautiful piece of art. 

I am in love with that pumpkin with its twists and turns.
Are you experiencing heat, twists and turns in your life?
They will mold you into something beautiful.

Photos taken at a glass studio in Lincoln City, Oregon

The Art of Nature

 

The art of nature just takes my breathe away.
The color
The form
The size, both large and small
Our creator was smiling when creating nature to surround us humans.
The life and sights of the sea always thrill me.

When you are out and about what touches your heart in nature?

Monday's Quotes

 

In all things of nature
there is something of the marvelous.
~Aristotle

In the Potter's Hands

The tea bowl was started with a lump of clay.

And shaped in the potter's hands.

Glazed.

Some trimming and shaping was needed to create the bottom of the bowl.

This is a face of DELIGHT

Just out of the kiln it glowed bright red.

Cooled in a tub of water.

Happiness!

In the potter's hands, the finished tea bowl.

Preparing the matcha tea for the first sip.

Sipping with JOY.

The finished bowl.

The potter is Richard Brandt, a pottery teacher from Portland, Oregon.
It was delightful to just watch his expressions and love as he made this very special tea bowl.
This particular art is Raku ceramics.
The tea bowl is traditional Japanese.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

The People of Tea

Couldn't help posting this pretty purple teapot for those that love purple.

This teapot intrigued me and so do the little boy tea pets.

I didn't get everyone's names here, sorry!
The woman holding the red mug is Lorna Reeves, Editor of Tea Time Magazine.
The man in the middle is James Norwood Pratt, who has written several tea books
and quite the tea celebrity. http://www.jamesnorwoodpratt.com
The couple on the right were representing Chado Tea.
Does anyone know who the woman in purple is?

Brett Boynton of Phoenix Tea as he was sharing two exquisite Darjeeling teas in a tasting.
https://phoenix-teashop.com

I asked James Norwood Pratt if I could take his picture
and this was what he wanted me to take, kissing his wife, Valerie.

Becky Li talking about the strength of the Hunan Dark Tea.
http://www.guitiansteaclub.com/

 

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Becky just make the tea for us in this tasting.
She is so full of grace.

Always learning more about tea, the NW Tea Festival was a delight.

A Weekend of Tea

 There were 10 in our group that ventured to Seattle this past weekend for the NW Tea Festival.
Then two more joined us from back east and we were a group of 12 who enjoyed tea and conversation.

First stop for tea was the New Century Tea Shop in Seattle's Chinatown.

Then onto Floating Leaves in the Ballard District of Seattle.

Saturday morning our group presented the WuWo Tea Ceremony out in the courtyard
at Seattle Center.  The sun came out and it was a delightful time of sharing.

One of the tea settings served and sipping tea at the WuWo Tea Ceremony.

Sipping puer tea with Jeffrey McIntosh was another high light.

Sitting under the space needle sipping tea was indeed a delight.

Inside the show with many tea lovers.

There were tea lovers everywhere and came from many places.
I chatted with the guy in the plaid shirt and he was there from Michigan.
Friends came from New Jersey and New York.
Oh what fun we had sipping tea and chatting.

I will share a bit more tomorrow.
Do you love tea?
If so, the NW Tea Festival takes place in Seattle the first weekend in October every year.