Sunday Afternoon Tea

I'm beginning to feel better but most of my ponderings this week were about how much I appreciated a soft pillow and comfy mattress. However, they are not the stuff of interesting blogging... except for anyone else getting over some lingering "bug". So join me as I have a cup of tea and a slice of coffeecake... Anna's recipe... yum.

Today's Sunday Afternoon Tea is a little different from the usual. Rather than prose, I'm taking you along on a pictorial pondering. In this case, a picture (or two, or three, or more) is truly better than a thousand words.

Once I began to feel better, I did let my mind wander towards a few of my favorite subjects... familiar landing places for my thinking. I often ponder the words I heard when living in Detroit, I'm assured they were Wisdom from Above. They were, "Brenda, you have got to start living life on purpose". I knew exactly what He meant.

I tended to drift through days without giving much thought to them, my husband traveled a great deal so Christopher and I were often alone with only the structure of required schooling each morning. Before I knew it, a week has passed, then a month... and it was time for the Holidays or a Birthday... something that shook me out of my days which were running into each other.

I really have been trying to live life in such a way as to make the small things special since that time. For instance, one day this past week, when we finally had sunshine again and I could get outside, I took a cup of tea and some favorite things out to the deck for an extended quiet time. Along side my favorite "tea mug", I brought...

My Bible, my scrapbook journal, my ancient copy of Hidden Art (called the Hidden Art of Homemaking in paperback), and my equally ancient copy of The Victory Garden Cookbook (my favorite veggie cookbook since, well since I can remember... my mother-in-law had borrowed it for awhile and after she passed away, I made certain it went back to my bookshelves). Oh yeah, my reading glasses and our cell phone, along with a snack of cinnamon toast were important additions.

I moved some flowers over near me and had a lovely time studying... pondering... writing... sipping tea and nibbling toast. So much better than plopping the books next to me on the sofa and just reading. It took just a few minutes to make it more special, something I will remember when it is cold outside and the deck furniture is stored in the shed.

The view from my chair ...

You know how I love to find vintage items really cheap. Well, the plate I was using is one from Goodwill that I found a couple months ago. The dinner plates had already been purchased but it was these salad plates I loved, anyway. They were perfect for this very use as I could take them out to the deck without being concerned about them breaking. I think they were forty-nine cents each... below is a closer look.

It doesn't take much money to have beautiful things around us. Gosh, if I can do it than truly anyone can as long as they develop a habit of looking, and knowing when and where to make such purchases. I get teased a lot because I pray before going to Goodwill, thrift shops, or stopping by garage sales but it works.

I can tell you what days look like when I am not living life on purpose. I haven't planned the days menus or given any thought to the priority of my higher energy morning hours. I skip my quiet time, throw up a quick prayer, and turn the TV on to catch a televised sermon rather than gleaning from His Word directly. I only do the most urgent of household chores before driving into town for a trip to the store because I forgot to write down that we needed milk or eggs.

Living life on purpose only happens when I take the time to pray and ponder, absorb my priorities, ask for wisdom, add beauty in the little ways... the fragrance of my dish washing liquid, the aroma of coffee that has been made ahead and waiting for the "on" button to be pushed in the morning, the cinnamon and sugar mixture already combined and ready to use, fun in the kitchen because the pantry is full with well-thought-out items for my favorite recipes, vintage bowls to mix them in or my favorite red mixer, a few flowers in the window, thinking of the guy's favorite foods to serve... where planning meets creativity and beauty.

That's why one needs pictures so you can see as well as ponder. :)

Now, my tea is getting cool and my blueberry coffeecake (just a tiny piece) awaits. Happy ponderings.