Pink Saturday: Keeping in The Pink!

Welcome, friends!

The above collage is filled with representations of what I’ve been doing lately to commit to keeping in the pink.

☼ Gorgeous raspberries~eating more healthfully to keep my body in the pink.
(They were yummy)

☼ Pretty cup/saucer~surrounding myself with pretty things to keep my soul in the pink.
(I also accomplish this by visiting your delightful blogs)

☼ Artistic endeavors~activating the promise to create, create, create, to keep my spirit in the pink.
(I make the effort to work a little on something almost everyday)

I hope you are all in the pink today!  I’m joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday.  Click on the link to see who else is in the pink!

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Happy Birthday, Mommy

Good day, friends…

There is something wonderful about a mother who loves big…something that stays with you forever.  And nothing – nothing can separate you from that love; not sickness, poverty, riches, sadness, joy, miles, loss of memory, or even death.  It’s a love that endures beyond time and space, and lives very deeply in the heart of the soul.

Today is my mother’s birthday (she’s 89), and I would like to remember her with a poem I wrote about her in 2007 (O, my has it been that long?) when her memory degeneration reached a stage which prevented normal communication.

Mother, I Miss You

She’ll always be in her forties to me;
A spring in her step,
Hair still dark – not much gray,
Eyes bright and cheery,
Singing while she folds the clothes,
Making us a memory of baked chicken and warm apple crisp.
Mother, I miss you.

 She’ll always be in her fifties to me;
A spring still in her step,
“Where is everyone?” I hear her call;
She loved her family around,
“There you are, Marianne,” she smiles,
“Shall we have a cup of tea, dear?
Mother, I miss you.

She’ll always be in her sixties to me;
A spring still in her step,
Sharing motherhood advice,
Always having the answer I need,
Squelching my fears with encouraging words,
Shooting hoops with little Robert in the living room – “Your turn gram-ma!”
Mother, I miss you.

She’ll always be in her seventies to me;
A spring still in her step,
Running around the house with her grandson,
Making us her famous tapioca pudding,
Laughing, dancing, enjoying life,
Shall we have a cup of tea, dear?”
Mother, I miss you.

She’ll always be in her eighties to me;
A spring no more in her step,
Asking the same question minutes apart,
Worrying she can’t remember things,
Trying to make sense of what’s happening around her,
But still knowing what love is  – “I love you, dear,” she says.
Mother, I miss you, and yet…

She’ll always be in her forties to me;
A spring in her step,
Hair still dark – not much gray,
Eyes bright and cheery,
Singing while she folds the clothes,
She gave me such wonderful memories.

      Mother, I love you, too…eternally.

Copyright©2007Marianne Coyne

Happy Birthday, mommy.  I can still hear your voice when I’d answer the phone, “Hi, Marianne, it’s mother.”  ☺  I love you and miss you beyond words.  God bless  you.

Marianne

Tea Time Tuesday: Faded Roses and Teapots

Hello friends,

I know…I’ve been featuring roses a lot lately, but they’re just so pretty.  And how perfectly they lend themselves to tea things.   I’ve also been wanting to share this lovely teapot for quite some time, and today’s Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage is the perfect opportunity.  Thank you, Sandi.

My brother and his former wife, who many years ago gifted me with last Tuesday’s showing of the very nice Norman Rockwell tea cup set, also gifted me with this very lovely teapot.

This teapot is no ordinary one, it’s a musical teapot, and plays “Tea for Two”.  It’s just delightful!  The floral pattern is very pretty, and the gold accents on the handle, spout, and lid knob, as well as the sprigs of the bouquet, add just the right amount of sparkle.

Thank you for visiting Leisure Lane today.  Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Mosaic Monday: Kisses From God

Good day, friend,

Today I’m joining Mary in Mosaic Monday at Little Red house.  So stop by to see more delightful mosaics of interest.

Since Mary has been featuring a lovely garden as her mosaic, I thought I’d echo that theme with some beautiful flowers.  I love flowers, and my latest epiphany is that they are God’s kisses to earth.  I hope  they make you smile, and brighten your day.

