Let the Season of Glitter Begin

 So many little glittery houses and vignettes.

 Wreaths too were full of the glittery stuff.

Christmas at the mall

The season delights my eyes

Glitter all around

~from me to you

Let the festivities begin,

but first I hope you had a delightful Thanksgiving if you live in the US.

I thoroughly enjoyed sitting at the table with my family.

Now it is time to play with glittery things,

bake cookies and cakes,

drink hot chocolate and special teas,

sing holiday songs,

and dance in the twilight.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Thanksgiving Blessings

As we express our gratitude,

we must never forget that the highest

appreciation is not to utter words,

but to live by them.

~John F. Kennedy

As we celebrate Thanksgiving
notice what we notice,
the small things of life that bring us JOY,
laughter, and DELIGHT.
It isn't about the food or the flowers,
but those that surround us on this special day.
Savor each moment and hold it in your heart. 
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

What goes with Tea?

As the Cookie Monster says, C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me!

Cookie, cookie, cookie!

Oh yes, these days I have cookies on my mind.

A new bakery, farinabakery.com, recently opened and they are selling the best cookies for tea time.

French macarons, in my opinion are the best to go with tea.

Today in my cup is a delicious black tea, Top Chingwo Congou from Harney and Sons

and on the side two very wonderful French macarons.

C rhymes with T and Cookies and Tea are the perfect pair.

Can you find French macarons where you live?
Do you have a special bakery that makes these gorgeous treats?
I do make cookies and my little "cookie monster" loves helping out,
but French macarons I will leave to the baker artists.
They are just for a special treat much like a little box of chocolates
to savor and delight in with a yummy cup of tea.

You can order online good teas from the following companies:
harney.com
teavivre.com  (I still have a few $5. off coupons)
floatingleaves.com (wonderful oolongs)

Enjoy some special teas for the holidays.
They make great gifts and stocking stuffers too.
Then find yourself a special treat, C is for Cookie!

Silliness

Sometimes I just have to be silly.

Actually I am not silly enough.

It does my heart good to be silly.

To dance in a tutu or drive through an imaginary wall,

those are the things that makes my heart dance with JOY.

Do you take opportunity to be silly?

Does silly make your heart sing?

I hope we all take each and every opportunity to be silly.

Jump with both feet,

wear that tutu,

dance as if your life depended on it.

Celebrate the ordinary with silliness!

Monday's Quotes

I have been absolutely terrified every moment of my life--

and I've never let it keep me from doing a single

thing I wanted to do.

~Georgia O'Keefe

Crafting with Kids

 Last weekend beside having tea and walking on a sandy beach

I played with little boys and though you don't see any little girls,

there were a few girls too.

 The boys really got into the craft project I brought along.

We were making all kinds of characters with toilet paper rolls,

a bit of recycling.

 Some needed a bit of help, but still proud of there finished project.

 Here is one proud crafter with his owl.

It had been a long time since I had the opportunity to play with kids and crafts. 

 I had fun too.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Hope you find time to play.

PS:  Don't forget the offer from Tuesday's post.  If you would like a code for
purchasing some tea with a discount, let me know.

Enchantment

 I stopped along the road to take a picture of this sight.

 

 Then turned and my heart skipped a beat.

 For right there in front of me stood a bird so still,

I wasn't sure he was real.

Was it Harry, visiting from Michigan?

Maybe a carved wooden statue?

 Soon he took flight and he captured my heart.

 He swooped down low and soon he became part of the picture.

The picture I had stopped to take.

He enchanted me.

He delighted my heart.

What is delighting your heart today?

Twice Delighted

Normally I am happy if we make it to Tillamook, Oregon once in a year for tea at LaTeaDa.

Since we were headed for a weekend at the beach

my live-in gardener thought we should have tea in Tillamook

one more time this year.

As you can see it was a quiet day, but they were already

for the holiday coming next month.

A peaceful sip of English Breakfast did the trick on a cold, icy afternoon.

Then to cleanse the palate there was mango sorbet.

The tea tier full of food is always delicious here.

It looks like even the pitcher of water in the gurgling fish concurs.

There was the usual egg salad, tomato with cheese and basil,

but my favorite still remains that sticky sausage roll.

There was a delicious pumpkin bread with pear and white cheddar,

an artichoke tart, and the stacked sandwich was perfect for the holiday

season with turkey, cucumber, and cranberry sauce.

Scones are not shown here, but always a delight.

The sweets were a pumpkin roll, rhubarb crisp, cookie, and mint brownie.

There always is a box to take some away to delight later in the day.

Then just for fun, they tempt you with pies to go.

No pie this day for me, but just to pretty not to share.

Just viewing them here makes me start thinking of pies yet to make for Thanksgiving.

Are you ready for preparations for the big day next week?

For those of you in Canada, you have already celebrated.

Are there similar celebrations in other countries?

PS:  Don't forget to let me know if you would like a discount code to buy tea from TeaVivre.

TeaVivre Gift

TeaVivre is a tea company in China that has shared some wonderful teas with me in the past.

Now they have a gift just for you, my faithful readers.

They have sent me the codes for 20 gifts of $5. off any order. 

This gift is good until November 2015.

Though they said it was a Black Friday gift

I am excited that it is a year long gift.

By using this gift card you will also receive an extra sample in your order.

How exciting is that?

How to use the gift card:  http://www.teavivre.com/faq/_c_giftcard/#a13102

How to receive your gift card code:   just leave a comment on this post

and make sure there is a way for me to contact you through email.

