Merry Christmas & More Surprises

Hello friends…

Well, here is a little rosemary tree decorated simply and sweetly.  My son and his dad decided to bring it indoors and ‘spruce’ it up a bit.  It smells delightful.  The two homemade red hearts are an addition by my dear friend, Susan from Tea Diary.  She sent them all the way from England, and they arrived just in time for Christmas!

And the hearts can also be used for St. Valentine’s Day.

 

Very nice card with a lovely note inside.

A very pretty handmade fabric heart.  I love the colors and pattern, with the laced ribbon border.

This one is wooden with a snowflake…Oh, I do hope it brings us a few this winter.

Thank you, Miss Tea, for being a friend, and for these lovely gifts…another pleasant Christmas surprise in my mailbox.

I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas…may you experience all the joy and peace the angels proclaimed to mankind 2000 years ago, and may you shine, for yourselves and for others, with all the Light and Love Jesus said you were.

Until next year, may happy days abound!

Love,
Marianne xo

A “Merry Christmas” From Down Under

Hello friends…

Welcome to Leisure Lane.  I am excited to share with you a very nice surprise I received today all the way from Australia!  My blogger friend, Yvette, from Yvette’s Twistedvines, sent me a a package filled with some Australian goodies, and handmade lovelies.

I just couldn’t wait to open the box, so I just went at it before eating breakfast.  My eyes were greeted by the prettiest purples and lavender colors.  I just had to see more!

It’s always polite to read the card first, no matter how excited one is.  Her card was wrapped so prettily in a lavender tissue…the back held together by two little purple, pasted rhinestones.  I almost didn’t have the heart to open it…I said ‘almost’.  Isn’t the hand decorated Christmas ball ornament a beaut?  I love the colors and the whimsical design..tied up with the pretty bow.  Oh, yes, I visually took it all in.

The gorgeous card is made with one of Yvette’s photos.  She’s a remarkable photographer.  I knew her work would look lovely on cards, and I always tell her they would make great novel covers.  She wrote a perfectly sweet sentiment inside.

Okay, you know how sometimes you just don’t want to disturb the lovely wrapping that someone so lovingly took the time to  do…and you try to unwrap them neatly…but then the little child inside of you says, “hurry up!”, so you just ‘rip’ into it like there’s no tomorrow?  Anyone?

Look at all the goodies!  I’ll have to pop a cork to use this beautiful ArtGlass Christmas ball bottle stopper.  Australian honey with it’s very own sweet honey bee dipper.  I can’t wait to try it!  A Petite Pie Mold…is that the cutest thing?  Now I can make my own apple pie to take to work as a snack, and I know it will be made with quality, healthier ingredients.  The Cadbury bar has already been sampled.  Never let it be said that Marianne left chocolate in the lurch…Mmmm..dessert after breakfast – hey, it’s the Christmas season, and their aren’t any rules  when it comes to goodies.

Thank you, Yvette, for thinking of me, and taking the time to send me such wonderful gifts from across the world.  I think that means the most to me.

If you haven’t been to Yvette’s Twistedvines, click here…Now! go now!  It’s well worth the visit to see all the interesting things she’s been up to.  She’s one busy, talented  gal.

I’ll be joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday to show off my seasonal gifts.

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

P.S.  It’s never too late to order my book “The Christmas Pin Society”…it makes a great gift, too.

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord

      Thank you, Lord, for gifts imbued,
For morning coffee freshly brewed,
For waking to a newfound dawn,
For sparrows fussing on my lawn.

 Thank you, Lord, for our good health,
For filling me with spiritual wealth,
For guarding every word I say,
For guiding me throughout the day.

 Thank you, Lord, for all you do,
For keeping me in line with you,
For sharing your abundant light,
For staying close when I bid goodnight.

 Marianne Coyne

copyright©2004 Marianne Coyne

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Rolly-Poly Zen

Good day, friends, and welcome to Leisure Lane…

Where I live we don’t have much of an autumn as far as color goes.  Most of the trees here are Pine, Live Oak, or Palm…and except for the occasional group of Chinese Tallow trees offering their autumny goodness, most of the surrounding areas are perpetually green.

But on occasion one will come across a sweet breath of color, like this lone young tree bursting with beaming celebration of the season.

Isn’t she worthy of Ideal Magazine? (does anyone remember that delightful magazine?)  Well, I think she is.  Yesterday was a cold, clear day when I took this photo while on a walk.  I just couldn’t resist its charm.

Here’s another tree making the effort to show her true colors, too.

Today while walking I was encouraging myself in my Life’s path.  I realized, however, that my tone began to sound a bit angry, or at least emphatic.  I asked myself who I was angry with.  I knew the answer for the most part…I suppose I still harbor some annoyance with the world for lying to me all of my life; trying to get me to believe something different than the truth about myself and for instilling fear, and perhaps I still harbor an annoyance at myself for believing it which prevented me from freely showing my true colors and vibrancy.

But then I glanced down at the sidewalk and saw a little rolly-poly making his way through the day.  “Now that rolly-poly isn’t angry, he just IS,” I said to myself.  “Oh, to just BE!” and when I said those words my arms became totally relaxed hanging by my side, and the feeling was awesome!  I could feel my muscles relax and give way to the idea of IS-ness – and for the moment, total surrender.

Though we are blessed creatures with a higher consciousness, I wonder to myself why we spend so much of that consciousness in blame, guilt, anger, resentment, and fear.  Why we don’t reach for the heights we were meant to rise to, and to linger there, not only for a moment, or a day, or a week…but for everyday, all the day.

A bottom line of “Trust in God!” was told to me in a dream recently.  So today I was singing the quote in a little song…

Trust in God, trust in God
That’s what Angels say…

Trust in God, trust in God
All along the way…

You will be more healthy
If you do it every day…

Trust in God, trust in God
All along the way.

It may seem a bit child-like, but isn’t it child-likeness that Jesus referenced when teaching us to seek the Kingdom?  The little rolly-poly lives in all of his child-likeness…he IS in the Kingdom moving along with purpose accomplishing his purpose.

It took the Zen of a little rolly-poly to bring me back to a state of Godness…the state where surrender feels like relaxed muscles, and trust in God is a state of being worth opening to and remaining in.

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

…A Sleigh ride with You

Hello friends, and welcome to Leisure Lane…

I must admit that with a  job I don’t have a lot of time for the things I’d really like to be doing.  In fact, I shamefully admit that these sweet penguins have been sitting out all year!

My son likes penguins, so when I spied this cute decoration about five years ago, I just had to get it.  The sleigh was rather boring, so I spruced it up a bit with some enamel white paint to give it a snowy look.  I think it looks so much better, don’t you?

Look! They’re posing for their picture to send you a very happy Pink Saturday, where they’re joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound, and all the other glamorously pinkish ladies.  I hope you get a sleigh ride in this season!

Until next time, may happy days abound!

Marianne

Just a reminder☺…There’s still time to order my wonderful Christmas story, “The Christmas Pin Society”.  Click here for more details.