Thank you for visiting. Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne

Look What’s New, Romantic, and Shabby Chic!

Make a cup of tea, and relax while you stroll along Leisure Lane today.  I have two new pretties for sale in My Little Bloomin’ Shop.

Remember the project I gave you a peek of in my July 8th post “Everything’s Sew-Sew”?  Well, I’ve finished! It’s a romantic chic, heart-shaped decorative pillow.  Entirely hand-sewn with 100% cotton blue and cream colored striped fabric.  It measures 10″ x 1o”.  It will add the perfect touch to your romantic or shabby chic decor.

Lace, buttons, and a bow are added for charm.

And remember that beautiful hand-sewn ribbon rose that I received in my Marie Matchbox from Terri at Artful Affirmations?  I found the perfect spot for it on a pretty lace bow.

The pillow has a fabric loop for hanging.

The loop can be neatly buttoned in the back for use as a decorative pillow on the bed, sofa, or in any special niche.

My next item is this pretty, cheery set of 4 mini potholders/coasters.  I’ve shown similar ones before, and they are just darling…

… and very useful.

Hand-knitted in 100% cotton yarn to a generous 5″ x 5″, they fit perfectly in the palm of the hand.  They’re tied together with a pink ribbon for presentation.

To purchase these, and/or to view other lovelies, stroll by My Little Bloomin Shop for more information and prices.

Thank you for visiting today.  Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Handmade Thursday: Everything’s Coming Up…Daisies?

Good day, friends…

I love flowers and happiness, so when I saw these cute smiling daisies years ago at Hobby Lobby, a local craft and home decor store, I knew I wanted to wake up to them every morning…(actually, being greeted in the morning by the smiles of wooden flowers isn’t as sad as it sounds – they’re just so darn cute, and I’ll take whatever I can get – LOL).  ANYWAY,  I placed a few in my bedroom (even sadder, I know), and some in the kitchen. They really do make me smile.

I thought it would be nice to echo the daisies’ design on kitchen towels because I just love embroidered kitchen towels (Don’t worry, I’m getting to the handmade part).  I found some really nice cotton towels at a dollar store so I bought two.

The towels already had the green striping on the bottom and sides.  I used similar colors of embroidery thread to embroider the flowers.  This was a lot of fun, and in the Spring I hang them from the oven handle.

I just love the way they came out, even though my embroidering skills were a bit rusty.  They’re very cheery to me.  I have many of the wooden daisies ~ they were on sale, what can say.

I hope you enjoyed these, and perhaps they can give you ideas for echoing some of your home decor designs onto your linens or in other projects, like painting on canvas. Hmm..I think I just might do these daisies in pastel colors on canvas – that would be cheery and fun!

This weekend I’m adding two more handmade lovelies in My Little Bloomin’ Shop.  So come back and see what’s new.

Thank you for joining me today on Leisure Lane.  If you would like to see more talented ladies and fun, handmade items, visit White Lily Green for Handmade Thursday.

Until next time, may happy days, abound!

Marianne

Teacup Tuesday: Roses and Teacups

Happy Teacup Tuesday, friends…

Welcome to Leisure Lane today, where I’m joining Teacup Tuesday, hosted by Terri, at Artful Affirmations, and Martha, at Martha’s Favorites.  Be sure to stop by their blogs to see more beautiful teacups and more!

The grocery store was having a sale on rose bunches, so I bought one.  Ten beautiful pink roses that were so fragrant that they made my soul smile.  I took one of them and put it into a smaller vase to have with my breakfast.

I used a tea cup from a very nice set of 4 my brother and his former wife gave to me for Christmas one year.  I almost forgot about them tucked away in the back of the cabinet.  I decided that it would be fun to use one of them – like having a brand new cup.

The cups are all designed with Norman Rockwell paintings.  This one is called “Dreams in the Antique Shop”.  On the back is the story of the painting.

