Reverie

first cool front of the season...fresh coffee...the smell of cinnamon wafting through the house...

relaxing with friends...



enjoying the last few summer blooms...

no demands on my time this morning...nothing urgent to make me rush about, nothing to disturb this sweet reverie...only the longing to be still and know...

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-29

 

Secret Gardens

After spending a few days visiting family last week I arrived home yesterday just in time to put together my favorite bouquet of the season. Spring at our place begins with the blooms of narcissus and grape hyacynth bulbs.  Happily, for just a few days their blooming season overlaps that of our azaleas and I gather the blossoms into small bouquets of riotous, glorious color..

Most of the bulbs I grow were harvested from flower beds planted by my grandmother over fifty years ago.  I found them in this old garden, hidden in the woods just a few hundred yards from my back doorstep.  Grandmother lived in a house that used to be nestled in these woods.  The house is gone, but the bulbs and plants she cultivated there have continued to grow and multiply.

Entering this place I feel like Mary in Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, stepping softly as if she were afraid of waking someone.  This is a sacred space for me...a place where I dreamed childhood dreams and shared happy times with people I loved.  It is a place that captured my imagination even when I was very young.  I dreamed of living on this property when I grew up, of carving out my own nitch in the woods and planting gardens of my own.

Sometimes I forget that I am actually living my dream.  Sometimes I think I might like to live someone else's dream.  Really, though, this one is best for me.  Here I have room to breathe and stretch and grow, just like the buds Mary unearthed in Burnett's garden.

So this week I am going to spend time cultivating the garden around my own home and in the process I know I will be renewed.  Warm spring days have arrived and I am eager to feel connected to the earth with the sun on my back and the rich, damp soil in my hands.   My spirit yawns and stretches as it wakes to this new season.

I hope this week you will do some maintenance in your own secret garden...that quiet place, whatever it is for you, where seeds of promise and hope were planted long ago.  Pull a few weeds.  Clear a little space.  Give your dreams room to grow.

Always Somethin'

I just re-read yesterday's post and wowa...a bit serious, eh?  I am happy to report that this is a beautiful sunny Saturday morning and I am definitely not in a tunnel today!  The sun is streaming through the windows onto my incredibly messy work space.  No joke...the mess is substantial.

The funny thing is that just after writing about the need to balance creative pursuits and relationships, I was challenged in that very thing. (It's amazing how often that happens.)  Immediately after hitting the publish post button I received a call from my friend Jennifer, a gifted fiber artist who is very good at maintaining a healthy balance between work and play.  She wanted to stop by to share a little inspiration she'd found and what were the first words out of my mouth?  "Can we make it another time?  I'm in the middle of a big project."  Ha! 

Really?  Was I so busy that I couldn't take a five minutes to connect with a friend and be rejuvenated and inspired?  The tunnel was definitely trying to suck me in.  I ended up meeting Jen for lunch and our interaction - the laughter, the article she shared, the "connectedness" - did inspire me and give me renewed energy.  I am so grateful for friends who save me from my tendency to isolate myself.   

So this morning I'm going to work a bit to catch up.  I've got a big order due soon that has been a lot of fun to put together.  I'm working on some items for a spring display...stamped spoons, decoupage boxes, and something new...collage eggs.

These are paper mache, covered with pages from vintage books, painted and embellished with hopeful and inspiring words, quotes, and images.   I just love working on spring projects with messages of life and new beginnings.  I sent the first few out the other day and I'll be working on some more today.  I also have a pile of sterling spoons flattened and ready to stamp (thanks, Em, for your help) and a collection of painted pots fitted with styrofoam and ready to have reindeer moss applied.

All these happy projects are giving me spring fever!  Now I am off to the neighbor's house, hopefully to find a UPS package that should have been delivered here last night.  I ordered some new stamp sets...some pretty fonts to use on the spoons but they were delivered to someone else by mistake.  UPS can't help me find the package until Monday but I really need it today!  Well, okay...I really want it today.

And so it seems appropriate to leave you with the words of the great Roseanne Rosannadanna: 

It's always somethin :)

Little Things

“In the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” - Kahlil Gibran

Art flows from life.  If I want my art to be refreshing and encouraging, I must allow myself time to be refreshed and encouraged.  In order to create beautiful things, I first appreciate the beauty around me.


Today was one of those happy days when I was able to set my "to do" list aside and recharge.  It started with an impromptu coffee date with a friend, during which I purchased this too-cute and not-so-little flower pin with a vintage button center:

Wearing it made me so happy, especially after I added my favorite strand of pearls.  It was like wearing a badge announcing my light-hearted mood.  

Another little thing that made me happy was the yummy array of colors in these strands of glass beads found at a local resale shop. 

The sales lady offered me a great bargain on them.  The best part?  I assumed the price she quoted was per strand, only to find out at the register she meant it for the whole collection!  There is just nothing like the feeling of getting a great deal.

Finally, I tried something new for our evening meal that I'd like to share with you.  Along with some beautiful steamed vegetables and grilled beef, I made this Blueberry and Red Pepper Salsa:

Lovely food can do so much to heighten the senses and instill a feeling of well-being.  The recipe I tried tonight is based on one recently published in Southern Living magazine. I came across it while waiting at the optometrist's office, which explains why I can't tell you which issue it was in and why I had to guess at most of the quantities!  I'm sure the Southern Living version was great, but I bet it couldn't beat this one. 

Blueberries and red peppers...who knew?  I hope you'll try it!

Blueberry and Red Pepper Salsa

2 1/2 c fresh blueberries, chopped

1/2 c whole fresh blueberries

Juice of 1 lemon

4 T cilantro, finely chopped

1 lg. jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (more to taste)

3/4 c red bell pepper, diced

1/2 tsp sea salt

Toss all ingredients together and let sit 30 minutes to allow flavores to blend.

Serve with baked whole grain pita chips

All in all, it was not a momentous day.  No great problems were solved; no projects were completed, but the little things...the kindnesses, the discoveries, the precious moments...left me refreshed and renewed.  I can't wait to get back to work in the studio tomorrow!

A Tribute to the Human Spirit

There are incalculable resources in the human spirit, once it has been set free.

Hubert H. Humphrey

I think my mother can do anything when she sets her mind to it. Staying mobile is an increasing challenge for her these days, but she didn't let that stop her when we got the chance to run down to the beach yesterday. In case you ever wondered, walkers work really well on wet sand. I had a hard time keeping up with her!

I think the best part of our pretty much all-round great day was the moment when the first wave hit our feet.  It was sheer joy to hear my mom giggle with excitement.  We watched my son splash in the water and the birds fly overhead.  We soaked in the sunshine and talked about how beautiful this world is.  It was very good.
 

Rain!

Is there anything more wonderful than a rainy morning in the midst of a summer heat wave? I was so, so happy to wake up this morning and hear raindrops hitting my tin roof. (It's one of my favorite sounds, even when the temperatures haven't been in the triple digits.)

Seeing the world around me refreshed and rejuvenated lifts my spirit and makes me feel new again, too.