We are getting along fine during quarantine. I confess, I haven't minded being home one bit. We've had some snow and cold weather so I've been "in" rather than walking but I've enjoyed every second. Part of the reason? I've had some wonderful surprises this week. Two were very thoughtful gestures from others. One was just luck! And actually, another that I'll share in a separate post.
The First Surprise?
I've been waiting for a number of deliveries (groceries, which finally came; Rick's surprise package -- 15 pounds of flour, which hasn't shipped yet; a pulse oximeter (one of those things docs put on your finger, which finally DID arrive) and a couple other things including some serious hand salve.
But what made me very happy was a totally unexpected packet! I had missed buying seeds before things locked down, not that we can put anything in the ground prior to mid-May here, but one could start inside. Imagine my surprise when a dear friend in South Carolina sent me some zinnias and cosmos seeds!
I doubt they'll look as good as this...
...but a girl can dream, can't she?
The Second Surprise?
I kill plants. I don't try (unless you count neglect, which I must admit, I view as not trying). But when I got this flowering maple plant (abutilin) last summer at the farmer's market up north, it was filled with a bounty of coral colored blooms. I decided I'd try to keep it alive this winter. And all the blooms fell off, it got scrawny, and I thought "Oh well. It was good while it lasted."
I will tell you, it was looking pretty raggedy. But I moved it, gave it some water and just the other day noticed this! There are more than a few buds! Now, if I can just keep it going!
Here's the most recent view! And more buds on the way!
The Third Surprise?
I love following the adventures of the Traveling Totes on various friends' blogs. Each month on the first eight or nine extremely fun and creative women take their Mackenzie Childs tote bag along in their travels and blog about it. Travels may be far afield or close to home, but they always make for delightful reading. Included in each adventure is a giveaway!
Well, I am pleased to say that I am now the proud owner of a Mackenzie Childs whisk, thanks to being chosen by Jenna of The Painted Apron! Most of us aren't getting out a lot these days so it was a real treat when a box from Patti from Pandora's Box arrived in the mail (and sat in the garage for the requisite 24 hours) and I could open it!
Thank you, Jenna, Patti and Tote Folk! I love it!
I have one more surprise that arrived in the mail this week, from a cousin in China via his sister. But that's a longer (and very interesting) story so I'll save it for another time. Meanwhile, I'll leave you with something sweet, a pretty cupcake, the last of our Easter cupcakes, made by my friend Sarah.
Small pleasures can be great gifts!
Sharing with: Let's Keep In Touch
53 comments:
I love your surprises. Flowers really lift a person’s spirits. Can’t wait to read about the next surprise!
Beautiful flowers! And so many sweet surprises!
A life full of surprises! And all of them nice! Good for you.
Amalia
xo
Your plants are doing well, well done, and have fun with the new seeds. Pretty whisk! And the cupcake looks great. Enjoy your Sunday, hugs, Valerie
Lots of good stuff going on. Love it when a plant pulls through.
Oh Jeanie I really love surprises myself! That beautiful flowering Maple looks very interesting. We don;t have maples here but that flower kind of resembles our Gumamela here in the Philippines. Please save me some icing on that delicious Cupcake! It looks so pretty to slice!!!
Wow, many wonderful surprises, Jeanie. Love the blooms and the gifts :)
I agree, it´s a happy sight, your Easter egg tree!
Ohhh :-)
I´ll wait till the last frost might come to plant... But what a nice surprise!!! And yes... dream, do!
Yes, I sadly killed my second avo, for good. I didn´t even dare to tell my T who got her throught the winter before perfectly...
Glad you made the plant do it back to life!
Cute whisk! And bunnies and YES! Small pleasures maybe are the best ever!
