Montage Monday: To All My Peeps and Friends

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
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I agree Miss Austen. It is not in my nature either. I spent a very jammed packed busy week with so many of these wonderful friends, and I would do anything for them, and they the same for me.

Good Friday started off my weekend baking frenzy. I baked 6 dozen large cupcakes and decorated them for “my peeps” and firemen friends, and 4 dozen mini cupcakes. All were well received, and it was my extreme pleasure to make so many people smile. This makes my heart soar. I don’t do things by halves, more like by the dozens.

A week in a peek.

Frivolous Friday

“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

What better way to spend a gloomy grey Friday morning than snuggled in a warm blanket with a cup of tea and an old movie. I’m a sucker for the romantic classics. This morning, while checking my emails and flipping through the channels on TV, I ran across “Pride and Prejudice”. Oh no! Not that one! It’s like an addiction. I couldn’t look away!

If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it fifty times, maybe more. It doesn’t matter, I was hooked. Do you have a movie that you just have to watch every time it’s on? Unfortunately, I have too many.

The second I saw the delightful Elizabeth Bennett tormenting the handsome Mr. Darcy, the rest of my morning was consumed. Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen exquisitely portrayed the main characters of Jane Austen’s two hundred year old romantic tale that takes place in the class-conscious English society of the 1800’s. (Sounds like a book report, doesn’t it?)

To summarize: Girl meets boy, she thinks he’s a rich, arrogant snob and he thinks she is a crude, willful girl with irresistible charm. They argue in the rain, realize their mistake, then fall in love and live happily ever after. What’s not to like?

Every now and then, we need to indulge ourselves with a frivolous Friday.

Saturday: Scents and Sensibility

This is not a book report on the first romantic fiction novel by Jane Austen, published in England in 1811, that portrays the life and loves of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. Oops! I guess it started out that way. TMI. No, this is an observance of the “scents” and “sensibility” in our, not quite so romantic or dramatic, everyday lives.

Every single day reveals a new story, an adventure to be shared. At first, I thought it would be a challenge to find something to write about each day. But, it has become an enlightening journey of observations, resulting in a documentary of the world around me. That’s a fancy writer’s way of saying, “Wow, life’s really awesome if you just stop to smell the roses.”

Speaking of smelling the roses, the “scents” that inspired me today are from the candles that are strategically place around the house. The cookies and cream scented Yankee Candle in the kitchen smells like Christmas, when hundreds of cookies are cooling on every counter. But, it isn’t the wonderful aroma that delights me. It’s the combination of memories and the person who gave me each candle. When I catch a whiff of sweet vanilla, I remember Christmas shopping and lunches with my best friend back home. I’ve had this one for over eight years, but it continues to share its bouquet and fond memories.

You’re probably wondering how a candle can last so long. Easy! I don’t burn my candles. I don’t trust them. Too many house fires are caused by neglected candles. There, I said it. I’m a scaredy cat. The nice thing is, their fragrance lasts for years, and I have a different scented candle for almost every room.

Displayed on the bedroom dresser is a red candle labeled fresh picked cherries. My friend Kelly, who is the manager at Towne Creek Apartments, gave it to me for my birthday a couple years ago. When I open the door, a scent of tart luscious cherries fills the room. She is a kind and soft-spoken woman, and the subtle fragrance reminds me of her tender heart and gentle nature.

My favorite is the chocolate scented candle that rests on my piano. It was a Christmas gift from little Rebekah next door. She’s a teenager now, and isn’t quite so little any more. She’s my “chocolate buddy.” When we moved to McKinney, she was only five years old. Rebekah would ring the bell and peek through the glass, waiting with anticipation and a smile. We usually baked brownies, nibbled on chocolate chips, and had a tea party while the brownies were in the oven. She would stand on a step stool, do all the stirring, and lick the bowl and spoon, getting chocolate all over her face.

So, when I sit at the piano, tinkering at the keys, (did I mention that I don’t know how to read music or play?) I smell the delicious aroma of chocolate and remember the young girl with chocolate on her nose and a big chocolate grin.

These are the “scents” and “sensibilities” that make life amazing.