All the cups have gold trim around the rims and handles.  I like the shape because, though it’s as tall as a mug, it still has the refined, delicate shape of a cup, and they’re not heavy.

Here are the rest of them..”Puppy Love”, “Braving the Storm”, and “The Country Doctor”.  I think my favorite is “Dreams in the Antique Shop”.  Which one do you like the best?

A funny little story about these…One day, not long after receiving them, I decided to quickly heat up the contents in the microwave…wow, sparks did fly!  I knew not to put metal in the microwave, but I forgot about the gold trimming.  I very rarely use the microwave now-a-days for other reasons.

I’m also joining Sandi, at Rose Chintz Cottage, for Tea Time Tuesday.  Stop by and say ‘hello’.

I’ll soon be adding two new delightful items to My Little Bloomin’ Shop, so stay tuned for that.

Thank you for visiting.  I hope you all have a pleasing Tuesday, and until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Breakfast At Stiffany’s

Good day, friends…

Here on Leisure Lane, I’ve decided to get into shape…you know the routine, more exercise, eating better, yada yada… I’ve noticed that, though I’m in pretty good shape as far as weight goes, I’m loosing a lot of muscle mass, and probably bone mass too, if truth be known.  I love to walk,and was doing well with that during the winter,  but since the spring rolled in with the 98 degree weather and high humidity, well that’s just too hot for me to walk in.  So I finally found an exercise that I could commit to, and one which would strengthen my muscles throughout my body, especially my abs and legs…The hula!

I love to dance, and hate to exercise, so these workouts were perfect.  Using hula steps as the workout I’ve been able to commit every day to these exciting videos..I found them on youtube completely by accident.  They’re called Island Girl workouts and the teacher, Kili, is wonderful. I love the music (just Hawaiian drums and chant), and the atmosphere of the videos.  She’s very easy to follow, and the exercises do start you out slow and steady.

To make a long story short, I’ve been doing them for about a month now, and was doing really well, until recently, where for some unknown reason I strained my lower back.  I never have back problems so this was a real surprise to me.  I suppose I’ve over done it in some way.  It seems every inch of me is stiff.  Though I was doing them every day for about a month, I stopped for about a week because of time restraints, and then started them back up…that’s when the problem arose.

So I suppose it’s time to retreat a bit, rest the muscles and start again, this time taking some of the movements more slowly.  Walking seemed to keep my back loose, but since I haven’t been walking I guess I’m just not as loose as I was. Of course it couldn’t be from a combination of standing on my feet all day at work for 8 hour days and lugging big heavy, I’ll-go-where-I-feel-like rolling demo carts.  Oh, no because that would be complaining about the job I’m suppose to be so grateful for having.  It’s sort of like being grateful for a husband who beats you…at least you have a husband…I don’ know.

Interesting thing is that my friend, Brenda, also joined the “Y” in her efforts to be in better health, and she strained her back, too!  LOL  We’re a mess right now, but it’ll get better. Maybe we’re trying too hard to make up for lost time. I think for me, I seem to be ‘fighting’ the flow.  I’m in a state of resistance, spiritually speaking, and I think that may be the cause of my sudden physical responses.  I’ve been at this job longer than I care to be, when I’d much rather be doing what I was born to do…write, paint, create, create, create.  I’ve tried to keep a good attitude about the whole thing, but the environment is extremely harsh, and my former supervisor left deep marks on everyone she came in contact with before she finally moved on.  And I’m just TIRED.  God keeps putting three words in front of me continuously…Expect The Best, and I’m making that effort – I really am.

I know, I have a lot of fruit spread on my Ezekiel toast, but that was the last of it, and so not to place a basically empty jar back into the refrigerator, I used it all this morning.  It’s sweetened with fruit concentrate – don’t judge!

I’m craving a more relaxed, peace centered, holistic life, and this present  job just doesn’t allow for that, which is why I’ve decided to take steps to love myself more, and do things which echo that sentiment, even if they’re small steps.  It’s not always easy, since my time in-between the chaos is disproportionate to the time in the chaos.  And only by God’s grace will I come out of it in one piece, or One peace.

