Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Gardening Creativity

Hydrangeas always catch my attention!!

But on my morning walkabout, there was something a little different that caught my eye . . . a splash of pink right in the middle of the beautiful blues.



What??  Eye-catching!  Sweet!  Unique!  Definitely worth closer inspection.




Closer inspection reveals a clear glass bottle, copper-wired to a branch.




Branch shoved into the ground.




Glass bottle filled with pink alstroemeria.  Lovely against the blue and green background.

Is there no end to my neighbors' gardening creativity?  

Shabby chic . . . flea market style . . . in the garden.  
Love!





Monday, June 13, 2011

Summery Table

Wow!  If you take a look at this blog, you would assume that I graduated my Oldest Daughter and then drowned my sorrows in a large crock of pickles and fell off the end of the earth.

Not completely true.  Actually, my brain and body stopped after all the busy-ness of the year and once stopped, refused to be prodded once again to action. 

I do also confess to some emotional breakdowns and a few pickles.




But all seems to once again be moving and alive and straightening out.

I can tell by the state of my dining room table.

Until this weekend, it was covered with a droopy cloth leftover from company use weeks ago.  There were stacks of "to do," "to mail," and "to put away" piles here and there.  Someone had cut up paper and left shreds scattered across the length.  An odd stapler was lying haphazardly on its side.  Several vases stood empty, having weeks ago been emptied of their faded contents.

But no more.

This weekend the table was stripped of its mess.  Polished.  And set to rights.  And I love how everything in the middle of my summer table reminds me of some of my favorite summer things.




Cool crisp cotton in a buttery yellow.

Punched tin lanterns with light glowing through.

IBC Root Beer bottles.

Filmy, fluttery flowers of the crepe myrtle.

Yep, I'm back.  The table is cleared and organized.  And that table is a pretty clear window into the state of my mind.


Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Pickles!





So, company came and company left.  And one thing they left behind was pickles.

Pickles sent along from My Husband's Mom.

They aren't just pickles. 

They are legacy . . . journal . . . memory.

90 year-old mother-in-law is not canning pickles anymore.  She stopped several years ago when she stopped planting her sprawling garden.  And with that stopped the legacy of Mom M's canned pickles.

She grew a certain kind of cucumber in her own garden.  She grew the dill in her own garden.  And she had a magic recipe that included this produce, vinegar, and water.

Oh, the water.

Husband and his siblings have memories of going down the road to pump well water to be brought back for the canning of the pickles.  Well water . . . not flavor-marred piped water.

Over time, when she lost her well-water-fetching work force, she did condescend to using piped-in water.

The source of the water was carefully noted on ripped-off pieces of masking tape, stuck to the jars. 

Which brings me to the "journal" aspect of Mom's canned pickles.  As she canned, she made note of interesting life events, quantities and experiments, and, of course, the water source and its effect on the final quality of the pickles.

These little ripped masking tape "journals" show what was on Mom's mind as she canned:

"Too much salt?"

"1 inch rain - thankful"

"Nieces at 2000 World Fair"

"Pastor thinks too much vinegar"

These old Ball jars with their rubber rings, zinc lids, tightly fitted cucumbers and clusters of dill squished in the bottom are a connection to family history.  A tongue-tingling sour memory of a Mom's gift to her family.

I now have 4 jars of these pickles on the shelf of my pantry. 

I don't want to open them.


Sunday, May 22, 2011

She Graduated!



I've disappeared from Blogland while I've purchased frames, pressed gown, entertained family, planned college schedules, enrolled Oldest Daughter, attended parties, and snapped pictures. 

I've missed the comforting peek into your lives and sharing the daily-ness of mine. 

See you soon!


Monday, May 16, 2011

Why We Blog (and Winner!)

It was so fun to read everyone's responses to what draws you to blogging.

Not surprisingly, lots of us find that friendships, relationships, connections with other bloggers, and conversation are big reasons to read and write in Blogland.




Like Lisa said, "I first started reading blogs because I didn't have anyone IRL that shared my not-so-mainstream interests."
 We also love creating and then sharing our creations:





We enter Blogland for eye candy ::sigh:: :





or Inspiration:




Gerry uses blogging to track progress on her projects and to keep family up to date on what she's up to:




It was so much fun to read your responses.  And find out we're pretty much all the same . . . women reaching out to women across Blogland.

So . . . I popped your names into my beautiful swirly bowl:




And the giveaway winner is:




Congratulations, Tracey!  Send me your address (my e-mail address is in the side bar) and your package is ready to come to you!

Thanks everyone for another wonderful, fun year of blogging!


Friday, May 13, 2011

Amazement

(Photos by the very talented Naisang Photography)



I knew to expect how fast it comes . . .

graduation

independence

beginnings of adulthood.




I just didn't know to expect

the feelings of

joy

and

amazement




That somehow I have brought

a soul from birth to adulthood.




I remember bad dreams

in which I'd forgotten I had a baby

left it at home

neglected to feed it.




I'm just that absent-minded.

I didn't doubt it could happen.




But somehow it didn't.

I've remembered to

clothe

feed

and nurture

this child.





And now she is grown

and healthy

and whole.




And I find that

nothing short of

a miracle of grace.


(don't forget the enjoyable blogs giveaway - enter through Friday)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Compassion

At moments like these [pain, struggle, suffering],
 
Jesus never delivered sermons about judgment
 
or the need to accept God's mysterious providence.
 
Instead he responded with compassion---

a word from Latin which simply means "to suffer with"---

and comfort and healing.
  
God stands on the side of those who suffer.

                                   -- Phillip Yancey