In bloom again, good things are going to happen, and smiles

The planted Easter lilies are blooming right now.  They came from my church a couple of years ago and neighbor Rhonda planted them in our building's communal flower bed at the condos.  They looked so beautiful yesterday morning covered in raindrops.  And my car managed to photo bomb once again!

Remember the garden flag I spotted in Brasstown, North Carolina?  I posted about it here.  It was a delightful surprise to get some happy mail last week from friend and blog friend Leonora, saying she "couldn't resist."  So nice!  I love to read Lee's blog, "A Journal of Days" - lately she's been writing about her late father's experiences in World War II - an amazing journey of discovery.  Thanks again, Lee!

I couldn't think what to do with the white corsage I was given on Mother's Day to honor my late mother, so I put it in the fridge, on top of the coffee canister.  It made me smile every time I opened the door.

Spring forward, lovely read and beauties

The sky never seems to disappoint at this little corner of the world in northwest Atlanta.  The week after daylight savings time sprang to be, I left for work in the darkness and arrived to work to these pink puffed beauties.

Leonora wrote about her latest good reads in a recent blog post.  I'm listening to this one during my commute.  I told a friend at work this morning that I'm smiling during the drive and not obsessing about traffic.  It's a  lovely story about a widower who finds a charm bracelet that belonged to his late wife and embarks on a journey to find out more about her past and even more about himself. 

It was a chilly morning last Saturday when friend Laura and I walked in the park and caught up with life.  She never questions why I stop to snap photos with my phone and encouraged me to get this close up of the buds of this flowering tree.  We dropped into the 20s (f) this week - so cold.  I hope these lovelies survived.

Spring is around the corner.  Sigh.

Flowers all the time, where there's tea..., and family things

The weather outside has been a bit dreary for the last several days, with nothing but rain or drizzle, so I haven't been getting out much.  This morning, when I woke before the alarm, I was thinking about my blog post for today and how there was no photo for it.  So I found a few items around my home with my camera in the 5am hour that qualify as Good Things:

 - I had this beautiful bouquet on the dining table with the food and wine, surrounded by candles, last Sunday night when my book group came over to discuss Joyce Carol Oates.  Friend Susan remarked, at the end of the evening, that she was sitting where she could see those flowers during the discussion and that it's nice that I'll be able to enjoy those all week.  I didn't tell her, but you know, that I usually have flowers - not just for special occasions like that.  Here they are in the kitchen in front of my grandmother's ice bucket, where I can see them when I come in the door from outside.

- I thought someone might ask about the Darjeeling tea container since there is a glimpse of it above.  It's new - purchased during the holidays - when I was supposed to be looking for Christmas gifts for the family.  I love Darjeeling tea - it's my favorite - so I had to have this when I spotted it in a shop in Madison, Georgia.  I wondered about the quote, so Googled it, and it comes from a play called Sweet Lavender, performed in London in 1888 by the actor Sir Arthur Wing Pinero.  The play was "so popular that it ran for an extraordinary (for the time), 683 performances."  The character Horace, played by Pinero, "utters the famous line, "Where there is tea, there is hope.""  True that.

 - And I found a great frame for the Good Things postcard Granny Annie sent me last year.  I love how it's floating in acrylic.  There it is among framed photos of my family and with my Quaich (pronounced "Quake", from the Gaelic word "Cuach"), a traditional Scottish drinking vessel used to offer a guest a cup of welcome and also as a farewell drink, usually a dram of whisky.  These days they are used for celebrations like weddings and christenings in Scotland or those having an association with Scotland by heritage like me.  I like to keep it there with family things and this postcard fits right in.  (Click to enlarge.)

I hear there will be sun today.  Come on sun!  I hope that you have a great weekend, my friends!