I’m not giving up…I’m still going to exercise, but I think I’ll wait a bit longer for my strain to recover, and I’ll still eat as healthfully as I can, I’ll still speak out good things for my life and the lives of others, and I’ll still pray, love, and breathe…most of all Breathe!

Well, thank you for listening to my rambling today.  Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne ☺

Handmade Thursday: Mini Memory Book

Welcome, friends…

Today I’m joining Handmade Thursday at White Lily Green, where you’ll find lots of talented bloggers showing their handmade goodies.  I’ll be showing a mini memory book made especially for my uncle’s visit.  But first I’d like to “show off” my uncle, who’s an amazing man with a big heart, lots of energy, and fantastical stories to tell.

Great uncles are grand!

My Uncle Tom has been playing softball for, well, more years than I can remember, and recently came to Texas City with his softball team to participate in the Senior Olympics.  You have to be 70 years or older to participate, so in my eyes, these guys are amazing! And if that isn’t impressive, they played in 98 degrees with 70-80% humidity, and sometimes two or three games in a row!

As only God could plan it, my uncle happened to be staying only 10 miles from where my son and I live, and I happened to have that Sunday off (I never get weekends off but maybe 4 times a year) so we got to see him again after 10 years.

Uncle Tom took us to dinner, told us great stories, and took us to see the park where he was playing.  It was hard to say ‘goodbye’.  After a terrific evening, we went to a little place to get something cool to drink, and I presented him with a book in memory of his trip.

From the Rise of the Sun

This is the first book I’ve made in many years…so it took me quite a while, but was well worth every page.  The cover is made with mat board and covered with scrapbook paper.

The book opens accordion-style, or can be opened from one end at a time and read in normal book-style.

One side of the book features more traditional memories, spiritual verses, and the like.

My mother is my uncle’s eldest sister, who now is unfortunately spending her days with little memory in a home.  She was a vibrant, healthy, energetic woman, who is still loved and remembered very much the way she used to be.  They live in New Jersey, where the rest of my family still lives, and he visits her once a week without fail, staying hours with her, feeding her, kissing and hugging her…he doesn’t see her the way she is in her physical form, but has the ability to see her as she truly is.  What a God-given gift!

To honor his love for her, I copied a photo of her when she was young, standing in their mother’s backyard.  She is the eldest of 5 children, and Uncle Tom is the youngest.  He, his older brother, John, and my mom are the remaining siblings.

My son said this was his favorite part.  “I like this, mom, I’m really liking this.” A beautiful way to remember his grandmother.  (I think I’ll do one for him – a book of memories of him and his grandmother together).

In a pocket I added photos of myself and my son.

The the other side of the book is a memory builder of his trip here.

The Take Me Out to the Ballgame page is jammed with baseball slogans, like…”you’re a big hit”, “We’re your biggest fans”, “Your visit is over the fence!”, and more.

I found a photo from 2009 on the internet of Uncle Tom and his team, and copied it and put it on the last page of the book.  He was very surprised to see it.

To the Rise of the Moon

He loved the book!  And I enjoyed making it.  It was truly a love project.  Thank you for letting me share this with all of you today.

Thank you for visiting Leisure Lane.  If you like what you see here, feel free to relax and ‘stroll’ around the lane for a while. Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne

Look What’s New in My Shop!

Good day, friends.  I’ve added a sweet addition to My Little Bloomin’ Shop.

This lovely, 4″ x 4″ crocheted felted heart perfectly hangs on the wall, doorknob, bedpost, or any special place.  The heart is hand crocheted from 100% wool, and felted.  The pretty white, hand crocheted center with rose colored button adds extra charm.

The back is equally charming with a lavender bow made with the same ribbon as the 4-1/2″ hanger.  A lovely addition to any room in the house.

Thank you for visiting Leisure Lane.  Until next time, may happy days abound.

Marianne☼