Thursday, February 10, 2011

Sweet Thoughts

It has been a busy week but one filled with great gratitude.  I like to pause quietly at the end of the week and remind myself what made the days better.  Thanks to Susanne for hosting Friday Fave Five where I link up and share the best of Willow's Week.

On Friday and Saturday - yes, all day, both days - I attended a seminar/training led by Precept Upon Precept Ministries.  Based on the completion of the training -20 hours of pre training homework (!) and 15 hours of class time -, I am now qualified to lead discussions of the Precept Studies.  That was a long but beneficial weekend.

While I was studying and learning, The Professor kept the home fires burning, did the laundry, cooked our dinners, purchased our fresh fruits and veggies at the farmers market.  We make a great team, don't we?

The mother of one of my students is very observant.  She noticed that I tend to wear blues and purples and that I love anything fiber-related.  So she created this felted heart pin especially for me, and her daughter gifted it to me this week for Valentine's Day.


My own little white and yellow flowers continue to bloom.  In December, a friend who lives in Santa Barbara offered me a cardboard box full of discarded bulbs from her garden.  I popped them in the ground and waited to see if any of them would grow.  They did.  Aren't they so sweet?


We are very selective (picky) about soaps that we use.  Because of sensitivities to fragrances and chemicals, here at Willow's Cottage we only use the handmade old fashioned soap that my friend Laurie makes and sells.  We were running out of soap, so I emailed her an SOS for soap and just like that! she sent off a box of unscented goatsmilk soap for us.  What a great friend!


That was Willow's Week!  How about you?  Anything special in your week?

31 comments:

Hazel said...

That is such a lovely valentine gift. And the color is my fave. Can a 39-yo be entitled to love purple already? :) I love your week. Happy weekend, Willow.

Barbara said...

How very thoughtful of your student and how pretty and colourful.

Dorothy said...

Love those beautiful flowers! Daffodils are my favorites!

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

Love that pin -- how sweet. And the daffodils are lovely. Sounds like a really neat class, too. Have a great weekend!

roxie said...

Laurie's soap is addictive. I've used nothing else on my face for years! And every bar lasts six months. I just love it!

Hoorah for another grateful week!

Lisa notes... said...

Good for you for taking the training. That’s wonderful! Love the pin; such a thoughtful mother. And the flowers. Wow. I can't wait for spring.

Susanne said...

Goats milk soap is nice stuff! Very nice of your friend to do that for you.

Love your pretty little pin cushion.

Anonymous said...

Dafs and freshly made unscented soap - what wonderful pleasures to have this week.

The felted pin is adorable. And what a nice affirmation to you. Someday I hope to learn how to make something felted like that.

You and your prof certainly do make a great team.

Congrats on finishing your precepts training. I've never been in such a class, but have heard all kinds of great things about it.

Jerralea said...

Kudos to you on becoming a Precepts leader!

I agree, it does seem that you and the Professor make a great team.

Such a thoughtful valentine gift!

Karen said...

Loving that pin! How thoughtful of your student. The flowers are a nice touch of spring. Thanks for sharing:)

Gattina said...

These old soaps are much better than all the sophisticated new once, especially when they say that you will look like 10 years younger, lol !

elizabeth said...

What a thoughtful and pretty gift!

That is *wonderful* that you can teach Precept now! I keep looking at their schedule and haven't been able to find one that works for me yet, but someday... :)

ellen b. said...

Good for you for completing the training. The precept study I'm doing in Philippians right now is so thorough. Your flowers are so sweet. What a fun surprise. Enjoy your weekend.

nikkipolani said...

Congrats on your Precept training -- what will you lead first?

Those are very sweet daffodils. Hope they'll naturalize for you and keep coming back.

April J Harris said...

What a lovely post, Willow. Your flowers are gorgeous, and what a thoughtful Valentine gift that was. Have a wonderful weekend!

Heather said...

That was so sweet of the lady's daughter!

We use goat milk to drink. I will have to check out the soap!!!

Bethany said...

I've gotten rid of all my soaps and lotions with chemicals in them. I haven't found a soap that doesn't bother my skin, so I'll try this one! Sounds like you had a really wonderful week!

Barbara H. said...

Congratulations on finishing the training!

You have a very nice husband!

What a thoughtful and lovely gift.

I am SO ready to see some flowers blooming. Since we're in a new house, it will be interesting to see what pops up.

I can't use scented soaps and lotions, either. We use Dove for sensitive skin but may check into those. The link went to a page saying it could not be found, but a link on that page led me to it.

Mary said...

I'm starting to love homemade soap. Funny, I mentioned some in my post, too!

Jen said...

That is a lovely pin, how sweet!
Love the flowers!

Tracy said...

So sweet... that gift is so lovely--and wonderful colors! Those daffodils are making my heart sing. I had to toss some tulips I had in the dining room yesterday...Seriously craving flowers now! Congrats on the training and being a Precepts leader! Handmade soaps are lovely--I love ones with goat's milk, honey & oatmeal. Here it's been busy days too... But happy for Valentine's Day now. Happy Hearts Day to you & the Professor, Willow :o) ((HUGS))

Faith said...

Such a pretty heart day pin!! and those soaps look too pretty to use! Happy Hearts Day Willow!

Karyn said...

What a thoughtful gift! The hat pin is beautiful and I love the colors.

Those flowers would have made a beautiful surprise! They are very cute.

Good for you on the completion of that course!

Sharon Lynne said...

The felted heat pin is cute and so thoughtful.

What a nice gift--bulbs!

My daffodils have been blooming for 2 weeks. I'll be sad when they're gone.

That soap looks wonderful.

Flower said...

Your week brings forth so much good! Speaking of "scent free" soap...I ran into Laurie, in person, this week! We exchanged hugs! It's a small world and our paths cross in all kinds of good ways! :)

Caroline said...

Ha, ha, I wrote kind of a petty post up yesterday about gifting handmade items. I'm sure that your student's mother knew that someone like you would truly appreciate something that took time and talent to create. It is such a pretty "valentine."

My son has terribly sensitive skin. I may have to make an order from your friend soon:)

Cindy said...

Daffodils are a sure sign to me.
I have done a little felting but not much, nice

Knitting Linguist said...

So many good things to celebrate! I particularly love the pin - what an absolutely perfect and thoughtful gift :)

XUE said...

Love the colours in your felted ppin! Our weeks consists of unpacking more of the boxes from our two 40ft containers!

Ally Jay said...

Great gift, it's so nice to get soemthing that has been thought about.

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

I'm intrigued to hear more about your Precepts teaching! Love the felted heart pin ~ so thoughtful ~ enjoy :)