A Refreshing Cup of Tea.....

Tea and chocolate.... sometimes the combination just seems.... important. :) 

Recently, I had a cup of tea... and it just tastes better in a pretty china cup, as I have said before....I sure enjoyed it. I tend to drink my tea while I am typing, reading... or doing something. I have very little time to sit idle. I rarely drink a cup of tea all the way to the bottom when it is still warm... I get distracted and keep.... busy. The cold tea in the bottom sure isn't as nice.

 On this day, it was cold out... and even inside the house, it was chilly... so hot tea sounded good.  I put homemade brownies in the oven and when they came out, I added peppermint frosting..... mmmmm, good. My original intention was to put a couple of brownies on this plate, but we were busy, my tea was hot and my time was limited to actually drink this cup of tea while it was still hot. Since I only had a little time for tea, and I didn't have time to wait for the brownies,  I put some Ghirardelli chocolates in the bowl - actually I only ate one, but it looked nicer with three in the bowl. :)

I have enjoyed this tea set... I found it at a garage sale.... seems most of what I find comes from a garage sale. :) 

After the busyness of all of Dad's recovery and taking care of Mom, I am tired, so I am trying to take a break now and then. Actually, so far I am not doing too well at that.... still so much going on AND I am trying to catch up. This was my effort to relax, though, and I hope to do it more often.

Life has a way of filling up each day... and if we are not careful, the days go by and we have nothing to show for them. I have been deliberately thankful to the Lord lately.... God is always so good, but it is so easy to lose sight of that. Taking a few minutes for tea and reflection can be such a good thing. Tea can refresh the body.... and reflection on the things of God can refresh the soul and spirit. :)  






 
I hope you are able to find just a few minutes for a refreshing cup of tea... or coffee or cocoa and some time with the Lord. . :)  Thank you for visiting today.

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Color In Winter.......

In the winter time, things are rather colorless.... the weather has been very overcast and rainy... most of the time for weeks. We had so much going on with my dad's surgery and taking care of Mom and the load was heavy, but God carried us through. One morning, while Dad was still in rehab, my son pointed out that the plant was getting a flower.

 That was a fun surprise.... although at that time, it wasn't at all pretty... just a bit of black on the end of a stem.  We watched it daily.... these flowers can take a long time to open as I found out when I photographed one daily and posted about it. You can read about it and see the pictures if you are interested.

The Blossoming of a Gebera Daisy

It took many many days to start to show color.... and then to open....

This is the way it looked a week ago.... and it started to open about 4 or 5 weeks ago. Wow....  and it is still blooming!

 The plant looks rather stressed, as you can see.... but at least it is still alive. The LONG stem is different than the way it grew in the summer... but what a fun thing to have it in the house.... when there was snow outside.  :)

It was so nice to have the bit of pretty color....  it was a little thing, but God does choose to use little things to encourage us.... sometimes they are obvious and sometimes not. This one was pretty obvious.... and has been really enjoyed. It is still standing up there adding color to the living room.... and I cannot believe how long this flower is lasting... I have never seen one last so long.... and we will continue to enjoy it for as long as it stays. 

I hope you see little and big ways that God gives you something as an encouragement. I am so thankful He does simple (for Him) little things like this.... and I want to be careful to praise Him for such.  Are you praising Him today?.... whether life is hard and stressful.... or whether life is enjoyable. He is certainly worthy to be praised.  I plan to continue to praise Him...... and I hope you do also.   I hope you have a wonderful week. 

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The Winter Garden... In Pictures...

Gardening is a pastime popular to many... and this time of year I start to think about spring plants growing in the garden. The trouble is that it is only the middle of winter, so.... 

a walk in the garden to see what's there is in order. Please join me.....

 The snow cover can be pretty.... and it also adds moisture to the garden. The blackberry vines in the back need to be trimmed in the spring... I need to remember to do that... they look quite messy. 

A peaceful spot...

Too cold for a picnic, but pretty under the pines anyway. :)

The design of the snow on the floor planks is interesting....

I love the spot of color in the otherwise rather colorless scenes. :)

I probably should take this in each winter, but I never do.... I just enjoy seeing the color out there. :)





Echinacea seed heads... stark, but interesting against the snow... they have a beauty all their own.

