July, Last Week

 July is just flying by.  Here we are in the last week.  As of yesterday, it is five months to Christmas.  As the week soared along, I kept stopping to think about the blessings of each day.  And now it's Friday and I am writing my Friday Fave Fives to share and encourage you.

This week, the focus seemed to be on interactions with people.

1.  We had our usual coffee hang out with T and S. Always so much fun!

2.  Wednesday morning, I picked up a phone call from Younger Daughter. "Mom, can you do coffee and knitting with me this morning?"  Obvious answer was YES!  So we drove toward the big city and stopped at a new place for me.

Then we drove into the city and stopped by a knit shop to browse.  And since I had an appointment to pick of four books for myself and three others for our Bible study which begins in September, we did that errand.  All together it was a delightful day.

3.  Two of those books were picked up by a lady who owns chickens and has lots of eggs.  So the next day, she stopped by and gave us a dozen.  Wow!  What generosity!

4.  I drove to drop off that other book and chatted with that lady.  She's an experienced weaver!  We are making plans to get together and talk more about weaving.

5.  I'm uber driver for Tall Boy to take him to his piano lessons.  During the drive and for quite a while after, we talked. And talked.  It made my mema heart so happy.

Bonus:  a couple of flowers from my garden.

Friday Fave Fives, Third Week of July

I'm late for Friday Fave Fives. But at least I'm here, and it's still Friday.  It's been a busy week but there have been so many wonderful things happening.  (And this is why I still don't have my Ireland/England photos downloaded to my laptop.)  Let's get right to my Five Faves.

1.  Our week has revolved around one special thing.  My cousin came to visit!  I call her my Sister-Cousin because during our growing up years, we were very close.

2.  Sis-Cuz was in another city in Ohio attending a wedding over the weekend.  On Monday, we drove to meet up with her.  We chose a cute small coffee shop to meet, not knowing that it was a very new spot.  A perfect place to meet -- good coffee and ambience.

3.  All the chats and laughs we had!  Lots of memories from our childhood.  I loved that our daughters seemed to have the same bond with her, too.

4.  On Sunday, July 14th, The Professor and I celebrated our fifty-first wedding anniversary.  I am the most fortunate woman to have such a wonderful husband!

5.  I couldn't have a Fave Five in the summer without mentioning my garden.  Our wildflower garden has exploded with-- flowers!  The bees are delighted.

Home Sweet Home!

 Yes, we are home.  In Ohio.  I was away for three and a half weeks.  And I am so happy to sleep in my own bed again (I guess that could be my first Fave of the week.).  I am still having photo issues, but I will see what I can do to post pictures.  Otherwise, please come back during the week for an Ireland, England, Wales photo dump.

Here are my Friday Fave Fives for this past week. (the link takes you to Susanne's blog where you can join in or read more FFFs)

1.  Safe trips home for all of us.  The stages of the trip for The Professor and me included a ferry boat ride across the Irish Sea and two airplane flights.

2.  On the flights, I was able to sit next to The Professor partly because people were willing to swap places with me.  I deeply appreciate the kind people on those flights.

3.  OK, back to a few highlights of our trip.  We spent five nights in Wales, at Conwy.  Wow!  Our windows looked out over the small town toward Conwy Castle.  Can you imagine living in a place where you could view a castle built almost eight hundred years ago?

4.  We took a train along the Conwy River, and then a cable car to an old copper mine called Great Orme Mines.  Maybe walking down into the mine wasn't my favorite part of the visit, but it was amazing to see where ancient people were mining copper a LONG time ago.  Yes, we love history.

Enter at your own risk!

Archaeologists are working in here.

It's a long way down-- thirty-five meters underground.

The light at the end of the tunnel!

5.  I have to give credit to our favorite coffee shop in Conwy, Cantin Cafe.  We enjoyed coffee and delicious fresh bakery snacks.  And the servers were delightful.

Now, I will see what I can do to add some photos to this post.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Still on The Road

Have you wondered what has happened to Willow? I am still traveling. Yes, this is a long trip. Where has Willow been? Ireland was my first stop. Dublin to Glasgow via several places, then back to Dublin. Then I flew to London to meet up with my family.  After one night in London, we headed south to Hastings and then west to Poole.  Some family returned home. The Professor and I and Older Daughter journeyed to Telford and Ironbridge, and now we are in North Wales!  This is my view from the airbnb window right now as I am writing this post. That castle in the background is Conwy Castle.

Anyway,  I am here to let you know I am fine and I am writing my Friday Fave Fives after two weeks of being MIA.  Sadly, there will be very few photos until I return home. That camera of mine is being persnickety and won't talk to my tablet. (Follow this link to Susanne's blog to join in on the FFFs. (www.susannesspace.blogspot.com)

1. Safe travel is a major point of thankfulness.  I have been on three airplanes, numerous busses, and too many trains to count. I never never take safe travel for granted.

2. Wonderful travel companions in Ireland. For the first time,  I was on a tour. Everything was planned and cared for including most meals and all hotels and activities.  I loved it all and am enthralled with Ireland-- the land, the people, the SHEEP, the music. How thankful I am for all that I experienced in Ireland!

3.   I am thankful for so many kind and friendly people who have helped us find our way when we were lost or who merely paused to converse with us.

4.  Dreams come true for grandchildren.  Z wanted to see Taylor Swift's concert and go to Bath. Check.  Warrior Boy got to visit Tankfest and the National Tank Museum.  Check.  Tall Boy had his return visit to Corfe Castle.  Check.

Corfe Castle

And

Eleanor at one of the windows in a guard tower

5.  The rest of this trip is seeing places on The Professor's bucket list.  Ironbridge Gorge was amazing! We loved this small town (I could live there!), a very important place in the history of the industrial revolution of the world.  Now we are in North Wales, possibly a place from where some of his ancestors may have originated.  We are all so thankful for this amazing opportunity to travel.

I am hoping I will be able to soon post photos and more photos. Maybe it won't happen until I am back on home turf again. Stay tuned.

Food, Fellowship, Family and Knitting

It has been a  crazy week.  I have been busy preparing for an international trip; I should say "We".  We are leaving on a jet plane (actually, three different jet planes)--our two daughters, three teenage grandchildren and a friend.  Eight people in the party.  Eight very excited people.  But in the midst there have been a couple of hard things... our daughters' home had a water pipe burst which caused some flooding in the house.  Don't worry!  Servpro is on it!  And the plumber is on it!  Sometimes this week, I have had to stop and hit the reset button and remind myself of the good things.  Like a momentous trip.  Fellowship.  And of course, knitting.  These are the Friday Fave Fives Friday Fave Fives I am sharing for this mid June week.

1.  Sunday evening we were invited to dinner with a young couple.  She and I know each other from Bible Study group.  You know how sometimes you just 'click' with someone.  We enjoyed our wonderful dinner and great fellowship.  Their four sweet children were just a delight, too.

2. Of course, on the way out to their home, we drove through some lovely farmland.  And farmland has barns!

3.  I finished the vest I was knitting for my friend for her birthday.  The yarn came from a local alpaca farm.  When the owners sell their yarn from the flock, they label each skein with the alpaca's name.  According to the label, I knitted fiber from (oops, I can't find its name).

4.  All the little things that you realize you need to travel... I think I have them.  I made a list and The Professor and I made more than one quick run to the store.  Travel size sun screen,  Check,   Sanitizer, another small bottle,  Check.  Travel mending kit with needles and thread,  Check. 

5.  Dinner with our travel buddies.  We got together a meal on Tuesday evening and ironed out various things like exact dates, exact addresses for AirBnBs, Exact times and places for events we are interested in.   Needless to say, the atmosphere was exciting.  And we accomplished a great deal.

Now, I'm off to check my bag.  Again!  And remind myself of All The Blessings of this week.

Friday Fave Fives, First Week of June

Today is Friday.  I can't believe it has been a whole week since I wrote anything here on Willowscottage blog.  I've been thinking about posting the information and photos of my most recent finished knitting project.  Hopefully, I can do that tomorrow.  But anyway, since it is Friday, it is time for me to write about all the blessings of this past week.  Well, at least Five of them.  Here are my Friday Fave FivesFriday Fave Fives.  (follow the link to join in and read more)

1.  Who doesn't love a bonfire? We had a great time at The Hive (daughters' home) burning lots and lots of papers and a few logs. Tall Boy burned his papers from this past school year.  I helped burn some other unneeded papers. So much fun! I love bonfires!

2.  Saturday morning I joined some friends at a coffee shop in a town south of us and then enjoyed the rest of the morning wandering around a huge antique mall. I think I was the only one who didn't buy anything. But it was fun.

3.  Then we attended the high school graduation party for a young man. Love those celebrations!

4.  Tuesday night was an important evening for our grandsons. They are both members of Trail Life (similar to Boy Scouts). The troop had their Crossover Ceremony, which is for graduating boys up to the next age group.  Our Warrior Boy is now in Adventurers (high school) group with Tall Boy. I am so proud of these young men.

5.  And who doesn't love a nice rainstorm?  The main reason this is a fave this week is that having a healthy downpour means I don't have to water the garden.  And truly, I enjoy watching the rain drops falling.  And I love the smell after the rain. It must be the Oregon native in me.  Every time it rains, I am thankful for how God waters my garden.

And a yellow finch came to visit!

I hope you have had a great week, too!

The Last Day of May!

 It is the last day of May!  We are five-twelfths through the year.  Crazy!  And it's Friday and time for Friday Fave Fives with Susanne as our host.  Every week, we think back on our days and find five ways we have been blessed.  I find this exercise to be helpful for me to focus on all the good things in my life and to help me not wallow in the difficulties.  The LINK takes you to Susanne's blog where you can read more and join us.

1.  My laptop is back up and running well.  The Professor found a local guy who does this kind of repair from his home, and his place is walking distance from our house.  Saturday afternoon, we walked over and picked up the computer and had a great chat with him. (one thing I love about Ohio-- people are friendly)

2.  As I checked my little 'diary' where I keep an account of each day's happenings, I noticed that EVERY DAY this week I wrote that I worked in the garden.  My garden is my happy place.  I am so thankful that I have the space to mess with plants on the east, west, north and south sides of our home.

3.  One afternoon, our neighbor was out doing some cleaning with her power washer.  She ended up cleaning our (hers and ours) front sidewalk.  When I thanked her, she replied that she was having fun.  And the sidewalk looks like new!

4.  Our garage clean up is almost done!  We can again park our car in the garage.  The past two days, The Professor has been putting up wall hangings for our garden tools.  Am I weird to love an orderly garage?

5.  For the second week in a row, we have invited people for dinner at our house.  This youngerish couple used to be in our life group at church, but they have moved to a church closer to their home.  We miss them, so we've been having meals together regularly just to catch up on life.

And now for a bit of a photo dump...

the wedding~

Father escorting his daughter down the 'aisle'.  (note Tall Boy in the background in charge of sound)

Prayer of dedication

Cutting the cake at the reception

Sunset on a stormy evening

I am so happy to have my computer back in working order!

The Colors of Spring

 Here is proof that my laptop is functioning again!

All the colors in Willow's garden!

The bees and butterflies approve.

Even the mallard ducks dropped in to check out my garden!

Fave Fives for Late May

 There is some progress being made on the recovery of my laptop. Maybe, just maybe, we may have access today to the replacement fan.  Waiting for that text on The Professor's phone.   In the meantime, I am taking photos but can't move them from my camera.

Anyway,  this week has still moved quickly.  The weather has bloomed into true late spring. Warm, humid, with cloudy arriving carrying bouts of rainfall.  Tall Boy was finally able to mow our lawn yesterday. It looks great!  The flowers in the pollinators garden are blooming. The bees are happy.

What else could we wish for? What else has blessed us this week? Here are five more happy events.  I am linking my Friday Fave Fives to Susanne's blog (susannesspace.blogspot.com)

1. In anticipation of some more active weeks traveling, I have been working with a young woman doing some strength training. While I tease her that she's killing me, I do appreciate how she is pushing me to improve my upper body strength.

2.  Our handyman came back this week and power washed our house. It sure needed it. And now it looks great.

3.  I am almost finished with knitting a vest for a friend. All I need to do is have her try it on and then sew up the sides. It was made from the wool of local alpaca.   Photos hopefully coming soon.

4.  Our younger grandson, Warrior Boy, graduated from eighth grade this week.  How did this happen? So proud of the progress he has made.

5.  Two dinners with friends. We love the food but especially the fellowship.

BONUS! I SAVED THE BEST UNTIL LAST.  S and S were married last Saturday!  Who are they? You may recall that a family foursome who we call our kids and grandkids moved from SoCal about two years ago.  We have known them for more than twenty years. The younger son married his sweetheart on Saturday! And now we have another granddaughter!

Random photos of the south coast of England (Jurassic Coast) for your enjoyment of the beauty of this area (from April 2022).

And of course Eleanor wanted to have her picture too!

Faves of Mid May

 Unfortunately,  I still have no access to photos and so what I  share will be all words.  Here are my Friday Fave Fives for this mid May week.  I still haven't figured out how to make a link on my tablet, but you can go to susannesspace.blogspot.com to join us.

1.  Obviously, Mother's Day was wonderful. Phone calls. Texts. Dinner. Cards. I was blessed with a wonderful mother. And I have two daughters and a daughter-in-law who are mothers.  Truly, I am blessed.

2.  Our beekeeper guy came to check on the bee hive and take the honeycombs home with him. On Tuesday morning he returned with our first batch of honey!  Oh I wish you could see it! Ten pint jars and five quart jars of liquid gold! All from our little back garden hive!  And it tastes marvelous!

3.  Gardens. Our wildflower garden is blooming.  Red. Purple. White. Pink. Orange. Yellow. I wish I could share a photo of them.  And the vegetable garden is beginning to show signs of progress. Mostly green shoots of cucumbers, snap peas,  lettuce, kale and spinach.  The tomatoes and peppers are growing too.

4.  We had our wedding rings resized because ours no longer fit our fingers.  This week they were finished and we picked them up.  I love being able to wear my ring again.

5. Our garage walls are done! They look great! Now to put all.  the. stuff. back where it belongs. I am thankful for a good and careful and honest handyman.

Extra!  The boys' Trail Life Troup did an outing on Tuesday night. While they all walked through a local preserve playing disc golf, I took off on my own and hiked in the light rain and tromped through the mud. It was so much fun!

So those are my five blessings from this week. I hope you were able to get through all the reading with no pictures.  How about you? Did you have a week of blessings?

Not the trail I was on... but paths near Canterbury, England along Via Francigena (taken in April 2022).

Mother's Day Weekend

FRIDAY!   Time for Friday Fave Fives. Link is susannesspace.blogspot.com.  My faves might be a bit different in this post.  Maybe no photos again as my laptop is not functional  right now. However, The Professor knows someone who can fix it, so it may not be out of commission for too long.  Anyway... on to FFFs.

1.   I  am feeling better. Sometimes, resting is the best medicine.  Thanks for all your concerns for me.

2.   In fact, I was able to get outside and walk most days and also spend quite a bit of time in the garden.

3. And... go to one workout with a young woman who is helping me gain more upper body strength.

4.  Safety.  Our county was under another tornado warning one evening.  Fortunately, we were safe, and I haven't heard of any major damage in the area.  And we appreciated getting the rain.

5.   This week , a young handyman is finishing our garage walls for us.  We had put up the insulation and wallboard,  but frankly we are getting old for taping, mudding, sanding and painting.  The work should be done by Monday. It is a win-win. Our garage walls are finished, and he has work to support his young family.

