The Howell Blessings

In this day and age of e-mails, texting, Tweeting, Facebook, and blogging, we as a population are more in touch with what is going on around us than ever before. I can think of very few times I’ve printed out an e-mail, a message or status update where someone has shared with me via this technology. Not that the person sending it isn’t special, but there is something impersonal about an electronic or wireless message in typeface that I don’t think twice about deleting it once it’s read. On the other hand, I have letters my mom wrote to me when I first got married. I’ve got every card my honey has ever given me. I have cards my kids have made or bought for me. I have handwritten letters from a friend in Bulgaria before she ever had access to a computer. I have letters that my great-grandparents wrote to each other and other family members. What priceless things I have in my possession. A glimpse into what they felt, what they were doing, who they were on the inside. Although I love ...

A little birdie told me that spring is coming.  Even though it is still winter, spring is playing hide and seek. 1,2,3..Here I come!   The birds are singing again outside our windows which is a sure sign spring is not too far away. Soon the momma birds will be building nests and by mid spring we'll begin to see the first of the little ones that have hatched.    I think I'll have a cup of tea and watch them for a while. Click on any picture to enlarge it. I love to watch the momma bird feeding her young. The little ones sit quietly in the nest until they hear their momma coming back with food for them. Then their little beaks crack open farther than you would think they could as each one peeps louder than their sibling to try to get more food. I was inspired to set my table by the birds that chirp so sweetly these days.  Just hearing them makes me realize that it won't be too much longer before we see the last of the snow. How many bird houses do you se...