Miriam is the plant custodian in our house and she does a great job. I enjoy the greenery and the flowers when the plants bloom, but I have to confess that if the plants relied on me for care and attention they would be withered and brown. Seems counter intuitive somehow that a guy who loves nature so much would be such a poor guardian of house plants. Before I knew Miriam I had cacti, because they seemed to pretty much take care of themselves. Give 'em a shot of water whenever you happened to think about it and they produced beautiful blooms. Let me tell you one thing I really appreciate about your blog, Jeanie. You call Rick, Rick. You use his name. Thus, he becomes a real,person, someone we get to know, love and appreciate. I feel the same way about Miriam. Everyone know who she is and what she looks like. She is not "my better half," or "the warden," or the "micro manager." She is Miriam. And your fine fellow is Rick. It drives me mildly crazy that people refer to "hubbers" or "the hubs" etc. Are they ashamed of their spouses? Do their partners not have names? And there are even a couple of bloggers where their attempts to get creative with names for their spouses becomes idiotic and nauseating, all too cute. So thank you for Rick. He has become as much a part of your blog as you are yourself. Give Jeanie a big hug, Rick, she is proud of you and shouts your name to the world. And to think you might have been just another amorphous "significant other," which could just as easily be the dog come to think of it.
so many great surprises! I love that your plant is blooming again ~ such a happy feeling. I got lost in the other websites you mentioned, so much talent and the traveling tote looks like a future read for sure. ~ Congrats on the whisk and blessings on the seeds ~
Surprises are delightful, but now more so than ever before. I love your whisk, well done, and having never heard of Travelling Totes, I now have some investigative work to do!
~~~Deb in Wales
Those are ALL very exciting surprises, Jeanie! Your whisk and 15# of flour will shatter all distancing protocols! The revived plant is a beauty, and the promise of more beauty in the seeds are sure to be soon fulfilled. Patience is key for us all! Happy Sunday.
You can't buy seeds? What's going on up there?! It seems your restrictions are somewhat different from ours. In any event -- hooray for seeds, and growing things, and that abutilon. Thank goodness this little event has come in spring rather than at the beginning of winter!
According to staudies the virus lives on surfaces for 3-7 days that they know of. I get packages. I open them.at the front door with scissors kept just for that and disposable gloves on. Then I dispose of the packaging immediately in the outside trash. Any clothes go straight into the laundry then after cleaning anything cleanable, orvsoeaying thecrest with anti germ spray, the gloves go in the trash.
Packages certainly do make life bearable!
Love Cath
I am happy you won the MC whisk! new kitchen..new whisk..and it's you let's face it..Seeds are a gift indeed!
Happy gardening and baking!
All very wonderful surprises!
Thank you so much for your Happy Mail that I received yesterday. It really made me smile <3 Where do you get your cards printed, Jeanie? Or do you print them at home. If you print them online, what website do you use? If you print them at home what printer do you use? I love the quality of your notecard.
You did have a good week. Packages are such fun. Even if you have to spray the box with bleach of let them sit, it is still fun. Congrats on your whisk. It is really pretty. I need to check out the traveling totes. That sounds like a fun idea. And keeping up your Easter tree is ok as it is still early spring in our northern climes some more happy decorations are always good. I can't wait to get planting and am curious how the local greenhouse I visit is going to handle the spacing of people. They open May 2-very exciting. Not that I will visit them quite that soon as I want to get the story about their social distancing procedures. Happy Sunday. Hugs-Erika
small surprises bring great joys.
Oh, my gosh, I LOVE that bunny dish with the cupcake on it! You have such sweet things. All your surprises makes me appreciate the mail and delivery services all the more.
Jeanie, it looks as though you have had a happy and interesting week. Your flowering maple is so pretty. It seems to be happy by the window. You might want to give it a little food, that may make it even happier. You will enjoy your seeds when they turn into blooms. Zinnias and cosmos always make the world brighter.
Stay well, Jeanie and be sure to tell us what you bake with all the flour. I know whatever it may be, it will be wonderful. Happy day and week, my friend.
What wonderful surprises! Darling whisk!
It's amazing how just a little of the right kind of TLC can revive a plant you thought was past it.
Get your zinnia's started indoors in a sunny spot. They will blossom a lot earlier! Mine are growing their second set of permanent leaves.
That whisk is so pretty! That was very nice of your friend to send you the seeds. It's getting so close to time to plant here, I'm starting to get excited.
What wonderful surprises. I love your flowering maple and the whisk.
