Happy New Year

Gardening is cheaper than therapy….. and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown

Happy New year!! Its been a few months since I posted anything on my blog but as the new year has arrived, there is no time like the present to act on my intentions, otherwise they will remain only an intention. Writing my blog is one of them.

As  New years day darkened and drew to a close I sat in an old leather chair purchased with the house we recently bought, listening to a howling wind outside and contemplating what 2012 would bring. I had a cozy feeling of warmth and contentment having spent the early evening with friends sharing a laugh and a bowl of clam chowder.

That was not the case however earlier in the day when the realization that the Holiday season was well and truly over struck me. Paul and I had gone out for a couple of essentials in the morning. Despite it being New Year’s Day, the grocery store was open and as we approached, the doors opened as if by magic sucking us (and our credit card) into the store. It was then it hit me… all signs of Christmas were GONE. Not a wreath, tree, festive flower arrangement or Salvation Army bell ringer in sight. Seemingly overnight they were all replaced by rows upon rows of perfectly flowering primroses and miniature daffodils.

 Wait a minute …. had spring arrived already and I missed it? I shouldn’t have been so surprised, after all Christmas had been over a whole week (sarcasm) and my house still looked like Santa’s grotto!  I was lured into a sense of mild anxiety realizing that I was in mortal danger of jumping on the ”seasonal hamster wheel” as I entered the store and glimpsed at all the valentine’s paraphernalia.  I wanted to shout out “slow down, what’s the hurry, I haven’t even got my tree down yet”. Should I really be thinking about daffodils and Valentine ’s Day already? “NO” I said to myself. I only went in for milk and I left feeling like I had to run to catch up to the next big day on the calendar.  (I am now thinking about Easter) HELP!

Deep breaths, sanity recovered and milk bought, I left the store telling myself to stop being ridiculous. Never the less, after we got home, I had my tree down, fallen pine needles vacuumed up and decorations packed and stored away in less than two hours!

It’s the same every year and I have decided this year to get off the seasonal hamster wheel. As Holidays go that’s why I like Thanksgiving, even though as an English woman it was not a tradition I grew up with. For me it is the jewel on the American calendar, adorning the month of November which would otherwise be rather lack luster.  It is a single day. Demanding no presents, it has no expectations beyond the promise of spending the day in good company, eating and giving thanks for the things that enrich our lives. It is a subtle reminder to keep within us what is truly important as the madness of December crashes across the next page of the calendar with all the subtlety of a circus elephant. It’s not that I don’t like Christmas, I do, I just feel we have slightly lost our way amongst the self inflicted chaos of the season.

So now we are a week into the New Year and today I began to act on another of my intentions; tending the garden which came with our newly acquired home. It is quite large but well landscaped making maintenance relatively easy and is complete with a forest beyond the garden. 

I go out there most days and find it very therapeutic. There are lots of huge trees so cleaning up the leaves is an endless task but working in the garden helps me physically regain strength and range of motion that I lost after surgery. It’s also a very calming place where I can quiet the emotional turbulence and do a lot of thinking and mental healing. There is something very restorative about being outside, watching nature do her thing and the seasons ebb and flow. That is the order of things, it is how it should be… right? But today I couldn’t believe my eyes, a rhododendron is actually flowering,

a yellow shrub that I don’t know the name of is in full blossom

and I have small pink roses that don’t seem to realize that they were supposed to have been over in October. I thought perhaps Mother Nature has ADD like the rest of us or maybe she unwittingly stepped on the seasonal hamster wheel too. But no, I think spring has actually sprung early and I didn’t miss it.  

Favorite things

When the dog bites, when the bee stings,
when I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
and then I don't feel so bad. (Rogers and Hammerstein from The sound of Music)

No, I have not been bitten by a dog nor have I been stung by a bee, (recently anyway), but I have been feeling a little sad lately and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Is it a feeling of impending doom? After all, according to a few, the world was supposed to end last Saturday. Personally, I didn’t believe it for a moment, as I cheerfully drank wine with friends during the predicted apocalyptic hour. I actually felt a little cross at the “doom mongers” ranting, like there is not enough bad news in the world at the moment, and dismissed it from my mind... No, I don’t think it’s that.

Maybe I am feeling a little sad due to my own personal hormonal tsunami that seems to be in full force at the moment. Just like the real thing, it disappears out to sea one minute and then comes crashing onshore, leaving a pile of soggy Kleenex and bewildered family members to clean up the mess… Yes, I think that could be it… or a part of it anyway.

But… I can’t help but wonder if something really is amiss as, like me, Mother Nature seems to be rather menopausal. The earth is quaking a little too frequently; volcanoes erupt in angry displays, spewing their inner-most contents. Rivers flood, engulfing the land and tornadoes rip through towns leaving devastation in their wake. But despite the geological and meteorological catastrophes that seem to be plaguing the planet at the moment, I look to Mother Nature’s gentle side for reassurance which is evident in my garden, as it wakes from its winter slumber. I am confident that summer will follow spring, autumn will follow after that and all will be well with the world… Doom mongers, be gone!

Unlike Julie Andrews, when the doldrums hit I am not about to hike up a hill, twirl around a bit and burst into song but I will share a couple of my favorite things from my garden.  

