May Flowers

 April Showers did bring May Flowers.  In my garden.

clematis

dianthus

peonies

red clover

rhododendrons

yellow flowers

I do not know the name

but they are bright and beautiful

Are May Flowers blooming in your garden?

SPRING!

Today is the first day of SPRING!  YAY!  Does it look like spring where you live?  Here at Willow's Cottage it does today.  But don't count on it being warm and sunny next week.  This week's *Friday Fave Fives may have some references to weather.  And also some wonderful blessings.  This is how things evolved on this last week of Winter here at Willow's Cottage. *follow the link to join us by sharing your blessings.

1.  Weather.  On Friday, we experienced some wild winds and rain and many communities in our area lost electric power for several days, including our daughters.  Then, over the weekend the weather seemed like spring was coming.  I spent two houses Sunday afternoon doing some clean up in the garden beds.  Then the frigid weather set back in, and we had ice and snow and below freezing temperatures.  Why is all this a fave?  Well, our weather isn't boring :)  We go from sunshine and daffodils to snow in 24 hours.  And we were all safe from falling trees and accidents.

From sunny daffodils from the garden...

to snow

2.  Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day.  And it was my Birthday!  T, S and L joined the Professor and me for breakfast at Denny's because I like their multi-grain pancakes.  Then in the evening, all the family (except Younger Son Dr, Mike in San Jose) enjoyed dinner at our house.  We ate green salad, green roasted veggies and two kinds of pot pie and a shepherds pie.  Notice the green and pie theme?  My choice for birthday dessert was triple berry pie.  Yum!  It was all so yummy!  Dr. Mike did text me to wish me a Happy Birthday, as did my brother in Oregon.  And many friends and family.  I felt greatly loved.

3. My Birthday Present(s).  Of course, I loved my presents.  A knitting pattern book.  A "coupon" for my daughter-in-law to help me organize all the books in our 'library'.  And last but not least, a trip to Goodwill because everything was 50% off on St. Patrick's Day AND there was a HUGE bin full of yarn bundles.  PAL and her mom and I may have mostly cleaned out the whole bin.  There were some high quality yarns in so many different colors.  When we brought them back to our house, we opened them all and shared them with the knitters in the family.  We all walked away with so. much. yarn.  Me?  I probably have a life time supply of sock yarn now.

PAL was very excited.

4. In the afternoon, the doorbell rang and I opened the door to a friend holding a bouquet of flowers!  The ladies in my Saturday morning Bible Study group gave me a beautiful gift of flowers and special cookies.  That was a wonderful surprise.

5.  Always Walks.  We managed to get in two walks this week.  One was inside the local mall where we just walked around in circles for two miles.  The other walk was today (Thursday) outside for 2.75 miles in sunshine and 60F temperatures.  As we were walking back on the local path by our house, I commented to The Professor that I am thankful to be well enough and active enough to be able to walk.

Bonus:  crocuses from my garden.

What blessings helped you say good-bye to WINTER and welcome to SPRING?

Family, Flowers, Faithfulness

 This past week, it has been hot and humid here in Ohio.  Too hot to walk most days until late evening.  I have spent most of my time inside (more on that topic below).  But there have been blessings along the way.  Friday Fave Fives is how I share some of them each week.  Susanne is our faithful host and she leads us by example.  The link takes you to her blog and to where and how you can participate in FFF.

Here are mine.

1.  I didn't mention this last week...my bad.  Our Fifty-second wedding anniversary.  Yes, you read that correctly. 52 years.  I am thankful for a faithful husband who has always been through life with me.  We were so young fifty-two years ago.

Many of our wedding photos were damaged when they were in storage during the years we lived in Indonesia, but a few escaped the rats.

2.  Back to current times.  We grow old together.  Dr. appointments become faves.  The Professor had a very encouraging physical therapy assessment.  I was able to schedule a quicker than usual appointment to find out why I am having allergic reactions (and to what).  I am thankful that we have excellent insurance and options to help us with our health.

3.  The Professor is improving and we were able to walk two miles one evening.  And the one morning when the temperatures were bearable, we enjoyed a shorter walk with our Nurse Girl (younger daughter) and the two granddogs.  (According to Nurse Girl, we are the grandpawrents)

4.  As I mentioned above, the weather has been so hot and humid.  Because of the testing I am undergoing for the allergies, I am not supposed to be exposed much to sun or get all sweaty.  So mostly I have been sitting inside reading or knitting.  I'm thankful I can stay cool(ish) in the house.  And I don't have to weed the garden.

