What I like about ... handkerchiefs

Today, I'm posting a wonderful contribution by my good friend, Teng. She collects handkerchiefs and makes paper (origami) dolls. We will ask her to talk about her dolls another time. All the photos are from her collection. Aren't they pretty?

What I like about handkerchiefs
"They’re small, square pieces of cloth. They’re thin and, when folded, could fit into a pocket or a small purse. They’re used for wiping. What are they? They’re handkerchiefs!

Wrong! Except for the “cloth” part, the description could fit that of a tissue paper and doesn’t do justice to a handkerchief. True, some tissue papers have designs like hankies, but you throw used tissue paper away. You don’t do that to a hanky. Especially one that you’ve carefully selected or made, or had been given, and have kept all these years.

Why do I like hankies? One is their obvious function - wiping off anything wet. You use a hanky to wipe off tears (of sadness or happiness), sweat, left-off water after washing, left-over milk on a child’s mouth, etc, etc. Who cares what you wipe? You can wash the hanky afterwards and it’s good as new!

Second, hankies are works of art. Their designs are limitless – flowers, plants, animals, people, sceneries, ribbons, shoes, purses, stamps, flags, ships, etc, etc. Their colors are beautiful, their texture fine and soft. The combination of cloth with lace, embroidery, beading, paint, etc could astound you.

Third, you can do wonders with hankies, transforming them into other works of art. Using the paper-folding art of origami, hankies can also be folded and twisted into birds, flowers, dolls, etc and displayed. Visit the hankies department of any Japanese department store and you’ll see what I mean.

Fourth, you can wrap a small gift with a hanky. And the hanky ends up as part of the gift!

Fifth, they make very nice, inexpensive gifts (although, if you gift it to a Thai, he/she has to “pay” you a small amount, to counteract the “tears” associated with hankies). And you won’t need a big box or a large wrapping paper to wrap them in, so that’s another plus in the expense area.

Sixth, there is something to learn when you look at handkerchiefs. How the Japanese traditional attire looks like. Who Fendi, Celine, Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin, Lehrer, etc are and whether you can recognize their creation, without looking first at the signature/label on one end of the hanky. How places in other countries look like.

I have collected hankies since the 60s, so you can imagine the volume of my collection. My children had even commented that I should establish a hankies museum! Well, why not? Their beauty then would be shared instead of being just kept in boxes!"

What I like about ... gardens

"G" means garden for me. What about you, do you like anything that starts with "g"?
I love gardens - both well kept ones and naturally occurring ones.

My garden is so small, you can go around it in 5 minutes. However,it has sustained my photographic adventures. Most of my flower photos are taken from my garden.

I visit my garden regularly and I always discover treasures like:
... new buds or fully bloomed flowers
... spiders and other bugs
... butterflies and other flies
... snails including their colorful eggs
... mushrooms and other fungi
... leaves that have unusual formations
... birds
... frogs
... blades of grass with sparkling raindrops
... spiderwebs
Oh, I can go on and on about the many treasures I find in my garden.

Aside from serving as the repository of many subjects for my photography, a garden is also a wonderful stress reliever. When I'm working in my garden, I usually lose track of time and I feel refreshed as I discover new buds in my plants. There is something so enchanting about watching a new seed come to life and become a beautiful flower or tree.

I also love visiting public gardens and other people's gardens. They are always so refreshing and beautiful to behold.

What I like about ... raindrops

Every time I see raindrops, I always stop and say a prayer of thanks. If I have a camera with me then I take pictures. You don’t know how many raindrops pictures I have collected. I think that one of these days, I will set up an exhibit just showing my raindrops pictures. Hmmm, come to think of it, I think that is a good idea. What do you think?

Raindrops, raindrops...
... are always refreshing
... are beautiful
... remind me of the wonders of God’s creations
... sometimes reflect our world upside down, so we get a fresh view
... can create works of art
... I love them on my face
... I love them on flowers
... are really angel tears according to a song
... are priceless jewels

Oh..., I simply love raindrops!

What I like about ... rainbows

If you see a rainbow in the sky, what do you do? Do you stop and savor its beauty? Do you exclaim, "wow, a rainbow!" I do. Or if I am with somebody, I always point out and say “look, a rainbow!”

I never tire of looking at rainbows. They are breathtaking.

