Happy Easter!

Christ is risen!

Five Loves

Happy Friday!

I'm checking in with Willow's Week in

Friday Fave Fives

with others hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

It is Good Friday

and Resurrection Sunday!

1.  I love fiber.  Especially fiber I make myself.

Four ounces of wool and silk blend.

Handspun.

2.  I love herbs.  I love learning about them.  I love growing them.  I love using them.

Comfrey

Parsley

Wooly Lamb's Ear

3.  I love hiking.

Hill Canyon is one of my favorite places to hike.  The Professor and I managed to get in a short hike partway into the canyon this week on an otherwise very busy day.  It was glorious.

4.  I love Lent and Easter, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 My Lenten Rose has bloomed just in time to celebrate, too.

5.  I love spending time with friends.  On Tuesday, I walked with one friend.  One Thursday, another friend and I spent two hours wandering around a local garden and another two hours chatting over lunch.  

What did you love about your week?

Treasuring March Days

All of a sudden, it is quiet again at Willow's Cottage.  After the delightful visit of my sister-in-law, we were treated with three days with PAL, her mommy and auntie.  They arrived just in time to celebrate my birthday.  But other things first in this celebration of Willow's Week at Friday Fave Fives.

1.  After I said a fond farewell to my sil when I dropped her off at LAX for her flight home on Saturday, I enjoyed a couple of hours with my walking buddy from the years I lived in Los Angeles.  There's nothing better for your birthday breakfast!

2.  We have a dear older friend, our mentor, who is suffering from the effects of a stroke.  I sent her a hand knit shawl to wrap her in my love and prayers.

3.  Yeah, I drove to LA and back on my birthday.  Fortunately the traffic was much better than I expected.  That was most likely because everyone was hanging around Irish pubs drinking green beer instead of driving on LA freeways.  Yes, I share my birthday with St. Patrick.  Lots of cards and texts and calls made my day.

4.  The best present though was the arrival of my PAL!  We enjoyed our days with her and her mom and auntie.  One day, we visited Kidscape in Pasadena.  I'd never been there but PAL's mommy remembered it from her childhood, so she wanted PAL to experience it.

Obviously, playing in the mud kitchen was her favorite activity!

There is a four story climbing tower in a cylinder, so we girls crawled and climbed to the top while The Professor held all our bags at the bottom.  A fellow adventurer took our photo at the top of the tower.

5.On the last day of their time with us, we joined them in Los Angeles before they continued their drive to Orange County to stay overnight with friends.  A visit to the Los Angeles City Library was a must since PAL's mommy had worked there as a volunteer before she met our son and married him.

There was so much more to our time together--family dinners, reading books, playing with Meema's toys, strolling around Grand Central Market in downtown LA.  These were more days to treasure in my heart.

Mid March Happiness

It is time to be back on schedule and at Willow's Cottage, scheduling includes doing my

Friday Fave Fives

each week.  Yes, I missed last week, but I am back and ready to jump in again.

1.  I'm very thankful for Gypsy Cold Care tea and echinacea drops.  Fortunately, my cold did not materialize in a nasty way. I credit my herbal teas and drops.

2.  I'm thankful that I was feeling great by Monday because I received a Very. Important. Visitor. My sister-in-law arrived for a five days visit!  We have been buds since high school and then she married my beloved brother and so became my sister-in-law.  Am I not the most fortunate person?  My relative by marriage is a favorite friend!

3.  Sister-in-law had never been to Santa Barbara so although it was raining cats-and-dogs, we decided to go ahead and show-her-the-town.  Our destination was Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and we drove past Santa Barbara Mission.  Usually people don't photograph lovely places in the rain, but I think they are still beautiful.

4.  You know that friend who you can laugh with about most anything?  That's my sister-in-law and me.  When you've been friends since you were fourteen, you have a lot to laugh about.

5.  Daily walks, even in the rain, were favorite activities for both of us.

Oh! And the rain!  Yes, I am thankful for RAIN!

Back Up

Thank you, everyone, for your encouraging words and for checking in.  I am fine, now.  I wasn't very sick or for very long, but I needed to get healthy fast because I had a reunion to attend AND I have company.  Here's a little happiness to share:

Always make sure you are headed in the right direction.

Watch for the small things--like a tiny feather on a hummingbird sage.

Heads Up

Or rather, heads down.  If you happened by today to say hi and check in on my usual Friday Fave Fives, I'm sorry I haven't posted.  I'm on the edge of getting sick and trying to rest.  Hopefully, I'll be back in a day to catch up.

In Like a Lion?

March.  A new month.  Here at Willow's Cottage in Southern California, it looks like March will be coming in like a lion tonight with a strong winter rainstorm.  We are not complaining as we desperately need the rain although much of Santa Barbara County just to the north of us is under mandatory evacuation.  We're hoping there will not be a repeat of January's devastation.

And this first Friday in March here are my Friday Fave Fives--with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story who hosts us every week as we reflect on our blessings.

1.  I do love March for a couple of reasons.  It's my birthday month and it's SPRING which means spring flowers.  These flowers are blooming in my garden right now.

March

     ...daffodils

                         That come before the swallow dares, and take

     The winds of March with beauty.

                                    William Shakespeare

2.  I love books and saw this on facebook.  I understand that Kindles and audio books have their place, but I love a REAL book.

Benefits of books

 no glare

    no battery

                                                         dog ears (I don't do that; I use a book mark)

          no pop up ads

                                                probably won't get stolen at the beach

      smells good

3.  March also means my garden is beginning to take shape.  Along with last week's tomato plants, I now have snap peas and kale planted.  And the spinach seeds have been put in the starter pods.

4.  The Professor and I took a little break and enjoyed an outing for a coffee.  We each had our drink and a book.  Often, it's those quiet moments that are most refreshing.

5.  Speaking of coffee, I visited a new-to-me coffee place, meeting up with a friend who asked me for help with a knitting project.  Believe it or not, that coffee place is only three miles from my house and I'd never been there.