Flowers are Our Friends

 Bringing flowers indoors whether from the garden or the market, they are my friend.

They light up my life each and every day.

You can always find a small and sometimes a large bouquet inside my house, even in winter. They make me smile.

Even on my tea tray there is a flower or two.

"Just living is not enough....One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." Hans Christian Andersen

I hope flowers are your friend too.

They delight my soul each and every day.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Words of Kindness and Joy

 "Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things." Chaim Potok

This weekend I drove to Eugene, Oregon to have a "me" weekend with a friend. When I arrived she said "come, have tea".

It was a little cool, so she had the fire burning and the table was set out in her little tea tent in her yard.

We sipped a lovely black tea from Young Mountain Tea in her grandmother's china. The china, with violets, reminded me of my grandfather's china. So very special.

She had made three open face sandwiches: cucumber, chicken curry, and caprese with tomatoes from her garden.

Then we had a lime tart, little cakes and chocolates.

 

 

The view from my seat of her garden.

What a kind, thoughtful gift.

She knew exactly what I would enjoy, a refreshment after the 2 hour drive.

Sometimes it is just these little things, that make life so special and put a smile on your faces. I loved being the recipient of tea time, as most often I am the giver of tea times.

Hoping kindness comes your way this very week.

Sending love,

Marilyn
 

Women Holding Things

 

"From the critically acclaimed artist, designer, and author of the bestsellers The Principles of Uncertainty and My Favorite Things comes a wondrous collection of words and paintings that is a moving meditation on the beauty and complexity of women’s lives and roles, revealed in the things they hold.

“What do women hold? The home and the family. And the children and the food. The friendships. The work. The work of the world. And the work of being human. The memories. And the troubles. And the sorrows and the triumphs. And the love.”

In the spring of 2021, Maira and Alex Kalman created a small, limited-edition booklet “Women Holding Things,” which featured select recent paintings by Maira, accompanied by her insightful and deeply personal commentary. The booklet quickly sold out. Now, the Kalmans have expanded that original publication into this extraordinary visual compendium.

Women Holding Things includes the bright, bold images featured in the booklet as well as an additional sixty-seven new paintings highlighted by thoughtful and intimate anecdotes, recollections, and ruminations. Most are portraits of women, both ordinary and famous, including Virginia Woolf, Sally Hemings, Hortense Cezanne, Gertrude Stein, as well as Kalman’s family members and other real-life people. These women hold a range of objects, from the mundane—balloons, a cup, a whisk, a chicken, a hat—to the abstract—dreams and disappointments, sorrow and regret, joy and love."

 

I have had the above quote sitting here in an unpublished post since March. Last night as I lay in bed unable to sleep I thought about what women hold. It isn't always beautiful, like a balloon or a bouquet of flowers. Sometimes holding things is messy. I may be holding together a broken heart or being the strength for your family when things are falling apart. It isn't easy. I wanted to share beautiful pictures of women holding things, but all I could think of was the messy part of what we as women must hold.

What encouraged the thinking last night was seeing a cartoon of three men in suits and three women dressed for the office getting ready to run a race. In the tracks where the men would run it was clear sailing. Where the women were to run there were hurdles of such things as doing the laundry, cooking meals, caring for the children and much more. They took on the challenge, yes; but the way was cluttered with detours and obstacles. Yet, they persevered.

 

I know, this is a lot to read; but it is to say sometimes it is hard for me to even be here at Delights of the Heart. I keep persevering, even though the hurdles are great. I get so weary. So right now I am weary, but thank you for being here to encourage me to focus on delights, joys and kindness. Looking back at my pictures of the past week the only thing I could see is flowers and one dear grandson with more cats in the city. We found 7 cats yesterday. There are sorrows and regrets, but I am going to keep on focusing on those delights.

How are you doing, dear friends? Are you holding an armful of messy? Hoping that there are a few beautiful, delightful things popping up in your week.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Words of Kindness and Joy

A friend always closes her emails with a quote. This is the quote recently on her email:

Speak kind words and you will hear kind echoes 

 

I did a little research to see who originally said this. What I found came from Mother Teresa, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.” 

So my mind wanders down the avenue of "echoes". Memories of kindnesses shared and the reverberation. How did it feel when someone had a kind word for me? I felt happy and wanted to pass it along. It is like sound waves that repeat and repeat.

The reflection on the water is like an "echo". It sends out a beautiful image again and again.

How do you feel when receiving a kind word?

Do you want to pass it along?

Sending love,

Marilyn

 

Adventures with D

 Laika (animation) Studio is celebrating the 15th anniversary of their first stop motion film, Coraline, by decorating Portland with cats from the film. They made 31 cats and invited artists to decorate them. About a week ago they were placed all over Portland. D, my "live-in gardener" and I decided to looks for them. So far we have found 8 cats. They will be in Portland until October and then auctioned off for a charity fund raiser.

