Friday, May 21, 2010

Simple Joys Saturday - Pansy Eyes


Jan of Simple Joys in Our Life, has started a new meme for Saturdays called Simple Joys Saturdays, where "we can share the little joys and blessings that uplift our week." Please join Jan in sharing the simple joys you have been blessed with each week and read the posts from others who are participating.

One of my favorite joys is the arrival of spring, and when the last frost date finally passed this week in Montana, my first flower purchase was pansies. While there are many reasons to love pansies, my favorite reason goes back to when I was a little girl, when my grandmother called me Pansy Eyes because of my dark blue eyes. For a child who was number 4 of 5 kids, this made me feel very special; she had a way of making everyone feel special in some way, and this was one I never forgot.


My grandma loved purple, and she would have loved the color and scent of these lilacs now blooming in our yard. She sewed many things in purple: aprons, bookmarks, and her dresses, as well as decorating her bedroom in purple. She loved to garden, as did my mom, and I love passing this love of gardening down to our 3 grandchildren. We spent time digging in the dirt of the veggie garden this week, just enjoying the warm sunshine and the feel of the dirt. You can learn a lot from 2 two-year olds and a 6 year-old while digging, especially about worms. I didn't think to grab the camera, but there will be many more gardening sessions in the days ahead.


I recently found this book with my grandson Jack's name in the title. He is 6 and is quite a reader, so the next time he comes by for a visit, I hope we can swing in the hammock, read this together, and pot a few flowers for him to take home to nurture.

"I am the true vine and my father is the gardener."
John 15:1

10 comments:

Karen said...

Your grandmother sounds like she was a very special lady...

Now you are being a very special grandma to you little blessings...

Life is good....

Joyful said...

Love your spring flowers. I look forward to spring every year when the heavy rains stop. Though this year that didn't really happen but at least the flowers are blooming :-) Have a great weekend.

Jan said...

Laurie, such a lovely post, and a reminder of even more joys that bless our lives.
I enjoyed your flowers and your memories of your special grandmother and now full circle to your grandson.
Richest Blessings - Jan

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

How very special your Grandmother was and how very special to give you the sweet name "Pansy Eyes". It must warm your heart every time you remember it.

Lovely photos and great book for your grandson!

Love stopping by to visit with you, Laurie!

Debbie Petras said...

What a beautiful garden~

I love the idea of this meme; simply joys. What a great thing to focus on.

Blessings and love,
Debbie

Carrie said...

purple flowers are beautiful!!! Lovely verse at the end as well...

Barbara said...

Amen Nana, my grands call me Nana too, so we are nana-nana-banana, lol thank you so much for visiting my blog, yes i love the Simple Joys of Saturday and I too follow Jan she is a precious blessing.
Love your blog dear, and hope to see you oftn I will add your blog to my favorites too, lots of hugs Barbara from http://bakinnbitsbarbara.blogspot.com/

Anne Lorys said...

Hi Laurie!
Your flowers are gorgeous!
And I'll bet you make your grandkids feel every bit as special as your dear grandma did! :-)

Hugs and love,
Anne

podsoita said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
podso said...

certainly enjoyed visiting your beautiful blog. I love your photo arrangement at the top! Thanks for your sweet comment on mine. Your grandchildren are beautiful!

I miss lilacs down here in the south (I grew up in the north), and we are just saying goodbye to our pansies who have been with us all winter.