Flowers As Gifts, Yes or No?

Beautiful, aren't they? For Valentine's Day and Easter my husband sent me flowers. They are lovely but if asked I might have made other choices or given him a few ideas. Christmas seems to go much the same. He says get yourself something and I think that's not quite right either. If I order or shop for a gift myself for myself that doesn't feel as if it actually is a gift. I guess I should be pleased he remembered the day. With Mother's Day coming up I wonder what color the flowers will be. 

I worked with someone who got flowers and she told her husband she didn't like them because they died. She realized after many years of marriage and strange gifts that she might have prefered flowers after all.

I have asked for things to decorate the house and was told those aren't appropriate. The ideas I gave needed to be personal but they didn't realize my home is personal to me.

The flowers come. Most of the time they smell wonderful. All of the time they look beautiful. I will say thank you and take pictures. Then I will have a new vase to keep for dust collecting or give away.

So today the question is do you like to get flowers as a gift? Would you prefer other things or are you at that time in life when there is really nothing more you want?

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Special Offer FromCozyAtoZ.Etsy.com

I like getting deals and I bet you do too. I wanted to give customers a chance to get a deal from me that I could afford to give for a long time. So here it is -

Shop my sale: Free domestic shipping when you spend $25. https://t.co/ojTTaSr6L4 #etsy #cozyatoz #etsyfinds #etsygifts #etsysale #etsycoupon #shopsmall pic.twitter.com/zgqGUtaghE

— Kathy 🌻 (@CozyAtoZ) May 1, 2018

I am working on getting more items in the shop. With the help of Ott Lights and FotoFuze I feel like I am finally getting there, for photography at least. Next is to stop worrying about great descriptions and tags and get comfortable with getting more done. Anyone else struggle with procrastination fueled by wanting to be perfect though logically you know nothing ever is?

Anyway spend $25 and it all ships free to the US.

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Reader's Digest Volume 5 2002 Nonfiction

As the title says I finished another book. This time it is a Today's Best Nonfiction edition from 2002. This book had the condensed versions of 5 very different and interesting stories.

• 3000 Degrees by Sean Flynn
• Cancer Schmancer by Fran Drescher
• A Dog Year by John Katz
• Riding the Bus With My Sister by Rachel Simon
• The Children on Willesden Lane by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen

All of these books were interesting but the one that I stayed up a bit longer to read a bit more each night was The Children of Willesden Lane. The main character is Lisa Jura who, with many other children, was sent to England from occupied Europe during WWII to save their lives. War and survival, hard family choices, coming of age, a career as a pianist, reunification, and more all in this story. If you like history from this time period you will want to find a copy of this book.

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Still Decaffeinated with Tattle Tea

Last post I talked about the coffee I bought from Coffee Bean Direct. Today I am going to share about what I got from Tattle Tea which is, I guess, what you would call a sister company.

I first ordered my loose leaf teas from the coffee company and then the two business were split apart. For convenience you can order from both places and have one bill and one shipment. The combination of coffee ordered and tea ordered together apply to the $50 required for free shipping.

Tattle Tea has some of the best prices I have ever found anywhere for good quality loose leaf teas. You can order in packages from 5 oz. to 5lbs. Of course the larger the package the lower the price is per ounce. In the caffeinated section of the site I have bought Nilgiri black tea, Earl Grey black tea, Sencha green tea and lemon and ginger green tea. I can highly recommend all of them!

Decaf Raspberry Black Tea

Going without caffeine I wanted something a bit special and indulgent. To see if I could make this whole idea work I started small ( 5 oz. ) and got three flavors, apricot black tea, raspberry black tea and orange and spice black tea. I have brewed a pitcher of all three and tried each of them both hot and iced. Picking a favorite was not hard, the raspberry flavor will definitely be ordered again and in a larger size. The orange and spice tea will be perfect for cool winter days. The apricot was good as well. All the teas have real pieces of fruits as well as natural and artificial flavors. Just opening the packages and smelling the scents was a treat. Brewing a pot made the whole kitchen smell good.

