“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.  We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” ~ Ronald Reagan

Good Sunday morning, dear friends.  With all the wet and cold weather we have had, it is hard to believe it is Memorial Day weekend. 

However, even though our weather hasn’t been normal and our world seems upside down, none the less it is Memorial Day Weekend.  A special time we have set aside to celebrate and say thanks to all military personnel and their families for the sacrifices they make or have made for our freedom.  Most importantly, a time to honor and remember our fallen heroes. “For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if  freedom fail?” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Even though our celebrations may be smaller, most of us will celebrate in some way, perhaps a picnic at a lake or by the shore or a barbecue for two at home.  But we will always celebrate in some fashion because we are grateful for our precious freedoms.  Simply, part of the “Red White and Blue” which flows through our veins.“For you have been called to live in freedom…use your freedom to serve one another in love.” ~ Galatians ~ 5:13

“The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.” ~ Samuel Adams“We do not need magic to transform our world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine better.” ~ J.K. ROWLING

The little things we do for others make our world sweeter.   A way of “imagining better.”

In closing, know I wish you and yours a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.    Hug those you love, heart-to-heart.  And may we all be forever grateful to those who gave their lives for our freedom.

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell

Amour,

Sandra

Images:  via tumblr and Pinterest

“Perfumes are the feelings of flowers.” ~ Heinrich Heine

“Most of us lead far more meaningful lives than we know. Finding meaning is not about doing things differently, it is about seeing familiar things in new ways. We can see life in many ways; with the eye, with the mind, and with intuition. But perhaps it is only for those who have remembered how to see with their heart that life is ever deeply known or fully served.” ~ Rachel Naomi Remen, MD

Amour,

Sandra

Images: via tumblr

“Home ~ that blessed word, which opens to the human heart the most perfect glimpse of Heaven, and helps to carry it thither, as on an angel’s wings.” ~ Lydia Maria Child

“My Mother: She is beautiful, softened at the edges and tempered with a spine of steel.  I want to grow old and be like her.” ~ Jodi Picoult

“As a mother, we want to remember all of it. We want to remember the sound their little feet make as they shuffle about the hardwood floors. We want to remember their wild hair and how it blows in the summer wind. We want to remember how they snuggle in when they’re tired and how that makes us feel. We want to remember their little voices.  It’s always the small things at the end of the day.  Living life’s moments.” ~ unknown

“It’s also what my mother has instilled in my sisters and me so much, that joy comes from the smallest things,“ she says. “And if you don’t see joy in a perfect avocado or in a great conversation or in running into a friend or getting a job ~ if you don’t see joy in a perfectly beautiful tree in autumn ~ then you are missing your chance at happiness. Because if you don’t find it in the small things and you only wait for big moments, then you’ll just not be a happy person.” ~ Jennifer Garner

Dear friends, I wish all mothers a beautiful and peaceful day. 

And, the same to all those who have loved, encouraged, taught, or had a hand on a little life.  Love and blessings to you all.

And…

May your day,  from beginning to end,  be full of everyone and everything you hold dear.

“It may be possible to gild pure gold, but who can make his mother more beautiful?” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Amour,

Sandra

Images: via tumblr

“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.” ~ Paulo Coelho

Good Sunday morning, dear friends.  I do hope this finds everyone well and that you have enjoyed a good week.  

While sitting in the garden yesterday, enjoying a few rain-free moments, I was thinking about the world crisis we find ourselves enduring.  A situation that appears will be with us for quite some time.  At first, my thoughts seemed to be quite scattered, but the beauty of our garden quickly focused my mind on the sound of bird song and the fragrance of the Jessamine.

This crisis has made us think of so many things, hasn’t it?  Personally, I vow to pay more attention to absolutely every detail along my daily path.  Although, I do not believe I have ever taken the beauty of our world for granted or the enjoyment of little things, such as a beautiful bowl of fresh strawberries in the spring.  But what about the farmers who work late into the night, often under adverse conditions, just to bring me this beautiful bowl of sweet berries?  Have I appreciated them enough?  My lovely bowl of berries would not be on my table without them.  Truly, our farmers belong on a pedestal and deserve our utmost appreciation. 

