My Heart Sings with Flowers

Take this Walk with Me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers to Delight

God's gift of Joy

Dance with the Peonies

Sing songs of pink, yellow, and lavender

Twirl in the Sunlight

Rejoice in the Day

A day spent at the Lan Su Chinese Gardens.

Don't forget to leave a comment for the give away mentioned on Tuesday.

Flowers to Delight

http://www.canvaspop.com/

Recently I wanted to just surround myself with flowers indoors.

You know there are flowers in my garden.

The banner now hanging over my mantle are photos

I had taken in my garden and printed on card stock.

The most delightful flower though was the calla lily with raindrops.

I just love the curve of this flower and the purity of the white with the yellow.

My friend, Mary at A Breath of Fresh Air,
was having a give away on her blog and I was the winner.

It was to choose one photo and have it printed on 16"x20" canvas.

Needless to say, I was thrilled.

The calla lily print came last week and each day as I see it on my mantle

I get just giddy with this beautiful print.

My home is beginning to have flowers all around me and I am loving it.

Canvas Pop was the most generous company with this give away.

You can find the link above.  Thanks, Canvas Pop!!!

I also got a smaller print of another favorite and I am delighted.

Don't forget the give away on yesterday's post.

Steven Smith Teamaker

After the event at Steven Smith Teamakers recently
they offered some tea for one of my blog readers.

I picked the Smith Variety pack because I just knew you would love

a variety of tea sachets to taste many of the delights at the tea shop.

Oh and it comes in that wonderful box that can be reused or

decorated for other purposes.  I adore their boxes and their tea.

Then just for fun I decided to toss in a tea cup to

use for all the tea drinking you will be doing.

Now all you have to do is leave a comment telling

me why we should pick you to receive this treat.

Simple isn't it?

Make sure I know how to get in contact with you.
I will announce the winner on May 1st, Friday,
A perfect celebration for starting off a new month.

To find Steven Smith Teamakers, just go online at: http://www.smithtea.com/

Monday's Quotes

So glorious a display of pure wildness,

acting at close range while cut off from all the world beside,

is terribly impressive....

the rainbow light forming one of the most

glorious pictures conceivable.

~John Muir

The view from my sister-in-laws window just a few days ago.

Earth Day 2015

 Trillium

 Wild Roses

 Western Towhee

 Yellow Violets

Ferns and Forest

 Bleeding Hearts

 Fiddleheads

 Snail

 More Trilliums

 Oregon Grape

Fairy Lanterns

May we be blessed this Earth Day with the delights of the earth.

May we treasure and care for them as an endangered child.

May we spend time with the earth relishing it's beauty.

May we sing songs in adoration of our earth.

May we dance and laugh for JOY.

For our earth is worth saving and loving

and holding dear to our hearts.

Steeped - Delightful!

 

Recently an invitation popped up in my inbox from Tiffany,

the Events Coordinator, at Steven Smith Teamaker.

I was thrilled to be included in the kick off for a new book,

Steeped, Recipes Infused with Tea, by Annelies Zijderveld.

It has just been on the market about a week and a half

and you can find it at Amazon.com

Gathering in the kitchen we were greeted by the book author

and 6 cups of tea for tasting.  Each tea would be included in recipes

from the book, but first we did some tasting: Long Jing, Rooibos, Keemun,

Lord Bergamot, Masala Chai, and Matcha.  Always delicious TEA.

Samples of each were sent home with us, so we could begin our adventure

in cooking with tea.

 What fun to have a front row to Annelies demonstrations

on several recipes from the book.

 Many of her recipes have the tea ground in a herb grinder,

which is actually a coffee grinder that has not been used for coffee.

Here she is showing Geoff, another tea blogger, the results

of grinding tea.  Geoff also has a post, which you can find

at  http://steepstories.com/steeped-recipes-at-smiths/

Annelies made Hurricane Popcorn with Tea Furikake,

which used a coarsely ground Dragon Well tea with sesame seeds,

kosher salt, sugar, popcorn, and a nice oil.  It was quite delicious.

A yogurt parfait was the perfect treat to greet us.

The yogurt was infused with Lord Bergamot tea,

which just bumped this yogurt treat up several notches of delight.

A White Bean Walnut Spread was like a special

hummus treat.  I think this was my favorite treat of the day.
The Keemun smokiness just added something special.

