Hello, dear friends, I hope that you had
a lovely Valentine's Day and
if you don't have a sweetheart,
I hope you treated yourself to
something nice.
I know that Valentine's Day can
be lonely for some of us,
reminding us of those we
no longer have near.
Ramblin' Man and I have lost all of our parents
within the last 5 years.
Remembering to say, 'I love you' is even
more important to us now, after
experiencing so much loss.
We were both close to our dear Mothers and
never forgot to send them sweet Valentines.
For Ramblin' Man, the loss is still new,
having lost his dear Mother in December.
We have been married a long time.....
True, we married young, and we
have had many years of ups and downs.
There were even years when we didn't
even have time to stop and say, 'Hello',
never mind celebrate a special day.
Years of raising four children, building a home,
demands of work, extended family, caring for ageing parents.....
left us little time just for ourselves.
It was always, 'Someday'.......
Now we know that 'someday' is here,
that time never stops,
and we must make the most of
every single day.
He works long hours and frequently travels.
I am alone more than I would like.
My Ramblin' Man knows this,
and so he makes it up to me on
special days. <3
Bless his heart.
xoxo
My 'Blessings Jar' is filling up <3
I started this on New Year's Day.
Next New Year's I will open it up and
read my year of blessings.
xx
He is back at work today,
and I am looking out at a very rainy day,
although it is getting warmer here and
there are some signs of spring.
I actually spent the day outside on Monday,
working in the gardens and doing winter clean-up.
It was a beautiful, sunny day in the 50's.
Yesterday the clouds moved in with this dramatic scene
over Mt. Rainier.
Two jet-trails creating parenthesis.....
Lots of rain today....
The flowers are enjoying the warmer temperatures.
Primroses blooming cheerfully despite the rain.
These were all buried in 2 ft. of snow last week!
Pansies always make me smile :)
They have a sweet scent, too.
My poor fairy garden on the bottom-right
did not survive the winter, although
we have to wait to see.......
You can see my dog grooming brush
hanging here :)
I was drawn to the unusual colors of these primroses,
and bought them all....there were only a few this color.
My new garden sign :)
My whisker-faced pansy looks like a wet cat !
There are a few sporadic blooms right now, but
soon there will be litters of little faces
making me smile.
And check out these buds on my camellia bush!
Spring is just around the corner.....
only 5 more weeks.
Four more weeks until daylight savings time!
So much to be thankful for <3
xoxo
Won't you join the fun?
So many lovely photos which offer us a rich glimpse into your world today. Those chocolates looked so yummy.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a beautiful day...
Brenda
xox
I love your honesty about marriage, Karen. It has it's ups and downs. We've been married thirty years as of December and he forgot the anniversary. After all that time you don't get angry or hurt...well, I don't. It's life. Relationships ebb and flow. You can't measure your marriage against others who say they are inseparable, have never said a bad word to one another or never go to bed angry, raise their voice, don't sort things out amicably...blah, blah!!! My marriage can be quite volatile sometimes and although I don't advertise it, it's life. But we have a deep rooted love and that never changes.
ReplyDeleteOn to other things. Ahem. Your flowers!!! So nice to see blooms and color. I love pansies, too, and they are the first flowers I plant in pots once the frost is gone. So looking forward to green life!!
Thanks always for your visits to my log and very nice comments.
Jane x
Such an uplifting post, my own marriage has had its ups and downs but we have a deep rooted love for each other and are now making time for each other and starting to fulfil some of our dreams. We are certainly blessed with good men.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers...both indoors and outdoors. Yep, that someday is here for us also [but Bud doesn't travel] - and I enjoy every minute with him....life is too short.
ReplyDeleteAlso, love the idea of your Blessing jar.
How lovely to see the very first Spring flowers blooming, here we still have our Winter in bloom, with Calycanthus and bushes of Helleborus in our gardens.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your little signs of Spring in your stunning piece of heaven on earth, darling Karen, thank you for sharing always such charming shots of your wonderful world made of love !
XX Dany
So beautiful & cosy photos from inside, and signs of spring outdoors. Thank you for sharing your amazing roses and this lovely post.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! How true it is that we should tell those daily that we love them. Time is truly short. Love all of your Valentine touches! So pretty.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about life slipping away from us. We have been like two ships that pass in the night for years,too. Cancer really stops you in your tracks and makes you reassess life. I wish now we had traveled more when it would have been easier to do so...wish we had downsized sooner (working on that)...but...you make the best of life and enjoy what lies ahead instead of mourning what is left behind. Sounds like you are doing that.
