My younger brother's birthday was last Thursday, so my Mom had me and my siblings and spouses out to her house last night for supper. We haven't done a lot of gathering since covid, but have met a time or two in smaller groups than before, since around Christmas.
My mom made BBQ chicken, old style like when we were growing up, where you take skinless chicken pieces and braise them for an hour or more in a homemade BBQ sauce. It is a thin sauce with a vinegar base and it tastes exactly like childhood. Yum Yummy!
My sister Vicky stopped at a local fresh flower farm near Mom's and brought Mom and me some fresh cut flowers. This is the sweet small vase she gave to me. It had been put into a recycled glass bottle with a little rafia ribbon around it.
Last night when I got home around 9, I knew I wasn't going to do anything else valid around here. I was still full from supper, happily and miserably too ! LOL... you know that feeling ...right ?
I put these flowers on the table beside where I was watching TV and art videos so that I could see them close up and frequently during the rest of the evening.
This morning as I was straightening the house and doing a few light chores that I had no time to do yesterday since I worked in the morning, prepared things for supper in the afternoon and spent the evening at Mom's. I took the flowers in the kitchen while I was loading the dishwasher. I had made coffee and so during the morning I went back to the kitchen a few times to refill my cup. The last time I was in there, as I was turning away from the empty coffee pot and the flowers came into my view, the thought of my Grandmother flashed across my brain. Wow.... what a flood of memories poured in and I stood there a few minutes reliving some of those happy moments.
My Grandmother had a very green thumb and grew many flowers and flowering bushes around her house and in a flower bed beyond her driveway, but her neighbor and long time friend had planted MANY bulbs through her large backyard in groups and under trees and in long lines dividing parts of her yard. When she was living, she always shared and invited us to help ourselves any time. Once she passed and her house sat empty for many years, the flowers continued to bloom every spring and my Grandmother would go over and cut herself a bouquet and if she knew any of her "girls" were coming by, there would be more cut and waiting for us to take home. Every year. Even though my Grandmother didn't grow most of these herself, the memories always come back to her and being at her house.
There were so many kinds back then, giant daffodils, assorted buttercups, narcissus, sometimes with double blooms.... all so delightful.
I stood there thinking back and smiling to myself and it really added a bit of joy to my morning.
While at Mom's, my other sister Jan and her husband came in and it turned out that she had brought some handmade gifts for her sisters and Mom. She follows some woman on youtube that makes decor out of recyled things and decided to make some for herself and to give away. They were all different. I let the others choose which ones they wanted first and I took the one that was left, but funny thing was, it was the one I would have chosen even if I were first, because it had some yellow in it ! Yay !
Just a little fun decor, but what was neat about it is that the "vase" part of it is a metal can ! It is somewhat mashed on the bottom end and she has mod-podged it (or decoupaged as you might call it) with some printed design on the outside and added the ribbon. There is a piece of styrofoam stuffed down in the top of the can for the flowers and greenery to stick into.
A fun bit of recycling to brighten up a place.
I told them as we were leaving Mom's, I felt like it was MY birthday instead, going home with flowers and fun homemade decor.
A sweet family visit and going home with surprises. How much better can it get than that ???
Happily, it's another sunny Sunday here. Yesterday morning as I was working it was sunny then too and as I glanced out the window at the clear blue sky I scribbled on my work tablet....
"Sun out
Sky blue
The hum of a lawnmower nearby
Sounds like summer"
I don't know why I was compelled to stop and write it instead of just think it, but there it was.
I hope you are all doing well today and that your hearts are happy.
