Inspiration from Strangers

So when you think you are all you have, 

Remember, your Angel is always watching over you...

Have you ever had the feeling that some people enter our lives for a reason or that they happened upon us at a time when we needed them most?

I had that very thing happen just recently. Let me start by telling you, not by choice but by necessity I now have "comment moderation" on. Most bloggers are already on board with this practice but for me I naively thought I didn't really "need it" because after all, the blogging community I've had the pleasure of knowing are all pretty upstanding people and a wonderful source of knowledge and ideas.

Unfortunately now I understand more than ever the reason's behind comment moderation after having malicious comments from spammer's left prior to me installing this feature.  

At first the down side of this feature was I honestly disliked the whole scenario of having to approve comments because it sort of takes some of the spontaneity out of blogging along with the innocent fun it should be. It makes it feel more like I have to be the "hall monitor" by having to ask for a hall-pass from anyone walking by! 

However as with all things in life there is a silver lining you just have to look for it. The upside of comment approval is it gives you the opportunity to see that someone has posted a comment when you receive an email notification. For a person like me that has little time to post and/or check for comments from months ago, its a great feature!

So the other day I received an email notice from a women by the name of Carol from Wichita, Kansas. Carol was trying to leave a comment on my blog as well as become a follower. However since Carol didn't have a blog account it was showing up as "unknown" which meant I had to find out if "unknown" was real or a "Spam-bot"...yes that is a real word...I think or maybe I just made it up :) That very day Katie Couric was discussing the evils of Cyber-space and how even if you think its a nice women you're talking to it could be something far worse, SCARY!!!!!!!! 
So needless to say I was overly cautious!

But I digress...when Carol and I finally established that she indeed was a "real person" it really made my day as she has to be one of the nicest people I've come across in a while. We exchanged a few emails about who she was, her hobbies, her family and it was like talking to a girlfriend. 
I must say from the start Carol was just a delight to "talk" to, we had oodles and oodles in common so much so that if she lived closer to me, we'd probably be good friends!

Anyway the whole reason for my prattling post is just to say this experience once again reiterates for me, there are wonderful people in the world and things aren't always as they seem...thank you Carol for reminding me of this today! 

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers;
for thereby some have entertained angels unaware."
Hebrews 13:2

~ Author Unknown ~

T. H. I. N. K.

Way back in 2011 I posted the photo (below) of me taken in my senior year along with a poem I came across in a box of old high school memorabilia.

Today as I was sifting through old posts' on La Bella Vie I came across a disturbing comment in that particular post with a time stamp of June 8th, 2012.

The poem in the post had been written on a very yellowed with age piece of binder paper which was more than likely pulled out of my "Pee-Chee" folder we carried around back in 1975. 
The handwriting in my own script, was all cute and flowing with lots of little curlicues. It looked exactly like what a 17 year old girls' penmanship would look like. But truthfully I really had no recollection as to where those written words came from on the little yellow piece of paper.

Did I write them in English lit. class or maybe my writing and poetry class, did I hear it in a song or read them in a book? I didn't really know or recall, but since it was in my own hand I was sure I had to have written it and it was never a priority to research it, it was just five lines from a young girls' past.

The poem itself also looked exactly like what a 17 year old girl might write in high school in 1975. It was moody and emotional and could have easily been written either before, during or after some "traumatic break-up" with whatever high school jock I was dating at the time.
As time marched on, that little piece of paper was tucked away in my little box of memories for safe keeping. 
Fast forward to 2011 when I came across that little piece of paper again with that poem during a very tumultuous time in my life and posted it along with the picture [above] never thinking twice about its origin, just that it seemed as appropriate that day as it did thirty six years prior.

Today as I was sifting through comments a person by the name of "Anonymous" (I'm confident I know who "Anonymous" is) left a comment informing me the poem was from the song, "Conversation Love song" by Roberta Flack. Then "Anonymous" proceeded to post the full lyrics and the copyright date of 1973. The comment appeared as if "Anonymous" was accusing me of stealing the words when in reality, a 17 year old girl jotted down something that a 55 year old women had no recollection as to where it came from!

So the whole point of this post is for when "Anonymous" does go trolling and lurking again (and she will) she will see what my intent was which was not stealing! For the record anything I have ever posted, a photo, a poem, a song lyric, anything that belongs to someone else or is copyrighted material, I have always given credit for in my blog.

