Welcome To The End of December

By Lynn, on December 30th, 2011%

I wondered about a post title, yes I did, in looking for something that made sense.  But why should anything make sense, since we are going on an adventure to build an Alice Tree and make January the month of Alice in Wonderland?  I figured welcoming someone to the end of a month was every bit as good as welcoming someone to the beginning of a month!

Come closer, friends, and let’s talk about December coming to an end!  It has been a beautiful month indeed!  We have had lovely weather on many days, making it seem not so winterish, but then other days with evidence of Old Man Winter’s frosty breath on the grass and our windshield.   We have had food and warm beds at night and friends nd family.  Is there anything else in this present life that a person could want?

Lavender, perhaps?

And lavender we’ve got!  I want you to know that my Princess of the Universe bought me the most beautiful Crabtree & Evelyn lavender gift set.  It smells delightful!  Reminds me of the lavender in my Little Wild Garden. 

All items have been lovingly removed from the box and placed in my bathroom.  (Hear that?  My  bathroom?  With lots of counter space?  New bathroom?  Bright, white, and no leaks or hard-to-clean fixtures.)  I digress.  The box is being used to hold things that will be incorporated into the Alice Tree. 

Oh, look!  The bun-buns are SO excited over being included on the Alice Tree!  Thank you to the readers who suggested it!  Lily.  April.  And others, if you thought it and didn’t speak it, or if you said it and my mind has already cleared out and is onto some other bunch of words whirling around in my head (as is so prone to be the case).

These little bun-buns are playing hide and seek behind the roses.

Anyhoo…  Where were we?

Oh yes!  I am absolutely flattered that Michaela thinks so much of me.  Actually, I am humbled.

Thrift store shopping continues.  Ah, G.W. Boutique, I love you.  In honor of Alice Month, I have pinned on an Alice brooch. 

Old Navy dress 4 dollars; striped turtleneck 3 dollars.  Black leggings — an old wardrobe staple bought new a few years back. 

BEAUTY TIP, ANYONE?

When winter weather gets here, it seems my skin just won’t stay moisturized.  Really.  I feel that fair, freckled skin is prone to dryness and wrinkles anyway, but the winter cold combined with the dry heat going on inside just wreaks havoc! 

Enter the avacado.  Every morning, I peel a slice to eat and peel up a slice to put on my face.  I mash it up and smoothe it over face and neck, leaving it there until it dries.  I then wash it gently away with warm water and pat my face dry.  You’ll have to try it to know how good it feels.  And eating avacado, well that’s not hard!

Avacado has a strong anti-aging antioxidant called glutathione.  Glutathione increases immune cells and breaks down bad fats. 

Of late, I have really been trying to snack on healthy things when I am in the mood for something sweet.  Sweet potato fries with honey.  A smoothie made of yogurt, bananas and frozen strawberries.  Yogurt with fruit stirred in.  You get the picture. 

I have to admit though, I have a weakness this time of year…

Looks like it might be whipped cream on top of hot chocolate, but it is actually whipped cream on top of coffee.  Yeah.  With cinnamon sprinkled on top.  Since I live in WONDERLAND, why not also pretend that I have My own Starbucks right off my office?  Actually, I am trying not to do this 10 times a day.  Just one.  Or two. 

Well, dear readers, tag making is in progress.  I have cut handmade tags which are currently being readied for the Alice Tree.  I think this will be a major learning curve.  I do . I am wondering if Michaela’s school would want to see the Alice Tree when it’s done.  Maybe I am asking for a lot of work to have to haul this thing to her school. 

A girl can dream.

And I say, dream big, or go home!

Here’s to this day.  Enjoy this day!

OH, AND PS!!  Here is a website with Alice in Wonderland, including illustratrations from various illustrators!  It’s a treasure!  Alice in Wonderland.

 

5 comments   Aging Beautifully, bunnies, Fashion, My Crafty Self, Relationships, Thrift and Antique Store Shopping

What I Meant To Say

By Lynn, on June 14th, 2011%

Dear Friends,

A happy morning to all!  The days are busy here.  So busy.  I work.  And I work some more.  I ferry children around.  I pick children up.  I wash clothes and hang them on a rack to dry.  (No dryer yet.)  The blog calls.  I get as far as two steps in the direction of the computer and life calls a little louder.

There’s really not enough time to make things or paint these days.  There is some time, of course, and I love it.  I get lost in it and just think and think and think.  It might be nice if I did have more time for it, but it’s all okay, mind you.  I am not complaining, though at any time I feel I could come here and write a virtual book of all that’s happened.  I am just trying to explain to you, and myself, why my journaling is a bit disjointed.  I am looking for my track.  MY track.  The track on which I am supposed to be running.  The track that feels right.  The one that feels like Lynn.  It’s there I know, but it’s still a bit hidden.  When you pluck yourself out of an almost  24-year-old situation, I suppose it’s normal to feel a bit “off track.”

