A Week's Worth

Since I have not made any attempt to decide how I intend to handle the abrupt cessation of photo posting here at Willow's Cottage, this is another week of using only words to describe the happenings here in our very windy coastal community.  Thank you to all who left me information about how to alleviate the photo block issue.  I'm still evaluating my options.

1. I have the loveliest of neighbors!  On Tuesday, my neighbor who is also a wonderful friend (Hi M!) dropped by in the middle of her busy day and gave me an hour of her time to measure and pin four (4!) pairs of cropped pants.  I have a bad habit of purchasing cropped pants even though they are too long for me.  It's not really that they are too long, it's that I am too short.  Have other petite sized women noticed that cropped pants are still several inches too long, ending not at your calf but more like just above your ankle?  Anyway, Marvelous M used her dressmaking skills to keep me from looking quite as dowdy as I usually do in the summer.

2. Spring planting in our garden is progressing.  We've marked out some squares to attempt our version of a Square Foot Garden.  So far, we have planted six heirloom tomatoes, kale, (more) lettuce, spinach, (more) basil and (more) parsley.  In my opinion, you can't have too much parsley or basil in your garden.

3. I received a birthday book!  My sister-in-law and I share, among the many many other enjoyments we have in common, a love of all words written by Madeleine L'Engle.  The latest volume she sent me is Walking on Water, Reflections on Faith and Art.  And tucked in to it was a bookmark painted with an original watercolor lavender spring violet which she created especially for me!

4. Isn't it FUN when to find a forgotten book on your bookshelf?  As I was dusting a shelf last Saturday, I noticed little blue book titled The Church of the East; it is actually an edited and condensed version of the very large two volume tome titled Nestorian Missionary Enterprise by John Stewart (published 1928). I know when and where we purchased the book as it was part of a homeschool curriculum, but I had no memory that we still owned it. (Here is where I confess to having lately developed a deep and insatiable interest in Christian Church history.)  Immediately I pulled it off the shelf and placed it lovingly and excitedly on the TOP of  my stack of 'I am planning to read this really soon' books.

5. Last, and certainly not least, because anything chocolate ranks quite high on my list of loves, I have been indulging my cocoa cravings with Trader Joe's (Vegan) 72% Swiss Dark Chocolate bar.  Do you shop at TJ's?  It's the 3.5 oz bar wrapped in the bright green cardboard.  On the back, it states, "Best before 03.03.2012".  I don't think I need to worry about the expiration date because this chocolate will not be around that long.

There were many more little and large events that could have made my Fave Five list (like a major Craig's List sale and a quick stop at the local garden nursery for some pink petunias), but I think these five are certainly a week's worth of blessings.  I'd love to hear about your week!  You can link up at Susanne's blog Living To Tell The Story or just leave a comment here.

Editor's note:  you may recall that I mentioned a book review I was planning to post.  If you are interested in reading a review of LowCostHighImpact Photography by blogger Steve Johnson, scroll down to the next post which I published last Tuesday.