Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Lovely Pictures


Hello all, 

Until I can get a few pictures of my own taken of some of the things going on around here, I will share some lovely pictures from Pinterest.  I hope to be here again soon!



The past three day vacation was called a long weekend, and it seemed  the entire population had gone somewhere else to enjoy some camping or experience something "country." Since we already live in one of those places (farm land with a view), we spent the days enjoying a quieter world without the noise of tractors and trucks. We knew we were the ones having the retreat.  It was a delight to pretend I had gone to a country inn.
I spent the first day getting the flower beds cleaned up, and prepared it for a nice fresh layer of bark mulch later when we to the garden center. My pictures will come later.

Afterwards I planned a "Low Tea."  Have you never heard of this? Maybe I invented it this weekend. I gave a little calling card to some people I knew and told them to call me if they were ever feeling low, and I would provide a tea for them. It is one thing to provide tea on a sunny day when everyone is happy and everything is lovely, but it is more beneficial to have a low tea on a low day when people need some pampering and  cheering up. (My pictures later).  Sounds like a good title for my next book :-)


Somehow, the echo of quiet made it easier to sweep floors and wash all the sheets, resulting in a very freshly scented house. 

During this vacation where I have decided I am "somewhere else" I have written a little story (I'll show it to you later), sewn a little more on a dress, and collected materials for a hat. You'll be amused to see what I'm using from Dollar Tree. We don't have a shopping area of any great size nearby and our selection of things is limited, so I will share later how I found a piece of fancy fabric I needed, and some other things.

We are still grinding away at storage boxes full of papers and old things, but are trying to sort and empty one box a day.

As my house is a bit "rustic" I have given the bathroom and kitchen an extra scrub and added some orange essential oil for scent, even sprayed some on rugs and floors and laid out a few things for bliss! There isn't much I can do to change the gnarly old walls but I can get them clean, and it is such an uplift.


Although this is a Pinterst, there are scenes like this around here, but my pictures don't turn out this well! If Mr. S. Is inclined to chauffeur me on a little drive to the next county, I'll try to get a photo from the window.

I met someone else who stayed home this weekend and she had a wonderful time in the quiet,  getting caught up with some things, organizing, beautifying the house, herself, the car, etc.  There is something about that still, unsettling quiet where hardly a sound is heard. You can either break down and cry from the lonely chill it sends or you can pretend it was YOU who got away from it all.

  Everyone thinks they went away to camp and get away from it all, but they probably camped right next to their neighbor and didn't know it til the next morning. We have heard that story many times. Meanwhile, we stayed home and had a most relaxing time. We will not have to unpack, do the laundry, put away the equipment or recover from the exhaustion.



10 comments:

amulbunny's random thoughts said...

Lovely photos.
Hope you are doing well. It's one day at a time, seems like something comes up every time we take a deep breath.

Are you ready for summer?

Lynn said...

This is a very nice post, Lydia.

Christine said...

Your “getaway “ sounds delightful. One that I would like to take.

Unknown said...

We stayed home over the long weekend also. Our small town is near a military base and pictures of lost service men and women were posted along the road. It was lovely and quiet and gave us a chance to think about the loss of these fine , brave people. We joined friends for a BBQ and after looking at the heavy traffic on the freeway, we were very glad we didn't have to go far. Getting away from it all is a lot of work!

Songsparrowgarden said...

Nor will you have to pay for it!!!

"Low Tea" - - yes I heard of it. . from you!! I do think you invented it and what a great idea! As you also said in past posts 'Tea is a re-set for us' . . and who doesn't need a re-set when feeling low. It probably doesn't happen often - - but can and does happen. I love my own company. . so many interests I can turn my attention to - - once I have the 'rare' time to do so.

I didn't get away for the weekend, instead I cleaned and scrubbed down the bird cage and garage floor and windows, and worked in the garden uncovering my vegetables, putting up fencing to keep the rabbits out, and put up the tomato cages and cucumber trellises. Big jobs. . but now I'll have weekends to do necessary weeding and will finally (hopefully) have some time for me as well. There is a type of peace that comes from so much accomplishment, feeling a bit more tidy and caught up, at least for the moment.

You are very blessed to live in such beautiful country. One day soon I hope to do the same. Thank you for always sharing such beauty - - in words, photos and tea! Only a very lovely person --inside and out-- could do that.

Janet W. said...

I like the last part of your post where you mentioned not having to recover from the trip. They can be stressful.
I worked in my quiet new orchard, watering and tending the baby trees
I imagined being in a great lovely garden and worshipped the one who put me there to enjoy it all. Listened to the bubbling creek and birds singing.
Sure enjoyed the pictures and the post. So timely.
Janet Westrup

Mrs Honeybee said...

I'm glad you had a productive yet restful vacation at home..very rejuvenating I'm sure!

I'm intrigued by the idea of calling cards. Sounds so much more personalised and heartfelt than the standard business cards people dish out during networking events. Maybe you can elaborate on this and show us a lovely example of your own?

Inviting people over for "Low Tea" is something I dream of doing once my littles are a bit older. It is good to be able to cheer someone up with a spot of tea and our gentle company.

Thank you Lydia for all your uplifting posts. I always come back refreshed from just reading from your blog. Much like going on a restful vacation myself!

Janet W. said...

I posted a comment earlier, but I guess it never went through.
It sounds like you got plenty done on your three day "sta-cation".
I like the fact that you divide up your tasks into doable portions. Wasn't it Gengis Khan who said, "divide and concure"?
Anyway it sure works. Then you mentioned going back and view what you've done to get inspired to go on to the next task. How encouraging!

Thank you for another great post Lydia

Janet Westrup

Janet W. said...

I too tackled a few tasks from a year and a half of backed up work. Now the yard is pleasant to walk and sit in again. All ready for company. Janet Westrup

Anonymous said...

cute! I love the tea set!