Little Things That Make Me Smile

English red transferware

Timeless pieces throughout the years

 

A Bargain Of Beauty

A baker's-dozen........... pots of blooming Tulips. 
All had been marked down to a mere $1.25 a pot.
Each individual pot holds three huge bulbs, all waiting to be planted in the warm, fertile soil of Spring.

With Love From Me To You

 

 

💛

 

" The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.".

Eden Ahbez "Nature Boy"

 

 

May your Valentine's Day be special !

((Hugs))
x

Thoughts Of Home

The Manor Farm

 

 

The rock-like mud unfroze a little, and rills

Ran and sparkled down each side of the road

Under the catkins wagging in the hedge.

But earth would have her sleep out, spite of the sun;

Nor did I value that thin glilding beam

More than a pretty February thing

Till I came down to the old Manor Farm,

And church and yew-tree opposite, in age

Its equals and in size. The church and yew

And farmhouse slept in a Sunday silentness.

The air raised not a straw. The steep farm roof,

With tiles duskily glowing, entertained

The mid-day sun; and up and down the roof

White pigeons nestled. There was no sound but one.

Three cart-horses were looking over a gate

Drowsily through their forelocks, swishing their tails

Against a fly, a solitary fly.

The Winter's cheek flushed as if he had drained

Spring, Summer, and Autumn at a draught

And smiled quietly. But 'twas not Winter—

Rather a season of bliss unchangeable

Awakened from farm and church where it had lain

Safe under tile and thatch for ages since

This England, Old already, was called Merry.


Edward Thomas 1878

 

 

All Change

Our days have been filled with glorious sunshine.
I tidied around the garden and fiddled in the potting shed yesterday, my to-do list seems endless before putting winter to rest for another season.

The daffodils are in bloom, offering the promise of spring.
After a gloriously warm and sunshiny day, today it's back to rain, dark and dreary.
A cozy day to enjoy inside.
Wishing you peace, in whatever little corner of the world, you call home...…

 

    

 

 

 

 "Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do - or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so."

~Stanley Crawford

News From Gobbler's Knob

Rabbits have been making a show in the garden.

Nibbling on the new shoots of grass.

The songbirds are once again appearing , a good sign that life is beginning to awaken.

Punxsutawney Phil  has predicted an early spring, maybe in these southern states, the poor folks in other parts of the country, digging out of the snow, will be harder to convince......

 

 

 

Cottage Love

The cottage homes of England
   By thousands on her plains,
They are smiling o'er the silvery brooks,
   And round the hamlet-fanes.
Thro' glowing orchards forth they peep,
   Each from its nook of leaves,
And fearless there the lowly sleep,
   As the bird beneath the eaves

~ Felicia Hermans  1793 -1835
  

Contentment

Sunshine has returned, and the last of the lingering snow is now melting.
I was content to sit and watch the falling snow from a window view.
There were days in my working years, when I wasn't afforded such luxury.
Oliver cat and Tom-Tilly are happy to once again bask in the afternoon sun, their little world as they know it, returned to normal.

 

 

 

Silenced

Mother Nature threw down her blanket shortly after midnight, just in time for an artic blast moving through the area.
Our first snowfall of the year, magically transforming the landscape.
Soft, wet snowflakes shutting us off from our little world as we know it, cocooned in a blanket of white.
Silenced.

 

 

 

 

Out of the cloud-folds of her garment shaken,

Over the woodlands, brown and bare

Over the harvest-fields forsaken,

Silent, and soft, and slow

Descends the snow.

~~By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.~~


 

Winter Moon

 

 

Brightly the moon like a jewel is beaming,

White in the east, o'er a lone landscape gleaming,

Over the meadows and over the snow,

Glimmering, shimmering, silvery glow.

Low in the east, when the gloaming is ending,

Slowly this white winter moon is ascending,

Looming so large and appearing so nigh,

Satellite framed by a star-spangled sky.

High in the sky, with soft radiance teeming,

Nigh to the time when men, women, are dreaming,

Weird is her splendor on valley and hill,

Cold is her gleam upon river and rill.

Brightly the moon like a jewel is shining,

White in the west she is slowly declining,

Beautiful Moon ! Which beams gorgeous and grand

Over the homes of our own Native Land.
 

