Thursday, February 21, 2013

Flowers, Blogs and Quotes

Greetings from cool but sunny Willow's Cottage.  It rained this week.  It has been sunny.  And not warm.  And windy.  It was a week for hot coffee, wool gloves and an extra fleece vest.  Leaves are popping out on the rose bushes.  But I haven't been out in the garden much to admire them.  Here are the fave five tidbits from Willow's Week which have warmed me from the inside out.

1. My friend has a blog!  Do you love photos of gardens?  You'll love garden celebrations!  I took these photos of her garden acres several years ago.





2. A very unexpected phone call.  From my oldest cousin.  As far back as I can remember, he has NEVER called me.  So when I answered a call from an unknown number (but not unknown area code), I was astounded to find who the caller was.  Admittedly, my first thought was, "Oh, no.  Who died?"  because why else would he be calling?  It turned out that he wanted me to connect with his oldest grandson who was writing a paper on cross cultural experiences for his cultural anthropology class and wanted to interview me.  It was great to talk to both my cousin and his grandson.

3. A potted tulip is blooming in the cottage.


4.  I love this quote by William Morris:  "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

5.  Here's another random quote which resonated with me this week.  It's from an article in British Country Living magazine.  "To bake is an elemental act of creativity".  Now I'm wanting to pull out my bread pans and bake some loaves of my favorite honey wheat bread.

And a bonus quote:  "Better craft than gold".

Have you found any famous or obscure quotes you love?

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Dear Willow! It was wonderful seeing your name pop up in my blog comments. What gorgeous gardens you friend has. My camera and I could get lost in there for days. I adore tulips too. Once my move is completed this weekend, I think I'll buy a tulip for our apartment, first thing. Blessings. . .

Faith said...

WOW those gardens are beautiful..i want to go for a walk with them and my camera!! I can just imagine the glorious scents! I LOVE tulips and can't wait to start seeing them shoot up (hopefully by the beginning of April!). I would have had the same thot about a long-lost relative calling me! LOL...but what a neat experience for you to chat with them. The only quote I can think of right now is the one from Victor Hugo's Les Misearables (something about to see a person's face you love you see the face of God...or something like that!) hey...it's early, i was sick most of the week and i have only had one cup of coffee so far! but it IS a good quote! have a great weekend!!

Tracy said...

LOVELY flowers...*swoon*... since we're still winter-deep in cold and snow, this was a sight for my winter-sore eyes. :o) The William Morris quote is a favorite of mine too. I've been keeping that one especially to heart as we continue some home improvements here and declutting! Happy Weekend, Willow ((HUGS))

ellen b. said...

I know what you mean about those phone calls! I'll have to check out the garden blog. I garden vicariously through others...
Have a great weekend.

Jerralea said...

Oh, you know I'm a quote lover! I have heard the William Morris quote before and believe it is a worthy goal ... I'm just far from achieving it.

I love pictures of gardens!

roxie said...

"Good morning, dear." Mrs. Lincoln to Abe.

The gardens are glorious. and immaculate!

Bethany said...

The garden is just beautiful. I'm glad the cooler weather hasn't hurt your plants. I used to collect quotes-- had them stuck all over my bedroom when I was single. This is one of those days that my brain is off! I've had too many calls this week that ended up the other way! But I'm glad you reconnected-- you ARE a very interesting person! ;)

Kathie said...

I have a quote on my blog this week too. I love your baking quote! I feel that way.

Isn't it funny how our first thought is usually who died. So glad it wasn't. And glad you have the opportunity to reconnect with your extended family.

I think I would really enjoy British Country Living Mag. I'll have to look it up!

Happy weekend Willow!

Heather said...

I love flowers!!! I will have to check out that blog. Thanks for sharing.

How neat to be interviewed! :)

The tulip is beautiful! I got flowers for my birthday this week.

Love the quotes! I love to bake yummy things. Have a great weekend!

Hollace said...

The tulip photo is gorgeous and frame-worthy.

My daphne is blossoming but the rains have come down in earnest today and it feels so cold out there!

Garden Celebrations said...

Thank you for sharing my new blog at www.gardencelebrations.com with your readers. Things are looking bare right now, but I can't wait to have roses for the house again!
That quote by William Morris is one of my favorites! When I'm tempted to buy something for the house, I often think of it.

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

What a cool phone call! And that potted tulip is so pretty. Quotes? I have to echo Faith and recall the Victor Hugo quotes - the face of God one and the Laughter/sunshine I used last week.

Hope you have a great week ahead.

Karen said...

Love the flower pictures. I'm suddenly finding myself impatient for spring and bought some flowers at the grocery store yesterday.

I love quotes, too. One that always comes to mind is "That which hinders your task, is your task." I repeat to myself when I'm finding excuses to put things off.

Caroline said...

What a wonderful post, Linda. I like the quote about having things in your house that are useful or beautiful only. I follow that pretty well although, unfortunately, I love dishes, which I believe are useful and beautiful...and also get to be an expensive hobby. I don't think that fit with the tenor of that quote, ha, ha

Graf Spee said...

I like the baking one. I was looking at the bananas today and thinking, "They need to over-rippen a little more, then I can make banana bread." In terms of quotes, there are so many I love. "Reputation is what others know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself." -Lois McMaster Bujold

nikkipolani said...

Yes, that's a favorite quote of mine, too. Though I'm not sure what category extra USB cables go in... Those are pretty extensive gardens! Looks like a full time job for a dozen people. Roomie often wishes we had more land to plant and play with. I always add "staff" to her wishlist.

LivingforGod said...

Beautiful garden pictures and tulip! It's cool to get an unexpected pleasant phone call.

I collect quotes :). This week I really like this quote by John Piper: "This is God’s universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in the world."

Gattina said...

I wished the flowers would bloom right now, instead it snowed ! Phew !

Susanne said...

I also love that quote from William Morris. I really helps when deciding whether it's worth hanging onto something.

That is an incredibly beautiful tulip. Tulips are my favorite and now you've inspired me to make a little stop at the store for some tulips.

Your friends gardens must smell lovely!

Marg said...

At this time of year, I too am waiting for some flowers to appear. Very few signs of change...but that tulip is absolutely stellar.
That quote by Morris has inspired me to start cleaning up again.
Thanks for sharing.

Barbara said...

Managed to emerge myself in Summer for a few minutes.

Victor Hugo quotes said...

I think you are great anthologist. I have collected many quotes from you. Thanks a lot for doing like this job. You may like- http://www.quoteschart.com/Victor-Hugo-quotes