5. My view into the back garden is of potted plants on the patio, and just behind them in the garden bed, sunflowers!  The sunflowers are so tall and blooming huge flowers.  I love them.  The birds love them. (photos taken in the evening after it cooled a bit)

And I have a few growing in the front of the house, too.

I am thankful for my garden!

A volunteer daisy among the potted nasturtiums.

A solar light dragonfly among the wildflowers. 

This week I hoped you stopped to smell all the flowers, not just the roses.

Fave Fives, Mid July

Friday already!  Time to hit the pause button and think about all the blessings of this past week.  Friday Fave Fives does help me stay focused.

1.  Lately I have been reading a devotional book every evening before I sleep.  I bought the book in Lindisfarne on Holy Island, Northumberland, England in April 2022.  This week, the daily reading mentioned Heavenfield.  This is a place in the UK that has great significance to the Celtic Christian church because it is where King Oswald raised a cross before a battle (Battle of Heavenfield).  I looked up where Heavenfield is and, lo and behold,  I have been there.  We were hiking on that same trip and following a path to Hadrian's Wall.  There was a small church on a hilltop and we explored the perimeter and then walked down another path and passed a large wooden cross.  I did a bit of research and yes!  That is the same place that is mentioned in my devotional book.  I love the connections that give me a visual to help me understand and appreciate the words.

St. Oswald Church, Heavenfield

the cross

2.  After several days of heat and humidity, today I am thankful for cool(er) temperatures, clouds and rain.  We needed the break.

3. The garden is thriving, even in the heat.  Flowers and veggies.

4.  Do you have a favorite tea that you enjoy drinking every day?  Besides my first love of Earl Grey tea, I have been enjoying a good herbal tea-- hibiscus tea.  Flavorful and healthy.

5.  I wish I could catch photos of the birds that flutter around our back garden.  I think my favorite visitors are the yellow goldfinches.  I love the bees, butterflies and birds!

Bonus bit:  The Professor continues to gain strength.  This week we did a two mile walk on the path by our house!

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.

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.

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.

Pie Day Fave Fives

 Happy Pie Day!  Are you all eating pie today?  It's also Friday, so it's Friday Fave Fives time.  The link takes you to Susanne's blog where you can read more about all the Faves in other bloggers' week.

1.  Finished!  I knitted this afghan for S, our coffee couple friend, for her birthday.  It was a fun knit.

2.  Family dinner at Olive Garden.  Usually, we have family dinners at our home and have everyone bring whatever they want to eat.  But last weekend, we decided to enjoy all the yummy food at Olive Garden.  One thing we did around the table was everyone telling one thing they did well during the week.  Better grades.  Work bonus.  Things like that.

3. We survived the time change.  I'm not a fan of changing our time and clocks.  It's been an interesting adjustment, but we are surviving.  We do enjoy the light in the evenings.

4.  On Monday we drove north to the town of Bellville and enjoyed lunch with our long time friends who we first met in Oregon through our church.  I worked with L at the same private Christian school.  She was secretary of the elementary school and I taught high school US History classes.  The four of us enjoy each other's company and we always have so much to chat about.   I'm thankful for long time friendships.

5.  Is spring really going to come?  Our weather this week has been warm and sunny.  And now there are more crocuses hopping up.  It looks like I may have daffodils within the next week or two-- if the weather cooperates.

I hope you are having a good day and have some PIE to snack on.  Did you get up in the night last night and watch the lunar eclipse?  We did!  And yes, I'm a bit sleepy now.  In a few hours, I will be posting (not so great) photos I took of the eclipse.

January 25, 2025

 Well, I did miss yesterday's post.  It's Sunday afternoon, the 26th.  So I will try to post two times today to catch up.

June and July were mostly spent across the pond in Ireland, England and Wales, so I don't have many photos of American flora to share.

During August, we were on a road trip, traveling across the US to the Pacific Ocean following The Oregon Trail.  There were purple flowers and honey bees.

And green fields with horses in Nebraska.

And of course, there were barns.