A dreary day

Yesterday and today have been very dreary, not like our usual warm and sunny Arizona days. I guess for me it is also due the fact that I am not feeling very cheery. This past week my mom EvaP has been in hospital and will now be going to a rehab center. Not what she would want, but her health calls for this decision that The Brother Alan and sis Lynowl have had to make. If I were there I would be making the same decision. Life is such. Yesterday I spent the morning with needlework friends; some knitting, some crocheting others doing something with a needle in hand. We meet every Thursday morning. My neighbor and friend Sue suggested a few months back that I join the group and so happy that I did. Not only have I met some lovely ladies, but Sue and I are becoming very good friends and that is a good thing. I came home just as the postman was bringing mail and what arrived...

this cheered me up! Remember the Manger Herbs? Well I took a chance and contacted the name on the back of my very old tag and she emailed me that she long ago closed her shop. Then Betsy Williams emailed me to say she found a packet! This was so meant to be...I needed this cheering up and she was going to send it and so it arrived. I then visited her web site and what did I find...she is the person who wrote a book that has been on my to get list for so long. This is so meant to be. Betsey enclosed a note that says, "Thank you for the gift of joy you gave me. I am so happy you have kept the Christmas Herbs in your life all these years!"...the joy I gave her?, no the joy she gave to me. So, here I sit concerned about my mom, it is a cloudy dreary day but I have the love of my friend Sue and the kindness of a new friend Betsy to cheer me. I value friendship and so I will..... Thank you for your friendship and kind words. Have a cheerful day.

Manger Herbs

Every year also on my tree is the list of Manger Herbs. I used to have a small bag of them to put with the tag but after so many years they did not look to great so I tossed them and never did find another. There are 9 listed and why they are chosen. Let me share them:
Rosemary for remembrance.  This is the chief herb of Christmas. Rosemary hid the Holy family during the flight to Egypt. Our Lady's Bedstraw used for bedding. Fresh grass said to have been Mary's bed. Rue, the herb of grace, vision virtue & virginity. Lavender the symbol of purity. Lavender received its lovely scent because it served as a drying rack for the Baby's swaddling clothes. Pennyroyal, a small creeping mint that tradition says blooms on Christmas Day. Horehound, a native of Palestine, it was on of the bitter herbs of Passover and symbolizes the flight to Egypt. Thyme, the symbol of strength and courage. Chamomile is the symbol of patience and cheerfulness under adversity. And lastly, Sweet Woodruff the symbol of humility. It is said that all of these were found in the manger hay. One day I will gather all of them again and the sweet smell will grace my tree.   I love reading this card each year as I place it in the tree. I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thank you for your kind words and friendship. Have a good day.