ODDS AND BODS - Wednesday - 3/25/26

Good Morning! 

Did you remember the dog treats?

Asking for a few friends.

Sorry I’m late, I was telling the trees how beautiful they are. 

On the other hand…

Anyone want to meet up and just scream? We could get food after.  

Yes I know, I’m with you, let’s go back and keep the company of trees but first…

How about starting with pretty bird art?

_

Isn’t this just…

… ducky?

Absolutely!

Next, another jigsaw puzzle I completed recently, which is also my next dream cottage, what a surprise! I see I have at least three pet sheep in the field. They will give me lots of wool for my imaginary winter knitting (no surprise perhaps, I don’t knit, only wish I did but fingers can’t handle those needles anyhow - I will just leave it to my imagination).

Down the road is a field of lavender where the farmer told me I can pick as much as I can carry.  The cottage will be filled with it. I was there when it was still cold and the sheep had been so kind giving me their wool for my warm woolly clothes, but later…

I visited in the warmer weather and picked more.

Days later, my imaginary dog came with me. My imaginary lavender fields were still blooming. What a lovely thing it is to keep in touch with one’s inner child where the lavender fields bloom all year round. My sweet little dog told me to put on my shoes, he talks too. I don’t always do as he tells me (I love to roam around in bare feet), but today, just for him, I put my shoes on.

How about a poem?

“Is the spring coming? 

…What is it like?”

“It is the sun shining on

the rain and the rain 

falling on the sunshine…”

~Frances Hodgson Burnett~

The Secret Garden

…and this.

It was one of those March days 

when the sun shines hot

and the wind blows cold:

when it is summer in the light and

winter in the shade.

~Charles Dickens~

And one more by Mary Oliver. I never get tired of reading her words.

Listen are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life? 

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself

To your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese.

Maybe our world will grow kinder eventually.

Maybe the desire to make something beautiful is the

Peace of God that is inside of each of us.

Each of us is given only so many mornings to do it -

To look around and love. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Have I lived enough? Have I loved enough? Have I

Experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?

Have I endured loneliness with grace?

Though I’m not twenty and won’t be again but ah! Seventy.

And still in love with life. And still full of beans.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one

Wild and precious life? You do not have to be good.

Wise Words

The Tale of the Tulip

Once there was a tulip in a garden, just a small bud tightly closed.

The tulip looked at the other flowers in full bloom, and thought,

“Why am I still closed? Why can’t I bloom like them?”

A wise old tree whispered to the tulip, “Be patient. The sun will warm you,

 the rain will nourish you. When the time is right, you will open.”

The tulip trusted the trees words. It endured the rains and waited

for the sun. Slowly it began to open, petal by petal, embracing the

light.  At last, the tulip bloomed in all its beauty. It 

realized, Limy time came when I was ready. Each flower

booms at its own pace. And so the tulip understood, “Patience 

brings its own reward. 

Would you like a new word, or two, or three? I don’t know about you, but “I’m right pithered today.”

“Pithered”

Feeling annoyed when you can’t remember 

something on the tip of your tongue, no

matter how hard you try.

and then there’s…

“Nakama”

A deep bond beyond just friendship,

people who stand together, share burdens, 

and support one another like a

found family.

Doesn’t that sound familiar, it’s like 

our blogging family?

One more!

“Gunnywiggles”

A quirky, old-fashioned word that

evokes a sense of charming, gentle 

disarray of slow movement. 

I personally am full of Gunnywiggles today.

Time for a recipe?

Orzo with Roasted Squash and Spinach Recipe:

Ingredients: 1 cup orzo pasta - 2 cups butternut squash - 2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups fresh spinach - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese - 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste 

Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (200 degrees C.). 2. Toss cubed butternut squash with 

Olive oil, salt and pepper; roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender and lightly carmelized.

3. Cook orzo pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.

4. In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.

5. Add fresh spinach, cook until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

6. In a large bowl, combine cooked orzo pasta, roasted butternut squash, 

wilted spinach and grated Parmesan cheese.

7. Toss to combine; season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme (if using).

8. Serve warm and enjoy.  

There’s always time for a cup of tea.

We can offer a cup to the birds in the garden, or anyone else that flies in. Believe me, when I say, you don’t have to have feathers to be invited.

And yay for an imaginary donut 

treat on a Saturday morning. No, no, no, I am flying quickly by…

and am being good, no more donuts for a while. My doctor will approve.

Those out there who give something they have made to another, and you know who you are, you all are very special people. When you also give a listening ear or a simple smile to a friend, or a stranger, send a card, write a letter, a blog post for all of us to read, you are very special too.

“Every time I give something homemade,

I am giving hours of my life,

wrapped in love.”

So true! Handmade treasures are the perfect and absolute treasures. 

As I come to the end of another ‘odds and bods’, please know…

In all of this great, big, spectacular world,

There is only one you…

You will always be special

and…

Always remember you are loved.

Thanks for continuously gifting 

me with your time by visiting here.

My inner child and I hope you are 

all having a wonderful week.

(With thanks to Pinterest for the inspiration.)