                                          Apple blossom

                                          Cherry blossom

“Raindrops on roses” No, but a downpour on hosta leaves, yes. It always amazes me me how my hosta plants disappear for the winter and re appear to fill the void in the garden with Jurassic proportions. They hold water droplets on their leaves like jewels that catch the light and sparkle, adding a little “bling” to their great green expanse. Next to the giant hosta is a sword fern which begins its annual rejuvenation by unfurling its new leaves from a tightly curled cochlea, reminiscent of a prehistoric fossil. Both plants seem to have come from another age and time. Have they too survived the wrath of Mother Nature over the millennia, to find themselves comfortably mixing with the youthful flora and fauna of my eclectic flower bed? I wonder

                                          Giant hosta leaves after the rain

                                         Sword fern unfurling

“Whiskers on Kittens” Hmmmm…..I am actually a dog person and anyone who had the misfortune to be attacked by our (now deceased) cat will understand why. Rigsby was a cat not to be messed with. He had a mean streak and was not afraid to show it. We buried his ashes in a big plant pot over which we ceremonially planted a (very expensive) Japanese maple. I was all for sticking him in the ground but the kids were worried about leaving him behind if we ever moved house, so a plant pot it was. A year later the Japanese maple was dead and in its place grew the most enormous stinging nettle I have ever seen. It was as though that cat was trying to get his claws out…. just one more time. I replaced the Japanese maple with a hydrangea which blooms prolifically every year. It’s not flowering yet but is looking like it is going to give us a beautiful display and something lovely to look forward to.

                                                       Last years hydrangea

Now all we need is a little sunshine .......

Everything has to start somewhere

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. (Unknown)

Welcome to my new blog! What’s it all about?...Well I am still figuring out the finer details which has in its own way prompted my first entry. This page will most likely change in appearance occasionally as I tweak settings, mess things up and generally blunder my way to getting this page just how I want it…but this is a start, here goes….

My brain has once again an insatiable need to unload its contents. As usual it is early morning, 4 30 am to be precise, although by the time I post this I will have re written it several times and I am sure it will be mid morning. As I summon my powers and focus my thoughts in an attempt to write what my plan is for this blog , a vague yet familiar feeling has returned to the pit of my stomach. My memory has jolted me back to childhood…. It’s the first day at a new school, mild anxiety over finding my way around, what’s for lunch and will it be edible, but above all else, I hope that someone will want to be my friend. Uppermost in my mind as I walk through the school doors into the echoing unfamiliar space are my mother’s parting words “you’ll be fine, just be yourself.”  

That’s what this is about… being myself. My previous blog was about myself too. I am beginning to wonder if I am a narcissist, although having spent the best part of a year fighting off breast cancer I think I can be permitted to indulge myself in a little reflective narcissism.  I am moving away from my safe and familiar Caringbridge blog where everyone was my friend and stepping in to unfamiliar territory to continue my journey. It’s about moving on, my explorations, experiences, observations and the overdue re awakening of my long time neglected creative aspirations. Call it a journey of self discovery, a step on the road to exploring the things that interest me. I just hope there are no “mean girls” waiting in the bathroom to trip me up!

 Facing a crisis like cancer has a strange way of changing ones perspective on life and the things that are important. For me it also brought about the unrelenting need to journal my experience during which I discovered a taste for writing. Here I will continue to practice the craft of turning my mental jumble into coherent and hopefully polished pieces. In an abstract way writing could be considered upcycling; “Turning potential waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value”. I don’t know if writing has high “environmental” value as it requires material resources to achieve a final product. In my mind, the higher value comes in the form of a tangible medium for expressing and sharing a thought or idea which would otherwise be wasted.

Upcycling is a word I learned recently as I began my travel down the aforementioned unfamiliar corridors in the school of “promote your craft online.” I got the notion to make some greeting cards to send as thank-you’s to a few folks who have been so kind during my treatment. After shopping at Trader Joe’s and unpacking my goodies from their rather fancy paper bags (I left my reusable ones in the car), I felt a little shame at the thought of the artwork on those bags being carelessly discarded. It seemed a waste as obviously they have been designed and produced at some level of expense to the company and ultimately the environment.  I rushed to my Cricut machine and started cutting out delicate shapes from the printed parts of the paper bags and realized that what I had made was rather nice. Armed with a glue pen and some “sparkly things” I found in my craft supply, I lost myself for a couple of hours emerging with a sense of accomplishment and a handful of cards. My imagination then took over as I thought of all the other things I could make from paper bags and rushed to the internet….

Alas I was not the first to come up with this idea … not even close. As I discovered it’s a popular pastime that falls under the umbrella of upcycling and you would be surprised what people can do with paper bags. I was. Undaunted I continued my creations purely for the pleasure of it and, to coin a phrase, “I have created a monster”

I showed them to a couple of friends who were very complimentary and encouraged me to try and sell them which I am doing. I will use this blog to post about the things I have made and whatever the outcome, you can be sure I will write about it. I have no expectations and am just enjoying exploring the possibilities. I am learning new things, and I am peeking through the window into an online world of arty, crafty talented people, all making a go of it…why shouldn’t I?

In closing I must mention my “Upcycled” friend Rachael who was so enthusiastic about my cards and was instrumental in their appearance at The Libertine www.libertinedeli.com. Rachael is a talented writer and has a wonderful blog herself www.someonesalwayswatchingyou.blogspot.com. We both seem to feed off each other’s energy which is so refreshing. I thank her for her own lovely piece about me in the context of upcycling. I was touched and look forward to our next chat!

On that note, I see my blog as being a place to share my appreciation for the things other folks are doing.  Technology not being one of my major strengths, I hope to have links to other inspiring people and places that I mention along the way; I know I can do it, I just have to figure out how.