The red berries of the holly tree also provide some wonderful color....  Again I am reminded of God's creativity... in colors, leaf shapes, textures and more. :)

 Seen from above, the paths are obvious, even with the snow cover. Those raised garden beds will be put to good use in a few months....





The pine cones and needles look nice....

 The river birch tree above had just a thin coating of ice... so pretty when it glistened in the sun.









Footprints... not many yet, but a few... :)

 Little bits of color... not intense, but rather more understated, still give beauty to the quiet winter garden.


 Okay, I think I feel ready to go back inside and wait for spring.... and the beginning of growing things again.

 Thank you for taking a winter garden walk with me.  I hope you have a wonderful day. :)

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Hidden In The Woods....

We enjoy seeing old houses.... even old decrepit houses.... or abandoned houses... there is an air of mystery about them and my imagination conjures up ideas of who lived there, how old the house is, what the setting was like... and more. We enjoy seeing them when we drive... and we point out old houses, barns, silos and more. The sense of seeing a real piece of history is fun... and leads to impromptu history lessons. :)

 One day when my kids and I were on a long walk back in some wooded areas, we saw this in the distance, so of course, as we got closer, we kept our attention on it.

 By the time we got closer, it was obvious that the house had been abandoned a long time ago. Trees were growing close to the house, the window glass was gone and there was a general air of neglect and emptiness.

We circled the house, just looking... it was interesting. It wasn't a large or fancy home, just an old simple home. We enjoyed noticing details like the wood planking, the metal roof, the cement blocks holding up the house... and more. 

 It sure wasn't a pretty house at all.... but it did invite us to look around in hopes of discovering.... something....

There was a part that had obviously been added on at a later time.... 

The wood was very weathered....

We all agreed we would not want to live there.... but we enjoyed the experience of discovering...

The woods were quiet and we were a long ways from the road, so it was just us. We are city people with a love for the country and a hope to live out of the city someday, so things like this draw us.... and we enjoy walks in nature...

 We realized that someone used to live here... and we marveled that they were so very far from a road... we wondered how they would go to town or other places. This was very odd in our culture of needing to be near a road or a highway or town....

 We curiously wondered how old the place was... .and why it was left abandoned.

 The weathered look of the wood blended so well with the surrounding woods, that it just seemed to fit.

We had many questions... but all we could do was guess at any answers.

 As we got to the side with the door (the front door? hmmm), we saw the open door and were excited to see a peek into the cabin. I'm not sure what we hoped to see... maybe an empty room with an old table and benches, maybe just a few items to show a bit about the history of the place.....

Our first glance in was disappointing... there was a mess...

It wasn't an interesting mess.... it was just.... a mess.

Ugly trash was visible... and we didn't even try to see much more. We wouldn't have entered since it wasn't our property, but it was interesting to look.... until we saw the ugly mess. 

 One interesting find was this old suit hanging on the nail outside the door. How long was it there? Why was it there? There was no way to find out, but we were glad to see that puzzling item since the inside looked so very disappointing. We continued on our walk, discussing the old house at times, and enjoying the quiet of the country woods. In the years since then, we have had no interest in returning to this old house. It disappointed us... and though we enjoyed the outside, the inside repelled us.  We still like the looks of the old house in the woods.... but we have seen enough of it... our curiousity has been satisfied enough that we don't care to learn more.

I realized that just as the outside of this house drew our attention and we wanted to find out more... our lives can grab the attention of those around us. What will they see? What if they get close enough to see "inside" us? Will they be disappointed with all of the junk we have kept in our lives? Will they be disgusted by the mess and a lack of living what we say we believe? Will they want to know more.... or will they write us off as not worth any more attention? 

We have a chance to show Christ to the world... no, we are not all in the public light... we are not all preachers or famous singers... or others who are noticed by many, but we ARE noticed. Those who see us, notice how we react to a rude cashier... or how we respond to a naughty child....a stressful situation.... they notice how we drive when we are behind that terribly slow person who just will not move out of our way when we are in a hurry.... and more.  When someone looks closely into my life, I want them to see that while I am not perfect and I need to grow in so many areas.... I want them to see that I do love the Lord.... I am seeking to honor Him... I am loving Him.... and I am not trusting in myself, but in my Lord. I want them to be drawn to learning more.... more about why I live as I do.... why I can respond with love and kindess.... why I live honestly... and more..... I want them to be drawn to see Christ.

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