~Charles Nevers Holmes. 1926

Winter Days

The heavens have opened, and rain is falling by the bucket loads.

This is the better part of our weather, tomorrow snow...….

I'm not looking forward to the chaos and mayhem it creates especially on the roads, for those of us more fortunate who can stay home and look out of the window, beauty abounds. 

 

 

Zen

Oliver cat practicing his new yoga pose.

Winter days can afford the luxury of personal growth.

 

 

" I have lived with several Zen masters...….all of them cats."

 

Eckhart Tolle ~ The Power of Now : A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment.

 

Winter Nesting

I'm a candle-burner.
No matter what season of the year, you'll find candles burning in my home.
I'm drawn like a moth to the flame, they comfort me, console me, wrap me in their warm glow.
Nothing says "Welcome Home" better than the soft glow of a burning spiced-candle.
Winter days have set in, we've already had our share of sadness in this new year, I'm hoping for brighter days ahead.

Tea-Sipping Day

There are whispers of the "s" word in the forecast, just when the sunshine has returned, and green shoots are popping up all over the garden.
I hope the weather-forecasters have missed the mark on this one.

I'm pretty certain that the cats have got spring-fever, they have been running around the house and having a mad half-hour, more than usual, destroying their little furry mice, and insisting on hiding beneath the dining room rug, pretending not to be noticed, except for two obvious big lumps.

It's a day of list-making and tea-sipping for me, tomorrow more errand running.

Hope all is well, in your little corner of the world.

 

 

Doc Martin Season 8 Episode 1 preview

To help break up the monotony of long winter nights, our local PBS affiliate is treating its viewing audience to new seasons of beloved favorite shows.
Doc Martin Season 8 aired this past Thursday, I'm already hooked.
Thank you Public Broadcasting Corporation, and our local Nashville Public Television.
Check your local schedule for times and dates.

Rain-Soaked

We are deluged with rain today.

The turkeys are out scratching through the wet soil.

Unfazed and happy.

 

 

After Christmas Silence

The Christmas decorations have all been returned to their boxes for another year.

The house seems bare without all of the glitz and glamor, isn't it funny how you become used to the excess, in such a short time.

Shiny mercury candle holders and fairy lights are left in place, until the sunshine returns.

In just 77 short days, Spring comes calling.

 

 

Ring Out The Old, Ring In The New

And so another year is coming to an end.
I'm grateful to look back and say it was a pleasant year, a year filled with milestones, and lots of happy memories..
A new great-granddaughter added to our little family, bringing new spirit and much happiness into the fold.
As the New Year makes its presence, I am mindful to leave less of a footprint on this magnificent planet we all call home, and offer a kinder word or action towards my fellow man.

  

 

I truly wish each and every one of you, a New Year filled with much love, peace, good health and happiness.

Your friendships have encouraged, enlightened, and have brightened my days throughout this past year.

Here's to a 2019 filled with the same !

Many Blessings, and A Happy New Year.

x

                                                       
A Happy New Year! Grant that I

May bring no tear to any eye

When this New Year in time shall end

Let it be said I've played the friend,

Have lived and loved and labored here,

And made of it a happy year.

~Edgar Guest
 

❤

Done And Dusted

 

We've ate, drank and made merry.

Over-indulged in all the traditions of the season that makes this magical celebration.......magical.

Laughter was in abundance.

  

The gatherings are over, the house is tidied.

Time to enjoy a few hours of quiet, a nice pot of tea and a mince pie or two.

I hope your Christmas was just as lovely.

Peace On Earth, Goodwill To All Men

🎄And so this is Christmas...…….

I've so enjoyed our visits back and forth throughout the year, all the sweet comments written, and well-wishes when a word of encouragement was needed.

We truly wish each and every one of you, friends and family, near and far, all the blessings of a Joyous and Merry Christmas.

 

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;

The spirit of Christmas which is peace;

The heart of Christmas which is love."

 

~Ada V. Hendicks

 

 

When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,

We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago,

And etched on vacant places

Are half-forgotten faces

Of friends we used to cherish,

And loves we used to know.

 

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox