Busy and Blessed

 It's Friday (night) and time for Friday Fave Fives.  I had planned to have my FFFs up and running early this morning, but, as usual, life got busy.  Finally, I have a bit of time to just sit and reflect back on the past week and all the blessings.

1.  We have moved on from Fourth of July weekend, but we loved our times on the back patio with family.  We enjoyed a bonfire, various meals and some s'mores.  I am so thankful to be living so near to our daughters so we can just text and say, "Come on over!"

2.  Trail Life.  Both grandsons are part of our local Trail Life troop (like Boy Scouts with church connections).  This week was 'crossover', a time of recognizing each troop member and 'graduating' those who are moving up to the next age level.  They literally cross a local walking bridge and are greeted by all the other boys and leaders.

3.  Our honeybees are doing great!  The 'bee guy' visited our hives this week and we enjoyed watching him do the inspecting.

4.  The bees are loving all the flowers.  That's probably why they are thriving and seem so 'busy'.

And the butterflies are happy, too.

5.  Our extended family, the ones we unofficially 'adopted' years ago from Los Angeles and who moved here to Ohio after we did, have added a new little one to our 'tribe'.  We got to meet little L this week! (posting with permission)  We each got to hold him!  Welcome, L!

So, that's Willow's Week here.  Busy but overflowing with Blessings!

July Fourth!

 Happy Fourth of July!  AND it's Friday Fave Fives time.  Here in the US, we are celebrating a national holiday.  Two hundred forty-nine years ago, we declared independence from England.  So I am focusing on both our national holiday and five blessings from the past week.  (The link above takes you to the blog of Susanne, our FFF host.)

1.  Thank you to all the people who have visited this blog and commented about their prayers, thoughts and concerns for The Professor after his stroke last month.  He is recovering so well.  If you know him personally, face to face, you know that he is working hard, doing his exercises faithfully.  This week, we have walked a couple of evenings-- almost a two mile walk!  One thing his therapist told him to do is put together puzzles.  He has done several 350 piece puzzles using his left hand to increase dexterity and strength.

2.  Three hundred ninety years ago, my ancestors left London on a ship named Increase, floated across the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Boston, Massachusetts in June 1635.  I am thankful that I have all the information about my ancestors (courtesy of some very dedicated great aunts and uncles who did so much research) about the people who arrived and settled here in America.

3.  One morning, we drove to the local car dealer where we bought our Honda and had the usual maintenance done on it.  The car's good to go.  I am thankful for experienced and reliable mechanics to do all the work like oil changes.

4.  The Professor's friend spent one morning with him, just talking about everything.  RD is such a blessing to him and I'm thankful for that. 

5.  Last night, almost all our local family met at our house and then walked down to the Ohio State University campus and set up our chairs to enjoy food truck cuisine and orchestra music and fireworks.  It's a yearly tradition in our town to have a huge fireworks display on July 3rd.  We had a great time!  We sang along with the orchestra.  We snacked on popcorn.  We oohed and aahed at the fireworks display.

Some photos from last night.  Can you imagine all the booms and explosions?

Again, Happy Independence Day!

End of June Faves

 It seems like every week flies by so quickly.  This week did, too.  I am thankful that I have Friday Fave Fives to keep me grounded each week by helping me just Stop.And.Focus.  ( This link takes you to our host Susanne's blog and you can join in sharing or just reading others' faves.)

1.  I am thankful for the week we had with Chaplain Dan.  He was here for a full week and we treasured every moment.

2.  On the night before Chaplain Dan flew back home, we had a family dinner and bonfire.  We sat for hours enjoying the cooling evening and watching for fireflies.  What's not to love about a bonfire?

3.  I am thankful for air conditioning.  It seems like you don't appreciate something until you don't have it.  That's what happened to us.  On the two hottest days of 2025 so far, we didn't have AC.  Sunday night, it died.  On Tuesday morning, we drove to a local AC repair company and talked to the scheduler.  Miracle of miracles, one of the workers finished his job early and was able to come to our house.  He discovered the issue and fixed it in just a few minutes.  I am thankful for the company that worked quickly to help us and I am thankful to have a cool home again.

4.  It was The Professor's birthday this week!  How thankful I am that he is regaining his strength and health.  His birthday is the same day and my mom's, so my brother called to wish Mom a happy birthday in heaven and to wish The Professor a happy birthday on earth.

5.  Coffee time with T and S was scheduled for his birthday.  Nurse Daughter joined us (she had the day off) and brought Tall Boy and Warrior Boy with her.  We had the best time celebrating him and the coffee and snacks were delicious.

That's it for me this busy week.  How was your week?

Summer Solstice Fave Fives

Another week in June has flown by.  And today is the Summer Solstice!  How has the year gone by so quickly?  I have to slow down every Friday and focus on what has blessed me during the week; otherwise, I just keep going and don't think about how grateful I am for big and little things.  Friday Fave Fives really helps me do that.

1.  The absolute best fave for this past week is the first thing I will mention.  Our older son Chaplain Dan flew in to visit us on Saturday!  We have been having the best time.  He has helped so much with 

2.  His sisters have been able to spend some time with him.  It makes my mama's heart 3/4 full.  (why only 3/4?  because Younger Son wasn't able to join us)

3.  The Professor is doing well, healing more daily.  We've been able to take a couple of short walks in the neighborhood.  He has daily exercises to help him regain strength and better use of his left hand.  His appointment with his primary care physician went well.

4.  On Sunday, after church, we enjoyed a family dinner at Olive Garden.  Younger Daughter's boyfriend joined us and we had a wonderful time celebrating The Professor.

5.  Our usual weekly coffee time with T and S was especially fun because Chaplain Dan was with us.  Since all three guys are military veterans, they had the best time just talking about the Navy and the Army.  S and I sat and listened and enjoyed the conversations.

How was your week?  How were you blessed?

Home is Best

Oops, I'm late posting my Friday Fave Fives.  It's been another crazy week.  But it has been a good week.

1.  The Professor is HOME!  He was released from the hospital yesterday.  Of course, there is still lots of physical therapy to continue so he can regain even more of his muscles, but his progress is nothing short of amazing.  I just keep being amazed at how well The Professor is recovering from his stroke.  So many people called, emailed, and texted to let us know that they were praying for him.  I am so thankful God answered our prayers for his healing.

2.  Even before we drove home, we made a detour to a local coffee shop to visit my cousin who was driving through Ohio on his way to the east coast to attend a wedding.  We hadn't seen each other for more than ten years.  It wasn't a long visit but it meant so much to both of us.

3.  I am so very thankful to have the three home projects finished.  The driveway is repaved.  The downstairs flooring is replaced.  The upstairs carpet is renewed.  Whew.  It's all beautiful.

4.  To be able to have the carpet replaced in the 'library', we had to move ALL.THE.BOOKS.  It wouldn't have happened without friends who spent two afternoons and an evening taking all the books out and, after the new carpet was installed, putting them back on the bookshelves.  I am grateful for their help.

5. The garden is beginning to grow and produce.  Well, at least we are enjoying eating the kale.  And the flowers keep blooming.

Are You Still Curious?

 Remember those yarn colors I wrote about?

Well, I finished the knitting project using these yarns and here is the answer.  Ring any bells?

Yes, those are the colors of the four Hogwarts houses made into small scarves.

Back story.  A family member had a baby boy a few months ago.  I asked what I could knit for little R.  During our texting back and forth, we hit on the idea that I could make him a Weasley sweater.  Then came the question--"What house is he in? Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw?"

So I devised a plan.  I would knit little scarves.  When R is 9 3/4 months old, they will lay out the four scarves in front of him.  Whichever scarf R crawls to and grabs, that is his house.

The four scarves will be mailed to Oregon soon.  I will await with great excitement to find out what colors I will use to knit R's sweater.

Yes, I'm Back

 Update:  Thank you all who have prayed and sent good wishes to me this past week.  The details of my disappearance are that The Professor suffered a mild stroke last Thursday night.  Because he immediately recognized the symptoms, we were able to get to the ER very quickly.  He is making strong and fast progress in his recovery.  Currently, he is in our local hospital's inpatient intensive physical therapy rehabilitation unit.  Again, thank you all for your care and concern.

So, as you can imagine, all of my Friday Fave Fives this week are linked to this situation.

1.  I am thankful for excellent care for The Professor in both hospitals where he has been a patient.  In addition,  Younger Daughter the Nurse was on duty that evening and was able to check on us constantly.

2.  So many people have reached out to offer help to me-- driving, meals, and everything else I might need.

3.  My dear friend L who was my companion on our adventure to Ireland last summer drove me home one evening from the far away hospital, stopped at Trader Joe's and helped me purchase some basic foods and ready-made dinners to make eating easier.  I didn't realize at the time just how much that would help me this week.

