Friday, July 22, 2016

Friday's Fave Five #389


Welcome everyone!  I am so glad it is Friday today, you have no idea.   And sorry this is late getting up.  But on to looking for blessings in our past week! 




1.  New flowers in planter.  With almost week long stint of daily thunderstorm warnings, tornado watches (and 1 warning) and the a few bouts or torrential rainfall, and I'm talking Noah's ark type walls of water pouring down, a few of my flowers in the planters did not survive.  But lucky me, everybody's clearing out whatever flowers they've got left over, because summer is almost half over!  I came away 3 really good sized plants and a couple of smaller ones for under $5.  Now that is my kind of deal and makes me super happy.

2.  Raining while the sun is shining.  I don't know why but this occurrence always makes me smile inside and finds me at the window watching it.  It's so peaceful to me and kinda reminds me that while life may be raining down some showers on me that there is sunshine somewhere in the midst of those troubles.  Sometimes the sun comes at a later time when the clouds are blown by but other times there is sun  in the midst of the rain.  It's sorta like a real live FFF happening metaphorically.  Ya like how I wove those two together?  :)



Yes that is rain in this picture not snow.  That is how big the drops were and the sun was glinting off of them in a magical kind of way.

3.  New suitcase.  We had luggage that was given to us as a wedding gift making it 33 years old.  While it was a really great set of luggage, it had an odd pulling systems that was really awkward, one of the original pull luggage systems probably, that tipped the luggage precariously onto tiny wheels on the back end.  A few years ago, Costco had a really awesome price on a set of 2 Heys luggage with the 360* wheels.  So we bought it and I sold my other luggage in a yard sale only to realize that the Heys luggage I had bought did not have a smaller carry on size.  So I've been using an old tapestry style carry one size suitcase that I had to lug around because of course it didn't have any kind of pull system.  I've been looking since then for that carry on sized piece for myself for years now and finally I found one that I really liked with all the pockets and inside storage areas and it was about  2/3 off the original price.  But I still hesitated wondering, if indeed, that was the original price or if they had just jacked it up making it look like a better deal than it really was.  So I left it behind.  While in Calgary, we went to a clearance at a Home Outfitter's store and lo and behold there was the luggage.  Thinking I had scored an even better deal than the one back home, after all this was a close out sale,  I was shocked to find that their big clearance had it on for more than double what it was back home.  So as soon as we got back I ran to Sears to see if they still had it (they had only had the one) crossing my fingers all the way.  Thinking there was no way it would still be there, it was a blessing to find it sitting there.  I made that purchase with a big smile, for sure!

4. Birds singing in the morning.  I grew up with a neighbor who used to raise canaries and finches and we'd hear their song every morning.  So I still love when the birds get singing in the early summer mornings.  The crows and magpies, however I can do with out.  Just saying.  But the ones who actually sing a song instead of waging a battle?  Heaven!

5.  Coffee, book, sunshine, deck.  Put them together and it's one thing that seriously destresses me.  Love going out there and enjoying some time doing nothing.  I miss this in the winter.

What are your favorites from the last week?







16 comments:

Barbara H. said...

Your plant finds are encouraging me - I need to perk up a couple of planters and have been needing to see what's available.

Glad the tornado possibilities didn't come to pass! Love your FFF metaphor with the sunshine-tinged rain.

That's so great about the luggage find! And your #5 sounds so relaxing.

Wendy said...

Well done with the bargains this week, especially the luggage. My no 5 would be tea book sunshine patio in fact that's what I'm about to do although it's quite cloudy today but still warm :) Thanks for keeping us all on track.

Lynette said...

Rain, sunshine, coffee, new flowers, birds singing...a few of my very favorite things. No rain here in California, triple digit heat wave until next week.

Karen said...

All these great favorites spell summer. Now, to take a little summer trip with your new luggage. I love a great find like that. I need to look for a few plants on sale to replace the ones on my front porch. They get a bit straggly this time of year, and the heat in the afternoon from the western exposure doesn't help.

Have a great weekend, Susanne.

Faith said...

yay for great sales and new luggage!

and you KNOW how I love reading in the sun with coffee on my deck! we really do need to meet one day!!😀❤️

love that rain photo..i spied the mountain top right away!😀

enjoy some down time this weekend!

nikkipolani said...

That sunshine amidst darkening clouds and rain is a dramatic look indeed. And of course I'm jealous for your summer rain! So glad you made it through the tornado scares.

Your #5 list is a de-stresser for me, too. You can feel your shoulders relax :-) Good deals in your planter and closet, too!

Patti said...

I live in a desert climate, so I rarely get rain anyhow, let alone a torrential downpour. We lived in Florida, though, where that kind of rain is common. As long as I'm indoors and not outside in the lightning, I kind of like a heavy rain.

Your shot of the rain and sun is really pretty. I bet there was a rainbow somewhere nearby as well.

Great find on all those plants. I want to get some flowers to hang in baskets on my front porch. I hope I can find some good deals like you did.

Your time on the deck sounds lovely. Hope you get plenty of that this weekend.

Thanks so much for hosting this party. I'm enjoying being a part of it.

Blessings,
Patti

Patti said...

Susanne, I accidentally posted the link from last week. Would you delete #8. #9 is this week's Fave Five. And you can delete this comment.

ellen b said...

I always love a bargain not matter what it is. Your new carry on sounds nice. I love birds singing in the morning but our new crop of crows are being ridiculously loud with their cawing! Glad you have some de-stressing time on your deck! Have a good stressless weekend.

annies home said...

I love it when the sun shines as it rains. I am not sure how it does that but we are warmed while the ground gets the water it needs

Gattina said...

We also have a moody weather from 13°C we had 32° the next day and it happened to that it rained while the sun was shining ! How lucky you were with your suitcase ! Sometimes there is such a big price difference for the same article ! They even increase the price and put "sales" underneath !

Ann said...

I can see why you westerners wouldn't care for magpies. . .but as someone who's only seen them in the Pacific Northwest about 19 years ago, and then a slightly different species in China two summers ago. . .I think they are beautiful!! :-)

Willow said...

#5: Oh yes! Love sitting anywhere with coffee and a book,but outside is best.
#3: I love a good deal and I love a rolling suitcase that is also a carry-on.
#1: deals on flowers, too!
#2 and #4: rain, sunshine and birds--God's creation which we can enjoy.
You had a GREAT week!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I love sunshine and rain as well. That's when you see the rainbows!

Mary Ann said...

Where can I sign on to read your posts? I am not a blogger but enjoy reading my quilting blogs and others that are interesting to me.

Jerralea said...

Ah, Susanne, sounds like you had a week filled with simple pleasures! When I lived in Florida, I saw rain with the sun shining all the time, but farther north it's rare to see that. Love it!

I had to smile at your luggage adventures, that sounds exactly like the kind of bargain hunting my daughters do. Just this past weekend, they each had a deal like that - one was a purse, the other, a certain pair of sandals. They criss-crossed the city several times in search of them. Which is why I like to order online.