in the garden...

I had a wonderful opportunity to visit a few gardens in the last several weeks...one, a masterful kitchen garden, had me dreaming of summer bounty & rushing home to create new raised beds(we have moles, gophers & sweet bunnies, all more than happy to enjoy the fruit of our labour) and fill them with the seeds of summer...lettuces, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, basil, cilantro and many, many plants of peppers (my guys do love their serranos!)
And the second, Portland's famed rose gardens, had me snapping photos like a mad woman, and looking at my own feeble attempts at lush beautiful blooms with a bit of a jaundiced eye I must admit...
Both visits got me to thinking, quite a bit, about what makes us head out to potter around in the dirt...
I love being out in the garden...I have dreams (often frustrated, I admit) of a fine English garden, filled with bounteous roses, masses upon masses of every lovely perennial nestled comfortably side by side with one another, happily co existing and creating an harmonious whole...I love the challenge of trying to create colours and textures that suit a southern California climate and sensibility, while still echoing those amazingly abundant, overflowing riches of a Somerset garden...sigh! Then too, I have a son who will constantly remind me to be xeroscapically minded (that is, conscious of my use of resources and native plants, hence, new vegetable beds in the place of grass & drought friendly beds)...and a husband who will remind me of the value of form vs function...aesthetics vs practicalities...so now, I have quite a mix in my garden...roses, yes!, but also lavender, licorice plant, mexican sage, bush sweet peas, rosemary, and society garlic...they are not quite flowing merrily into one another's space, but they do blend, and they are happy to exist with minimum water...it works, most of the time, but does have times where it looks either wild and overgrown (the times when I do not give the time to be out in my garden) or tired and hot...(and I sympathize,because usually by that point I am feeling the same way)
I said I love being out in the garden, but I have found that I can too easily be pulled away by the urgent, the immediate, and it can be days, or even weeks (or more if I am brutally honest) until I can go out to water, trim, and tend...and my garden shows and suffers when that happens...isn't that, not to put too fine a point on it, much like everything in life? If I allow myself to be distracted, to be pulled away, by things "urgent", immediate, and "necessary", I can miss the important, the quietly beautiful, the best things in my day to day life...and they suffer, and it shows in my life...
I am taking time this summer to take more time...in the garden, (my vegetable beds are coming along beautifully, and my "english gardens" are thriving...as to my roses...I will get back to you on that topic!)
And I am also trying to see distractions for what they are, and to focus on the true, the rich, and the meaningful...For me, family, friends, and TIME...here's to all of that and more for all of you!

Mid May! Where did the time go? Oh! I know...

Whew! Just beginning to resurface after one very hectic, wonderful, challenging and incredible 4 (or so) weeks! Just after I started this little venture, I got busy getting ready for my FAVOURITE show...Remnants of the Past...what an amazing time! To say it was beautiful is an understatement...to say we all had an incredible time, really does not capture it...seeing all my favourite folk...the dealers who come to this show each time, and new favs, all the great ladies (and gentlemen (to be fair to those guys that brave this world)) that visit us here...what a true and rare blessing! The only problem is that it just goes by in a blur...I found myself just wanting more time...more time to talk with each person that stopped by my booth, more time to look around and take it all in, more time to shop, (never enough of that!) and more time to enjoy what brought us all together for that amazing day...
Once it was over and my husband, sons and my older son's sweet girlfriend (did you get a chance to talk with her at the show? She helped me out all day while the menfolk played a round of golf) got everything packed up ready to head for home, we stopped at Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos...remember I mentioned finding that special restaurant wherever we find ourselves??? This is definitely one of those...so good and so perfect to complete the day...gourmet flatbread pizzas, (grilled shallots, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil...oh, just the memory makes me want to get in the car and head on up there!) and homemade toasted marshmallow s'mores...oh my oh my!
No time to rest after the show, because then it was time to get ready for our younger son's college graduation...sigh! Did not think I would be so emotional (oh really? this from the woman who sniffled uncontrollably when dropping him off at pre school) We were very blessed to share a family celebration where we laughed a lot and shared great memories of our son's growing up (a little embarrassing I must admit, but he took it all with a good heart)
Then on to the CALM antiques show in Santa Barbara...two days setting up and three days to meet, greet and chat...what a pretty show...I always feel like some of those dealers have got it SOOO together...and some of them are what I want to be when I grow up! If you got a chance to come by, did you see Kymberley's booth...3 Fine Grains...stunning! I kept going back over and over to ooh and ahhh... And then Dan Marty's Maison Au Naturel...all I can say is...I really NEED that industrial shelf and bin unit...(okay maybe not need...but oh how I loved it!)

Catching up now, my sweet husband and I are away from home, resting (sleeping!) and restoring...enjoying undivided attention...talking about all sorts of things that matter...planning, dreaming and preparing for a busy summer ahead...

Blessings to all of you...thank you for stopping by and chatting at the shows...thanks for your kind emails and comments...keep em coming! I enjoy spending time catching up with you guys...

Thoughts at the beginning...

Let's share together some of the things that get our hearts going...flutter, flutter, flutter! What gets you up in the morning...what is it that fuels your latest passion...
For me, it is...
Family! Ah...my wonderful dear husband... helpmate, best of best friends, soul mate, fellow dreamer of big dreams, seeker of the best in me, pusher from behind when needed("get out there and do it for goodness sakes!"), my forever love!
My two sons! When did THEY grow up? Wasn't it yesterday we were playing in the sandbox in the back yard, reading Lord of the Rings at night before bed...playing video games, hockey and golf, doing nights and nights of homework (usually at the last minute)...when did it become wonderful long talks over dinner and wine, family "vacations" completely remodeling a very old cottage, cooking phenomenal meals together and finding the best little local restaurant wherever we are (but where did you learn to like the "nasty bits"? Yikes!)
Parents...my sweet mom and dad...my early strength and shield, they taught me so much...still do, God Bless them!
For me, my Faith moves me, though not as much as it should...but I am working on it.
Stories...people's life stories, books (ah Jane Austin!) Movies, the latest news article, my favourite blog from the internet (what were we doing before the internet?) history, science, philosophy...Art...they all inform my thoughts...
Creating things...did you ever look at something and think about what it could become? Just let me wander the aisles at any flea market, and I literally start bouncing up and down...did you see that ...what do you think of that... where (or how) can I use that? Right now I am thinking about the antique ceiling tiles I am going to make into.....? and what colour is that chair going to be?
Can you see where I am going...will you come along...I hope so...!