So, you see, what I do think I have taken for granted is the promise of what would always be here.   The promise we would always have our farmers and their farms.  It never occurred to me I might not see a spring without juicy sweet berries, or our stores not filled with the many fruits and vegetables we so enjoy.  It is a promise that holds great joy to see these things arrive in the stores and markets or go with friends to the ‘pick your own’ fields.   A promise I will never take for granted again.  I am wiser now. 

“Sweet May hath come to love us, Flowers, trees, their blossoms don; And through the blue heavens above us The very clouds move on.” ~ Heinrich Heine

But, in the midst of it all, spring is slowly coming to life and moving forward.  The birds are building their nests (everywhere), finches are singing and the doves are ‘cooing’…and the world is about to explode with blooms.  The bees are buzzing and the butterflies are doing what they do best ~ adding beauty to our days.

I do love to hear the chatter of the sweet goldfinch.  They are lovely and happy little birds.

Bees are such hard-working little girls.  We must make every possible effort not to harm them, they are vital to our survival.  

Butterflies beautify our world and are a precious gift from above.

And…

“Never yet was a springtime, when the buds forgot to bloom.” ~Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

Iris, Earl of Essex

“April advanced to May.  A bright, serene May it was; days of blue sky and placid sunshine…” ~ Charlotte Brontë 

Dear friends, this spring I vow to pay attention to my surroundings.  To appreciate every minute detail and every lovely fragrance the breeze blows my way.  How about you?

Wishing you and yours a glorious day on this first Sunday of May.

Enjoy these magnificent spring days!

“The temple bell stops ~ but the sound keeps coming out of the flowers.” ~ Matsuo Basho

Amour,

Sandra

Images:  via tumblr, M.S. Lambiotte

“Outside the open window, the morning air is all awash with angels.” ~ Richard Wilbur

Good morning sweet souls.  I do hope this finds you well. Isn’t it lovely to visualize the morning air “all awash with angels?”  I think so. Even though this morning I see rain. However, I enjoy rainy mornings, so I am happy.  I do hope you are also and are ready to take a wee stroll with me.

“The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There are places on earth where we can catch a glimpse of heaven.” ~ Anthony Douglas Williams

“The birds that were singing in the dew-drenched garden seemed to be telling the flowers about her.” ~ Oscar Wilde

‪

“Beauty unites all things, links together flower and star, with chains more certain than those of reason.” ~ Henry James Slack

“It’s hard not to stand in awe and enchantment with the beauty in which nature expresses herself.” ~ Steve Maraboli

“Go slow, my life, go slow. Let me enjoy the beauty of silence, serenity, and solitude.”‬ ~ Debasish Mridha

Dear friends, thank you so much for your visit.  Know, I am wishing you and yours a beautiful day and week ahead.

And…

May beauty and laughter be yours every day.

Amour,

Sandra

Images:  via tumblr

Note:  Regarding the images on this blog, most come from tumblr unless otherwise noted.  Most often, I am unable to determine the photographer or where the photo was taken.  All I can say is the photos are the work of highly talented souls and I would be happy to attach a name if I could locate one.  I find great joy in sharing their work with lovely quotes from my personal collection and am hopeful the two together provide a message of goodwill.   

“Today is a good day for having a good day.” ~ unknown

Good morning, sweet friends.  Priscilla would like to know how you are doing today.  Now, you may ask, “Priscilla, how did you arrive at that name?”  Well, I will tell you.  When we lived in Virginia, we had two Angora goats, Priscilla and Penelope.  When our neighbor heard we were getting goats he said, “Sandra, goats know absolutely everything you do not want them to do and they delight in doing it.”  True words, and they also have attitudes, huge attitudes. So, since I have experience with goats, I quickly see this goat has an attitude.  Therefore, the name Priscilla.  Because our Priscilla had a ‘huge’ attitude.

Often, when looking through the web for various things, I come across photos that make me smile, have personality and charm, have meaning or are just simply gorgeous.  So, today I want to share some of my discoveries.  I hope you will enjoy them, and perhaps they will give you a smile or two.  And, please don’t forget to let Priscillia know how you are doing (goats are extremely curious creatures).

“Laughter is a bodily exercise, precious to health.” Aristotle

Let’s begin with a few things that made me laugh and smile.  I do believe this cat has lost his mind.  And, I think the chickens think so too.

Taking a walk with friends on a spring morning is a marvelous thing to do.  However, it doesn’t look as though this group understands social distancing.

