Simple Pleasure: Mirrors

Can you even begin to imagine life without mirrors?

How would we put on make-up or brush our hair? How would we inspect our faces to check for wrinkles or, heaven forbid, zits or chin hairs?

We'd be forced to apply lipstick by holding the lipstick tube with one hand and a butter knife in the other. Can you picture yourself reflected in a butter knife?

Our homes without mirrors would be unable to reflect the sun or lights so rooms would be darker all the way around.

At Christmas time, there would be no flickering candles doubled by being reflected in a mirror or mirrored images of our majestic Christmas trees.

Without mirrors, we would not be able to check our outfits before heading out the door.

So, today's simple pleasure is mirrors.

Dayle, from the blog "A Collection of This and That" sponsors today's Simple Pleasures party in which Writing Straight from the Heart is participating. Please take a minute to check out all the other simple pleasure entries by clicking on :(http://alittleofthisandthat2.blogspot.com./.)

p.s. By the way, the photo shown at the top of this post was taken in a room of the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Massachusetts (stomping grounds of the famed, late artist, Norman Rockwell.)
NOTE TO THIS BLOG'S FOLLOWERS: There's still time to participate in an Easter giveaway. Simply go to Sunday, March 27th's post and make a comment. Winner will be drawn on Friday, April 1st. No fooling!

One That Got Away

Driving past a thrift shop in a neighboring town, a doll in the window attracted my attention. It was impossible to get a good look as my car whizzed past the shop.

I got only a brief glance of the doll baby that wore a white bonnet and dress.  Dolls are one of my great loves, and because there is  a large collection of them around here, I couldn't stop thinking of the doll in that window.

Several days in a row, it was necessary to drive past the shop in the town but it was usually early in the morning before the shop opened for business.

      "I have to stop and check the price of that doll," I kept telling myself.

As luck would have it, I drove into the town one afternoon, parked my car, and walked into the crowded shop to get a close-up look at the doll.

Sad to say , (or happy, perhaps, for my wallet), the doll's face, without her bonnet on, was nothing I'd want to bring home to Mama. It was similar to this:

      "Oh, no, " I thought, trying to hide my disappointment. "That's not how I thought she'd look."

Isn't it strange how our expectations sometimes don't match the reality?  The expression, "expectations are resentments waiting to happen," came to mind. 

Well, I don't feel resentment over the homely faced doll.  Actually, I kind of felt sorry for her.  In a way, it was good not to spend a single dime.

Now, when driving by the consignment shop,  the doll in the white dress does not get  a passing glance.  Hopefully, someone will take pity on her and bring her home. It just not going to be me!

WHAT COLLECTIONS, IF ANY, DO YOU FREQUENTLY ADD TO?

REMINDER TO FOLLOWERS:  If you want to participate in this blog's  giveaway, commemorating more than 530 posts and 203 Followers,  go back to Sunday, March 27th's post and leave a comment. Sweet and simple.

 Winner's name will be drawn on Friday, April 1st and that is not an April fool!

Embrace Change

Change in life sometimes hits us  with unexpected force.

Someone we love dies suddenly or a job abruptly ends.  Friends we thought would be in our lives forever are no longer around. Our precious children, the center of our lives for so many years, grow up and move away.

Change, like it or not, is part of life. It is going to happen and we have to adjust or perish. 

People who don't accept change are bound to be stuck in the past.  Nothing stays the same forever--nothing, at least, in the human world.

As people get older, it's even more important to accept change or be left in the dark.  Computers; intricate cell phones that have GPS, the Internet, and e-mail;  and other kinds of technology are familiar to the younger generation but can be puzzling to older people. The latter, however, had better get with the program.  Learning something new can seem daunting and difficult beyond belief but it can also be exciting.


 Age should not be a limitation to continuing to learn and explore new things.

Change is here to stay so we must embrace it.


WHAT WAS THE LAST CHANGE IN YOUR OWN LIFE THAT WAS DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH?

p.s. The very first photo shown at the top of today's post was taken at the Spring Bulb Show at the Botanic Garden on the Smith College campus in Northampton, Massachusetts.

By the way, if you are a Follower and want to be included in the giveaway, just leave a comment on Sunday's blog.  The winner will be picked on Friday, April 1st (no fooling.)

Good Deed Pays Off in Spades

One of my sisters felt totally overwhemed at the thought of cleaning her basement.

Even though there are any number of places in my own house that need straightening, I offered to help her.

Sometimes a monumental undertaking becomes more manageable when two people tackle it. This was definitely one of those times.