This one is "Thrive don't just Survive" and is across the street from one of the largest bookstores west of the Mississippi.  We stopped at Powell's Bookstore too, where D got a Pokemon Cookbook.

This is Mizton and she sits by one of the oldest fountains in Portland, Skidmore Fountain.

The name of this one was missing, but it sits along the downtown river front.

OK, we had to stop at Lan Su Chinese Gardens and have tea and lunch. Just outside the garden stood Dream Come True cat.

Made of Hug stood just outside OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). If you ever come to Portland this museum is a great place to take kids.

Then we stopped at Washington Park to walk through the rose gardens. Rumor had it there was a cat there.

We found her at the back of the garden. Tricky placement; so we had to walk through the roses. I'm not complaining, as I love roses. There was a little smelling and stopping to admire them.

 

There were beautiful flowers at Pittock Mansion too.

 

And one more cat was found at the mansion overlooking downtown Portland. It was a bit smokey from forest fires, but then we were there for the cat named, Classic Cat.

Well I showed you 7 cats. We saw one more from the car; so no picture. More adventures needed to find 22 more.

Along the way we also stopped to see the Thomas Dambo Troll and the Nordic Center.

 

I have shared him before, but D hadn't seen him yet.

Even though D enjoyed seeing the Troll I think he liked the Swedish meatball lunch in the Nordic restaurant more. I had never seen him eat with such gusto.

The cats and the troll have made for fun adventures with D this summer and we are at the same time enjoying the sights of Portland. This adventure was done on two different days. Since D's mom has gone to work I am trying to come up with adventures with my one and only grandson.

Hoping you are also finding adventures and time to play along the way.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Words of Kindness and Joy

 A Kind Reminder: Ocean waves flowing to shore are the way the moon sends warm embraces to the earth. So too, distance is relative, and care can bridge perceived chasms within. Likewise, should we care for ourselves and others who need a kind reminder that they are not forgotten. Shiloh Gastello

On Saturday my dear Joey for Joy left me for heaven.

It was a very hard decision. After talking to him earlier in the week he told me it was time. He refused to eat. I even tried force feeding him and he spit it out. He was my companion for 15 years and is missed dearly.

I didn't realize how much he was my companion cat and most often nearby. When I would have my breakfast he was always right under the table. He often laid on the baby quilt behind me when I was on the computer.

And sometimes he was right by my feet.

He was always curious to see what I was doing.

This picture is rare since most often he wouldn't look at me when I wanted to take a picture.

 He was a quiet cat, but loyal.

My Marmalade Cat.

I think he was rather smart too; but maybe that was the mom in me. When I was sitting and said "jump" he knew it was time to jump into my lap. When I said "eat" he knew it was time to eat. And when I said "nite,nite" he knew it was time to curl up on his blanket.

Joey was named Joey for Joy because he was my Joy.

He will be missed.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Words of Kindness and Joy

Wow! The day is almost over and I realized I missed my Monday words of kindness and joy. Some days just fly by and my mind is focused somewhere else. Can you believe it, but I was working on ideas for the tea festival in 2025. I am already excited for drinking tea in the tent with attendees and there is still over 11 months to go. A lot needs to happen along the way, well after all there is still an election coming, then Christmas and more adventures too. There are more opportunities just to think about being kind. More smiles and kind words and maybe a little laughter along the way.

 

"You don't have to understand people's experiences to be kind. 

Kindness doesn't require logic, it requires grace."  

The Multiple Mom

 The two pictures of me with others was tea time in my gardenhouse last week. The young woman was Lily and the top picture was with Lily's mom. If you have followed me for a long time I had a Christmas tea for Lily and her family every year starting from the time she was 4 years old. I hadn't seen Lily since she graduated from high school and now she is a nurse. It was so special to see Lily and her mom.

 

Each person's experiences of kindness may be different, but none is less wonderful than just that of sharing a word or smile, helping someone that needs a little help along the way, or just saying "hey, let's take a break and maybe have a cup of tea"!  It was wonderful to have a cup of tea with Lily and her mom a few days ago.

Sending love,

Marilyn

"A Thing of Beauty" and Happiness!

 "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:

It's loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health,

and quiet breathing."

John Keats

 

"The air was fragrant with a

thousand trodden aromatic herbs,

with fields of lavender, and with the 

brightest roses blushing in the tufts all

over the meadows...."

William Cullen Bryant

This morning over my breakfast I was reading an article on what makes you happy. The first things on the list just made me smile. One was a plane ticket in pocket to head to Paris. I would be happy with any plane ticket purchased and ready to go anywhere. The other was being greeted by her goats when she went out to collect chicken eggs. Can you just picture those silly goats? Flowers in my garden make me happy. All the pictures above are from my garden at one time or the other this summer. Just looking back at them I smile.

What makes you happy?

Sending love,

Marilyn