Thankful Thursday

Hi friends

I am thankful for my parents. They created a secure and loving environment for my sister and I to grow up in. We knew we were loved and they loved us unconditionally. They taught us to have integrity, to give people the benefit of the doubt, to think of others, not just ourselves. They taught us about working hard, being creative and the importance of perseverance.

This is a picture of them with my dad's mom and sister at a party for their wedding just after the war. Don't they look happy? My dad enlisted when he was barely 18. Although he was in the Canadian Air Force, RCAF, he flew with the RAF (English air force). He was shot down and the family had no word from him for a long time and didn't know if he was still alive. Then he spent 3 years in a German POW camp. So they have good reason to be smiling. They were a beautiful couple inside and out. I sure do miss them. What are you thankful for today?

Rhondi xo

Books

Hello my dear blogging friends


I love books. Charles W. Eliot said " Books are the quietest and most constant friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors and the most patient of teachers."

Books are not just good for reading. They are also great for displaying things. They come in all our favorite colors, mine being blue! So the blue cat can match the blue books. How convenient. There are large books for large bunnies. It's sitting on a few of my large art books.
And small books for little chicks to roost on. I love the little Mary Engelbreit books and have found all mine at yard sales for 50 cents.
I like to collect all kinds of books. Decorating books.
Gardening books. The camelias are fresh out of my garden this morning. They are so beautiful.
I collect books full of color. Kaffe Fassett's books are some of my favorites for inspiration when I am working on an idea for a new quilt.
I collect old books and especially am happy when I find children's books.

This is a wonderful old book that has this raised bronze title.
Here is the precious inscription inside the front cover with a little picture of the person who gave the book.
One of the lovely illustrations in the book.
I like to collect books that inspire and encourage. The one I have found to be the most encouraging and inspiring is the black one on the left.
That's right...my bible. Helen Exley said," Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labelled" this could change your life". The bible changed my life and each time I read it, I am refreshed, inspired, encouraged or wiser.

Have you read any "dangerous" books lately?

Rhondi xo

Tea and Violets

Good morning my good friends.

I had a wonderful week away with my sister at Myrtle Beach. We talked, laughed, went for walks on the beach, and drank copious amounts of tea. It was great!

Now I am back home and wondering what to share with my blogging family today. Well as far as I am concerned it's always time for tea and I thought we could use one of the few treasures that I inherited from my family: this teapot and plate. They were painted by one of my cousins, back in the day when it was it was the fashion for gentile ladies to take china painting lessons. They usually painted on Limoges and always painted flowers.
The colors and shading on this plate and teapot are beautiful and isn't the shape of the teapot elegant?Since I am pouring tea from a teapot with violets, I got out 2 cups and saucers with violets on them. This one is pale blue, with white inside the cup.
This one is very elegant, with the gold around the edge. I like the way teacups often have a little design inside, and it can only be seen if you are holding the cup with your right hand.
Teacups usually have a smaller version of the design on the back so the best view of the cup faces the person who is using it (provided they pick up the cup in their right hand)
This particular saucer is covered with flowers. Isn't it beautiful?
Please stay for awhile and have some tea with me. I've missed you and want to catch up on all your news! Now which teacup would you like and I forget, do you take milk? sugar?

Rhondi xo

Kitchen Redo

Good morning my dear friends.

I finally have some pictures of our kitchen redo. We have left the counter tops and lighting the same for now and hope to replace them in the near future. But this is how it looks so far.

I think that this set of glasses that I bought around 30 years ago at a garage sale plus our lime green dining room in our previous home were the main inspiration. This picture is a little dark, but you can see the plate collection over the sink and a new glass shelf to hold more of my blue glass. In the afternoon when the sun shines through it is beautiful! You can also see the mosaic under the windowsill. I had a quite a few broken plates which I had saved in case I ever got inspired to make something mosaic. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to use them and give the kitchen a personalized look. So I used them to fill in a few random spaces instead of the plain white tile.
The light is better in this shot.