4.  All our neighbors are keeping an eye on me, reminding me that they are all here to help if I need them.

5.  During this difficult and crazy time, we have had two house projects going on.  (When you plan work with companies, you can't just cancel or postpone it.)  Our driveway has been repaved;  the cement work was well done.  The flooring on our main floor has been pulled up and replaced.  That should be finished tomorrow.  I am thankful that the work was still able to be finished and that the companies have been helpful and accommodating.

Here is something to make you smile.  A honey bee gathering pollen from a beautiful yellow flower.

Hold On. I'll Be Right Back

 I probably won't get a Friday Fave Fives done today.  We are having a medical situation and that is taking all my attention.  If you a praying person, we would certainly appreciate your prayers.

All About Knitting

 If you don't care about knitting, you can just scroll down to the next post.

Here is my latest finished project.  Well, almost finished. I just have to weave in the ends on the back side.  Again, this is another baby blanket I will donate to the local pregnancy resource center.  It is supposed to look like the beach.

Details:  Yarn Bee yarn, Sweeet Dreams.  Needles, size 7 (4.5).  Pattern, diagonal blocks using 48 stitches.  It is a super easy blanket to make.

Now.  About this yarn.

Maybe I should have separated the colors into four groups.   Like this.

Does that make more sense?  Four little projects, identical except in color...

Late May Fave Fives

 This week was busy!  I really need this time to focus on the blessings of the past days.  Friday Fave Fives helps me be intentional and thankful.  Here are just five things that have reminded me how blessed I am.

1.  Lots of time in the garden. The flowers in the pollinator gardens are blooming!  I posted photos yesterday, but here are a few again.

2.  Saturday was busy all day and into the evening.  Knit group; graduation party for L, a family friend; baby shower for family members-- a baby boy is coming!

3.  I've been knitting and knitting, too, when I have a few minutes.  A photo will be coming soon of the crib blanket I am finishing up.  

4.  And...  I bought some yarn.  Planning my next project.  If you saw these eight colors, what would you think I am going to knit?

5.  We were planning to have coffee with T and S yesterday, but Tuesday night, we got a text saying-- going to ER.  T ended up having a serious surgery.  We are so so thankful that the issue was recognized, dealt with quickly and thoroughly (also thankful for good and careful techs and doctors and nurses).  We were able to see them today and take T home.

Bonus:  this comic made me giggle-- I'm LEFT handed.

Flowers In My Garden

 All those April showers?  They brought May flowers to my garden!  Most of these flowers are blooming in our pollinator gardens.

We finally got the rhododendrons in the ground.  Now we just need to mulch around them.

The white peonies have such a sweet fragrance.

Most of the red clover has already bloomed, but I did find one.

I hope you enjoyed all the spring time color.

Mid May Faves

 How can it be mid May already? The weather has changed. The grass is vibrant green. The flowers are blooming. Spring makes me happy. And posting my Friday Fave Fives every week makes me happy too.  Being grateful leads to being even more grateful.  Here are my faves for this week.

1. Saturday. I went with two friends, a mom and daughter, about an hour north of their house to place called Milk and Honey Acres which was having an open house.  Our main purpose was to talk to one of the owners who is a weaver and spinner.   We had a good conversation and learned a few important bits of information.  The extras? Beautiful views of farms from the car windows. Time with friends. Sitting in the back seat with an adorable one year old girl who my friend was watching that day.

2.  Sunday. Mother's Day.  All my four children either called or texted me.  I am proud to be the mom of those four.  (photo is an old one-- taken in 2011, but one of my favorite ever pictures of them)

3.  Monday. Nurse Daughter was off for a couple of nights (yes, she works nights on the cardiac critical care floor of our local hospital) so we had a mom-daughter date with coffee, lunch, knitting and of course a trip to the local garden nursery. Time with my family is always a favorite.

4.  Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.  Time in the garden.  I am trying to spend at least an hour each day (when it's not raining!) in the garden.  I'm weeding, planting, digging.  My garden is my happy place.

5.  Friday.  Today I spent the morning in my garden.  Then in the afternoon, I helped my daughters in theirs.  That is a win-win.  Time in the garden and time with my girls.

And I didn't even mention the wonderful time we spent with T on Wednesday morning at one of our favorite coffee shops.  And dinner with Nurse Daughter and her BF and then a walk around the area.  

How was your week?

