The Art of Saturday Morning

Formal tea ceremonies fascinate me. Every little movement in the preparation and presentation of the tea is meaningful, graceful, and highly respectful from the subtle way a finger lifts a tool to the repetitive entire ritual of it. Just the fact that it is also called "the art of tea" and has been around since ancient times speaks volumes. The whole display is meant to take a moment in time, pause, and adore something simple and beautiful amidst the sordid everydayness of life. I feel that way about my Saturday mornings sometimes.

My morning yoga moves...the making of my coffee...pouring...stirring...sipping...stitching...breathing the fresh air and feeling the sunshine as I take the next sip.

Minnie...sleeping cozily next to me...reminds me that I'm not in a hurry today. I don't have to put on makeup, figure out what to wear, or make a lunch to go. It's Saturday morning. And I'm peaceful, relaxed, and stitching in my happy place. It's a bit meditative. I could call it a little ceremonial, because it happens often and makes my day better. But we'll just make it simple, and call it the art of Saturday morning.

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things on a Tuesday...

I hate to say it...but nothing gets my attention in a store like an embroidered purse. Maybe it's because I embroider and want to make one. But, I have, over the years, narrowed my taste in what kind of bag I will pay money for and bring home. On this shopping trip I was looking for a cute straw clutch like I've seen Princess Kate carry--afterall, who doesn't want to do something to look a little like Kate? Love her! But anyhoo...I just wasn't feeling it for the straw clutches I was finding, and then, laying under a pile of cute India-style embroidered bags, was this embroidered clutch! It was less than twenty dollars...and soon it was mine! I can't wait to carry it out to a nice dinner wearing a white summer dress. I can just picture it. And now, I think Princess Kate should have an embroidered peacock clutch too! Hmmm...I always wonder what she carries in her little clutch bags. A tissue and a lipstick maybe? Some of her bags are tiny! I think this one will hold my phone, a lipstick, and my debit card for sure.

So here, on a simple Tuesday, I'm thinking about how it doesn't take much to make me happy--I'm a simple girl. So here are a few of my favorite things from the past few days.

My Hello Kitties! I was thinking about cleaning off this toy shelf on our Greenhouse--it houses the many many McDonalds Happy Meal toys the kids have gotten over the years. Hello K makes me happy--and there's a whole shelf devoted to her. Smile, smile.

Bowl-o-Goodness

An all salad dinner is one of my very favorite things. This weekend I had a big fresh salad for dinner one night, and fruit salad for dessert! Yummy!

Banana and mandarin oranges is a classic. Some people love it with a sprinkle of fresh grated coconut.

Cute little basil seedlings

Growing tomatoes in the raised bed garden

Growing lots of basil in the garden is a favorite thing. Besides the seedlings coming up in my garden, I've also got pots and pots of baby basils sitting on the deck. Basil is so easy to grow. It's the companion plant of the tomato--so I sprinkle basil seeds around my tomato plants all summer.

Sitting around thinking, planning, watching the birds, watching the cats, imagining my whole deck re-do, planning next week's menu in my mind...this is some of my favorite stuff. So, I love this picture of my Uncle Sonny and my Aunt Margaret (my mother's brother and sister) on a trip to the country...just sitting around.

Hanging around with my cat Minnie. I have a wicker coffee table on the deck, and I call this her "kitty shelf." She was doing an interesting pose for me. Every table should have a kitty shelf!

Visiting my Mom and her three chihuahuas. This is Cupcake. She has a look on her face like, "Someone hand me my clothes!" She's very sweet. When I get a good picture of all three of them, I'll share it!

Sewing on fabric...sewing on paper...doodling on paper...these are some of my favorite things!

On clearance--this incredible-smelling soap and adorable soap dish! Had to have it. I love yummy milled soaps.

This cute plant on my greenhouse is called my "heart plant." I don't remember what kind of plant this is--but I received it as a birthday gift some three years ago, and it is one of the happiest plants on my greenhouse! I love heart-shaped leaves.

My walk to my office is a favorite thing. I work in a little office at university and I love my little job! I have a less-than-10-minute drive to work, then park in a covered garage, and have a choice to ride a shuttle to my building, or walk the little 1/2-mile. Of course, I prefer the walk! This is the fountain I pass by each day I go to work, and I took this picture just this morning.

I hope you know what all of your favorite things are today--this is what you should surround yourself with every day. Eat, write, dream, and stitch happy!

Tuning In to the Simple Life LOL Style

I bought my first clock radio when I was a young teen. I had saved up the whole thirty dollars, went downtown to the department store, fourth floor electronics, and got my fabulous treasure. It was the late 1970's, and that's what my radio played, non-stop. Seventies music! Woo hoo!

Later on, in the 1980's, I purchased a rather expensive pink boom box--but I have to say the sound quality was amazing. She was a young, very hip, boom box at the time. And that hot box went to the beach, the pool, the park, and filled my single girl apartment with eighties music, disco music, soul, talk radio, and even classical--whatever I was in the mood for. Afterall, listening to the radio is free. My priorities at the time were laying in the sun, and having fun.

Now, all these years later, in an iPod-digital-music-world, that old pink musical girl still has a rich stereo sound. I had her on today while I was reading, stitching, cleaning house, doing laundry, and clipping coupons. Her cassette tape player does not work anymore, and I don't even have cassette tapes. So she is strictly, a radio. But the radio is still free, and on Saturdays, they play one of my favorites: seventies music. And yes, I dance when nobody's looking. I love to dance, and the music makes me feel happy. It made me think about one of my favorite subjects: living a simple life. I ponder on this all the time. There's an LOL (Little Old Lady) who lives inside of me, and reminds me about the pure beauty and happiness of simple things. I guess I can't help it, growing up in cross-era's of simplicity coupled with technology. (I need to write a whole blog about that.)

My old pink boom box, strangely, makes me feel tuned in to simplicity. Just like Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz, that kind of happiness really is in your own backyard. I took pictures in my backyard the other day, just to prove this to myself. Try it!
I started with my love of growing seeds. It's so satisfying, seeing my squash seeds grow into fruitful plants, and all my flower seeds becoming gorgeous blooming plants. Everything is growing!

 
In the morning, whenever it's possible, I love to get fresh air and a little sun and have my morning coffee. It feels like I'm on vacation, every time. Simple. Happy. Magical! (and yes, I listen to the radio)

I get a lot of happiness in needle and thread. Especially when the thread is beautiful colors of floss, and I'm painting with it.

I think living simply is being in tune with knowing the things that make you happy, the things that don't, and the things that are just, well, things. They are shallow, short-lived, of no value, highly trendy, and simply not worth your hard-earned money or time. Lately, there are so many fabulous "toys" out there that would be really nice to have. And I certainly have my share of technology in the house. But, always ask the questions, "do I need this...how long will I have this...are there hidden costs."


This is why I listen to the LOL (Little Old Lady) inside...and she listens to the pink radio.