Perhaps this lamb is listening to James Brown ~ “I Feel Good.”  He/she certainly feels good.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to leap and twist like that?

Really, is there anything better than a good mud puddle?  Children don’t think so…but get the hose ready. 

“Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think there are no little things.” ~ Bruce Barton

Do you ever read just a few words or sentences and think, “That is great advice, or certainly the truth, or that is sweet?  It happens to me all the time.  Maybe, my enjoyment of reading signs stems from reading road signs when I was young.  They appear everywhere and in the middle of nowhere along the highways in the south.

 Great advice.

It is our job to protect wildflowers.  They beautify our land and provide food for the birds and bees.  

Enjoy your bath, we won’t look.

“In our rushing, bulls in china shops, we break our own lives.” ~ Ann Voskamp,

During these days of this dreadful pandemic, I have thought a great deal about what people lived through, the conditions they dealt with, and how they managed to survive during World War II and previous wars.  I have come to the conclusion we have become incredibly spoiled.  Now, in my opinion, it isn’t necessarily our fault.  It is a condition that has rather evolved.  However, I believe it is something we need to correct.  We truly need to pay attention to the ‘little things’ and be grateful for them.  We need to take the time to know how each other butters their toast.  We can’t learn and enjoy such precious things  if we are in a constant state of ‘rush.’ 

To enjoy the beauty of seeing  wonder in a child.

Enjoying linens drying in the sun and flying in the breeze.  I certainly miss my clothesline.  The smell of bed linens dried in the sun is a fragrance that can’t be obtained in a bottle.

A stroll by and through a gorgeous flower market.  We will see them again and when we do, the colors will be more vivid and the fragrances more exhilarating.

The absolute joy of becoming lost in arranging a lovely vase of beautiful blooms.  Precious moments.

Or, baking for those we love.

“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” ~ G.K. Chesterton

“I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn’t come in an envelope. It’s ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It’s the invitation to actually live life, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day. Turning down this invitation comes in lots of flavors. It looks like numbing yourself or distracting yourself or seeing something really beautiful as just normal. It can also look like refusing to forgive or not being grateful or getting wrapped around the axle with fear or envy. I think every day God sends us an invitation to live and sometimes we forget to show up or get head-faked into thinking we haven’t really been invited. But you see, we have been invited ~ every day, all over again.” ~ Bob Goff

Dear friends, I hope you have enjoyed your visit.  And, perhaps, you found a little humor, beauty, or some meaningful thoughts.

Know I am wishing you a lovely day.

And…

“Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” ~ Helen Keller

Amour,

Sandra

Images: via tumblr

Good morning, dear friends.  I am so happy to see you and I so appreciate your visit.  By chance, does your heart need a little lift?  For many, I know the current situation we find ourselves in is becoming quite challenging.  Especially for those who may live in urban areas and places to walk or enjoy the outdoors may be limited. 

In her book, Gracious Living In A New World, Alexandra Stoddard tells us:  “In less sophisticated times, when the pace of life was slower, there was a fundamental grounding in everyday life.  We need to find some modern equivalent to feel rooted in our lives today not only to enjoy each day, but to soften the fall when we are thrown by life’s inevitable difficulties and tragedies.”   

Now, when Stoddard wrote these words, she had no idea of what we would be currently experiencing.  However, we have certainly been “thrown by life’s inevitable difficulties.”  And in times of sadness, beauty helps to soften our days. 

“If you get simple beauty, and nought else, you get about the best thing God invents.” ~ Robert Browning

“Then I lifted the hook and flung the window open.  Spring came in.” ~ Felipe Alfa

Beautiful delphiniums.  They symbolize cheerfulness and goodwill.  But a word of caution, bunnies enjoy nibbling on them.  So, be sure to sprinkle with cayenne pepper, bunnies don’t enjoy pepper with their delphiniums.

Giving someone an iris says, “Your friendship means a lot to me.”

“I’m learning to listen to the silence, to live in a world without unending noise.” ~ unknown

“We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.” ~ George Bernard Shaw“But your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all your paths.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Dear friends, I do hope you have enjoyed your visit and perhaps your heart has been lifted.

Know, I wish you and yours a lovely day.

And remember,

“Yesterday is already a dream, And tomorrow is only a vision:

But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day!