Stay safe. Stay healthy.
What lovely surprises! Suspect you might find that the cosmos at least are pretty easy to grow... just scatter them on the ground and water. Don't know about zinnias, though. They look like a more serious flower, and probably require more serious attention.
And, count me surprised (and delighted as well): I never knew there was such a thing as a flowering maple...
Last, FWIW, and IMHO, it seems important in these challenging days to hold onto every thing that brings us joy. Keep those bunnies and easter eggs out for as long as you like.
Dear Jeanie,
Surprises are such a joy to the heart. Beautiful flowers, I tried growing a flowering Maple once, unfortunately it did not make it.
Stay safe, dear friend
blessings,
Penny
What a great bunch of surprises! That flowering maple is beautiful! What a nice surprise to have it bloom! Those seeds will take right off for you! Give them plenty of sun and they’re good! The is a very cute whisk you won! Up and down weather that’s Michigan!
What a fun bunny plate! I so love the colors of zinnias. Hope yours turn out as nice as your picture. Janice
There's been a shortage of flour and yeast lately, so the package of flour is a really nice surprise. Flour, the main ingredient of bread which is staple food.
What lovely surprises! The seeds will be such a treat to see growing in your garden. I love when friends or family give me seeds or plants. I can think of them when I see them growing and it makes me smile. So happy your plant didn't die. Maybe your fingers are beginning to turn green?! What a pretty whisk! The traveling tote sounds so fun. I once participated in a traveling teapot and then there was that rock from Scotland that you participated in too. It is fun to play. Is the egg tree still standing? I have a couple bunnies still about, but the rest is packed away now. Happy Springtime!!!!
Hi...so happy to hear that you received the whisk and enjoy our Tales of the Traveling Tote. We only post quarterly and I hope you'll visit us agin on June 1st. Beautiful plants!
You have had a lot of sweet surprises Jeanie. It is a great surprise when a plant we've given up on surprises us with new growth. Sounds like your plant likes it's new location and it's rewarding you with budding blooms. I love the pretty whisk and what a sweet thing to say about TTT's! I know you'll enjoy using it and just in time to use in your knew kitchen. Oh, the seeds are amazing and so sweet. Have a wonderful week........
You got some incredible gifts in the mail, Jeanie. I am SO glad people are appreciative of you and send you happy mail. I haven't even sent you a thank you for the wonderful box of goodies you sent me. I haven't given my next door neighbor a sympathy card because his mother died on Tuesday. I can barely hold it together. I have NO motivation. I have no feeling. It has nothing to do with the lock down. Sally and Scott still call me every day to see how I am, or I call them to check in. My no-name friends call, too. I just have no desire to get creative, and must force myself to get through my recycle month. Having said that, I apologize again for my lack of seeming uncaring (is that a double negative?).
You got some wonderful happy mail. So glad you will get to plant some seeds.
Your plant is doing nicely. You must have found the perfect spot for it. I'm proud of you. Take care, dear Jeanie and know I'm thinking of you, even if my lack of motivation doesn't show it.
Lovely surprises, especially the seeds. I have a plant in my garden, grown from seeds sent by my mother. It's now incredibly big and really nice. I can't wait for it to revive itself and turn green again. In the last years she flowered too.
Sending hugs. xx
Great surprises Jeanie, I hope your zinnias and cosmos flower beautifully.
Wonderful that you managed to revive your flowering plant. I had never heard of the Traveling Tote, will go over and read their adventures.
The whisk is very pretty and the Easter cupcake is so dainty.
Hooray for surprises, shadows, and Lambchop (and Shari).
Thank you for bringing smiles to our days. :-)
I love surprises. Seeds are a wonderful thing to receive - can't wait to see the flowers.
Jeanie, what nice gifts. Your zinnias will be gorgeous and I am impressed about your pretty plant and how healthy it looks. I am trying very hard not to salivate over that pretty little cupcake..Stay well..xxoJudy
Thanks for sharing all your surprises with us, Jeanie. Everyone likes getting one and you got several so kudos to you. You certainly will be doing a lot of baking with the flour delivery and it is in short supply at many grocery stores here, so others apparently are doing the same. The Easter tree is definitely worth leaving up awhile longer, even thought I took down the holiday decos from outside our apt entry yesterday. My new theme is summer, so I am hopeful we will get to enjoy it!