Every time I see rainbows, I always try to follow the arc to its end and then I would wonder if there is really a pot of gold at the end. Ha ha, it’s always fun to make believe.

When I was in college, I decorated my room in rainbow colors that extended from side to side. The decoration always made me happy. It made me smile. Everybody who entered my room would always comment that my room seems so bright and happy.

Who does not smile if one sees a rainbow?

I wonder if anybody frowns when he/she sees a rainbow?

Rainbows remind me of:
... freshness
... new hope
... new beginning
... God

What I like about ... bookstores

Before I took up photography, guess where I spend more time in any place I go? In bookstores – that’s where. Books have always fascinated me and I can never resist bookstores every time I see them. Sometimes my friends can’t believe that I’d rather browse through books than try dresses or shoes, but that’s me.

Anyway, what do I like about bookstores? Well, as I said, books fascinate me and I already mentioned in a previous post (Jan 23) what I like about reading. So just put the two together (reading and bookstores), and there you have it ... those are the reasons why I like bookstores.

Another thing about bookstores, they usually don’t just carry books, they also have other things like pens, colored pencils, gift wrappers, all sorts of paper, craft things, albums, magazines, school supplies, art supplies, and many more.

So bookstores are really books plus.

What I like about ... roses

Roses ...are so soft and dainty
...smell really good. However, even if they do I am surprised that very few perfumeries have come up with the scent of roses. I wonder why?

...look good in any angle. As I mentioned in my photoblog, there is something about roses that makes me want to take their photo all the time. Please check out:
http://aphotoaday-saanva.blogspot.com/search/label/rose

...so innocent looking but can appear mysterious and sensuous too

...come in various colors. Would you believe that there are green and black roses now.

...and once again, look at all the songs that have roses in them:
• “raindrops and roses and whiskers on kittens...”(from “My Favorite Things”)
• “the days of wine and roses...”from the song of the same title
• “roses and lollipops, lollipops and roses”... from the song of the same title
• “dead roses are still beautiful to me”... from “dead roses”
• “paper roses, paper roses”... from song of the same title

Anyway, I’m sure you can come up with your own list of “roses songs”.

I simply love roses!

What I like about...mornings

Mornings are my favourite time of the day. Everything is fresh and new in the morning.

Dewdrops are still clinging to the blades of grasses while the early morning sun is just breaking through the mist.

Mornings always hold new promise, new adventure, new hope, new ...everything.

Mornings remind me of freshly baked bread and the smell of coffee. Hmm, I can almost taste that.

And think about all the morning songs:
“Sunday Morning waking up and touching you
You’re always warm at 9 a.m
Pillows close and I can feel you wanting me
When I go back to sleep again"
- From “I Didn’t Mean to Love You” by Helen Reddy

Or

"Sometimes in the morning, when shadows are deep
I lie here beside you, just watching you sleep
And sometimes I whisper what I'm thinking of:
My cup runneth over with love".
- From “My Cup Runneth Over”

Or

"Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word".
- From “Morning has Broken” as sung by Cat Stevens

Or many others like:
Angel of the Morning ... Some Velvet Morning ... Mornin' Glory ... Sunday Morning Coming Down and Waking Up in the Sun... etc.

Oh, I simply love mornings! Don't you?

What I like about... being a mother

“I love being a mother”. This thought flashed through my mind as my baby’s fingers curled around my index finger while I was changing his diaper. Even if that was a long time ago, I can still remember the warmth that enveloped my being as the realization hit me.

So what do I like about being a mother? Oh, many things... everything...
...being held on to by little fingers
...getting wet kisses and warm embraces
...being used as a pillow by her/his little head
...teaching babies their first words
...being called “mama”
...holding out my arms as my children made their first steps towards me
...reading bedtime stories
...being told by my children that I should join the Miss Universe contest (ha ha ha!),
...planning birthday parties ....

I could go on and on but I think you understand why I love being a mother.

why this blog

Have you ever despaired about reading and hearing negative things all day? Some people I know have stopped reading newspapers or listening to the news because they cannot stand all the nerve-wracking and energy-zapping stories everywhere.

Well, I have also grown tired of all the whining and "what's wrong with the world, or the government, or my neighbor, or... whatever" kind of thing. So I thought that I would start thinking and discovering what I like about something or someone or anything just so I will not despair.

If you feel the same way, I wish to invite you to join in and add your own likes so that we can all smile rather than frown. What about it? Come and join me.