So, friends, have a wonderful weekend! Thank your mom and if she isn't with you any longer, honor her memory.

Random photos of flowers which I took in England two years ago (they are on my tablet).

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

May Has Arrived!

Welcome to May!  This Friday, the weather is a bit under clouds and I'm a bit under the weather, too.  So it is a day of rest for me.  The quiet time today is a good time to focus my fuzzy brain on all the wonderful ways I have been blessed this week so I can post them as my Friday Fave Fives.  Several of us join together with Susanne on her blog to post blessings from our week.  Join us!

1.  Again this week, we got in a couple of four mile walks.  Because I miss the beaches in SoCal, I try to walk near water, preferably creeks and rivers (water needs to be moving!)  We decided to walk with younger daughter at a new to us spot-- the other end of the Black Hand Gorge Trail.  It was beautiful.  And the granddogs loved it, too.  [NOTE:  not sure why I am not able to upload any photos.  If you are having issues, too, please let me know.]

2.  I am slowly putting the garden together.  Cucumbers and basil were planted in this week and soon I will be adding replacement tomatoes for the ones that died in the frost.  I also have borage and parsley, lettuce and kale to add, too.

3.  I love when I get a text from our former neighbor in CA.  World's Best Neighbor is what I call her.  She catches me up on all the neighbors and on her life, too.  And of course, knitting.  I am so thankful to quick and easy communication.

4.  Libraries!  Tall Boy requested a visit to the local library this week.  I took him after his piano lesson.  The library allows any adult to sign him up for a card, as long as they take responsibility for any costs like lost books.  I accepted the conditions. So now he has his own card.  Our plan is to drop by the library regularly.

5.  I know that I often mention our friends T and S who we meet for coffee weekly.  This week was extra special because Younger Daughter had a a few days off work and joined us.  We laughed so much and talked for so long.  We never fail to just enjoy each others' company.  Our friendship is a hug blessing to us. (And I love that our girls and grands love them, too.)

So, my friends, think about your week and remember the goodness in your life.  Be blessed.  Be well.  Be thankful.

Another Week of Blessings

This has been a whirlwind week.  And it has been a week of blessings.  Here are my Friday Fave Fives from week of many activities.  The link will take you to Susanne's blog where you will find lots and lots more weekly blessings

1.  Today we have had sunshine!  After many cold and cloudy days, it was wonderful to wake up to sun.  Driving home this morning from my Bible Study group, I reveled in the bright green of lawns and trees and in the white, pink, blue, purple and yellow blossoms which sparkled in the sun.  Sometimes, we forget to appreciate the beauty that is right in front of our eyes, and this morning I was thankful for this reminder.

2.  On Saturday, a friend and I drove an hour north to Amish country to attend a health/wellness/herbalism conference.  The conference was great and I learned some important information. An added bonus is that we were across the road from Lehman's which is a large store stocked with so much interesting stuff.  I needed a replacement chimney for my old oil lamp (which I love to use) and this store is the only place I have been able to find one.  I always enjoy my trips with this friend.

Amish farmer plowing his field

Drive slowly and carefully in Amish Country because there is often slow traffic on the roads.

3.  Our local beekeeper came this week to check on our hive.  Every time he comes, I learn something more about the bees.  We were also pleased to know and see that our hive is healthy and thriving.

4.  After two weeks of not being able to meet with our coffee friends T and S because of sickness at their house, we had a great coffee and conversation time with them (and one other friend) on Thursday morning.  Their fellowship always is an encouragement and joy to both The Professor and me.

5.  We always enjoy walking with our children grandchildren and granddogs.  This week we have had a few opportunities to get out and walk with them.  Yesterday, we walked 4.25 miles on part of the TJ Evans Trail which weaves along the local stream, Raccoon Creek.  The weather was perfect.  The scenery was joyous.  The puppies behaved.

Bonus:  there are always fascinating barns everywhere!

Note the hawk flying in sky

below

NOTE:  if you didn't see the post I wrote about my fair isle sweater, you will find it just below this post.