An Evening on Lake Washington

I can't think of a gesture more kind than inviting someone from out of town, over for dinner.  You can find every type of restaurant under the sun in the Seattle area, but none can rival a casual dinner on someone's deck.  When the deck overlooks Lake Washington, even better.

Hotel living is fine in doses, but the square footage you have access to is "small x small."  Going to a home for dinner and moving in and out onto the deck felt wonderful. 

We could really breathe here.  Fresh air. No hurry. A delicious meal of grilled teriyaki beef, asparagus with lemon and a big bowl of fresh fruit. An Angel Food cake was the perfect ending to a very peaceful meal.

Bill Gates lives on Lake Washington, so I gave a little wave when this large boat when by, just in case. I owe a lot to Bill in terms of technology and I am interested and proud of the work he and Melinda are doing at The Gates Foundation. 

Look at the tip of Mount Rainier (above) glowing from the sun.  It turned colors as the sun set and we stayed until the last bit of light was gone. We are so thankful for the generous spirits in Seattle. I will always remember this lovely evening on Lake Washington.

Generosity

For me, this photo represents generosity.  When I was in Louisville, Kentucky staying with friends, we were buzzing down the road a little late for our dinner reservation when I "saw" this quintessential Kentucky moment.  I raised my camera to take a quick shot through the window and my friend's husband said, "Do you want to get a picture of that?"  When my body language said yes, he stopped the car, through it in reverse and backed up to the area where I had first noticed the horses.

I wish I had saved my first shot, the one through the car window, to post here because it was awful and it would show you just how much it meant to me to get a beautiful photo of horses grazing in the Kentucky sunlight, complete with the shadows from a fence.  

Generosity is letting someone have the time they need to do what they do.

Generosity - The Gift of Flowers in Painted Jam Jars

I think most people want to be generous - they just don't always recognize what it is that they have to "give."

Right now, what I really have to give is flowers. The more I talk to people, the more I realize they rarely make themselves casual flower arrangements. But what a difference flowers can make on your mood! A subtle "power of suggestion" item that says life is good.

So I am making and giving small bouquets every chance I get. I think the secret to the success of these flower arrangements are my vases. Flowers need a vase and I've devised a way to make affordable vases that my friends want to keep and reuse.

I save jam jars all year and then in an afternoon, paint them all with polka dots. I use glass paint, my brush is a cotton swab for the perfect dot and once the paint is dry I follow the directions on the bottle and bake the vases in the oven to make the dots permanent. Super easy and so cute!

Tonight I am invited to a small dinner party and in addition to salad, I am also bringing flowers! I'll be cutting a fresh bouquet this afternoon of yellow roses. All it takes is a few roses, a painted jar and an orchid clip.

What can you be generous with? Your time? Your tomatoes? A simple gesture of generosity can mean the world to someone.