The first 20 to leave comments will receive this gift or email me.

You can use it for a gift of tea or teaware for yourself or someone

you know that loves tea.

I must say that all the TeaVivre teas I have tried have been delicious.
Happy holidays from TeaVivre and me.

Monday's Quotes

 Love is like a beautiful flower 

which I may not touch,

but whose fragrances makes the garden

a place of delight just the same.

~Helen Keller

A Winner

There is a winner on this cold Autumn day.

The winner is each of us that takes the time to notice the small things.

A winner is someone that says "thank you" each day for the beauty of the day.

A winner is someone that can smile during times of struggle,

take a deep breathe, and accept the rose that is slightly tattered but still shining in beauty.

For we all are winners when we have a song in our heart

and dance to the unheard music.

But for today I must announce the give-away winner mentioned on Tuesday.

One special winner, drawn by my live-in gardener from the red bowl.

The winner is :  Angela from Tea with Friends

Congratulations to you!  Your gift will soon be in the mail.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

If you don't see your comments posted right away

it is because I have stepped away from my computer for a little play time.

I will return to visit with you on Monday.

Falling Leaves

Raking leaves has become an art form.

 The winds came and the leaves all blew away.

The colors sitting at my door.

Brrrrr!  Winter has come in with a vengence.
Do you like to walk in the wind?
For me there has always been something so exhilerating
about the wind blowing my hair and circling all about.
I just want to dance with the leaves.

PS - Don't forget, there is a give-away announced on Tuesday's post.

Flowers in Winter

My live-in gardener has put the garden to bed.

When flowers are needed to delight the soul

it is off to the market we must go.

Are these flowers this gardener carries

for a special someone?

Do you buy flowers in the cold months

to delight your heart or for a gift?

Do you sometimes just stand in the flowers section

at the market and smile.

Well that is just for free too.

Do flowers just make you happy?

What story does this photo sing to your soul?

PS - Don't forget, there is a give-away announced on Tuesday's post.

Give Away for a Tea Lover

There hasn't been a give away in quite awhile here at Delights of the Heart.

I found a few delights recently that any tea lover would enjoy.

A bracelet with a teapot charm, a small book to delight,

and a fused glass trivet with a teapot that can walk.

What's not to like?

Small treasures do delight,

especially as we head toward a time of giving thanks.

Thanks to my readers who follow me along as I try

to keep focused on the delights of my heart.

All you have to do is leave a comment here

and on Friday I will announce the winner.

Make sure there is a way for me to find you

and let you know that you were chosen as a winner on that day.

Monday's Quotes

"Well, I suppose men can make all the laws they like," he said,

"but God made hope.  The stars willna burn out."

James Frazer from Diana Gabaldon's book,

Written in My Own Heart's Blood.

Hope is the thing dreams are built on to delight our soul.
m.miller

Do you remember plucking the daisy petals as a child
and saying, "He loves me, He loves me not"?
Hoping for "He loves me",
for that truly made it so.

Morning - A Place for Dreaming

My early morning tea time is a time for dreaming.

I dream of the day ahead.

I read.

I nibble a bit.

But most of all I enjoy my tea.

This morning it was back to my summer/spring tea from Thunderbolt Tea.

A delicious Puttabong Moondrops Darjeeling.

Quite wonderful!

It spoke to me of spring time and flowers.

I guess a girl can dream while sitting with her tea

of spring time and flowers at any time of year.

What's in your cup today?

Have a delightful weekend and dream a little dream once in the while.

PS:  Visit next week sometime, as I haven't had a give away in quite

awhile and I have been cleaning up my Marmalady's office.

There were some tea time treasures found there.

My Camera's for Play

Knowing that I love camera's, my half sister gave me her mother's old Kodax.

It was fascinating to take a peek into the last photos her mother took before

she stopped snapping photos.

What I use this camera for is to take digital photos through the viewfinder.

Can you see my reflection and the trees I am seeing through the viewfinder?

I found this Brownie, a very simple box camera, at an antique shop in Wisconsin

a few years ago.  It was $5. and I couldn't resist.

Do you see the viewfinder on it, it pops up and works quite well to help in framing

the photo.  Also check out the rustic lever for taking the picture.

It took me awhile to find film for this little gem, but I found a place right

here in Portland that sells the film and also does the developing.

Now this is my new beauty.

My mother-in-law gave me a little money last Christmas

and I wanted to buy something special.

After all these months I decided this was it.

It feels like I am taking pictures with Mickey Mouse's camera

because it is big and again quite simple.

The fun thing is the picture pops out the top of the camera

and in minutes I see the results.

Now I must say my Canon Rebel is the camera I most often use;

but when I want a different effect or just to play a bit,

these cameras just make me smile.

Do you like taking pictures?

What camera makes you smile?

Along Life's Roads

Last month I took Photo Meditation class with Susannah Conway.
I must say that taking a photography class encourages me to notice more what is around me.

My camera travels every where with me, so on this particular day included a drive in the country.

How fortunate I feel that along life's roads opportunities are there to grab.
Finding eagles on a grey day along the road just gave pause to stop and notice,
then pull out my camera and capture their beauty.

Eagles remind me of the majesty of life, the richness of the small things.
Aren't they gorgeous against the grey sky?
They did brighten my day.

What are you finding to brighten your day?

My Day

I rise

I dream

I grieve

I notice

I smile

Some days are just like that.

Then to this place of safety,

of dreaming,

of warmth,

and enchantment

I return