I painted a verse over the kitchen sink. If you click on the picture you can see it better.
Here is a close up of the mosaic above the sink.
I found these 2 canisters at Goodwill the other day for $4 for the pair. They are by Marjolien Basten whose paintings I love. I got the blue willow switchplate covers from Ebay.
Here is the hutch decked out in a collection of china and a few baskets. This photo is too light ( I sound like Goldilocks: this one is to dark and this one is too light and this one is just right!)
Anyhow that's my kitchen redo such as it is. I'm happy with how it has turned out so far. Eventually my plan is to get an electrician to put in more efficient lighting, maybe small potlights,recessed into the ceiling and then put paneling on the ceiling. I've seen some nice white tongue and groove paneling which would be nice. The last thing to do will be the counters, hopefully granite, someday...

I am going to be away for the week visiting with my sister, so you probably won't hear from me all week. I'll leave you with this little poem I've always loved.

My Little Kitchen

God bless my little kitchen I love its every nook

And bless me as I do my work

Wash pots and pans and cook.

And may the meals that I prepare

Be seasoned from above

With Thy great blessing and Thy grace

But most of all Thy love.

As we partake our earthly food

The table before us spread

We'll not forget to thank Thee,

Lord Who gives us daily bread.

So bless my little kitchen, Lord

And those who enter in

May they find naught but joy and peace

And happiness therein.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

Happy Valentines Day.

Every Thuursday I like to take the day to think about what I am thankful for. Today I am thankful for my grandchildren. They are the CUTEST,SMARTEST, MOST TALENTED ADORABLE PRECIOUS grandchildren in the world and I love them so much!! Funny how every grandparent thinks that. It's because it's true of course!
These pictures were taken last summer.

The boys are twins, but look nothing alike!

Now you've got to admit they are pretty cute. Their mother, our daughter in law, is the greatest mother ever and I'm very proud of her and of the awesome job she is doing of raising our grandchildren. So I'm thankful to her for that and also for giving us these wonderful kids. Now if they weren't 1,000 miles away....

What are you thankful for today?

Rhondi xo

Wing Haven

Hi friends

I got out a couple of pretty pink cups for us for tea today. I chose pink because Angela at Cottage Magpie is having a Valentine giveaway. To be eligible you have to post pictures of pink things in your home. Would you like the teacup with beautiful little pink flowers? Or the pale pink one with the lovely scene?
I wear a lot of pink but when I looked around my home I was surprised at how little pink I have! There is a pink and green quilt I'm working for cancer patients.
Here is a lovely old pink & white quilt which I've had for a long time and a pot of pale pink silk geraniums.
The only other things pink things I could find were these 2 books which I love and my pink glasses. My blog is named after my "rose colored glasses". So I figuratively and literally look at the world through rose colored glasses!
Yesterday I got together with 2 other ladies to decide what perennails to order for the spring sale at Wing Haven. We had a great time looking at gardening books and catalogues and making decisions about what to order.

Wing Haven is a beautiful private garden and bird sanctuary right in the heart of one of the city's prime residential neighborhoods. I volunteer there every Wednesday in the nursery.
These are a couple of pictures I took today. It is very green even in winter. Part of it is wooded with a little pond. Look at the statue of the children about to venture into the water.
As you follow the path through the garden there are lots of plaques with poems and inspiring bible verses on them. My favorite one is posted on a tree just around the bend from the statue. It's by Faith Johnson.

Woods Healing

Sometimes a part of me gets lost

And I am all distraught

And can't think why

My smallest undertaking goes amiss

And my day is spent feverishly

Doing things I had forgotten

Redoing things I had done wrong

While other things accumulate

But if some errand take me through the wood

All at once here is no hurry

I sense the obscure unhurried rhythm

Of growing things

And I am whole again

And go with quiet sureness to my work.

