This weekend was the first time in quite a while that I had some moments to breathe. Since it was beautifully warm and balmy, I spent hours in the garden, cleaning, weeding, trimming things back, and just in general getting things ready for spring.
I went to my favorite nursery, just to enjoy what was there, but also to pick out some pretty things for a friend’s birthday.
The place just does my heart good: I love its gurgling fountains, glorious urns, elegant topiaries, and rich, colorful flowers bursting out of baskets and pottery.
I left thinking that spring is definitely on its way. ..
"O sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting
fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched
and poked
thee
; has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy
beauty .how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing and
buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
gods
(but
true
to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover
thou answereth
them only with
spring)"
(-e.e. cummings)
I claim there ain’t
another Saint
As great as Valentine.
(-
Don’t you think it's lovely that we have a tradition inviting us to commemorate hearts, love, flowers, chocolates, sweetness and frivolity?
I do.
“A baby is born with a need to be loved--and never outgrows it.” (-Frank Clark)
Have a glorious Valentine’s Day, everyone! Enjoy the whole Valentine weekend!
* (-Judith Viorst)
“Don’t knock the weather. If it didn’t change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn’t start a conversation.” (-Kin Hubbard)
Is there anything nicer
Than red woolly mittens
As fluffy and soft
As a blanket of kittens?
Red mittens to keep
My hands warm as toast
On cold winter days
When I skate or coast.
(-unknown)
Well, our weather here in North Carolina is supposed to turn warm, but for those of you who won't have that, Stay Warm! Happy Weekend, all!
“The rhythm of the weekend, with its birth, its planned gaieties, and its announced end, followed the rhythm of life and was a substitute for it.” (-F Scott Fitzgerald)
“Squirrels for nuts contend, and wrong or right,
For the world’s empire kings ambitious fight
What odds?—to us ‘tis all the self-same thing,
A nut, a world, a squirrel, and a king.”
(-Charles Churchill)
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Aren't dreams fascinating? Who knows why we dream what we do.
Joe was telling me about a dream he had the other night that had me laughing:
He said that he was in a large auditorium, where a woman was asking him to give an important presentation on (get this) “the Three Stooges” to a group of college students. He was nervous, because he couldn't remember what their names were. Then, the woman handed him a big plastic bag, and told him he was lucky that this meant he’d be getting a free lunch! But in his dream, that only made him worried, because he’d be busy giving the presentation during lunch time! A real nightmare, eh?
Recently, my dad told me he was dreaming about my mom, and she was evidently relaying to him (in his dream) that she was worried about something or other. I was glad to hear he still thinks about my mom, but in this instance, with a strange sense of humor as well. He was trying to help her deal with her stress, when, in his dream, he suddenly thought to himself, “Wait a minute—she’s dead now, so she doesn’t have to worry about these things any more!”
What a load off!
Have a great weekend, and Sweet Dreams, all!
;))
"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause
between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."
- (Carol Bishop Hipps )
Happy weekend, all!
When drudgery and care impose themselves,
Each request and promise a feather turned to brick,
Even the strong and stalwart plead for
Kind relief. What wise soul first decreed an
Ending to weekly trials? …with Sunday comics,
Naps and leisurely brunch…time to arrange flowers,
Dogs curled at your feet, and a stack of good books nearby.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
I’ve been pushing myself to try to paint figures and faces lately. When that record starts playing in my head, I tell myself to just keep at it. No one learns in a day.
It’s fun to use magazines and artsy photos that have great shadows for practicing purposes. The art books I read say to lose the edges to background shapes. Easier said than done. (This image was from an ad for a handbag that I saw.)
A friend of mine asked me to paint a sketch of her husband for her a few years ago. I had fun with it, but I’m still intimidated to practice on real people. I’ll have to start on myself. Who cares how that turns out!
“The world today doesn’t make sense, so why should I make pictures that do?” (-Pablo Picasso)
(quote above: F Scott Fitzgerald)The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose -
But were always a rose.
(-Robert Frost)
Happy Friday, all!
And here's hoping your weekend is...
well, just rosy!
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."
(-Arthur Ashe)
What is it about a flea market that’s so appealing to me?
Call it what you will: a garage sale, a rumble sale, a car boot sale, a yard sale, a bazaar, a charity…there’s something very attractive to me about rummaging through other peoples’ cast-off things.
I think it’s got something to do with the notion that I can somehow incorporate a part of another life successfully into my own. One of our favorite activities on a Saturday or Sunday morning is to get up early and head to the local flea market, which is quite extensive, mind you. You can find any manner of things that might suit your fancy: linens, china, silver, old military patches, those old green Coca Cola bottles with the soda still in them, jewelry, garden plants, furniture, swords, baseball cards and corn on the cob. All in one place.
It’s just great fun to handle things that have past lives, but for me, the appeal is also in calculating how I might take some object and re-purpose it quite differently in my own life. I find great satisfaction in browsing through old photos of people I don’t know, in clothing from a different time and place. While it saddens me that some family member probably died and their belongings and photos were dispatched in this way, I find solace in thinking I’m somehow “rescuing” items, and giving them new life. (I believe in some quarters, this is known as “hoarding.” I prefer to call it intentional rejuvenation.)
My favorite thing about the flea market is probably the other people, though: the ones looking, just like me. It has to be one of the all-time best people-watching venues. And have you ever noticed that an item no one else would have ever given a second glance, suddenly takes on enormous appeal when you have an interest in it? The haggling and negotiating is all part of the fun.
“One man’s trash is another’s treasure.” Come to think of it, our entire house attests to that.
