Sunday

My spirit soared all week






It has been a wonderful week on many levels, allowing my spirits to soar as in years before, shedding winters bleakness to embrace the light of spring, I began to be creative once more. Capturing many floral images, including a number of tabletop product photographs for today’s post. For a time being, the weeks of distraction seemed to disappear even though my visit to the cardiologist resolved little, if anything, while things that needed to get done, including this post were set aside to be addressed many days later.




The previous Saturday a package arrived from England, it was my winnings from Jeanne’s give-away at Collage of Life. The package, to no fault of Jeanne’s husband who mailed all five for her, appears to have taken the long way via the Panama Canal, whereas Donna’s traveled over the North Pole, for hers arrived one week before mine and we are practically neighbors. Later I learned from Jeanne that one of the remaining three packages arrived in Australia while the other two to Germany and France were also delayed, making it seem they were being hand delivered by row boat over the English Channel. So trying to figure out the postal delivery system is best left to the bureaucracy who really never know what is going on anyway. All in all, you see the package arrived safely and with no damage.




It would take several more days before I finally managed to get around and start setting up a display with the canvas book bag that Jeanne had sent and one that I would share with my wife, who in the last year and a half has become an avid reader. We both thank you for your kindness and generosity.


A few days later our mail delivery person came to the door with a package from Elizabeth (her new blog is knittnkitten’s blog) with whom I was partnered in a tea swap held by Patty over at Artfully Ooglebloops. This was my first swap or Internet participation of any kind and I had been looking forward to it. So when I was handed an overly large package with some considerable weight to it, I was very curious and headed for the kitchen, grabbed a knife and started opening it without thinking that I would want to take a picture of the package first.




Apart from several tea samples, Elizabeth also included a jar of homemade lime marmalade, which at first I thought was lemon, hence the lemon in the picture. She had taken a former pastilles tin and added plenty of loose leaf Earl Grey tea with lavender from a Berkeley teashop. The other three packages are all from Primula teas are of a green tea infused with the scent of jasmine, then rolled up into a flower that will unfurl as hot water is added. Each package contains a different kind of a flower and I will look forward to seeing them open up in my glass teapot. She also included a container of an Alpine berry herbal tea from Two Leaves and a Bud tea company that I will try this Sunday afternoon with a couple of slices of toast and your lime marmalade.




An hour after receiving Elizabeth’s package, the UPS driver came by to hand over a square package, one from my friend Anna in Houston. She recently had posted at one of her blogs, My Ephemera, drawings she had made of a cluster of red Japanese maple seeds. Her seed samples were considerable larger than those from my red Japanese maple tree, so I asked if she would be so kind as to send me a cluster since I raise trees from seeds. Having had success with seeds from my green Japanese maple but not the red, I am hoping that Anna’s seeds will make a difference and germinate.




Though I only requested the seeds from her maple tree, Anna decided to add a little something extra to surprise me. The package rested on a black and with bandana and was beautifully wrapped in a sheet of handmade paper and tied with raffia to which she added a card of one of her images and attached a heart. Upon opening the package, I discovered a set of oversized cards with envelopes printed on watercolour stock; the image Anna used was of one of my irises. Here thoughtfulness and loving care for our friendship was evident in each element of the package and the gifts treasured there within.




When I looked at the remaining seed clusters still in the box, the light from the kitchen widow moved over them in such a way, I could not resist the urge to take several close ups studies, especially since the once deep burgundy colour has shifted towards a purplish tone.


It certainly was a little more than a week of excitement, most of which was euphoric there was one other surprise that came via an email. Jeanne had bestowed an award to my blog, a Happy 101 award to say thank you. In many respects this award I cannot claim just by myself, as I feel it needs to be shared with my readership, who are responsible, visit regularly and support me through their comments.




I bring to a close this post the same way as it was started, with a photograph of a blooming tree. May it delight you as it has brought me pleasure in capturing its fleeting beauty.



Thank you for your visit
Egmont




21 comments:

Jeanne Henriques said...

Egmont,
So glad to hear you are feeling better and that my package arrived safely. Do you know...the recipient in France still has not received hers yet. I only live a few hours away. The mind boggles!
What a fantastic collection you have, all so thoughtfully prepared and attended too. I love how you have collaged and added that special Egmont touch. The last image is as spectacular as the first. Wishing you the same on on this beautiful spring sunday..
Jeanne :)

Anonymous said...

Fabulous! Thank you for sharing your marvelous gifts... on many levels. Happy Spring!

Anna Mavromatis said...

