Friday, May 12, 2017

Flowers, Yarn and Books to Read

I wrote a Fave Five blog post this morning and it was nearly finished when, I don't know how, the whole thing deleted itself!  (I blame it on the fact that I have two fingers taped together because of a hand sprain and I must have somehow mistyped and deleted my post.)  Anyway, my Friday Fave Fives are a bit late since I'm retyping it all...

When I was thinking back on my week and checking the few photos I took, I realized that my focus has been on three things:  flowers, knitting (big surprise there!), and psalms.

1.  Flowers.  The jacarandas are in full purple bloom in Southern California.   The three jasmine plants at the edge of my patio and covered in blossoms.  And the fragrance--oh my! Sweet and heavenly!


I love the five blade helicopter flowers.


2.  The weather has been warm enough that I have been sitting on the patio with my tea and knitting.  My stash of hats to sell has been seriously depleted and I have a venue coming up on the 21st where I can sell hats, so I'm knitting hats like crazy.  I love combining sunshine, jasmine, tea and knitting.


3.  A friend gifted me four pots of flowers when she moved to Arizona last week.  Since she couldn't take all her potted plants, she offered some to me and others.  I am enjoying the gerbera daisies and coreopsis and fondly remembering my friend.

4.  This year, for the second year, The Professor and I are reading through the Bible in a year using a chronological Bible.  Since we have just finished a section about King David, we are reading the psalms he wrote.  I'm loving rereading so many of my favorites.  HERE is the link to Psalms 121 which may be my most favorite psalm.

5.  I picked up a book the other day which has been sitting, partly read, on my table for a long time awhile and started reading it.  The Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour is his autobiography.  L'Amour was mostly known for his Western novels but the man was so much more than a pulp novel writer.  I loved this quote about book stores.  Remember, he first wrote this in 1938...

"Bookstores were fewer than today, when paperbacks are everywhere.  There were many wonderful old bookstores operated by people who both knew and loved books, and to browse their shelves was and is pure delight.
It is not uncommon today to find no one working in a bookstore who reads anything but the current best sellers, if that much.  In the days I speak of, bookstores were usually operated by book lovers.  Now they are run by anyone who can ring up a sale.  Yet there are exceptions, and to come upon them is always a pleasure."

Do you have a bookstore in your area where  the owner is a book lover?  We do and we make sure that we support it by purchasing books there.

8 comments:

Barbara H. said...

Beautiful flowers! It has been lovely weather here this week, too. I have never read through a chronological Bible and want to some time. I just finished reading about David's life not long ago and tried as much as possible to read the corresponding psalm to whatever was going on in the chapter I was on - reading one written while he was hiding in a cave after reading that section in I and II Samuel. The psalms always speak to me, but they did even more so that way.

Interesting quote from L'Amour. I have not found a bookstore here - even the big chain ones are a ways away, so I buy most of mine online. Where we used to live there was one nearby that I loved.

Faith said...

we absolutely do have a local book lover owned bookstore and i would MUCH rather shop there than the chain that begins with a B. i LVE books and browsing and psalm 121 is MY fave pslam too!!! I am actually currently going through a Biblle app devotional centered on Psalm 119. It is quite good. My husband bought me a chronological Bible a few years ago and i had bought one for my youngest so we did that one year. it was fun to read Gods word " in order" as my yoingest called it.

sitting outside was somethng i did the last two days after work....i love spring sunshine!

happy weekend!

ellen b said...

Sorry about your hand sprain. Oh that sweet Jasmine fragrance, I miss it. Hope you have a lovely Mother's day weekend.

Gracie Saylor said...

This morning I was jolted to realize how much Psalm 102 has to say about God's mercy. At church, we have been focused for a few weeks on what Scripture says about God's mercy, and yesterday I read a chapter by A. W. Tozer's in"The Knowledge of the Holy" about God's mercy. I have read through a chronological Bible once, but have gotten more used to using the OT, NT, Psalms and Proverbs One Year Bible. We are back to a week of rainy and cool weather. I'm glad you are able to knit outside!

Susanne said...

I am trying to imagine the smell of the cute little "helicopter" flowers. Ouch, hope your hand is okay. That does not sound fun especially when trying to type up something. Love the Psalms and I love that you and your hubby are reading through the bible together! Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Gattina said...

Ever since I have a Kindle I only read ebooks, it's so practical ! In Egypt I had no time to read because of too much chatting with people on the beach ! BTW Egypt and Belgium has the same time, there is no difference and it's only 4 h flight away, so it wasn't difficult to adjust !

snoopydogknits said...

I so envy you the rich heady perfume of your jasmines. They are such a beautiful sight to behold, as are the jacarandas. Enjoy the relaxation of some knitting time in the sunshine! x

Tracy said...

Hi, Willow! Hope your hand is feeling better... and not more losing of blog posts. ;) I love how you and The Professor are sharing the Bible. :) The Psalms are my favorite portion of the Bible, too. Speaking of good books and things, very much like the L'Amour quote. We have two small bookstores here, which are connected with chain stores. Not as cozy and fun as independent bookstores, but we are glad to have a pair of places that sell books cards and paper, even board games, and things for kids. They don't have books in English though, so I have to go elsewhere for those... ;) Hope you had a LOVE-ly Mother's Day last weekend... ((HUGS))