Good Things Happened: Dog of the week, lilies and blessings

Friends Janice and Chip's dog Chili, at the park, after I asked him if he would like to be dog of the week.  I think the answer was clearly, "Yes!"

I was invited to Easter dinner at friends Laura and Bob's home.  The table was exquisitely set with pretty Easter themed china, crystal and napkins.  I loved the Lilies of the Valley from their yard - so perfect I thought they were artificial at first.

A wee present from Laura at each place setting - these beautiful little "Spring Blessings" packages.  Such a gracious hostess.

I hope you are having a good weekend.  I've finally gotten caught up on some sleep!

Good Things Happened: Bunny, good shopping and glorious

A cute Easter treat that looked so bright and shiny in my kitchen.  "Looked" is the key word.  I needed some chocolate this week and the ears went first.  :)  

I parked in front of this beautiful loading dock door at Builders Steel Supply in Lilburn, Georgia last Saturday, when I was attending the Spring open house at my favorite antique shop up the street.  Amazing door - I wonder where it came from?

I snagged these two wine glasses for $3.50 each at the open house.  My sister has a set that she bought in Germany years ago.  I always liked them, so wanted to take these home.  She says they are Roemer Glass, made to drink sweet wines from the Rhine region of Germany.

And finally a glorious sunrise as I stepped out of my car at 7:15am yesterday morning, as I got to work.  Such beauty in the midst of an industrial area got my day started out just right.

Thank you for visiting today.  I'll be around to yours in the next couple of days!

Annual treat, taking over and gazing

An annual treat to myself - a Lindt Gold Bunny  and I like to see it sitting around my kitchen at Easter time. :)

Lenten roses in the Greenway Park in Lilburn, Georgia.  Friend Alice was giving some of these away from her garden - they tend to spread out and take over. 

Gazing at a magnificently flowering tree at the book club host's home in the early evening last Sunday (the friend pictured above and I arrived at the same time and gasped at the glory of the tree.)  There was a long discussion about what sort of tree it is - the consensus:  some version of a cherry tree.  We think. 

I love Spring.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Rescue lily, blooming like crazy and so good

- When friend Marty and I were placing Easter lilies in our church sanctuary on Saturday morning (a delightful annual pre-Easter event), I told her, "Uh oh - we have a leaner!"  So I rescued it and took it home, adding a little more dirt to it to keep it from toppling over.  It's still pretty, I think.

- Azaleas from a friend's yard.  They are blooming like crazy in north Georgia and are a little early.  Some friends who are from Augusta, Georgia say that landscapers at Augusta National Golf Course put ice on them so they'll still be blooming for guests and TV cameras for The Masters Golf Tournament, which is coming up next week!

- And a very cute bunny and some Peeps decorated cake at friend Laura's Easter dinner.  The cake was an Italian Cream Cake - it was so good. 

Thursday morning 7am, Ed the bunny and happy Easter

 - The "Worm" moon was so beautiful Wednesday morning, huge and golden, and I was sorry I didn't take time to photograph it (although that takes more technique than snapping with an iPhone.)  The Waning Gibbous moon was still beautiful Thursday morning, so I snapped a photo with said phone while waiting to turn onto Northlake Parkway.  The moon looks fuzzy here, but I kind of like the effect of the 7am morning - busy and bustling with the early birds getting started with their day.

 - I can't believe it myself, that I am posting a photo of the inside of my cluttered refrigerator, but it's to display my chocolate Easter bunny there in the back.  It's lived there since 2002, when I won it as a gag prize at a summertime church event.  The former music director at my church, Ed, asked me the next day at church if I had eaten it yet.  "Nope - I'm keeping it forever," I said.  And then I decided to name it Ed.  This Good Thing was inspired by Kitchen Connection Lee's post about her fridge bunny named Clint.  :)  Check out her post HERE.

- The dogwood trees on the street where I live are so beautiful right now.  Happy Easter, my friends!

Hippety hoppety, day is done and may the road rise with you

- My favorite local antique shop had a Spring open house last Saturday and I snapped this photo to send to my sister.  She and I both had Easter baskets just like this when we were wee girls.  Easter's on its way!

- On Wednesday, I made my way from northwest Atlanta to my church in Stone Mountain, Georgia for this lovely concert of Spirituals and Hymns, featuring two amazing singers from our church choir.  They are both opera singers on days other than Sunday, and we are so lucky to have them.  It was so lovely to sit with friends and let the music wash over me at the end of a long day.

- And speaking of lucky!  Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and the world seemed awash in green.  I've had this "Old Gaelic Blessing" (click to enlarge) hanging in my kitchen my whole adult life.  My sister gave it to me when I was very ill the first year I was in college.  This ancient Celtic prayer always makes me feel peaceful.  I love that it is a blessing for ones journey and that it has been with me on my journey along the way.

May the roads rise with you, my friends!  Have a great weekend.

Hippity hoppety, sweet violets and consider the lilies

- My Saturday morning walk ended up being a solitary one at Lilburn Park.  My walking partners and I got our wires crossed about the walk location, so I walked alone.  You might think that sounds lonely, but it enabled me to listen to music while I walked, as well as take these photos.

- I titled this photo, Sweet Violets, because of the tiny violets growing around this stump.  You would need to click to enlarge to see them better, I think.

 - And after my walk, I met some ladies at the church to place these hothouse lilies around the sanctuary in preparation for the glorious Easter morning worship service. 

There's an article in The New Yorker online, entitled "Barbara Pym and the New Spinster" - you can read the article here.  I liked this quote in the article so much that I have put it on the "about me" section of my blog:   "(In) Pym’s “Less Than Angels” (1955), the protagonist, Catherine Oliphant, reflects that “the smallest things were often so much bigger than the great things … the trivial pleasures like cooking, one’s home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard.”

Happy Easter!

From my walk earlier this morning on the street where I live...

Have a beautiful, peaceful day, my friends!

Almost like a painting, reflection and colorful

- Such a serene spot, and for it me it always signals that my walk at the park near work is 3/4 done.  It almost looks like a painting, I think.  And there is a marked difference from a photo taken in the same spot almost a month ago.

- You would have to click to enlarge to really see that house across the creek.  I like that it is reflected in the creek below.  I do not remember seeing this house on previous walks in the park and think that it is either new or growth has been cleared from around it.  They sure have a great view from those back windows.

- A Maundy Thursday service in a friend's home.  Everyone brought food for the dinner before and the highlight was truly this wonderful colorful Easter cake that friend Mary and her 6-year-old daughter Isabella made.  Bella was so excited about cutting it to show the layers of color inside.  And it was delicious.

I hope that you are well and happy today.  Have a lovely weekend!

Easter treat, Bach and chickadees

- Treating myself to a Cadbury CRÈME EGG always makes me think of my sister in Virginia. She loves them, too.

- Letting the stress of the week go while letting music wash over me. The Bach concert from a phenomenal organ master was especially wonderful because it was free.

- Some chickadees keep going in and out of the bluebird box on my deck. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they build a nest in it like they did a few years ago. Someone had to tell me that you are supposed to take out the nest and clean the box after the babies leave the nest, so that is why they did not use it again the next time. It is clean now though.