I look forward to working my way through all the choices available in green, herbals, more blacks and rooibos teas and will keep you posted. By the way this is a personal, not sponsored, recommendation. Just wanted you all to know about a great company and a great product.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Going Decaffeinated

One of my goals this year is eliminating caffeine from my system. I discovered as a post menopausal woman that caffeine can stress the bladder and be a part of the reasons old ladies, ahem, leak. I reduced my intake of caffeine to one serving in the morning starting in January. Before this I sipped caffeinated drinks nearly all day, starting with coffee in the morning and changing to tea later in the day. I did notice right away that overwhelming urges to get to a bathroom NOW stopped. I feel more confident and in control. This was even though I was drinking plenty of liquid, meaning water because I like to have something to sip close by throughout the day. I am now into the first week of no caffeine at all and feel great and am pleased with myself for making this decision.

I do love the flavors of coffee and tea however and I have no intention of missing out on those and water only all day is kind of boring. Ordering whole beans from Coffee Bean Direct allow me to have my favorite flavors and even discover some new ones. I am also not limited by time of day and that is a nice plus. I started my decaf coffee trial with a Breakfast Blend described in the following way on the Coffee Bean Direct website.

Some of us just cannot handle the caffeine, no matter what the time of day! This blend offers the delicious flavor of our traditional Breakfast Blend, without the caffeine many of us need to learn to live without. This medium-bodied blend of light and dark beans has just a hint of acidity and tartness. Ideal as a morning cup, it has a smooth and subdued flavor that stands up well to cream and sugar.

The first time around I used our coffee maker and was very pleased. Having a hot cup of coffee is how I like to start my day. I sit and sip while I read blogs and news on Feedly or browse Instagram to see what my family is up to or just finish waking up and before I start exercising. I do want to try this coffee as a cold brew as well. Over the years I have experimented with cold brew coffee, almond milk and sugar free Torani flavorings. Warm summer months are coming soon and I love iced coffee as a treat.

Coffee Bean Direct is a personal favorite of mine. This post is my own uncompensated endorsement. They are a great company with excellent service, carefully roasted coffees from all over the world, pricing that I find reasonable and prompt shipping which is free if you spend $50 dollars or more. They even take the time to educate you with their packaging. Tips you want to take advantage of so that the product they send you is the best it can be when you use it.

To learn more you can start with the About Page on CoffeeBeanDirect.com. Of course these days all companies have a social media presence and here is where you can find my favorite coffee roasters, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

I'll be back soon to tell you about the tea I ordered. So good!

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CozyAtoZ on Etsy

When I first opened an account on Etsy in the olden days of 2006 I used the name Cozy and it served me well. It was short and easy to type and remember. It was a generic word that fit my vision and goals and that still works for me today. I really do want to make the world a cozier place.

Over time as new websites and new accounts came along the name Cozy was sometimes not available so I started using CozyAtoZ. That is the user name I use for Twitter and Pinterest. During those days I was on Artfire, Etsy and Zibbet so being Cozy at all places from A to Z fit. So in getting all things matching I changed my Etsy shop name to CozyAtoZ recently and having the same username in more places make me happy.

The shop closed last year for awhile and is reopening this spring. The first items are in the shop with more to come. In the meantime I am seeing how long I can offer free domestic shipping and if it might make a difference in how often my creations get to go to other people to use and get cozy.


Eight of the the headbands in the shop so far have a fabric middle that was hemstitched. This is a process that puts holes on fabric so that an edge can be crocheted. The crocheted trim and ties gives these headbands a soft look that you aren't likely to find anywhere else but in my shop.

There is also a red knit headband in the shop. The design is my own. I just love the red color. This headband will be very comfortable to wear because it is very stretchy. With ties you can personalize your fit.


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Smiling Today

I am. I am smiling today. Looking out my window I see a Palo Verde tree covered in bright yellow blossoms. How could anyone not smile at a sight like that.

I hope you find something to smile about today too.


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