Home Makes Me Happy

 And Friday Fave Fives Make Me Happy, Too.  I'm back after another busy week.  I've been home since Saturday evening, readjusting my schedule to 'home'.  Now I need to take a few minutes to write down my five blessings from this crazy week.

1. The health conference we attended last weekend was great.  So full of good and helpful information.  

2.  We've gone from blustery rain and thunderstorms to sunny spring weather.  I am thankful for the gentler days because we have been able to do some garden work in the afternoons.  Areas are being weeded, some seeds have been sown, one of three rhododendrons has been planted (the other two should be in the ground by this evening), the raised bed has additional soil added.  I love being in the garden.  A bonus here is that the two teenage grandsons came to help.

3.  One early afternoon the weather was perfect.  Younger Daughter, the Nurse, and I took a long walk/hike with the two dogs. The dogs hadn't seen me for almost three weeks and stayed as close as they could during the whole hike.  (my daughter's photo)

4.  Our wonderful next door neighbor is a musician.  He sings as a community member of the local university gospel choir.  Their concert was last weekend.  Wow!  It was beautiful!

5.  My last fave involves another neighbor on our street.  Sunday morning, just as we were turning off our dead end street/cul de sac, The Professor's phone rang.  He answered it.  "You have a ball of yarn hanging out the door of your car!"  We pulled over and checked.  Yep.  My cream yarn from the afghan I'm knitting right now was trailing us all the way from our driveway.  Oops.  We jumped out and gathered it all up while we laughed.  Of course, that neighbor was laughing with us.  And another neighbor family on their way to a soccer game saw us and giggled.  So now evidently we're 'famous' on our street for having yarn balls following us through the neighborhood.  Anyway, it made a funny story.  (But I was able to untangle and rewind the yarn, and didn't lose much at all of it.)

I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!  Watch for all the blessings every day.

May Day!

 I am writing this on Thursday evening, May 1st, even though Friday Fave Fives is usually written and  posted on...Friday.  I will post this as soon as I wake up in the morning.  Anyway, here are my Five Faves, my Blessings, from this past week.

1.  We had a wonderful visit with Chaplain Dan and Jeffie and PAL.  It was not easy to say goodbye and know that we wont' be with them again for several months.  We treasure every moment with them.  Driving out of Phoenix, we stopped to have breakfast with another couple who we were close friends with during our years of living in Oregon.  Our daughters were close friends, too.  They now are retired and living in Arizona. It was great catching up with them.  And then we were on our way.

2.  As we were driving through Oklahoma, we stopped and met up with a friend we knew in our church in California.  She moved back to Oklahoma when her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer.   Now she is remarried after he passed away and we were able to meet her new husband.  We had a delightful time renewing our friendship over lunch in a classic Route 66 cafe.  I loved how she described us as life-time friends.  (We talked so much that we totally forgot to take any photos!)

3.  We arrived home safely.  That is a huge fave because driving all those thousands of miles from Ohio to Arizona and back again is not for the faint of heart.

4.  The next day, we picked up the grandboys from school and enjoyed their reactions of 'well, yeah, maybe we missed you a little bit' and 'yeah, we are glad you're home again'.  They came over to our house and Tall Boy mowed the lawn (long over due since we were gone more than two weeks), and his mom showed up with special ice cream treats for us all.  I love living near our girls and grandkids.

5.  And after less than forty-eight hours at home, we drove about an hour and a half to attend a health conference we had bought tickets for over a year ago.  I am thankful for this opportunity to attend sessions with some very wise and experienced doctors and clinicians.

A busy weekend again... I'll do my best to read and comment   And after this weekend, life should calm down for a bit.  I promise :) 

PS:  Will I ever get my photos onto my computer??

On the Road Faves

 Hello!  I'm writing this very late on Friday night.  I just wanted to check in and let everyone know we are  okay.  Our trip is going well.  In fact, we have just spent five wonderful days in Arizona visiting PAL and her parents.  Oh the memories we have made.

I really don't have time to write down all the blessings of this time with Chaplain Dan, J's and PAL (and many other family and friends here). Let me just say that  many many more than five faves should be mentioned.  But here are five fast faves.

1.  Safety in all the hundreds of miles we have traveled.

2.  Watching PAL's theater rehearsal.

3.  Listening to PAL sing during practice time in Arizona Girl Choir.

4.  Lunch with long time college friends.  Coffee with J's parents.

5.  Singing many hymns and other songs with the family.

No photos.  Sorry.  I'll be back on regular schedule next week.

