Finally Feeling Spring

"When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself."

 ~Ernest Hemingway

A Moveable Feast

The battle is officially over! We are satisfied with the result. It will be enough to move on, and pay some bills off, and get settled into a new place. There are still some details to be ironed out, minor things like the date we will receive the check, and there will probably be a nondisclosure on names, dates, and amount of the settlement, but that's just the usual behind the scenes workings, no additional drama will take place. So, all that's left to do now is to finish the packing, and finding a new place to call home. Fortunately, we have found a really nice, and very helpful real estate professional to guide us through the next steps in this big adventure. So with the biggest part of this behind us now, I have been reassessing how I feel about things.

Q1. With the settlement check on it's way, am I still angry?

A1. You bet I am! I have forgiven the situation, but in truth, that is more for me than for them. Forgiving means you can move on with your life. It means you can heal. But will I forget? NOT LIKELY.

Q2. Will I still be grieving the loss of the cottage a year from now?

A2. A part of me will always miss this cottage. It was our home for 14 years. There was a lot of joy, and happiness that took place here, as well as a lot of pain from grieving the loss of Elvis, Alan's brother Daryl and June, my dear friend, as well as missing friends who had to move on for one reason or another. I still think of the last conversation I had with Mr. November. I was sitting at my desk, and it was goodbye. But that memory is just that, a memory. And I can keep it with me always, wherever I go. This cottage has been the place I can shut my eyes, and feel what I need to feel as I move through life. But when we find the new place, I know I will come to think just as fondly about it, and feel just as comfortable, as I have here. And I will love it for it's own merits. 

Alan and I are an unbeatable team. When someone put our family in jeopardy, we hugged each other and went into battle. Like a few times before, we thrived in a dark time. Trust in marriage really is the key to everything. Supporting each other daily, so the other one knows, even with just a hug, that no matter what... we are each other's priority... that is what makes our marriage work! It's a strange feeling to know that ours will be the last love story the cottage will have in it. And sometime in the next few months it will be torn to the ground, but I am hoping the rose garden I planted will somehow tell whoever ends up purchasing the property that love existed here. A deep, trusting, funny, silly, surreal, kind, steady, romantic love. And there was much more joy here than there ever was sorrow.

Mood: HAPPY

~Me :)

To Dream A Garden

"To dream a garden and then to plant it is an act of independence and even defiance to the greater world."

~Felder Rushing



I just had to post two more photos from the garden. I have been photographing it, for the first time this spring, just over the last couple days. It was time! Everything has bloomed for the first time this season, and over all it's healthy and off to a pretty good start! There is no sign of winter damage, and no signs... knock wood... of aphids! Gosh I hope I didn't just jinx myself just then! You know how it is, you say something positive out loud, and before you know it, it comes back to haunt you!

 But I have it covered I think. This week I plan to do a heavy cinnamon sprinkle in the garden, which will discourage the ants, which discourages the aphids. Gardening is all a matter of timing... luck... sunshine... rain... and love. My garden is a labor of love. Hopefully years after I am gone, someone will rent this little cottage of mine, and really love and appreciate the beauty of the roses, the lavender and Paul the Japanese Maple.

:)

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

It's What Happens In January

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within it's heart.

~Charles G. Slater

The leaves continue to turn and fall. It's what happens in January. Still. Quiet. Dark. No fanfare. Just a necessary event to encourage an earthly renewal. It's a good thing, and I am already planning which roses will bring new life to the rose garden in 2013. Perhaps I will embrace the muted tones this year. Honey Dijon and Pumpkin Patch. Both unusual and lovely. We'll see. For now, I share the last of the roses of 2012.

Just a little something to keep you warm.

 

 

 

And some leaves...

 

You knew there had to be leaves... right? ;)

~Happiness :)

~Me

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 119~ The Light In The Afternoon

"But now in September the garden has cooled, and with it my possessiveness. The Sun warms my back instead of beating on my head... The harvest has dwindled and I grown apart from the intense midsummer relationship that brought it on."

~Robert Finch




Ordinarily I wouldn't complain about summer coming to an end, but I enjoyed this past three months of warm weather, because it helped to produce the most beautiful roses I have ever grown, and the yummiest tomatoes and zucchini. It wasn't one of those oppressive summers, when it is so hot outside you can't think straight, but it was a consistent summer and it was good, not just for growing things, but for stretching my creativity as well.

Later today, Alan and I will be cooking up some tomatoes from the garden, in some wonderful all purpose tomato sauce, that will eventually become pasta sauce, pizza sauce, and assorted different bases for dinner dishes. I will post the photos along with the recipes as they are developed. I am still considering what wines I may want to add to the sauce. A nice Cabernet for sure I think. We'll see. :)

 

 For the most part, we had an amazingly bug free garden. The roses have been strong and producing new growth at a better than expected rate, so it softened the blow a good bit when I found some aphids munching down on some of my Pink Promise roses. (YIKES). I caught the infestation early, and cut the rose bush back to eliminate the infected new growth, then did a deep sprinkling of cinnamon at the base of the bush. Next I did some preventive maintenance by cutting the new growth from the rest of the roses in the garden.

 

It's been a couple days, and I haven't seen any new instances of aphids, but I will have to watch things closely for the rest of the season. If all else fails, I have some homemade organic remedy all mixed up and ready to go. It worked wonders in years past, so I am confident that if I need to use it, it will do the trick! In late October, I will prune all of the rose bushes back by a third to promote new growth next spring. Aphids like to overwinter in dry leaves, so while I adore autumn and look forward to the big mess the leaves make, this year I will have to be diligent about the raking and disposal of them. FUN! :) It's a good thing I love autumn leaves so much... lol... it will make dealing with them a lot more fun. At least that's what I am hoping! LOL.

The autumn light is beginning to whisper our way, especially in the late afternoon. When that gorgeous late day sun hits the roses, it's nothing short of magical. The roses in this posting all are showing off that light, with only a tiny amount of editing on my part. This pretty much how everything looks right now, and we are getting little bits of color all around. The leaves are gorgeous this year, and I can't wait to get out with my camera a document it all.

Autumn... HERE I COME!




Me :)