Thankfully because of my own moral compass, I would never, ever take credit for another person's work knowingly.
Oh and just for the record, if I have something to say or a point to make, I have the courage to use my given name and not hide behind a fictitious name like "Anonymous". 

I still have that little yellowed with age piece of paper written by a teenage girl from 38 years ago with those few lines of what I now know to be song lyrics. 
But as of today that post has been omitted. Not because of a mean-spirited person that cowardly goes by the name "Anonymous" but because my life today is so richly blessed in a way I could never have imagined and there is no need to have dark shadows lingering where there is now lightness and joy...

I'll end this by simply leaving you with something a dear friend shared with me. It's an Acronym that we could all be reminded of;

T. H. I. N. K. is it Thoughtful or Truth, is it Helpful, is it Inspiring, is it Necessary, is it Kind?

Miss Larrisa Rose

Happy Saturday everyone, the best day of the week! For the most part the dream kitchen is done and life is somewhat back to normal. The upside, except for a few small details like a paper towel holder, towel rack and accessorizing we're done...the down side, as mentioned in my last post you don't get to see it yet until after the August reveal...August 27th to be exact :O)

In the meantime, I'm going to veer off course for a less traveled road, well for for me anyway...I decided to do a post about two things I don't normally put much thought into; dolls and the color pink. Not that I don't like either but because I'm too busy thinking up the next remodel project and because I'd rather be organizing my house and creating than playing with dolls which is what this post is all about...two dolls and the color pink. I don't have a lot of pink in my house except in this room which also doubles as a guest room.

So today I've decided to do a post on a lovely little doll that came into my life many years ago and left an indelible memory in my heart forever...

meet sweet Miss Rose with the beautiful smile...

When Rose came into my life 18 years ago I had no idea we would become such good friends and become as close as we did. She was "elderly" if I dare say that, but I mean it in the sense that she was well into her senior years at that time and I was in my 30's which meant we were at different places in our lives chronologically speaking.

But the more I got to know her, the more I soon realized we had much more in common than I could have ever thought possible. She loved her husband and family and she loved to laugh and enjoy each day. She loved to cook, loved celebrating and being with family and loved her home. Most importantly, Rose had a keen sense of humor and the just loved life...simply said, Rose was a women after my own heart and the more I got to know her the more I realized age means nothing when you have kindred spirits and friendship.

When my sweet friend passed away last year at age 96, it was a like loosing a family member and dear friend. I missed our frequent "chats and giggles" as we used to say to each other. I missed her smile and the kindness she always bestowed upon me whenever we saw each other. She had a way of making me feel as if I was the most important person in her life and that I made her day she most certainly always made my day better no matter what was happening in life!

One of the many blessings that came out of my friendship with Rose was getting to know her family and especially her daughter and son-in law...

Shortly after Miss Rose was gone in the month of December, her daughter called and asked if we could meet for lunch. She and her husband picked me up and off we went. The three of us were having a lovely time catching up when they pulled out a beautifully wrapped package...a Christmas gift and a special remembrance of Rose, my sweet friend...

As I opened the gift, I saw this beautiful, beautiful face looking at me, so pretty, so sweet all dressed in pink Moire satin, ribbons and lace...

and her name was

She was just the sweetest thing I had ever seen...from her lovely little bonnet down to her lace covered shoes and crocheted stockings, she was beautiful!

As I began to open the box she "lived in", I noticed in some ways she looked like my friend Rose. She had dark hair like Rose,

and the most beautiful eyes like Rose...

But most of all, she reminded me of Miss Rose because according to her daughter, Rose collected dolls and this was her favorite. Her favorite...and I was being handed this precious gift...Rose's favorite...what a sweet honor to now become her caretaker...

That day, I named this lovely doll, "Larissa Rose" in remembrance of Rose and the memories she'll forever hold in my heart.

Larissa Rose is now residing in my SEWING ROOM 
and when I walk past the room or into it,

I see sweet Larissa Rose smiling back at me and remember a lovely friendship shared and how thankful I am two paths crossed in life to share a little of each other's journey...

joining
Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
for her Pink Saturday
and her birthday!
Happy birthday Beverly 
and thank you for hosting another sweet pink party!