Flowers I Buy Myself

There is an old song sung by Neal Diamond and Barbara Streisand, You Don't Bring me Flowers. that I was thinking of recently as I purchased a bouquet at our farmer's market. Even when I visit Trader Joe's I most often buy myself flowers.  They are a self love gift to myself and I enjoy each and every one of them.

This past Sunday I had a teatime date with two nieces. For some reason I later found out about I showed up, but they didn't. I waited awhile and decided I would treat myself to teatime alone. Then I saw this pillow sitting in the tearoom and knew I could buy myself tea and I could bring myself flowers.

Miley Cyrus also sings about Flowers, I can buy myself Flowers.

 What a treat to sit quietly and enjoy the moment of sweet indulgence with a pot of tea, two savory tarts, sausage roll, and a pavlova with fresh berries.

We don't need permission to treat ourselves with love or to bring ourselves flowers.

At the farmer's market in town, there were flowers. Though I didn't buy the flower in these two pictures, I did buy the bouquet at the beginning of this post.

Then today I walked in Lan Su Chinese Garden and shared tea with two friends. As you see the lotus were blooming and the flowers just touched my heart.

Aren't the pink lanterns beautiful too?

Flowers touch my soul, make me smile. Even if I don't buy them all, they bring me JOY.

Do you buy yourself flowers?

Do they bring you JOY?

Sending love,

Marilyn

Focus on the Stars

 My brown betty teapot shows up often for my morning tea time. It is both utilitarian and (I think) pretty. Of course I like a nice stripe and it does show it's stripes. It pours well and harbors my tea inside. The lid fits snugly on top. And brown goes with about any occasion celebrated at the tea table. It is a dependable, workhorse and I am thankful to have it to hold my tea.

 It's the little things of life that bring us joy and glimmers of light. My teapot is one of those things. 

 

“The Teapot”

That morning I heard water being poured into a teapot.
The sound was an ordinary, daily, cluffy sound.
But all at once, I knew you loved me.
An unheard-of thing, love audible in water falling.

(from “Talking into the Ear of a Donkey: Poems”, by Robert Bly, W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. )

 

I always make my own tea in the morning; but I wonder how it would feel to have someone rise early to make tea for me. Really I don't mind making my own tea. My recent experience of having a realtor working for me in selling my house, I was reminded of the care another person can give in the little things of life. He made the transition from one place to the other better. He softened the experience with kind words and gestures.  Then when it was over he brought a gift that touched our hearts. A painting of our house.

 

 Kind thoughts, words, or actions from another, whether it is making tea or a gift make life softer. Those small things are indeed like audible/visual love.

 Sending love,

Marilyn 

                                            

 

Words of Kindness and Joy

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcrm3JgOgD4&ab_channel=PanMacmillan  

poem from 365 words 

I came across this reading on You Tube not to long ago and thought you would enjoy. 

This plant is in a corner of my dining room. It was a gift from a friend. I enjoy it every morning as I sip my tea nearby. Isn't it beautiful? It is called an Angel Wing's Begonia. This gift was a gift of kindness and reminds me of that kindness by a friend each day.

Please always remember kindness to others each and every day.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Words of Kindness and Joy

 "Give yourself kindness and grace. then regift it as often as possible." Unknown

Several of my children's teasets have gone to friends and family.

 

"There's a way to regift that's open and honest," says Post. For example, if you give a piece of vintage jewelry to a family member, say something like, "I'm giving you this from my own collection, because I think it's something you'd really like, and it feels good to share something with a family history with you."

Last year we dug the dahlias from our garden and planted them in our daughter's garden. Maybe it was a selfish "gifting". I know they bring her joy, but I can drive to her house and enjoy them still.

I love passing along a book I have read and then it brings me joy to share the story I enjoyed with someone else.
 

As I work at "downsizing" I have been thrilled to bring joy to a friend or two with a small gift from my own collection of things.  Also, I have found Buy Nothing on Facebook where people in my own neighborhood can enjoy the little things in my cupboard that I no longer use.

I have found a joy in passing it on.

So the idea of "re-gifting" or "passing it on" is an act of kindness and joy.

Do you find joy in passing it on?

Sending love, Marilyn

 

Celebrating

As my "live-in gardener" and I have gotten older we realize we don't need gifts of things; so sometimes we give gifts of experiences. For his birthday this year I gave him a gift of a couple nights at the coast. I found a place that had a fireplace and view of the sea; so if it was too wintery we could sit inside by the fire, enjoy the view, sip tea and read. This week that is exactly what we did.

The view from our window.

On Wednesday we took a drive in the rain just to see the sea from different locations along the ocean highway.

Two lighthouses were on our radar; so we drove south from our motel. The first was at the south end of Newport, Oregon and the second was spotted on the way back north at the top end of Newport, Oregon.

The bridge over the bay in Newport, as seen from the first lighthouse.

OK, here is the second lighthouse, which I think is quite beautiful. It sits out on a bluff and I thought I would step out of the car to snap this picture. Let me tell you, I have never tried to stand in such a strong wind and pouring rain to take a picture. I almost blew away and had to hold onto the fence to do one snap. My hair was soaked and began it's curly adventure on top of my head. It was indeed quite an adventure for one picture.

The last morning before we left I actually spotted the first sign that there was blue sky behind those clouds. It was wild weather, winter weather indeed; but we loved it.

It does the spirit good to take a little adventure occasionally and this was both a gift for my "live-in gardener", but I benefited too.

