Thursday, December 29, 2011

A mystical longing

Seasons interwoven; the end of one, the beginning of another… and I am feeling a deep desire to be like numinous leaves, blown to that Primitive Garden—a place outside this place. The land of all beginnings.

As I walk the lonesome garden, its landscape becomes my soul; its wintry topography the country of my heart; bared and longing for the bountifulness of seeds and blooms. I am memorizing and treasuring precious memories; of gatherings at the old homestead these past few weeks; treasuring within my heart this yearning—this mystical longing as I see my children and the children of my children setting out on their journey back home.

This is the season of contrasts and thanksgiving, family times and gatherings, but also it is the season of parting and of deep loneliness for many people. It doesn’t matter how hard you hold onto the air you breathe, there is always an end to everything. And thus, I am back to the accustomed ways and my naked trees, gloomy days of the Old December and cold north winds. Can I choose barren simple beauty in a time of thoughtfulness?

At the moment I am caught between two sentiments—the beauty of silence and the reticent joy of clatter and family and the laughter of children and the embracing and whispering in tiny ears “I love you” . How do I choose one without rebuffing the other? Can I choose both? Because I need both.

Like the naked trees outside my window stands my soul before the world.

I know, this loneliness shall pass. I will feel better soon.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

My girls

Hello there! I just wanted to pop in real quick to let you know what I’ve been up to these past few days and share my joy with you…

(My real fairies: Dear Tesa and Averi with their Mima)

And, really, all I have to say for today is that I am thankful to God to no end for being able to share the magic of Christmas with all my children and grandchildren this year, but the one thing that really comes to mind is this... I believe! I believe in magic and holding onto your dreams. I believe in family and love and life, and I believe in the enchantment of memories and hope and giving and forgiving as we share our life with those around us…

Today, I am sending all the fairies in my neck of the woods your way—satchels filled to the brim with best of wishes for you and your families and a blessed and Happy New Year! Thank YOU for letting me share my life with you!

Happy New Year

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Merry Christmas to all

To all who come here:

May joy snow on you, and may the bells jingle happiness for you!

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days;
that can recall the pleasures of our youth;
that can transport the traveler, thousands of miles away,
back to their own fire-side and their quiet home!

~Charles Dickens

PS: I'm taking a brief blogging break. I'll be back soon after the Holidays. Merry Christmas my friends!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

What elements define cottage style? Cottage style simply means a relaxed approach to living. The spirit of romanticism and invention; freedom to mix old and new and of course, a love of floral and… something else: Try soothing pink in a bedroom! Ah yes, one must have at least one little room to decorate in pink—in many shades of pink!

Hello to you! And welcome to another "SHOW OFF YOUR COTTAGE MONDAY", a blog party I host at the beginning of each week to celebrate the things we love about our homes and how we live. If you're new here, thanks for stopping by and if you've visited before, thanks for returning!

The House in the Roses
I wanted to say welcome new party goers as well as say thank you to every participant and party friends for taking the time to come over and share your wonderful links each week! You’re all such creative souls, and I’m always learning from you! THANKS SO MUCH!

Rules: Link your post, not the main page of your blog. Please include a link to the party or the party's button in your post. Celebrate life and see how others celebrate theirs by visiting!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Things I love...

I love the feel of clean wood floors under my feet and the smell of cleanliness… I love the dim light of lamps and I love the warmth and sense of belonging they provide as I go about my lamp-laden house in the roses... something about the ambiance of dim light just captivates me!
 

There is something almost magical about the feeling of linens and colorful vintage fabrics all nicely piled up...
 

I love to see my closets decorated with layer of mismatched bed linens nicely folded and piled up. All the colors, and all the patterns, and all the warmth, the changes of seasons and all the good times they represent.
 
I love to see photographs of beautifully constructed “crumply rumply” beds. I love the abundant layers and linen all beautifully rumpled and mushed, but when it comes to my house I would never leave an unmade bed...
...not even for the purpose of attaining that homey feeling you want to see on a cold rainy day. But that’s just me… ensuring every crinkle is smooth is like ensuring all my thoughts are in the proper place.
 

... I also like to see pretty linen laying around the house conspicuously. I love all the softness and pretty pastel colors, but moderation is my rule. Simply put, too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing... don't you agree?
 