ReplyDeleteLove your DIRTY sign...lol....you just skirt the edge of naughtiness, don't you? lol Your flowers are so lovely. We won't have anything growing outside for quite a while. We cannot plant outside here until Memorial Day for fear of frost or freeze. Crazy, huh?
Hope you have a wonderful day-enjoy the rain and blooms! xo Diana
Oh Karen, I can relate to so much you were saying in the first part of your post especially. It is so hard to lose parents. We lost all four of our parents in the years between 2005 and 2010. There are so many times I wish they could be here for an evening, just another conversation, another sweet time with them. I pray that your Ramblin Man gets home soon and that you can have a wonderful weekend. It looks very spring-like there. Even here, we're getting some warm temps, but know that we still have our snowiest month, March, before we get to April. According to the calendar, spring comes in March. In our neck of the woods, it really comes May 1. Have a blessed day. xo
ReplyDeletea wonderful valentine's day you had, making sweet memories. i have a memory jar, where i store mementos from our adventures. the hubs and i went on a date, a real old fashioned date...it was so fun!!
ReplyDeleteyour gardens/flowers look so amazing - they survived and thrived though all that snow!!!
Karen, it's beginning to look like I'll never stop missing my parents. My condolences to you and your husband on the recent loss of his mother. A friend and I who have missed getting together for a while came by yesterday and brought me flowers for no reason! It was wonderful, and I thought "Why have I not done such a thing in many years?!" I'm not a candy fan, but flowers are always welcome!
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely post to look at and read, the flowers you've shared are lovely and even that rain picture reminds us we do need the mix of rain and sun and the seasons ... hard to believe Spring is just around the corner, it's one of my favourite seasons.
ReplyDeleteThe older we get the more we realise that ... time never stops, and we should and must always make the most of our days.
Blessings to you
All the best Jan
Love this wonderful reminder to treasure our blessings right in front of us Karen!! You are so good at being thoughtful and present in the moment.
ReplyDeleteMy eyes devour the photos of your flowers and talk of gardens already. We have MANY weeks to go yet here up north. But we're having an unusually mild spell right now and I'm soaking up every second of it. We still have snow, but if this continues we may not have much for long! But I can't count on it because of where I live. I"m sure we'll be buried in white stuff again soon enough. Lol
Love that jar idea especially. I can just imagine the treasured thoughts you'll pull out of there next year. You're right - so many blessings we need to be thankful for right here and now. xoxo
Hello, Lovely post and photos. Sounds like your Valentine's Day was wonderful. The strawberries would be a favorite for me, yum! Pretty roses. The blessing Jar is a wonderful idea. From reading your posts I can tell you are very blessed with a wonderful hubby and family. Have a happy day and weekend ahead!
ReplyDeleteIt's sweet of him to see you feel so special! Love all of your flowers you have!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about time, and losing loved ones certainly makes every second more important. Love all your flowers- none here yet except for jonquils that are confused.
ReplyDeleteIt's always good to appreciate each other no matter how long you've been married. I know you are thankful to have each other just as I am to have my sweet hubby. It's a nice time to treat each other special. I love your blessings jar. What a wonderful idea. Enjoy your week! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteWhat another lovely post, with photos of inside and outside your home sweet home.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend ~ FlowerLady
Liebe Karen,
ReplyDeletewie habe ich mich gefreut, als ich Deinen Kommentar auf meinem Blog entdeckt habe. Es ist ganz wunderbar sich über solche Weiten über gleiche Interessen austauschen zu können. Die Welt rückt näher zusammen! Vielen Dank für Deine lieben Worte!
Auch für Deine ehrlichen Worte bzgl. der Ehe. Wir, mein Mann und ich haben heute unseren 46. Hochzeitstag! Heute Morgen hatte mich mein Mann in einem schönen alten Hof (jetzt ein gutes Restaurant) zu einem Brunch eingeladen. So fing der Tag ganz wunderbar an...
Aber auch wir hatten Höhen und Tiefen...hohe Höhen und sehr tiefe Tiefen!!! Ich glaube, wenn alle ehrlich sind, gibt es überall einmal Probleme...die Frage ist, wie man damit umgeht. Schnell fortlaufen oder sich trennen ist oft nicht die richtige Lösung. Manchmal muss/sollte man auch kämpfen und v e r z e i h e n !
