Cultivate beauty and wisdom in and around you

What a beautiful morning! I know many of you will be stuck because of  ice or snow or cold, but it is pretty. The other day this is what my car window looked like: Even when the ice crystals melted, I could still see their outlines a couple of days later. Nature is a marvelous thing. This morning on my front porch I noticed that even though it is so cold, little shoots are coming up. The hummingbirds have been happy to find nectar and so many birds have been feasting in our backyard. I am so sorry that my picture of all the snowmen that we made yesterday didn't turn out. My fault. We had a good time making them, maybe if you would share pictures of your finished ones, I can include them next time. Each month we are making some primitive pin cushions. You may want to join in the fun.  This and the next picture are the extent of my Christmas decorating! We had a new couch and two chairs delivered yesterday! That is decorating enough. ...

Last Friday instead of going shopping at all the big stores, we decided to go out towards Silverton to visit a couple of wineries and to see where our granddaughter works. We stopped at Abiqua vineyards   http://www.abiquawind.com/ This is one that we particularly liked! If you are out that way you might enjoy stopping by. The day was cloudy and cool and the view wasn't quite as good as a sunny day would be. We stopped at another place for wine tasting, but since we didn't enjoy it very much, I won't mention the name! We then went into Silverton. Sylvia has her first real job and we wanted to see where she works. It is a lot bigger than I thought and she was pretty busy. It is a very eclectic shop and has things for little ones, books and clothes and then shiny things for tweens  and also cashmere scarves. I was very surprised to find this large, fun shop in Silverton. We found several things for Christmas gifts. We also got to see the a...

I have been thinking about this post for some time and today I'm going to do it. I want to share some of my favorite things and show you some of the blessings that fill my life. My first activity of the day is to make a cup of coffee and then I come to a favorite spot of mine. In the room that used to be where I did my sewing, we have our computer and other things and my reading spot. Surrounded by a few of my favorite books and a little ambiance I have my Bible reading time. A couple of years ago I committed to reading through the Bible each year. I am pleased to say that I have kept this commitment.                 I can see in this picture that we should consider painting! Pretty Boring. After the reading and the coffee, I start my day. Some days that includes walking with my friends Karen and Gloria. Gloria and I began walking together at the mall about 20 years ago.  She has seen me through various struggles and lots o...

A couple of Friday's ago, my friends Karen and Gloria and I went to the Quilt Show in Aurora.  This is my favorite time of the year and my favorite Quilt Show. I love all the old quilts and most of them are hand quilted. It was a beautiful show and here are some of the things we saw. Our destination. I thought this little quilt was so charming that I came home and made one. This old wool quilt makes me want to go to thrift shops and look for old suits to cut up. The fireplace in the old house in back was blazing and there were cookies and cider. Also lots of misc. things to buy . I love the herb garden and in the wash house there were many lavender items that the herb society had made. I brought home some herbal salve for my dry feet and a small herb pillow to put inside of my bed pillow. Ahhh, sweet smelling dreams! ######################################################### Our last Spa...