While opening one dusty, musty box, inside were layers of paper. Strikingly attractive blue and white dishes nestled between each sheet.  Clearly, none of them had ever been used. Lifting one up to get a better look, I saw that these dishes were the Coaching pattern by Johnson Brothers. They are made in England.

"Oh, my gosh," I exclaimed. "These are gorgeous. Why haven't you ever used them?"

"Those belonged to your godmother," my sister said. "I don't want them. You can have the whole box."

Honestly, I couldn't believe this stroke of amazing luck. There are six dinner plates, six salad plates, and four cups with six saucers. Unfortunately, two of the matching cups had smashed handles so they got discarded.

Last Sunday, I used the new set at a breakfast and they looked so pretty!

When the basement is done, maybe my sister will help me tackle our attic.

Follower Celebration: An Easter Giveaway

At long last, procrastination on a giveaway has ended.

Writing Straight from the Heart is now having a  giveaway for a double celebration:

1) More than 500 posts written on this blog since its humble beginning in October of 2009. 

2) Having more than 200  Followers!

It is open to Followers, only, because you are each so very special to me.

Anyone curious about how this blog began can read about it here:  Writing Straight from the Heart.

As bloggers everywhere can testify, having a blog on the Internet plunges one into a fascinating and satisfying world. Life as a blogger takes on an entirely new perspective where boredom  or status quo are unheard of.

Each new Follower (a person who likes the blog and wants to stop in frequently), elicited a cheerful yell from me. This was as true for the first two Followers (one of my sisters and my daughter) as for the 202nd!

Among this blog's 202 Followers, numerous states and several different countries are represented.  On any given day I may have a comment from someone in South Carolina to Washington or Kuwait to South Africa!

Looking over statistics while preparing to write today's post, it's noted that this blog's had visits and/or Followers  from  Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, India, Italy, Japan Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Murmansk (Russian Federation), the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, just to name some!

Stateside, visitors and/or Followers have come from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,  New Jersey, New York,  North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, among others! 

Okay.  The giveaway is humble but heartfelt. It includes two new Easter towels, six Easter bunnies, and a few small surprises NOT PICTURED,  thrown in for good measure.

All you have to do is  BE A FOLLOWER and write a comment on today's post, saying you want to participate.

That's all there is to it! So, Followers who want to participate, leave a comment indicating you are in!

Names of all participants will be put into a hat and pulled out on Friday, April 1st.  No fool!

Just for the record, I want to say, THANK YOU, dear Followers. You have enriched my life, validated my many posts with your comments, and have made me very, very happy. You are appreciated more than you will ever know!    Love to all,   Susan 

Party Time for the Birthday "Boy"

Birthdays are pretty special occasions.

Every life must be remembered and revered. We recently celebrated my husband's birthday in the best way possible---with dear friends and family gathered around our dining room table. They honored the birthday "boy" while enjoying a home cooked meal. Of course, the room had to be decorated with lots of bobbing balloons  and flickering candles ! (The candles had not yet been added to the brass holders when this photo was taken. Many votive candles, not seen, lined a side hutch.)

It was a little hard to think up a Lenten meatless dinner but not impossible. The final meal consisted of two  homemade quiches, mushroom and onion and crab with sliced almonds on top;  fresh shrimp with cocktail sauce;  mozzarella tomato salad; tiny baby carrots and olives; tortilla chips and salsa;  homemade hummus and pita bread triangles;   potato casserole; and spice cake with homemade cream cheese frosting with coffee almond fudge ice cream.

It was a "delicious," delightful celebration for a very special man, my "forever love."

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS AROUND YOUR HOUSE?

Easter Decor in Every Nook and Cranny

Minimalist is a popular style of decorating many people follow. The barer may be the better for some folks but that's not how it is around our house.

There are flourishes of Easter decor here, there, and everywhere.

This sweet little figurine looks perfect perched next to the bunny couple inside the egg. The little girl is holding a basket with a wee bunny inside. They have all been placed on top of a pink doily.

Windowsills and bathroom counters get decorated as well as every corner in between.

One's home is one's castle.  I enjoy seeing the smiles on the faces of children as well as adults who come to visit.

There are colorful bunnies, including a calico and two ballerinas:

An angel bunny and a hard-working bunny whose job is to hold up the soap:

One very smart bunny has a message we can all learn from. Can you read it, on her mirror?

Best of all, almost every single decoration came from yard or estate sales or thrift stores at rock bottom prices. A quick toss into the washing machine and drier and the soft animals are ready to decorate!