An update on Daisy. She was back again this morning lying down in her favorite spot again! So I've put all our old plastic garden furniture in the spot where she likes to lay down and on the path she takes to come here and I am hoping that it may deter her. I haven't seen her all day so perhaps it's working! Here is a picture of her this morning before I shooed her away!

By the way I picked up the two twig chairs by the side of the road. They aren't sturdy enough to sit in but they look great as ornamentation.
Thanks for stoppping by for a visit. Hope you'll be back soon.

Rhondi xo

The Tale of the Deer

Hi friends

Here is another picture of the cute little white tailed deer that has been hanging around our backyard. We first noticed her Sunday and she has been in the vicinty of our house since then. She slept near the fence Sunday night and again last night. Whenever I would go outside to try to get a good picture she'd look at me for a moment and then she'd dart off but then come back again in a little while. I thought maybe she was getting ready to have a baby but apparently they don't give birth until early summer. Here she is hiding when I tried to get a a little closer.
She's trying to decide if she should leave. See how her white tail is up?
She got scared and has headed down into the woods.
This is my last glimpse of her as she is about to cut across the path and go deeper into the woods. Goodbye little Daisy. I named her Daisy!
Several of you commented that you'd like to see a deer in your backyard. They are very cute but...



Here is a healthy Acuba bush close to the house.

Here is a close up of the foliage.
I think Daisy ate a little snack here.
I guess she was very hungry because she's eaten all the loeaves and most of the stems.
This was a beautiful bushy Acuba like the one in the first photo. I think she has only been hanging around a couple of days and one bush is almost gone already.
So Daisy I am sorry to say goodbye, but it's for the best! Hope you find some good eats in the middle of the woods. Maybe you'll come back later in the summer and let us see your offspring!

On Wednesdays I volunteer at a wonderful garden here in town. When you come back next time, maybe you can stay awhile. I'll have some tea ready and show you some pictures of the garden. See you then!

Rhondi xo

Unexpected Things

Good morning friends

Isn't it fun when you receive an unexpected package in the mail? My dear friend Angela sent me this pretty package filled with all kinds of pampering goodies: lotion, body spray, scrubbie, bath salts, floating candles and CHOCOLATE ! Thank you Angela. All I did was give her a little advice when she asked for it. I am constantly amazed at the generosity of all you bloggers!

Another unexpected thing: We put birdfeeders in our yard and expect birds. Well look who was visiting the feeder late Sunday afternoon! The picture isn't too clear because I shot it through the screen in the window.
I think that deer are so pretty and it is always a treat to see them, but they sure do a lot of damage to my flowers, especially the Hosta. We have been having a drought here and last summer they ate everything in sight! If anyone has a way of keeping the deer from eating your plants, I'd love to know it.

Hope that you have a great day and that something unexpected and good will happen in your life today.

Rhondi xo

Spring is Here!!

I am so excited I just had to write a second blog today. As I was driving into our driveway a little while ago I noticed two little spots of yellow in the garden. So I quickly got my camera and came outside to photograph it. The first crocus of the season! Isn't it just such a cheery announcement that spring is on it's way? Here is the other one.
Then I decided to walk around the yard and just look at what else might be poking through the earth. I got pretty excited when I saw this group of daffodils that are getting close to blooming.

Then in the backyard look what I found! I was surprised to find some daffodils in bloom.
As I continued to walk around in the back I found another clump even bigger than the first. Wow, this is wonderful!
And part way down the slope I found another clump with even more blooms than the others! How blessed I am to have such beauty in my backyard and to get to enjoy it this early in the year. I think that this has to be a Double Thankful Thursday!The daffodils were "dancing" ever so slightly in the gentle breeze and as I gazed at them it brought to mind William Wordsworth's poem "Daffodils". I doubt if the daffodils in my yard quite qualify for a host, but even so I felt that I could say with Wordsworth....

I gazed and gazed

But little thought what wealth

The show to me had brought

For oft when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood

They flash upon the inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude

And then my heart with pleasure fills

And dances with the daffodils.

What a great day this has been! Thanks for stopping by.

Rhondi xo