Such is the salutation of the dawn.” ~ Sanskrit Proverb

We will make it through these troubled times, together.

Amour,

Sandra

Images: via tumblr

“For I remember it is Easter morn, And life and love and peace are all new born.” ~ Alice Freeman Palmer

“Twas Easter-Sunday. The full-blossomed trees filled all the air with fragrance and with joy.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Amour,

Sandra

Images: via tumblr

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” ~ Lady Bird Johnson

Peony, Chiffon Clouds

Good Sunday morning, dear friends.  I believe with all my heart, the words of Lady Bird Johnson, “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”  When she spoke these profound words, she was giving a talk regarding the war on poverty and the sweetness a few blooms could bring to a sad area.  But today, we are fighting a different war, a hideous war.  The war of the COVID-19 virus. 

Mrs. Johnson had no idea what we would see in our world today.  However, during her travels in some of the most impoverished communities in our country, she noticed the cheer, a single geranium blooming in a coffee can, added to a home in the greatest of disrepair.  The blooming geranium was a sign of hope.  

Now, I am aware everyone has heard more than enough about this deadly virus, so I am not going to dwell on the subject. However, I do want to chat a little about flowers.  Their magic ability to touch our hearts, lift our spirits, the feelings they evoke, and the hope they offer.

“In joy and in sadness, flowers are our constant friends.” ~ Unknown

Peony, Coral Sunset

Several years ago I gave my dearest friend, Janet, a peony for her birthday.  One of Janet’s favorite colors is coral, so I chose Coral Sunset for her.   Coral Sunset is an exquisite peony and an American Peony Society Award Winner.  Now, Janet is not an experienced gardener, but she adores gorgeous flowers and blooms.  Her peony was shipped to her from Oregon and arrived in the fall.  She decided on a location for her beauty, followed the planting directions to the letter, and in the spring her queen bloomed.  But this was the last time for several years she would enjoy the magnificent bloom of Coral Sunset.  You see, the queen was not planted in an area that received enough sun and her feet were often wet.  So, the decision was made to move her to a more suitable location.

Now, while Janet has many wonderful qualities, the one at the top of the list (in my opinion) is patience. Patiently, for the last three years, she has waited for her re-planted peony to bloom once again.  And, sure enough, this year while we are all enduring home confinement, I received a phone call from Janet.  She was screaming on the other end of the phone, “My peony has a bud on it, it is going to bloom.”  You would have thought she was eight years old and just discovered Santa had arrived.

It is said that peonies teach patience, Janet didn’t need the lesson on patience.  But, like all of us at this time, she needs hope.  Flowers teach us that even during our darkest days, ~ we can always be hopeful.  

Peony, Coral Sunset about to bloom in North Carolina.

“We could learn something from flowers. The way in which they so vulnerably open themselves up, knowing how delicate their petals are. Or perhaps the way they simply bring out the beauty in all those around them, just by being nothing but themselves.” ~  Mary Oliver

Most of you know, I am wild about peonies.  As in the past,  I have posted several of the beauties who reside in our ‘Jardin.’  Oh, but there are many you haven’t seen.  So, while we are going through these difficult days,  I thought perhaps I would share a few more of my friends. Friends I look forward to seeing each spring and I hope they will make you smile and lift your spirits as they always do mine. Plus, give you something lovely to tuck away in your heart.

Peony, Abalone Pearl

Peony, Carl G. Klehm

Peony, Douglas Brand

Peony, Moonstone

Peony, She’s My Star

In closing, I will leave you with an excerpt from the poem, Peonies, by Mary Oliver.    If you love peonies, you will enjoy her words.

“…Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden, 
and softly, 
and exclaiming of their dearness, 
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling, 
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?”

The answer is, yes.  I always fill my arms with them and am in awe of every petal.  I believe Mary Oliver knew me.

Dear friends, I do hope you have enjoyed your visit and that you and yours are well.   Know I wish you a beautiful day and week ahead.

And remember…

“Someday we will look back on these days and they will forever remind us to never take the little things for granted.  They will remind us to hug with all our hearts, to pause to appreciate holding someone’s hand, and to live in the moments that we are surrounded by others.” ~ Laura Jones 

Images:  JET, M.S. Lambiotte, Song Sparrow Farm