Now there was one more stop before leaving the sea. There was a pod of food carts not far from our motel and I had found on Instagram one that announced it was crab season. I love crab, but hadn't had good crab for years. This particular food cart said they had crab rolls and who could resist if you love crab? So before we headed home we treated ourselves to the best crab roll ever. It was truly amazing. If you ever find yourself in Lincoln City, Oregon I highly recommend stopping at The Pines Dine food cart pod. This cart was Rook and Larder, but there were other amazing carts with all kinds of delicious looking food.

What a treat.

 Do you give gifts of experiences?

I highly recommend it. In fact, I like it so much I have begun giving my grandson gifts of experiences. For Christmas I got tickets to a play for he and his mom and they really enjoyed it. Then just because gift, I recently found tickets for them to go to another improv adventure with the Children's theater in town.

Well now it is Friday; so have a terrific weekend, dear friends!

Sending love,

Marilyn

Christmas Season

 

 

There was a little baking and plenty of tea.

On the plate are mince pies, date pinwheels, spicy pecans and ginger cookies.

Special teatimes with dear friends.

An adventure to downtown Portland on a winter evening for a little night music to celebrate the season at the Old Church concert hall.

It's a tradition my "live-in gardener" and I have done for about 27 years.

The gingerbread house, another tradition, was made.

The Night Before Christmas was read at church.

 

 More tea was imbibed at a local hotel.

A parade of Christmas decorated boats was viewed from the warmth of a friends condo.

And special gifts were unwrapped.

Each year my "live-in gardener" carves a Santa for our D.

This one represents Ukraine and quite special.

D also received this cozy hooded blanket, which he is living in now.

I hear he even wore it outdoors on his scooter.

Hoping you had family and a little night music to celebrate the season. Merry Christmas!

 

Sending love, Marilyn

Word Magic

 

 

The word for this week is GIFT.

Gift, for me, comes with a lot of different emotions, baggage. Most often I don't feel worthy and have a lot of trouble acknowledging the gift and showing appreciation. Now this might not be you, but I can guess there might be some things that a gift stirs in you. I always feel bad that I haven't shown my thrill of the gift when I receive it. It is also hard for my family because they never know if their gift has been received with appreciation.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love giving gifts. The gifts in the above picture were purchased and wrapped by me for different family members. It is the receiving that is hard for me.

Yesterday a friend gave me a gift I would have never imagined receiving. She sells vintage clothes (EBK Vintage) and recently acquired a pile of fur coats. When she started showing them on Instagram I told her my step-grandmother once offered to give me her mink coat, which I declined. My friend said come over and pick out a coat, I want to give you a fur coat. What???!!! It is the most cozy, warm coat I have ever put on my body. Yes, it was hard for me to receive, but it is in my closet now. I told my friend that no one had ever given me such a beautiful gift. She told me "you deserve all the beautiful gifts". I am still astounded. Will I wear it? On a very cold day when I go to the market you might find it on me.        This gift touched me. It sang to my heart. I deserve beautiful gifts!

 

Looking at this picture I see other gifts. The tea cup from a dear friend and the bird picture from my cousin.

A tiny gift of a simple handmade Christmas ornament, made with love, also touches me. Even a kind word is a gift that touches me.

There is so much wrapped up in a kind word or a ribbon.

How does receiving a gift make you feel. What emotions does it create?

Word for the Week

 

Gift

noun: gift; plural noun: gifts

1. a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present.

   "a Christmas gift"

   
   

   verb

verb: gift; 3rd person present: gifts; past tense: gifted; past participle: gifted; gerund or present participle: gifting

1. give (something) as a gift, especially formally or as a donation or bequest.

   "the company gifted 2,999 shares to a charity"

   • present (someone) with a gift or gifts.

     "the director gifted her with a heart-shaped brooch"

      

     

     My word for this year is receive.

     As the year has moved along I realized receive and give go together. I love giving gifts, but have always had a difficult time receiving them. In a way I don't feel worthy of receiving; so never know how to react to the gift.

     This year I have wrapped my gifts under the tree earlier than usual. I am so excited to be giving each gift.

      

     I asked my "live-in gardener" what gift means to him and his answer was "undeserving mercy".
     

     

     I am trying through my word "receive" to be a gracious receiver of gifts.

     For me giving and receiving are a part of the gift and joy of the season. Many are giving to their favorite charity too. I was thrilled to be able to donate a bag of socks to my church pantry. My church body are wonderful givers. We are sponsoring an Afghan family and I was thrilled to also be able to give the gift of tea as they set up their household.

     Thus said, I am having to remind myself to be "thrilled" with the gifts I receive. It's a hard one for me.

     How do you handle giving and receiving of gifts? Is it just me or do you also have a difficult time with gifts?
     

Have you found a word for 2022?

Or maybe you don't choose a word.

I have had a word each year for about 25 years and the word always impacts me in ways that surprise me each year.

Have a terrific week, dear friends!

Word for the Week

 As we get closer to Thanksgiving my mind is thinking about what it means. When we sit around the table at my house we give opportunity for each person to say something that they are thankful for. In most cases it is something that has been given to them. It could be good health or a toy. But recently I saw a sign that said "Give Thanks" and the word "give" just jumped out at me. My word for this year is "receive", but isn't giving a part of receiving? I receive joy in giving.

The definition I found for giving is "Giving, truly, means transferring something to someone else from your possession to theirs, but it can mean so much more!

Yes, it can indeed mean so much more. How does it make you feel to give?

Today I give you the gift of flowers from the Biltmore Estate Gardens and Greenhouse. 

May this small gift put a smile on your face and happiness in your heart for the Thanksgiving season.

 Happy giving day, dear friends!