Seeking Beauty In Everyday Life
“Would you like an adventure now,
or would you like to have your tea first? ”
-James M. Barrie.
I am off on an adventure for the next week.
When I return I will have stories to share.
Tea will be sipped and people to see.
But most of all a return to another time in my life, a time to remember and savor once more.
Have a terrific week while I am away!
Flowers today are from a recent visit to Lan Su Chinese Gardens. This lotus was stunning.
How It Is
Over and Over we break
open, we break and
we break and we open.
For a while, we try to fix
the vessel - as if
to be broken is bad.
As if with glue and tape
and a steady hand we
might bring things to perfect
again. As if they were ever
perfect. As if to be broken is not
also perfect. As if to be open
is not the path toward joy.
The vase that's been shattered
and cracked will never
hold water. Eventually
it will leak. And at some
point, perhaps, we decide
that we're done with picking
our flowers anyway, and no
longer need a place to contain them.
We watch them grow just
as wildflowers do - unfenced,
unmanaged, blossoming only
when they're ready - and mygod,
how beautiful they are amidst
the mounting pile of shards.
~Rosemary Wahtola Trommer
As in the poem, a flower blooms only when it is ready to bloom. Do we likewise bloom when we are ready? And yes, there is a part of brokenness in life that allows the light to shine through the cracks and make us more beautiful. I think, for me, it is a hard lesson that I continue to learn.
Have a beautiful week, dear friends!
With the anticipation of Autumn in the air, I have been looking for signs. The color ORANGE just speaks to me of the season at hand. I never really paid attention to orange, but this year I am looking for it. Sometimes it is just a small touch and other times a splash that says "notice me!". As I write this I am wearing my orange tee shirt. It really is a happy color.
With the visit not long ago to the dahlia farm I found touches of orange in both huge and tiny pumpkins. They just made me smile. I had gone for flowers, which you know I enjoyed, but also found orange.
Robert Louis Stevenson
In the other gardens
And all up in the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over,
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do no labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." Matthew 6:28-29
"Be strong and very courageous." Joshua 1:7
The flowers I have posted are not lilies, but still they shine each spring in the fields. Peonies in all their glory. And the quotes may not be judged as poetry, but so much of scripture I believe is indeed poetry.
This morning as I watched the committal service for Queen Elizabeth the above scriptures were brought to mind by the words shared as she was laid to rest. She was indeed strong and courageous. She has done her job well. Rest, dear Queen. We will remember the Queen of Hearts.
Sending love,
Marilyn
Today's post is a review of three Assam, Indian teas. I am reminded, as I mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth that her "go to" teas each day were all from India. Her favorites were an Assam, Darjeeling, and Earl Grey teas. They were all brewed in a fine china teapot and served in a pretty teacup. England has quite a tea history with India in the help of developing the tea industry. They secretly took plants from China and transported them to India to help with the tea growth there. About that time they did find an assamica variety, which has a larger leaf, growing wild in the Assam district and that was also cultivated.
Recently Assam Heritage Tea sent me three special 2022 teas to taste. They are always so generous to share with me to review or just to taste. Normally I don't drink Assam because I find most of them quite astringent and too strong for my liking. But Heritage Tea company works hard to develop extraordinary, special teas that just delight me. Rajen and June Barauh's love of fine teas just shines in the teas they develop.
White tea in a cup.
The white tea (2022) had a fresh floral flavor, like walking through a field of wildflowers. A touch of sweetness, but not overpowering. I was surprised I liked it because often (for me) I find white teas a bit weak in flavor.
Black tea in a cup.
Assam STGFOP (June 2022). Most of you might not know that teas are graded and identified sometimes by letters. This particular tea stands for Special Tippy Golden Flower Orange Pekoe. It was very smooth and a bit buttery in flavor. Not at all what I often taste from a black Assam. Yes, it was "Special" and delightful.
Another - Black tea in a cup.
Artisanal Long Leaf (2022). I shared this with my son and we had fun reviewing it. We both agreed it was like walking through a dewy field of tea with a touch of sweet mushroom or through the forest on a cool Autumn day. This was our favorite.
We found no acidity in any of the three teas. I steeped all three at boiling temperature for 4 minutes.
If you would like to find teas from Heritage Tea you can find them at www.teaanditspeople.com Look for teas from India and then search out Heritage Tea. You would definitely not be disappointed.
Happy tea drinking, Happy weekend - dear friends!
Not exactly a poem today, but something to think on. This came to me just yesterday as I sat in church. Interestingly the message was on grief and this is what I began thinking about. Sometimes as we get older we might feel unseen, some grief and a bit "shabby"; but as the quote says it does take a long time to become "Real". I feel like each day I become more "Real".
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” from the Velveteen Rabbit
My shirt says "Here's to strong women, may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them."
As a strong woman, may we accept our flaws, our imperfections, and become more "Real" each and every day.
"Just the fact that you get to live and breathe and interact with the world – that's pretty marvelous." ~Junot Diaz
Just take a breath and enjoy my visit to Swan Island Dahlia Farm in Canby, Oregon.
"Unexpected change is like a breath of fresh air, a little brisk at first, but magic for the body and soul." ~ Susan Wiggs, 'Just Breathe', 2013.
"I love being in the woods when I can just walk barefoot in the grass and just sit down and breathe. I love that so much." ~ Jessie Reyez.
"There is one way of breathing that is shameful and constricted. Then, there’s another way: a breath of love that takes you all the way to infinity." ~ Rumi.
Cafe au Lait is one I have wanted in the garden for awhile. Next year it will be there.
Dear Friends,
Have an amazing weekend. Go out for a walk and breathe.
Love to you all, Marilyn
On Saturday I visited Swan Island Dahlia Farm here in Oregon. I snapped about 80 pictures; so I am sure you will see more another day. I felt like the two that showed the sky that day perfectly fit the poem.
Over the Weather
We forget about the spaciousness
above the clouds
but it's up there. The sun's up there too.
When words we hear don't fit the day,
when we worry
what we did or didn't do,
what if we close our eyes,
say any word we love
that makes us feel calm,
slip it into the atmosphere
and rise?
Cream miles of quiet,
Giant swoop of blue.
~Naomi Shihab Nye
Do you love dahlias? More and more I have fallen in love with them.
It was a perfect day to wander the farm full of flowers.
Dear ones, Go out there and find a flower and spacious skies today and ENJOY!
Many things bring great delight to me: tea, gardens, flowers, outdoors, food, and friends that cross my path. These all make my heart sing with small chuckles, giggles, laughter, and tears. It is my desire to seek beauty all around me, have the heart of a wanderer, a storyteller.