Oh! your spring blossoms photographs are so beautiful!
Once again you are presenting the delicate taste of spring in both nature and human contact. You succeeded in capturing both masterfully through your lenses and kindness...
Thank you!

Catherine said...

My goodness Egmont ~ you certainly received lots of fun stuff in the post. It's amazing that no one can figure out the mystery of the mail system ~ ha!

Spring does indeed bring to us a feeling of light and joy!

Take care,
Catherine

Celeste Bergin said...

Egmont..lucky you to have such generous blogging friends. Your photos show your talent--you set up very expert still lifes here to photograph--it all looks first rate. Beautiful! Spring has indeed arrived.

Blue Sky Dreaming said...

What a wonderful post and your displays of these exchanges and gifts are exquisite. I can just feel a light heart in it all!

Sondra said...

Hello Egmont,
What a wonderful story about all of your treasures and special friends...and they all are so well deserved. When you give, you receive and it goes on.
I hope that you are feeling better, I am thinking of you. Thank you for the beautiful images, I love the last one of the blossoms. Spring is always a new beginning.
Good health to you and your wife,
Positive energy,
Sondra

rivergardenstudio said...

Oh, I love to hear and see all of your beautiful gifts from this week, and read of your delight in them and in spring. I can imagine your and your wife drinking sweet tea, and watching your new red maples germinate in your garden... roxanne

Kelly M. said...

Now I'm not only jealous of all those lovely gifts via mail, but I'm hungry, thirsty and falling in love with those purple seedpods (?) in your beautiful image! What a wonderful week you've had, Egmont -- thank you for sharing with us all!

Jala Pfaff said...

Your posts are always wonderful, but this one was extra special. I felt as if I were there, opening these packages and presents. :)
Take care of yourself and thank you for the flower pics (plum tree? cherry tree? crabapple?). Ours are not in bloom yet.

Jala Pfaff said...

P.S. Your speculations on the mail delivery systems were hilarious.

Zuzana said...

Dear Egmont, you are certainly being loved; look at all those lovely parcels.;) Good friends such as these are truly hard to find.;)
Wishing you a lovely Easter,
xo
Zuzana

Tonya Vollertsen said...

How fun Egmont! Thanks for sharing your gifts through your beautiful photographs. I feel like I received them all myself.

M said...

What a wonderful week you've had via friends and post. I still open packages with a child's delight and it is evident that those you received were wrapped with considerable care and thoughtfulness.

It must be so nice to have flowers in your garden now. We just got hit with another blanket of snow just when I thought spring was on the way.

Dianne Poinski said...

Beautiful photographs of your blooming trees! Thank you for sharing those and the wonderful treasures you received. I hope you have a fantastic week!

L'Adelaide said...

such a lovely post, you have some wonderful bloggy friends...i do wish you had found out more but this is always the way it goes...finally, i am learning to partially ignore doctors, live my life and deal when i have to...your photography is fabulously beautiful...

S. Susan Deborah said...

Dear Egmont:

My, my looks like you are having a field day with all those lovely presents from wonderful people.
Egmont isn't it nice to feel loved and appreciated? I am sure bloging has given us a connection that is beyond the usual meeting and greeting!
I am happy to have stumbled here. May your spirit always soar higher and higher.

Joy always,
Susan

Ange said...

Egmont, nothing is more thrilling than sharing all those wonderful joys with you! I'm sure you will savour them for eons to come as well. Finally, my project is finished and I can get back to my blogland adventures.
Many more happy returns to you...
Ange

LemonyRenee' said...

Glad to see you being showered with loveliness. What some wonderful things you have to enjoy.

Luzia said...

Lieber Egmont, wie schön, dass soviele Menschen an Dich denken! Wunderbare Überraschungen, toll dekorierte Geschenke und alles mit Liebe gemacht. Du mußt es verdient haben..... Liebe Grüße von Luzia.

P.S.: Auch nach 55 Jahren sind einige Dinge zu Ostern gleich geblieben in Deutschland. Es werden immer noch Süßigkeiten und bunte Eier in den Gärten und Wiesen versteckt, die von den Kindern gesucht werden. Ich glaube, dass die schönen Traditionen die Zeiten überdauern werden.

Kim Palmer said...

Catching up with your recent posts dear Egmeont and having a wee giggle as while reading it is breakfast here and I have before me my favourite cup of tea, toast and lime marmelade! How funny! I hope each and every maple seed germinates for you, I love trees, but the beauty of the red maple is astounding. Isn't that purplish colour wonderful!