Hi there Jeanie, I loved this post and all the pretty pictures, LOVE THOSE BRIGHT FLOWERS! So glad you enjoyed my last post about Dock Street....that just is so cool to see that you have walked right where I walk now too....and that you enjoyed it and remembered it. I SURE HOPE YOU FIND THOSE PICTURES...GIRLFRIEND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THOSE!! They have shows at the old theater ALL THE TIME, well, not NOW....everythings closed--but you know--"normally", and we have not been but we must put it on our list! they do alot of neat children's theater too, such as Little Mermaid and around Christmas--the Nutcracker I think. Come on down and we'll attend together!! (smile)
What wonderful shadows the Easter tree makes! It is a wonderful time to work out in the garden. I hope the seeds do well. Your houseplant is a beauty. Oh what a little TLC will do for plants! So many simple pleasure for you Jeanie.
Your Abutilon might come back full force! They do get scraggly in between and then suddenly they seem to turn the corner and become beautiful again. I have two of them in my garden, they don't like full sun, but do well in part shade. I usually ignore them, cut them back sometimes, and that seems to be enough.
I have no idea what Mackenzie Childs is, but the whisk looks truly awesome! I hope your seeds will do well - unfortunately I'm not very successful with seeds except for those self-sewing plants (but then that's not my effort, is it?).
Stay healthy, my friend.
Jeanie, surprises are always welcome at my house. How fun to win the MKC whisk, I don’t own a single piece of MKC. The cupcake sure looks delicious. Have a wonderful week!
I love getting anything in the mail except for bills! The seeds are a lovely gift, I love cosmos and they are pretty easy to just sow directly in the ground. Lately it's all the living things!
You left such a kind comment on my blog. We Michiganders need to stick together! Fortunately, our home is surrounded by four towns which have hospitals; Elkhart (IN), Edwardsburg, Niles, and Mishawaka (formerly in South Bend), and quite large. If we were waaaaay out in the middle of nowhere I would never leave Chicago.
The biggest thing about your social distancing is that you can't give Rick a nice big hug! I feel that way about my grandkids. Funny how I almost took those hugs and, "I love you's" for granted---well, just a little!
Be well, Jeanie, and thanks always for your visits!😘
Jane
I'm glad you had those wonderful surprises to brighten your week.
Good luck with the plants.
Surprises can spark up my day.
Zinnia and Cosmos seeds . . . will be wonderful to plant and watch them bloom.
I agree, not happening here for a bit.
I just returned from a Very BRRRRRRR walk
with little snow pebbles in the air and on the ground.
The “daffies” will not be happy!
I can see a few blooms out the window, I best snip them and bring them in!
Spring is trying . . .
What are you baking first . . .
That blooming plant is so pretty! I am also terrible at keeping indoor plants alive. I do well with my outdoor garden but anything that stays indoors is destined to die under my care. :/
Hooray for some fun surprises that brightened your day!!
I love the bright colors of zinnias, they always make me smile. I seems all your surprises brought an unexpected smile your way. How nice!
You know, I'm fond of whisks, and that one looks fun.
I hope your seeds reward you with beautiful blooms Jeanie. Your maple looks lovely. Last year (end of summer I think) I bought an orchid from a garden centre, it was reduced to only £5. I'm not good with indoor plants but at that price I thought I would have a go. It flowered for months then I read up on what to do, I cut the stem down, looked after it and now it has little nodules on it which I'm hoping are going to be new flower buds :-)
Fabulous surprises.
All the best Jan
That is a beautiful Abutilon!! I've never heard of keeping them in the house, but that's because around here they don't suffer from your kind of cold. I've seen a couple of different colors in my neighborhood recently. Mine is yellow, and seems to be quite a survivor, considering it gets too much sun and got broken when young. I'm always amazed. They are really special.
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