To end the afternoon event of chatting, nibbling, snapping photos,

and visiting with other bloggers, staff at the tea shop, and especially Annelies

were an extra special day surrounded with tea.

Batch PDX also brought by tea infused chocolates just to end the day with sweetness.

Definitely, I can recommend this book.  Any tea lover would love adding it to their library.

Monday's Quotes

It's goodness is a decision for the mouth to make.

~Lu Yu

Backdrop to Beauty

Each seasonal change takes me to a special antique mall here in Portland,

Monticello Antiques.

As I strolled with my camera recently I just noticed how much structural

elements are being used as a backdrop for showing off a beautiful

vase, flowers, or bust.

There were windows, screens, concrete bench and table, plus ladders.

They just speak to finishing with a frame, a statement of delight.
When you think of decorating your world,
do you consider structural backdrops?
Even if you don't, just enjoy the tour.
It is where I go for a time of quiet reflection,
a time with my camera and to view beauty.

Where do you venture for a time of quiet reflection?
Happy weekend, dear friends!
May the sun shine upon you and delight your heart.

Transformation

Each year I choose a word for the year, which I have mentioned here many times.

Last year my church started picking a word for the year also;

so I have ended up with two different words swimming in my mind.

The church encourages us to speak or in some way illustrate what this

word might mean to each member.

Recently I did this art piece for the church on what "transformation"

means to me.

Thanks to my friend, Jeanie at The Marmalade Gypsy, for sharing some

tips for finding and applying the butterflies.

The word "transformation" just sang to my heart of a chrysalis releasing

a church full of blossoming butterflies.

Butterflies that fly out into the world and make it a better place.
May we all be butterflies!

On the Farm, Ei Ei O

Sweet little girl twins.  They had to be bottled fed for awhile.

Cleaning the barn.

Tucked in amongst the trees, a future venue for weddings.

Oh silly chicken, where are you going?

The quick escape artist, Wilbur.
You are too fat to escape your pen again.
Ha! You naughty little pig.

Have you ever dreamed of having a farm?
The song runs through my head of Old MacDonald.
Recently I visited this sweet little farm
where a dream is coming true.
A "niece" (really my cousins daughter), but we call each other
niece and aunt; she had a dream of such a farm.
Her husband caught the dream along with her
and their dreams came true.

How fun to walk around this farm and see dreams coming true.
The vintage barn in the trees will one day be set up for weddings.
My cousin is going to plant baby kiwi on some of the acreage.
I will share with you as the farm grows and flourishes.
A dream come true for this young family.

Do you still have a dream?
May it come true in ways yet unimagined.

White Tea Time

Okayti Silver Needle Darjeeling tea, a white tea from

www.goldentipstea.com.

I left this tea until the last to review separately,

not knowing whether I would like it or not.

White teas often seem a little bland to me and a bit to light.

I was delighted to be surprised with this beautiful

Okayti Silver Needle Darjeeling.

Yesterday, on a rainy spring time day, I opened the package

to beautiful grey green needles.

It was recommended that it steep at a little cooler than

boiling water for 4-5 minutes, which is exactly what I did.

First sniffing, then tasting it was like a breathe of springtime.

A soft almost floral scent and flavor was enjoyed with each sip.

It brought the same pleasure as the first glimpse of spring.

A little more bold than some white teas and this tea just delighted me.
You can find this tea and many other delightful teas at
www.goldentipstea.com

The teaware is from my collection of white children's antique teaware.

Monday's Quotes

"Every day you have a choice

to turn left,

right, 

or move forward."

~The Outlander

Sometimes the choices are for delight,
taking the road less traveled.
Enjoy the journey!

Fragrance of Springtime!

Oh Spring I smell you.

I delight in the freshness of a Spring rain.

Tucking in bed at night my sheets say Springtime is here.

The blossoms fall as if it is snowing,

but there is a different feel in the air.

I smile for I know the flowers are beginning to shine.

Soon fragrances of roses and lilacs will fill the air.

Do you love the fragrances of each season?

Do you notice what you notice when it comes to natures gifts to the senses?

Take a cup of tea in your hand and stroll through the garden with me.

 The beginning of the lilacs reach for the sky.

Even the daffodils flavor the air.

Violets delight as they naturalize around the tree.

Take time this weekend to notice what you notice.

The fragrance of Springtime.

Happy Weekend, dear friends!