Today Writing Straight from the Heart is joining Linda's Junkin Finds Friday and Cindy's Show and Tell Friday! Be sure to check out Cindy's blog, My Romantic Home, http://romantichome.blogspot.com/  to see some of the other entries for Show and Tell Friday and Linda's blog, A La Carte . http://ljm-alacarte.blogspot.com/ for Junkin Friday finds! Thanks to both Linda and Cindy for hosting these weekly fun parties.

Simple Pleasure: Maple Syrup

My simple pleasure for today is sweet. It's maple syrup.

Throughout New England at this time, one can see buckets attached to scores of maple trees. They are collecting the sweet sap that will be boiled down to make syrup.  If everyone could see the immense amount of work that goes into making maple syrup, there would be tremendous appreciation for the final product.

Can you imagine pancakes or French toast without maple syrup?  B-o-r-i-n-g.

How about the taste of maple nut ice-cream? It's creamy lusciousness that edges on the divine.

One more thing about this simple pleasure:  the supermarket bottled varieties of  "maple syrup"  pale pathetically to the "real thing."   The taste of fresh maple syrup, soaked into a pancake that has been spread with real butter,  has got to be one of the yummiest tastes around.

So there you have the sticky and sweet of today's simple pleasure: maple syrup.

Dayle, from the blog "A Collection of This and That" sponsors today's Simple Pleasures party in which Writing Straight from the Heart is participating. Please take a minute to check out all the other simple pleasure entries by clicking on :(http://alittleofthisandthat2.blogspot.com./.) 

The Wonder of Mother Nature

Anytime doldrums threaten to darken the human spirit, flowers, particularly red ones, come to the rescue.

Looking at the intricacies of a flower, perfectly formed and magnificently attired, one cannot help but sigh in absolute wonder.

The unique creations shown in this post were part of the Spring Bulb Show at the Smith College Botanic Garden in Northampton, Massachusetts. 

In the very first picture shown, I held the camera up in the air and shot down into the center of the passionately red flower.  No artist could ever create such color or form. Only the hand of the Creator could make something this breathtaking, don't you agree?

Hope your spirit feels lifted and makes you even more ready for spring!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR FLOWER?

Royal Sealy Cup and Saucer Are Worthy of Royalty

This very attractive and dainty  flower-covered cup and saucer reminds one of spring.

(Of course, if you lived in New England, you'd  probably see a rim of snow along the top of the cup. hee hee)

Small blue, pink, and purple flowers dance all around the cup and open edged saucer. Gold tone edging covers both the cup's top rim, base, and handle as well as the saucer.

Green leaves and stems complete the flower garden specimens on this lovely set.

Picture having a cup of morning tea or coffee in this cup this spring or summer.  The floral cup and saucer are a perfect pair for this time of year.

Today we are joining Tea Cup Tuesday.  Don't miss the other gorgeous cups shown for this weekly party. Just go visit Martha, from Martha's Favorites , and Terri from Artful Affirmations. These dear ladies sponsor Tea Cup Tuesday. Trust me, it's a blast!

By the way, the cup and saucer shown in today's post are for sale. Check out the eBay button on this blog's sidebar for details.

Front Yard Transformation, Just in Time for Spring

The first "official" day of spring finally arrived yesterday and not a single flake of snow fell from the sky!

The air still felt quite chilly but brilliant sunshine flooded everything in sight. It was time to haul out the three fat grocery store bags filled with colored eggs and decorate the bush in front of our house.

Luckily, I had the help of two teenagers, a four-year-old, and his mom!  Everyone did a great job hanging eggs.

All through the warm months of the year,  yard sales provide  a constant supply of  brightly colored plastic eggs . Sometimes they are just 50 cents a bag. As soon as they come home, up into the attic they go. Every year the Easter egg bush gets  "eggier and eggier." (I think I just made up that word----eggier.) In other words, every new Easter season, there are more and more eggs to hang.

Luckily, my handy hubby helps out by drilling a hole in each egg before we insert a wire or string holder. Then the two halves of the plastic eggs are snapped shut and they are ready to decorate.

People in the neighborhood seem to like the Easter egg bush. It brings lots of smiles. A total stranger even stopped the car in front of our house and snapped a picture today!  Holy smokes. That made us feel famous!

 Gosh, that's probably the closest we'll ever get to feeling the way movie stars do when photographers snap their photos.

So the first day of spring and the newly decorated Easter egg bush arrived together this year.

Hope everyone who sees our Easter egg bush, both in person and throughout blogland, will smile and feel happy for a few brief moments.

Today's post has joined Metamorphosis Monday on Susan's blog, Between Naps on the Porch. Be sure to go there to check out other home projects. Just click http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/.