Aber das muss letzendlich Jede/r für sich selbst entscheiden.
Ich wünsche Dir, als frisch gebackene Oma ganz viele wundervolle Jahre im Kreis Deiner kompletten Familie!
Alles Liebe
Heidi
Liebe Karen,
ReplyDeletejetzt habe ich doch etwas ganz Wichtiges vergessen: Es gefällt mir sehr gut auf Deinem Blog. Es ist so gemütlich bei Dir! Und Deine Blumen - sie sind ganz wunderbar! Bei uns kann man noch nicht so viele Blüten sehen, es wird noch etwas dauern! Die Stiefmütterchen oder die Hornveilchen mag ich auch sehr gerne und ihr Duft ist bezaubernd!
Ab März wird es wohl welche im Blumenladen geben - darauf warte ich schon.
Noch einmal alles Liebe
Heidi
Life can be so hectic. You are right that we have to take those times to be thankful and treat ourselves, and each other, with love and kindness. Thanks for linking up today and I hope you have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteWith sunrise happening earlier and earlier each day we will welcome the return of Daylight Savings Time, as we like to walk before sunrise when it is cooler. I am always amazed at how the flowers flourish almost all year in coastal Washington State. Beautiful sentiments and memories of loved ones who have passed.
ReplyDelete...what a lovely spring display.
ReplyDeleteKaren, my husband doesn't travel for work as much as he did years ago. I do miss him when he's gone. I think I appreciate him more (and he me) when we have to be apart. Your flowers are lovely. I haven't given much thought to the gardens lately. We are due to have a nice patio built any day now (was suppose to start in January). {{HUGS}}
ReplyDeleteI too lost many dear people, Karen...my mom, dad, brother, nephew, favorite cousin. But they are always with me, through a rainbow, flower, a special sign, nature. Your red roses are lovely, and I'm sorry you and your husband are missing your loved ones right now in life.
ReplyDeleteYour deck looks so pretty when it rains, and the skies are glorious, aren't they? Oh, what better way to brighten things up than a bunch of flowers on a rainy day.
~Sheri
Dear Karen, oh you've shared with us such wisdom and downright loving words. We are incredibly fortunate to have the love of our lives around to share all those bumps, bits and pieces and right-turns life throws at us. I'm sorry to read of the sadness past and recent you've both shared. We empathise.
ReplyDeleteYou've such a love for gardens - it's wonderful to read your enthusiasm. I was so happy to see the Primula colour you chose. Gosh, I'd done the same thing a few years ago - it attracted me because it felt like one of those old-fashioned colours. It didn't last long (unforseen events) but I loved seeing yours here. Those sweet, shy little violets too are gorgeous.
Love your garden sign as well.
Cheerio for now and hugs to you :D)💐
My parents are both gone too, but my hubby's Dad is still with us, although he is very weak and 88 now, seeing his Dad like that and wishing he could get out and do things makes my hubby want to go and do everything he has always wanted to do. Each day is a blessing together that is for sure, hopefully your hubby can stop traveling soon and you all can spend more time together.
ReplyDeleteSuch dramatic pictures you have taken, and I love that you have flowers year around, how lovely that must be. We got out today and enjoyed some lovely temps in the high 60's, loving spring is coming a bit early :)
I enjoyed reading each bit of you lovely post it made my eyes teary .
ReplyDeleteI lost my parents few years ago and still when think about them in my loneliness feel hard to breath!
Thank you for bringing so many delight and freshness to my soul through your absolutely lovely photos.
I feel lonely when hubby is leaves for office each day saying goodbye is same difficult. Sunday seems treat to me.
Glad that you guys found that Someday in your life .wishing you a very beautiful life together.
I love pansies, too. You really have had a good time.
ReplyDeleteI had to smile when you mentioned that there were years that you barely had time to same Hello. Since my late Beloved and I had four children, also, we were always coming and going taking those kids somewhere or other. Enjoy your time with your sweet Ramblin' Man. I sure miss mine! ❤️
ReplyDeleteI love your blesing jar idea. I think it'l be fun reading your notes next year and a good reminder of goood times.
ReplyDeleteLovely post...and you reminded me that I wanted to dig out my blessing jar. It got moved when I was renovating my studio space before Christmas, and it would be great in there now! Thanks! Aloha!
ReplyDelete