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.

Enough-- Fave Fives

 I feel like I should just post something for Friday Fave Fives (the link takes you to Susanne's blog where you can add your own FFF) that states, "See last week. Repeat."  Almost.  But there is always something that I can choose to what I am thankful for.  Food.  Water.  Safe shelter.  What I have is Enough.

1 and 2.  Rainstorms.  One of them included lots of lightning and thunder.  In fact, one lightning bolt must have landed within 200 feet of our house because the light, noise and shaking of our house were nearly simultaneous.  I am thankful for all the rain to water our land and I am thankful that as far as we can tell, there was no damage from the lightning strike.

3.  Other days have been very very humid which make me thankful for air conditioning.

4.  The Professor and I took a three and a half mile walk on Monday evening.  My physical therapist has challenged me to take more lengthy walks and hikes to improve my strength in the ankle I broke in March.  Then on Tuesday night, the Trail Life troop did a walk in the same area and Younger Daughter and I tailed along and did more than two miles.  I am thankful I am regaining strength and mobility in that ankle (and that I have walking/hiking buddies).

5.  My garden is producing tomatoes and more tomatoes.  Just this week, I have made two large pans of roasted cherry tomatoes.  I put them in the freezer and use them on pasta all winter long.  What a yummy way to taste summer in the winter.

Yes, contentment is choosing to say, I have enough.

Encouraging Words

Encouraging words can and do change people's reactions and perspectives.  That is why I regularly participate in Friday Fave Fives with Susanne who hosts us. (Follow that link to find her blog and connect with other thankful people.)  This is why:

It is now Friday early afternoon and I am home from all my wanderings and appointments of the morning. 

As I was sitting in Bible Study, I was reflecting on my week and thinking, "What can I write about?  It was one of those weeks when stuff happened and I need to focus on the good things."  Then I noticed I had a message on my phone.  It was my (new) pastor's wife, just checking in and telling me she was praying for me today.  OK!  Right there--that should count for ALL.FIVE.FAVES for this week!  She remembered.  She prayed.  She cared.  She told me.  She encouraged me.

That caused me to pull out my pencil and notepad and write down all the other blessings that suddenly popped into my mind.

1.  Today I wore a vest I knitted last year.  It's not my favorite although I love the pattern.  I made it from a heavier yarn and it just doesn't fit me right.  But.  Several people complimented me on how lovely it is.  Maybe it looks better than I thought...

photos of the detailed cables on the back of the vest

2.  World's Best Neighbor has a tiny patch of rhubarb in her garden.  She shared some with me and I baked a strawberry rhubarb crisp.  YUM!

3.  I finished weaving another scarf this week.  Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE weaving on my Cricket rigid heddle loom?  (photos soon!  I am in the process of blocking it.)

4.  Some younger women at church have expressed interest in learning to sew.  I offered to teach some hand sewing basics, and we started this week.  Something as simple as sewing a straight seam is bringing me so much joy.  I get to teach.  I get to become better friends with these young women.

5.  Apologies to all of you who are in very very cold places.  Including my daughters.  Here in Southern California, we are all excited about the rain.  It rained one day this week.  And we are going to get more rain starting tonight!  Maybe finally our decade of drought is ending!

Simple Week

This past week was a quiet simple time.  I'm thankful I was able to take the time to adjust back to being home and get settled in again after being gone for almost a month.

Here is how I spent my Simple Week--being thankful for the quiet.  I'm linking up to 

Friday Fave Fives

to share.

1.  My favorite photo of the week.  Palm trees with snowy mountains in the background.  That's Southern California!  Taken from my front window.

2.  When it rains, the flowers soak it all in, and they love it!  Can you see the raindrops?  It has been raining and raining and raining this week.

3.  Lunch with a friend.  We might have spent almost three hours...  And it was worth every minute.

4.  This week I did some reviewing of my family history documents so I could scan the information to send to a possible distant relative.  It was fun.  And now I want to do more delving in to my family's past.

5.  Knitting and weaving is a daily event around Willow's Cottage.  I'm thankful for being able to learn more of my art.  I finished two bunnies which will be gifts for two new little girls. 

  And I warped my loom for a new scarf.  Thankfully, my friend noticed a mistake I had made and showed me how to correct it.

What are you thankful for this week?

Done with November

I can't believe it's almost DECEMBER.  What happened to November?  I know that Thanksgiving was early this year and that the first Sunday of Advent is this weekend.  Wow!

So what did I do this past week?  What blessings arrived on the doorstep of Willow's Cottage?  I'm sharing Five Faves--five favorite things from this past week and linking to Susanne's group Friday Fave Fives.

1.  Obviously, the big fave this week is the RAIN we had on Wednesday and Thursday.  Here in Southern California, rain is somewhat of a rarity.  We popped into the library to drop off books and all the high school kids are in the front plaza running and jumping around in the rain.

2.  With rain comes some trepidation after having had two or more rain induced deadly mudslides in the past few years in our area after wild fires have decimated the flora on the hills.  So we are all very thankful that there were no mudslides this week.

3.  I'm thankful for the very diligent fire departments and police and sheriffs who patrolled all around the burn areas (including my neighborhood) checking on everyone and everyplace to make sure the mud and rocks stayed where they are supposed to be.  Our first responders have been very very busy lately.  I'm so thankful that they work hard to keep us safe.

4.  Also with rain and wind comes that phenomenon called tumbleweeds.  They are real things.  And they are big.  In the wind, the tumbleweeds were jay-walking across the roads and sidewalks and cutting off other drivers in their lanes and getting stuck on road signs.  I love 'tumbleweed season'.

photo taken in the rain near a lemon orchard

5.  And of course there is always knitting at Willow's Cottage.  Two new bunnies!  Aren't they adorable?  I love to knit and I love to create beautiful things.

So now we are done with November!  On to Advent and Christmas!  My favorite time of the year!

Friday Fave Five, January Style #3

Happy Friday! How was your week?  Mine was a bit unexpected.  Reporting for Jury duty turned in to court room turned into sitting on a jury.  I'll be busy for a few days...

In the mean time, I will still be thankful for the blessings of my week.

Friday Fave Five!

Thank you to Susanne for hosting us every week!

1.  The Professor and I aren't big on dining out, but it turned out that we ended up eating out twice on Sunday.  Lunch was with The Professor's Sister which is always fun.  And then in the evening, we spontaneously decided to have dinner with The World's Best Neighbors.  More than the food, the fellowship was precious.

2.  On Monday I met up with two very special people.  They don't live around here anymore but had time to stop by and visit with me for a bit.  ELLEN at happywonderer.com and her husband.  Ellen and I were walking buddies for years until she moved away.  It was great to catch up with them.

3.  A couple of little KNITTED goodies for their expected grandbaby.

4.  How many times do I have to say Hurray for RAIN before y'all get really tired of hearing it?  But, truly, we are thankful for the rain that fell this week.  AGAIN.  We are hoping that our area will finally join the rest of the West in creeping out of our years long drought.  We're looking forward to more RAIN this weekend!

5.  A bit of  SUNSHINE in the middle of a rainy week.

In my garden.

What  were the events blessed you this week?