Tiny Little Valentines

 Christmas decor in the dollhouse is now a thing of the past.

It has been replaced with Valentine paraphernalia.

Tiny hearts and fingernail-sized Valentine's Day cards adorn several of the rooms.

Two heart covered banners have been hung on the front of the pretty yellow dollhouse.

One thing, above and beyond the decorations, that is absolutely positive is that hobbies bring joy into a person's life.

Dollhouses and miniatures are among my life-long hobbies, as are reading and writing.  

We must seek as much fulfillment and happiness as possible, outside of the daily grind, right?

WHAT IS YOUR OWN FAVORITE HOBBY OR INTEREST?

A Special Gift

Giving gifts to special people in our lives is a great source of  happiness.

So is receiving them.

This past week, a very special gift came and it was ordered by me!

For me!

Have you ever done that?  Bought a gift for just yourself?

Well, here's how it happened.

I looked at my old, ugly pepper shaker and its non-matching smaller in size salt shaker and shook my head.

They looked awful. 

 It's been that way for a long time since moving several times the past five years jumbled everything up.

It was definitely time for a matching set of salt and pepper shakers.

Perusing Goodwill thrift shops turned up zero. Nada. Nothing.

But on ebay, there happened to be a set of glass/crystal shakers that looked absolutely gorgeous.

They had pedestal bottoms and were just my style.

So I ordered them from an awesome seller in the midwest.

A box came extremely quickly----only four days. 

The seller had  packed the shakers very carefully.

While lifting each shaker from its wrapper, sheer excitement punctured the air.

As much as we are not really supposed to get too hepped up about material things, this set of pepper and salt shakers really makes me happy.

In the general scheme of things, that gift to me isn't really much but it means a lot to me.

Bye bye mismatched salt and pepper shakers.

It's time for them to move on!

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU BOUGHT YOURSELF A GIFT?

"Whomping Weather"

 

People in western Massachusetts got whomped overnight with more snow than has been seen around here in quite a spell.

It started snowing Sunday morning and just didn't stop. 

To the left  is a photo of the pink faux poinsettias near the front door:

By nightfall, the front door of my apartment had to be pushed hard to open. 

The snow was piled that high.

Luckily, the car had been moved and parked on the other side of the lot, to allow a big snowplow to do its job today in front of the apartment.

Temps have been in the single digits but with warm clothing and heavy socks, it's been fairly cozy.

Would another picturesque snowstorm be wanted?  Nope.  

It's hoped the whopper of a storm we got hit with be the worst until that first crocus pops up out of the ground in the early spring.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WITH YOUR TIME WHEN YOU ARE ALL ALONE?

Remembrance from a Holy Place

A very small gold colored cross, about four inches tall,  with several tiny red stones sits on a counter in my small apartment kitchen.

It came from Turkey and is a beautiful remembrance of a trip that included a part of that country.

A house where the Blessed Mother of Ephesus  supposedly actually lived, after the death of her son, is visited by thousands of people every year.

It is like a national shrine. A gift shop on the grounds is where the little golden cross was purchased.

It is one souvenir I hope will be with me for the rest of life on earth.

May your Sunday be very blessed. 

For those in areas where the weather is bad, please be safe and keep warm. 

Bowl of Hearts

While looking through the very top drawers of a tall dresser, guess what was found?

A whole baggy filled with Valentine hearts!

I wondered where those had been stashed. 

Now I know.

They were placed on a lovely crystal dish that managed to escape going into the "charity" bin.

Some of the hearts have little messages on them. 

They are so sweet.

Some red, sparkly hearts have also been inserted next to a gold decoration in Christmas cactus. 

We just cannot have enough hearts preparing for the day of love!

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO TODAY?