A Winner!

Time to announce the winner of the book I offered in Friday's Show & Tell.



"Hadias" was chosen to be the recipient. I trust she will enjoy it as much as I enjoy my copy.







Thanks to each of you who left sweet comments. I have enjoyed visiting your blogs.

Show & Tell Friday (and a fun surprise)

I received a generous gift this week from Kelli at No Place Like Home and I'm choosing to show & tell about what she sent me.

Two weeks ago Kelli explained on her blog that she had found some wonderful books at a resale shop and she offered them as gifts in a drawing -- and I won! Kelli's blog is one of my favorites so I was really excited to receive such a neat thing from her.

Thank you sooo much, Kelli! Oh, and thank you for the herbal tea too. What a thoughtful and generous lady!

This is what Kelli sent me:

She tied the books together with an embroidered ribbon. I shouldn't have been the least bit surprised with all Kelli's pretty touches on so many things she does - as pictured on her blog.

Here are the books and a sampling of their contents:


This sweet little book is filled with watercolor paintings accompanied by scripture, prayers and blessings.

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And this book has fun pictures (again, watercolors) accompanied by proverbs, quotes and scriptures about friendship.

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This little paperback is filled with all kinds of ideas for tea parties and it has some wonderful recipes. Really....I need a pretty tea pot now so I can invite someone over for a spot of tea.

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This book is my favorite of all of them and I've read it from cover to cover already. It's all about making one's home a hospitable place both for family and visitors. I am inspired by this book to find simple ways to bring beauty to our home.
Here is a sample of the beautiful artwork in The Gentle Art of Hospitality.

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And last, but not least, a lovely little gem of a book that I am going to give to someone (who stops in here and leaves a comment) because I already own a well-loved copy:

This book has beautiful paintings done by Edith Holden, a lady who kept a nature journal at the turn of the previous century, which was later published under the title The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. Here's an example of Miss Holden's beautiful artwork:

This copy was well loved by someone at one time and has some vintage stains (which adds to its charm). This book is a bit broken in so you will not be afraid to use it. I think that is ideal because this book really should be used, loved and shared with others.
I will select someone (from all who leave comments on this post by Sunday 5/25) to receive this paperback book. If you already own a copy of this book, or don't think you'd particularly enjoy it, please do say so. I will not be the least bit offended and that way someone who will enjoy it will be more likely to receive it. Be sure to leave your e-mail address when you comment and I will notify the winner sometime on Monday.

After leaving a comment here, check out more Show & Tell offerings at Kelli's.

Reflections

We often enjoy the silly antics of birds, squirrels and chipmunks at our birdfeeders, but this morning my youngest son was completely distracted from his reading by a goldfinch tap-tapping on the living room window.

This has happened off and on for several days, but today the tapping was almost incessant. This evening I finally got the camera out and snapped some pictures (the finch appears to blend into the green leaves in these pictures, but they are actually very vivid yellow -- at least the fellas are):

Here is a goldfinch perched on the feeder.

Here is the little guy flapping and pecking at the window. We can only figure he is seeing a reflection of blue sky and leaves and then himself when he gets right up to the window.

Then he would go back and perch on the wrought iron hook that the birdfeeders hang from.

And a few seconds later, back again he'd come (at the top of the window this time). This went on for over half an hour during one spell. What a determined little guy.

We look forward to seeing if he persists tomorrow.

It has been THE most amazingly beautiful spring here in central Indiana. The tulips are fading, and the daylilies will soon be replacing them. The peppers, tomatoes and beans are planted and now I'm bracing for the Hoosier heat & humidity. Dare I hope for a beautiful summer?

I do!

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Random Moments

My boys sometimes tell me I'm random.

Thinking that is not quite a compliment, I try to deny it. Though I've had to admit that sometimes my thoughts do come out in a rather random fashion. Somehow with my girlfriends the free-flowing conversations don't sound so random. With my boys, they evidently do.

Personally....I prefer to think of my occasionally saying random things as "seizing the moment".

Like this morning when my teen walked by on his way to the bathroom to take his shower. His hair was all mussy and his eyes were only half opened. I said good morning. He said good morning back. I decided to seize the moment and said, "I love you."

He looked at me funny and said, "Mom, you are so random."

I said, "No I'm not." Denying it (like I always do).

He didn't buy it. He insisted I was random (like he always does).

I said, "Well okay....but telling someone you love them is supposed to be random."

He smiled and said, "Okay. Love you too, Mom."

Seize the day! One random moment at a time.

And they think I'm random....

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It hurts when I laugh