Sunday, February 11, 2007

A Saturday of Gifts


Today was a day that brought unexpected gifts.

When I went to the mailbox early this afternoon I noticed a few special envelopes. Two were Valentine's Day cards from some list friends. We like to do holiday card exchanges, and it's always fun to receive greeting cards and notes from my special friends. (And I can't believe how many times I've been showered in confetti from these cards. *smile* You'd think I'd learn!!)

Another envelope held two new cross stitch charts I had ordered ~ Psalm 145 from Little House Needleworks, and Geranium House from Country Cottage Needleworks. I love ordering from Mary Kathryn at Handcrafts Online. She's always so pleasant to work with, and so incredibly fast at getting orders sent out!! It's fun to order from a friend!

The other very special envelope arrived from a new friend in France. I've met so many wonderful people from around the world on a few different stitching lists and blogs, and I'm so pleased to call them friends. This most special gift included handmade items that I'll always cherish.

I'm acquiring such a beautiful collection of handmade items from online friends, and it reminded me of this quote that I once copied into a notebook...

"Rings and jewels are not gifts,
but apologies for gifts.
The only true gift is a portion of thyself."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I think that's such a wonderful quote. When someone takes the time to make you a gift, no matter how big or how small, they truly are giving you a portion of themselves. That's what makes the gifts ~ and the friends ~ so special.

As if those envelopes from the mailbox weren't enough, my husband went out this afternoon to pick up a few things he needed to make a couple of home repairs. When he returned, he handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. They're the ones in the photo :) He knows how much I love these types of flowers, and it was such a sweet surprise. I trimmed the stems and placed them in an antique cut glass water pitcher that belonged to my great-grandmother. I think they look so pretty and old-fashioned sitting in it.

I placed the pitcher on my small antique dresser in the guest room ~ which is also my crafts room. The dresser was a Christmas gift from my husband a few years ago. We saw it in a handcrafts store in town and it was being used in a display. It had a "for sale" sign on it at an incredibly low price (I think the person might have been going out of business). DH knew I had wanted something like this, and since it's a smaller dresser, it fit perfectly in the crafts room. It has two drawers. The top one I use for storing my cross stitch fabrics and some current projects. The bottom drawer is used for some ongoing quilting or crochet projects.

There's a small crocheted pink heart sitting on the quilted runner ~ just as a small Valentine's decoration. I made several of them a few years ago to include in cards, and never finished this one for some reason. I think I just got tired, and left it the way it is. (It's supposed to have a white lacy edging around it.) One of these days, I'll finish it up. The pink rose you see at the top of the photo is a garland of roses. I have it draped over the mirror along the center and two side pieces. (At Christmas time I remove the rose garland and drape a garland of gold stars in its place.)

Finally, the small square frame with the rose is a needlepoint that my grandmother made. She had it hanging in her hallway and rather than hanging it up, I decided I liked the way it looked sitting on the dresser. It goes well.

So, today was a wonderful day. When I go to bed tonight I'll be thinking of all the special events of the day, and remembering all the people who made it so special.

Wishing you all pleasant dreams!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's almost Sunday evening here when I read your blog again. I'm so glad that your week end began so lovingly! I like the little spot you show on your photo, and I feel that your husband is very kind and thoughtful. I'm glad for you, and I thank God for the blessings he's granting you. I wish you a very good week from now on.