A Sensory Experience

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With the many delights for the senses this past week..... I have been taken back to the days when my children were small & learning about their five senses. It was a wonder to see their delight as they experienced the sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes of the world for the first time.

It is a bit sad to me that as we "grow up" we become farther removed from the joy and wonder of our senses. It can be restorative to remind ourselves to pay attention to each one of them once again.

To be mindful of each of our senses, one at a time, is a great way to slow down and really  appreciate all that is so good around us. And where better to do this than in our homes? Maybe the things that we love about where we live has become white noise to us, things that we no longer take in or appreciate.

Here are a few favorites that come to mind for me:

  • Hearing--birdsong, Mozart, the quiet of the house after everyone has gone to bed....
  • Sight--family pictures, treasured artwork, yellow daffodil buds emerging outside, the faces of those I love.
  • Smell--freshly washed towels, favorite meals cooking in the kitchen, coffee in the morning.
  • Touch--our comfy family room chair, soft blankets and sheets on the bed, my dog's velvety ears.
  • Taste--any meal I didn't have to cook :)...oh, and a glass of wine.
What are your favorites?? Please post them below!~Can't wait to hear them!!!

Song of Hope

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This week our family has been blessed by a little visitor who brightens our mornings, and keeps us cheerful with his singing sometimes throughout the afternoon.... Each day has started with him sitting right outside our family room window in the crabapple tree

He sometimes puffs his feathers out in the cold morning chill....

but he doesn't seem to mind if we come close to watch, listen....or take his picture. He sits there on his perch, and sings his heart out.

He has reminded me of one of my favorite poems:

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chilliest land

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

--Emily Dickinson

And one of my favorite hymns:

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,

When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,

I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

 

What a tremendous gift that little bird has shared with our family this week....I will close now, as I continue humming......

I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free! His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me......

 

End of Winter Window Box

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I put this arrangement together for a dear friend this past weekend...and thought I should share. So easy! And such a pick-me-up as we wait for the first day of Spring to get here! A trip to buy the flowers is the first step....and so much fun to see what looks good together and gives your heart a lift. I was drawn to these sunny yellow primroses and cheerful daffodils......:)

and the periwinkle primroses added such a beautiful fresh punch!

I had an old pine box--reminiscent of a outdoor window box--that I thought would be perfect for the container. I recycled a plastic Target back to act as my liner....

Easy as pie....just some snips around the outside, and stretch and staple the bag to the inside of the box...and then you have protected the wood and your furniture from drips and moisture from the potted plants.

Next, before putting the plants in place, you want to remove any spent blooms (known as "dead heading") so that the plant will continue to push new blooms up. You can do this by simply pinching the stem underneath the old bloom, thereby removing it. At this time you will also want to remove the colorful plastic outer pots or wrapping so that everything around the base of the plants can visually recede....

Now we can begin to place the plants in the box, and work out an arrangement that we like.

For this window box, I used two Daffodil pots and six Primrose pots...lovely!!  Feel free to squeeze the pots in tightly to give you a nice full looking arrangement.

After the plants are in place, the dirt and black pots will still be visible. The finishing touch is to use green sheet moss to cover all of this up and further add to the feeling of a lush, mini springtime garden.

Floral pins can be used to secure it in place.

Break pieces of the moss off  and tuck around the base of the pots, and soften the edge of the box...

Makes me so happy just to think about it!.....

and then you have your final product...a lovely window box that helps bring Spring to your home a few weeks early!

Enjoy!

 

There's A New Sheriff In Town

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Getting rid of clutter is harder for some than others...but not to worry. I am always there to gently nudge, kindly persuade... Even still, there can be resistance...

This isn't the motivational technique I usually use, I SWEAR...but , darn it! Now there are pictures to be used as evidence!

...made even worse when your husband gets a hold of the pictures, and has a little time on his hands at work...

(honey, couldn't you at least photoshop in a badge?!?? Or a ten gallon hat?? I mean, c'mon...)

Well, we here at The Rattlesnake Saloon hope you are kicking The Clutter Outlaws to the curb...and having a laugh while you do it!

(disclamer: I promise no hoarders were injured in the making of this ezine. Thank you to my assistant Jo Ann for making the find of an old 22 even more fun while we were decluttering...)