Girlfriends on the old buffet and the pleasures of grown sons.

The old buffet were I had the "German" Christmas tree sitting, has accumulated some very special items on top of it over the last few months.
 I  have collected many things on this buffet from before my trip to Germany and before Christmas, mixed with other wonderful reminders of two months that went by far too fast.

There is a big box of Italian Torrone, with little boxes of assorted almond candy inside.

A tradition, started by my friend Dawn, when she found this candy (a staple of my childhood at Christmas) online and decided that I needed to have a box sent to me every year for my birthday.
Next to the candy, leaning against the lamp on one end of the buffet, is a beautiful birthday card and letter from my friend "D" in Montana, who sent me this card filled with photos of her trip to the Festival of the Cranes at the Basque Sanctuary in New Mexico.

She wrote about her adventure at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. How she and her husband would go to the ponds early in the morning to photograph these magnificent  Cranes...how cold it was... the photo classes that she took and how excited she was to be so close to these birds. I live vicariously through these letters and photos.
Then, there is a small felted bird on the other end of the buffet. It's yellow and sits on a spool of thread.

A creation from the friend who made the felted christmas trees for me. She added this cute little bird to brighten up the holidays "just because" and there it sits lifting the spirits of all who see it.
My sister was here for a few days last week and we had so much fun. Our creativity had no bounds. We made flowers out of Raley's paper grocery bags.

And decorated some old bottles. (She took hers home before I got a picture of it.) It was beautiful.
Mine was a small almond extract bottle. You can see the bottle on the bottom corner where I didn't cover it completely.

The metal lid was covered with a wood epoxy clay that I still need to paint and finish. Her shawl is sea shells and her hair is an old bunch of embroidery thread. The rest is lace, fabric and other things that were glued on with Mod Podge and stuck on with a glue gun.

The back of the bottle has a wolf hiding in a small piece of felt and feathers, under a shell. It is waiting behind her. Protecting her... or laying in wait for her... I'm not sure. It represents the unknown fear we carry around with us. It's the first altered bottle I've ever made. Sis did a larger one. It was beautiful. We had so much fun with this. The Prospector was gone for a few days so we had the house to ourselves.

The buffet is filled with these things that mean so much... from friends that always share their lives and their hearts with me. These friends give me courage to try... to create... to push myself beyond my limits.
Being creative is an extension of yourself. Giving... when you know that someone loves a certain candy that holds memories. Sharing... a brave life of adventure and beauty. Sending a small felted bird that wasn't ordered but came as an "extra"...just because. Sis, showing her older sister how to create something beautiful out of the ordinary... These are real gifts.
When my friend "C (who I just helped move into the home of her dreams) knew that I was nervous about my plane flight to Germany she created this for me.

A card made, with love, to celebrate and send me off with on an airline called "Serenity" and a small zippered container with a good luck token attached... a place to keep my jewelry, money, small items, etc, that would all make me feel more secure about my upcoming trip.

I carried this with me... the little plane token was inside. In my bleakest moments this bright little bag lifted my spirits and helped me through my first trip to Europe.

Friends are gifts that give you courage, ideas, love... and part of themselves. What a perfectly sympathetic relationship it can be.
My mother's old buffet is filled with an accumulation of things that are important to me... that represent the connections of friendship. I'm a lucky woman.
*****************

Our oldest son spent the weekend with us.We love it when he comes up here. He just lost his old cat, Lucky, and needed to distance himself from the sadness of losing a longtime pet.
We took walks, talked, laughed and had a really good visit.
He helped me with some computer glitches and  then he went with me to buy the latest, coolest electronic device on the market.

It's the Nexus 7 android tablet.

 It's my new Google, "Farmlady finally arrives in the 21st century", tablet... with a stylish magnetic case

 and all the computer  "apps",  email, web browsing and  video chatting that I will ever need... on my lap... in the comfort of a recliner, outside on the porch, on a trip or in a hotel. I am comfortably connected.
And I now have WiFi. in my home as well. My house is now a "hot spot" like Starbucks and MacDonalds. Wow! WIFI!  I don't know what I would do without a computer genius for a son. He helped me start and hook up everything... and gave his mother a little *Nexus 7* 101.
All we did was feed him. Amazing.
Thanks son.