I love lighting up candles in winter; vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, eggnog, pumpkin pie, apple spice, and pine tree scent are my favorite. There are so many wonderful scents of the season!
 

A bright yellow moon hangs in the night sky and a feeling of magic fills the air. Nights are cold—endless dark hours, but we’re warm and cozy under our Sherpa blanket. I am so blessed in so many ways.
 


May your evenings be warm and lanternlit, and may all your worries melt in the December sun.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

This and that and some silliness

I love that time of day when just for a fleeting moment night and day collide; when the slightest speck of light; dim, yet so indomitable, burst through the early gloom saturating the stillness. Shadows and light making brilliant specks on my dinning table; gold dust upon the earth—pre dawn; or early morning.
 

I have always been a morning child and even on those occasions when waking up early is not required, I still do. I would rather compromise a few hours of sleep, than miss the wee hours of morning to it. Are you like that too? Or are you more of a night person and prefer evenings?
 

The quiet house feels so peaceful in the early morning and requires only a print of sunshine for me to be carried away on the wings of floating dreams… If only I could capture the feeling in a bottle and savor it all day.
 

Memories of summer pasts echoes in the mind often; the face of a girl, warm rain and breezes; glittering sunlight on lush and green grasses wild with butterflies—my childhood days. Do you think of your childhood often? I live in the past a lot, and often find myself reliving past memories. I believe the past must be told or else it would be forever forgotten, alone with those with whom you shared it.

And then there’s that ‘other’ past that so intrigues me—the past I’d never lived, yet somehow it is there; somewhere in me. How many lives does one get to live? Wouldn’t it be nice if we can step back in time and live another life just for a little while? Sometimes I like to imagine I live in another era. I can see people of so many years ago, milling about. They’re dressed impeccably; the men in elegant coats and hats and the ladies in Edwardian petticoats and pristine gloves. The other day I wanted to turned myself into a woman of the past, so I grabbed a couple of my favorite scarves and run to my magical garden…

I closed my eyes and asked the fairies to please grant me my wish... there are numerous ways you can encourage the Fey to visit. Convince them of your sincerity; show enthusiasm for healing the planet and fairies will be glad to work with you, blessing you with their wisdom, laughter, joy and fairy magic too! And what do you know! They granted my wish!


I had so much fun walking into the Edwardian era! The only problem was women wore very tight corset and bodice; something I cannot and would not do... ever, never! How would I be able to breath, or move? Can you imagine the hour glass silhouette? Looser less fitted versions for me that's for sure! Guess I'd had been a peasant in my simple wide long skirts, if I lived in that era ;) What about you?

And did you know you can go back in time too? Yeap, through a computer program! ;) It's called BeFunky, and you can access it for free. Try antiquing your photographs by making them into some cool 'daguerreotype"... It’s so much fun!

And so this is winter. The days are short, every hour so fleeting I can barely stand it. By 3:50pm the slant of grayish yellowish light over the barren fields across from my office indicates me that the day is almost over. It is a race against time then; a race against darkness, because I so want to be able to get home and see my garden in daylight. I so miss it. It is hard to leave home when it’s dark and return to it when it’s already dark.

"Old times" never come back and I suppose it's just as well. What comes back is a new morning every day in the year, and that's better. George E. Woodberry

 

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

I love dishes. I have more dishes than I need. When I have company I like to use my white dishes. The simple clean cut of pristine white dishes makes food look and taste more appealing in my opinion. I love that I can add to them inexpensively and endlessly and still maintain continuity, but when it comes to dishes that truly make me happy I always chose my mismatched collection. Mismatched yes, ugly never!

Hello to you! And welcome to another "SHOW OFF YOUR COTTAGE MONDAY", a blog party I host at the beginning of each week to celebrate the things we love about our homes and how we live. If you're new here, thanks for stopping by and if you've visited before, thanks for returning!

The House in the Roses
I wanted to say welcome new party goers as well as say thank you to every participant and party friends for taking the time to come over and share your wonderful links each week! You’re all such creative souls, and I’m always learning from you! THANKS SO MUCH!

Rules: Link your post, not the main page of your blog. Please include a link to the party or the party's button in your post. Celebrate life and see how others celebrate theirs by visiting!