I have found myself randomly singing the words to that song from the Sound of Music. You know, the one that starts off going "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..." (Bryan likes to make fun of me because I totally sing the wrong words for most of the song, but oh well.) Whenever I start singing the song, it makes me think of the things I've been especially enjoying recently. It's the simple things in life that bring me the most delight and pleasure sometimes.
Bubble baths. Pink grapefruit scented bubble bath soap, a candle, quiet, a good novel, and over an hour to just soak in hot soapy water in a bathroom that feels like America. I have taken more baths than showers over the past two weeks and am loving it!
Candles. There's something just so peaceful about a lit candle that brings calm to my soul. I have been trying to remember to light candles and not be so stingy about using our stash from America =P
Plants. When we moved into our new apartment, we inherited quite a few plants, both big and small. We already had two of our own that were hand-me-downs of sorts from others who had moved back to the US. And within weeks of moving in, we discovered a plant & flower market, where we bought two really cute little plants and two orchids. I've really been enjoying watering them and watching them grow. Is it weird that I take such delight in watching little sprigs pop out one day, and then over time turn into full blown leaves?
Sometimes I don't really know what I'm doing, like how often to water them or how much water to give them. And I at times worry they will die. But there is something comforting in knowing that really all I can do is hopefully give them the right environment - sunshine and water - and that beyond that there is nothing I can do in my own effort to make them grow. And yet they do. We even bought some sweet pea seeds (one of my favorite bath & body work scents - wouldn't it be awesome if that scent was always being given off by a plant in our home?) and some soil so that I could try planting them and see what would happen. I haven't tried it yet but I'll let you know how it goes.
Sometimes I don't really know what I'm doing, like how often to water them or how much water to give them. And I at times worry they will die. But there is something comforting in knowing that really all I can do is hopefully give them the right environment - sunshine and water - and that beyond that there is nothing I can do in my own effort to make them grow. And yet they do. We even bought some sweet pea seeds (one of my favorite bath & body work scents - wouldn't it be awesome if that scent was always being given off by a plant in our home?) and some soil so that I could try planting them and see what would happen. I haven't tried it yet but I'll let you know how it goes.
Orchids. Some of you may know the story of my first plant, which happened to be an orchid. For our first Valentine's Day as a married couple (which coincidentally happened to be just 2 weeks after we got married) Bryan got me a potted orchid. He knows how much I like flowers, and so it seemed like a good idea because it would last longer. I had never taken care of a plant before so I was worried everyday that I was going to kill it for about the first month or so. Then I got the hang of it and it became fun. Everyone told me that orchids are hard to care for, but for some reason ours flourished and continually bloomed new flowers for an entire year. A year after we got married, we moved out here, and so I had to part with my orchid. It was sad. And so, I asked Bryan if he would get me another one after we moved out here.
We had been on the search for the past year and a half, and with no luck. I saw orchids everywhere - in bathrooms, at pizza hut - but never in a setting where they were for sale. So you can imagine my excitement when we found the plant & flower market near our new apartment, where Bryan and I promptly bought two orchid plants. Sadly though, I think they have both already died, true to most everyone else's experience with trying to care for orchids =( I'm not sure what was so magical about that first orchid, but I'm still glad for the experience because I think it made me feel more comfortable with caring for plants, and maybe someday I can get an orchid to live in our new apartment.
We had been on the search for the past year and a half, and with no luck. I saw orchids everywhere - in bathrooms, at pizza hut - but never in a setting where they were for sale. So you can imagine my excitement when we found the plant & flower market near our new apartment, where Bryan and I promptly bought two orchid plants. Sadly though, I think they have both already died, true to most everyone else's experience with trying to care for orchids =( I'm not sure what was so magical about that first orchid, but I'm still glad for the experience because I think it made me feel more comfortable with caring for plants, and maybe someday I can get an orchid to live in our new apartment.
Knitting. This is the 3rd time in my life I've 'started' knitting. The first was when my grandma taught me as a young child. The second was in college when my roommate re-taught me and I really got into it then. And about a month ago I re-learned for the 3rd time - not doing something for years will make your brain rusty and forgetful, but luckily it's like riding a bike. Since we had limited luggage space when we moved out here, I opted to leave my yarn, knitting & crochet needles, and other knitting stuff in the US, in hopes I could find that stuff out here. I have been on the lookout for them for the past year and a half, with no luck, and I had basically given up hope. About a month ago, a friend who recently moved here decided she wanted to find yarn and learn how to knit. Within half an hour of searching online, she had found a location of a yarn store that just so happens to be - yep you guessed it - right around the corner from our old apartment. *sigh* Of course, leave it up to me to live right around the corner from a yarn place and yet not find any yarn for a year and a half. Anyway, another friend found a website that has videos to teach you how to knit and I re-taught myself that way. I learned how to cable-knit for the first time and made a cute little scarf and hat for our friends' 3-year-old daughter, Bree. I'm currently working on a scarf for Bryan, with two more orders for a friend in our small group and my cousin Jeremy (who used to live with us up until we moved). Sadly though I think I went a bit overboard on knitting because last weekend my left arm started to ache pretty bad and Bryan put me on a mandatory break from knitting. I waited 5 whole days to knit again, but to no avail. After knitting just 20 rows of the scarf, my arm started aching again. But I'm not ready to give up yet. I've still got at least 2 more scarves to make!
No comments:
Post a Comment