Isn’t it hilarious that the title of this post is “what I meant to say” and I still don’t know what I’m saying?  The point, actually, was that I meant to say more yesterday.   Last night.  Late last night.  But I had to close my eyes and go to sleep, finally.  You know that does have to happen at some point.

Enough about me.

One word.  Infusion.  I went by The Little Wild Garden yesterday and picked the makings of an infusion: bee balm, dandelion, plantain, lavender, lamb’s quarters, mint.  The scent of all these herbs of my “old” little yard carried me into a peaceful place.  (Ahhhh.  Where ever my track turns up, there will be plants there.  It’s gonna take awhile.)

I poured the hot water over the plants, into a pretty, heavy teapot and sipped from a little Japanese cup all day.  Feels right.  Right track.

I worked on some things, added to my A Bit of Birdsong to-do list.  Might I say now, that I do love my current schedule?  I do.  I really do.  It’s a bit of a change, but it does feel right.  I get up around 7 a.m.  I start the coffee and then feed Annie.  When Annie is done gobbling up her food, we walk.  Then we come home (see I called it home).  I fix a cup of coffee and I sit and look out this huge window that I love.  (Feels like an extended vacation at this point.)  I love to people watch and bird watch.  And there are lots of robins and mockingbirds here.  Love them both.  Lots of little robin nests.

I have my quiet time.  I work on my crafts and around the apartment.  I am free until 10 a.m. at which time I work.  I work from 10:00 to 2:00.  Then we are free for the pool or whatever else.  The kids love the pool, and I love sitting out there and reading and writing.  At 6 p.m. it’s back to work.   I work the second half of my split shift, from 6 to 10 p.m.  Then I have free time and quiet time again before bed.  The day seems long in a good way.  And I LOVE being home to take my breaks right here.  I can put in a load of clothes.  I can walk to the mailbox or the recycle center and drop some things off.  I can even peep into my corner art studio and dream for a couple of minutes.  And I can sip on my infusion.  :)

I thought you might want to see the factory in England I’ve been hanging out at.  It’s where the bunnies are springing to life left and right.  Yes indeed.  I’ve met some factory friends there.  I have it really, really good compared to them.  We do have fun talking!  They cannot believe what life has turned into in the year 2011.  And I cannot believe all I did not know about their daily work. 

So, I will close for now.  I still am not sure I said what I meant to say. 

My Dear Mother~~ I am going back by those recycle dumpsters today.  I promise not to fall in.  I cannot say if I’ll take a garden rake with me.  Or a steel crate to stand on.  But I will be careful.  Your girl, Lynn

Enjoy this day!!

PS — My oldest son is 23 today. 

8 comments   bunnies, Herbs and Wild Edibles, My Crafty Self

Invasion of the Bun-Buns

By Lynn, on June 7th, 2011%

That I had been invaded was evident when I woke up and faced the window.

But I did not feel afraid.  To the contrary, I sat up, blinked and said, “What are you all looking for?”

The bunnies began to hop excitedly over to the bed.  They were all talking at once.  “We want to go outside!  We want to go outside!”

“Well…  Oh, okay, I’ll take you outside.”

Oh my, the squeals of bunny delight!  The bunnies danced in circles!  “We’re going outside!  We’re going outside.”

So I took the bunnies out to the bright green grass where they danced some more.  They had a little bunny picnic.  They sang some bunny songs. 

All was, and is, well at Rose Cottage.

8 comments   bunnies, My Crafty Self

They Just Hopped Out

By Lynn, on June 4th, 2011%

Someone mentioned that I should draw animals. Jen, was it you? Or maybe Carrie or Connie?  Or, or, or… My mind is full of sweet names, and thoughts, and memories, and I am just not sure! But I started a painting, nay a book! And what hopped out of my heart but bunnies?

You are not surprised.  I am not surprised.  (Well, maybe a little.)

The painting is not done, the book is started, but will take awhile, but the little creatures in the book have begun to jump right off the art desk and hop all over the apartment, into the shop, into the doll house, and right in front of Annie, who would like to chew one up.  But we won’t let her.

I think this is my favorite, for now.  But oh just wait til a baby bunny comes to life.  Then I think my heart will be fickle and change. 

I must work soon, and the pool calls, and lunch and so on and so on.  But when there is a quiet break, my art desk and easel call, and I do find some solace there.  My dreams somehow find their way to paper and fabric and clay, and that’s a good thing, for we cannot lose our dreams and stay happy for very long.

Enjoy this day!

14 comments   bunnies, My Crafty Self