Friday Fave Fives, Easter Week

 Happy Easter Week!  And Happy Friday.  These faves for Friday Fave Fives will be really short because we are traveling.  I'll do my best to be around and comment on blogs, but it's not going to be easy.

1.  Road trip!  We've had this trip planned for quite awhile.  Dates got moved around, but now we are on our way!

2.  We were able to spend two nights in Arkansas with some very dear friends.  Our time with them was spent laughing and talking and singing nonstop.  It was wonderful!

3.  Also, we were able to connect with former co-workers from our mission days in Indonesia.  All the memories and stories and conversations.  I am so thankful we were able to spend that time with them.

4.  Safely on our travels.

5.  Today is Good Friday, the day Christians observe and commemorate the dead of Jesus.  As a Christian, I always love and honor this day and  Resurrection Sunday. My faith is founded on the fact that Jesus' sacrifice of his own life is my only way to salvation and life with God.  For that I am most thankful.

PS:  I am sure you have noticed that there are no photos of the road trip.  Yeah, I forgot my camera!

April Showers, Birds and Hikes

It's been a busy time here at Willow's Cottage and this is the first post I've written all week.  Time to catch up and think about the good parts of the week.  Friday Fave Fives really helps me do that.  Susanne at Living to Tell the Story leads us in choosing five things from our week that have helped us to be thankful and notice gratitude.  Here are mine:

1.  Encouraging words from friends concerning a difficult situation.  I meet weekly via zoom with friends.  We call ourselves the Art Girls (you can guess why).  Because I was stressed about something, they encouraged me and really helped me focus on the right way to handle things.

2.  The birds are back in force at my bird feeder.  I love watching them snack on the seeds I provide for them.  Birds make life happier and make me smile.

3.  More hikes.  It really is spring!  On Tuesday evening, the Trail Life troop hiked in a local preserve again.  Although it had been raining quite a bit this past week and the creek was up, we ventured through the mud and water, up and down the banks of the stream and had a great time.  (I'm the honorary grandma who hikes with them)  The best part?  Tall Boy was very solicitous for my safety as we crossed creek beds on rocks and climbed up slick and muddy edges, even holding my arm and escorting me along in front of his buddies.  Then we also had a fun hike at the local arboretum again.  Almost three miles.

4.  I guess I should be thankful for all the rain we are having.  April showers bring May flowers.  I need to just focus on being thankful that we aren't in drought.

5.  The spinning wheel is out and I've been working on some merino and silk fiber.  No photos yet.  But hopefully, in the next day or two I will have finished a skein of it.

Now I am off to watch my older daughter (she who is a rocket scientist) dance in the local production of Swan Lake.  Happy Happy Friday to you all.

Rainy and Sunny April, Fave Fives, Take One

Happy Friday to you!  I am writing my Friday Fave Fives while staring out the windows at a very grey sky loaded with clouds filled with rain and more rain. But the daffodils and grape hyacinths are blooming and the grass is green in the back garden.  There is always beauty and gratitude in the midst of grey and rain.  That's why I write out my five choices of gratitude every week.  It helps me stay focused on the sunshine of life.  I hope it helps you, too.  Susanne, as always, is faithful to lead a group of bloggers in posting our FRIDAY FAVE FIVES.

1.  Our grandson arrived home safely after his spring break trip to Seattle to visit his other grandparents.  He had the best time!

2.  A good visit with my Primary Care Doctor.  I appreciate how she listens to me and takes the time to explain and even write down information for me.

3.  I am so thankful for some sunny days this past week.  Because we have had lots and lots of rain, the sun and warmth have been especially appreciated.  In between the rainstorms, we were able to take a long walk/hike with the grand-dogs (and the daughters) at our local arboretum.  And I was also able to begin working in the garden beds, clearing debris and pulling some weeds.

4.  One morning, Nurse Daughter and I enjoyed a visit to our locally owned garden nursery.  We wandered around and checked out all the plants and seeds, picked a few to bring home, and even found a couple of cute garden ornaments on sale.  There's not much that's more fun than wandering among plants with your daughter.

5.  It's definitely spring! Our beekeeper guy met with us and a neighbor to discuss bee hives and all the details about keeping your own hive.  Then one afternoon, he came out to our house and checked our hive.  Best news is that it is thriving and we will be able to add another hive box to provide our daughters with their own hives.  More hives!  More honey!

I do hope you are encouraged and are thankful for the many ways you are blessed this first week of April.