Small Things

Sometimes it's all about the little things.  Like finding a cute little planter for 50 cents.  And another one for 1 dollar.  And finding the perfect little honey pot to fit my hand-turned black walnut honey dipper.

Little things really do make me happy.

Enjoy your weekend, friends.

Honey Rosemary Cookies

Here's another attempt to satisfy my sweet tooth in a (somewhat) healthy way.  A little bit of this, a little bit of that, a dash of this, a pinch of that, and this little recipe was born.

Honey Rosemary Cookies
Melt together:
2/3 C honey
1/3 C coconut oil
1 t vanilla
Mix together then add to honey and coconut oil:
1 1/2 C wheat flour
3/4 C whole oats, ground
1 T cornstarch
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
2 T chopped fresh rosemary

Chill for 30 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

I Scored

Each time I go to a thrift store, I walk my normal routes and browse the my normal departments searching for the same items I always search for.  Always on my mental list - Polaroid film.  Today I scored, I scored big!  99 cents per pack.  99 cents!  You Polaroid fans know how exciting this is :).

Sedum

I don't know what it is about these exotic little plants, I just love them so.  These unique varieties were found at Sorticulture last weekend.  My boys and I split them into two planters, one for us to keep, and one to give to my Mom.

Have a good week, Friends.  It's supposed to rain here most of the week.  Again.  But I don't mind, it's keeps things lush and green.
Happy Monday!

Go

She lives across the street and that's what we call her, Go.  Because that's what her 4 and 5 year old great grand kids, Vanessa and Alex call her.  I think it translates to "Grandma".  I don't know her real name, I only know what her great grand kids have told me about her.  She's 82, has 5 grown children, 4 back in Vietnam, she's lived here for 10 years with her granddaughter's family, and she doesn't like leaving her house.  Her hobby is taking care of her bunnies and organizing the recycling.  She and I go on walks together with our kids, pick dandelions for her bunnies and sit outside together to watch our kids play.  She has in depth conversations with me in Vietnamese, she must not understand that I have no idea what she's say.  Yet she still talks.  She's happy and laughs a lot.

Yesterday on our walk to the market around the corner, we picked flowers, and I wondered what her life must be like here in America.  She doesn't understand the language.  She must miss her family.  Does she get scared?  Does she get lonely?  My first thought was that she must understand kindness, because I sure understand it from her.  What was she going to buy at the market?  I watched her walk around, curious to see what she would pick out.

Want to know what she bought?  Cheetos, banana taffy, a chocolate pop sickle for Vanessa.  And $10 of lottery tickets.  I never would have expected the lottery tickets, she certainly must understand that part of our culture.

We walked home together, picked more dandelions for her bunnies, I grabbed my camera to take her picture, she giggled and smiled the whole time.  I just think she is the cutest little lady I know.

My New Vase

When we first moved into our home 8 years ago, there was a clunker piece in the corner of the garden shed that I just assumed was an old car part.  I never looked closely at it until the other day.  After I picked it up (it's heavy, 15 pounds is stamped on it) and looked at it, (turns out it's beautiful), I saw that it's a wonderfully aged copper vessel with a beautiful green patina.  I rubbed it with a lime to remove some of the patina and saw some writing and "1945" etched on the bottom. Alex looked closer and realized it's a WWII artillery shell from a 90mm antiaircraft gun.

Since I'm not a supporter of war, and to soften the history of violence this relic most likely carries, it seemed appropriate to fill it with daisies.

Aren't Parents Funny?

My Dad obviously comes from a different generation.  He calls all blogs, websites, email and social networks "The Computer", to him it's all the same.  I don't think he has any idea how vast this "computer" space is.  A couple years ago, my husband Alex was helping my dad fix something on his computer.  He told my dad to right click on something and my dad was like "Right click??? What's that??"  That opened up a whole new world on "the computer" for my dad.  He makes me laugh.

He's always requesting I post more photos.  So for him, here you go.

Hope your week is going well.