By Lynn, on May 11th, 2011%
Oh, talk to me, talk to me, pillows, blankets, dishes, walls. I am listening!
Hey. Stop for just a minute and look at that yellow bowl. Is there anything material that is prettier? If there is, I cannot find it right now. It is simple. It is vintage. It has purpose. It is covered in flowers.
I rest my case.
I just do not think there can be too many flowers in this place right now. In fact, I am going to keep adding flowers until someone says, “Whoa, Lynn, there’s too many flowers in this place.”
A. I doubt anyone is going to say that.
B. Is it even possible?
C. Talk to the hand because I’m not listening.
Cabbage roses are what get to me the most. Cabbage roses, cabbage roses. What is a cabbage rose anyway? I mean, I thought I knew. To me, it’s the big, voluminous, usually pink rose bloom that would fill up a tea cup and then some. But is that really what it means?
(Lynn gets her 50-pound plant encyclopedia out and looks up cabbage rose. Lynn stumbles in exhaustion and should go to bed. But Lynn is a relentless reporter who knows that all of blogland has come here this evening to find out if they really know what a cabbage rose is.)
Folks, I am so impressed with the information one can find right here on this very blog. And it’s a direct result of a tired woman stumbling across her apartment holding a 50-pound plant encyclopedia. Yessiree, you’ll want to stay tuned in to see what happens next.
So, the cabbage rose is actually Rosa x centifolia, and centifolia literally means 100 petals. I am very proud to tell you that I remembered enough from our metric study in school to know that cent- means 100. I also remember that I was scared to death throughout my entire 5th grade year because our teacher told us that in Europe they used metrics and, in fact, the entire world was going to be switching to metrics, and so we all must learn to convert.
Convert.
Convert?
CONVERT.
It was a dark, long, very bad nightmare, that year was. I knew if I did not learn to convert I would never bake a cake, or read road signs, or be able to measure anything ever again. So basically I would just be a shell of a person while the rest of the world went on with the metric system. I was basically too scared to learn how to convert. I lived in fear that entire 5th grade year and I did not learn how to convert. And I know I should be happy we didn’t switch to metrics in America, because I am able to lead a normal life and blend in, but I am sort of mad. In fact, I am very mad sometimes at that teacher because the United States did not convert to metrics. Because I lost a lot of sleep in the 5th grade wondering what I’d do if I were on a highway and it said the speed limit was 70 kph, and I did not know what that meant, and I converted wrong and was doing like 400 miles an hour and careened off the road into a ravine. All because I could not convert. No. Here in the U.S. we got as far as a 2-liter drink and the whole program ground to a halt. (Or would that be grinded to a halt?)
(The reporting here is amazing.)
Wikipedia says that the cabbage rose is a complex rose. Therefore I am trying to make this post as complex as possible so that you’ll remember forever that the cabbage rose is a complex rose. And do not forget it’s a hybrid rose. With 100 petals. (I think that just means a bunch of petals, for those of you who are very literal.)
It is also called the provence rose. It has been around for several hundred years now. Since, oh, about the 1600s. It is believed that the Dutch developed it. And I am mortally shocked over that because I really thought it would have been someone English. It did become very popular with Dutch and Flemish painters and is even called the “rose of the painters.” It is also popular in Victorian furnishings.
So, in essence, I am going to pack this apartment full of cabbage roses. And tomorrow, while I am out running errands, I am going to keep my ear finely tuned to every Goodwill within a 45-mile radius, and if I hear even a very faint Lynn Wilson come from the Goodwill, I will just assume it’s because something with a flower on it waits inside. And not just any flower, but a rose. And not just any rose, but a complex, hybrid, 100-petal, thought-to-be-Dutch, rose-of-the-painters, highly-fragrant, cabbage rose.
PS — Dear Ms. Cox, the United States did not convert to the Metric System. Just in case you didn’t know that yet.
By Lynn, on May 5th, 2011%
Sometimes life feels like a puzzle.
And actually somtimes you just need a puzzle.
I’ve been trying to keep the apartment quiet, clean and relaxing. I want us to do quiet, healing things.
Who can resist a puzzle? I set one up on the card table, now that the card table is free (thanks to the new farm table from Goodwill). We don’t work on the puzzle all the time, obviously, but sometimes the puzzle just calls out and it’s fun to sit down and find where a piece or two goes.
I wanted a sideboard for the wall that seemed so bare. I still want a sideboard, and when I spot the one for me, I’ll know! It’ll have those celestial beams dancing all around it!  In the meantime, I was tired of that wall being bare and stuff sitting on the floor in front of it. But I cannot afford to buy furniture unless it’s the right price on the right day. Then I remembered a dresser sitting unused at “the old house.” I hauled it to the apartment. I cleaned it up and put it in my bedroom. Then the white dresser that had been in my bedroom was moved into our little dining area to be my sideboard. A large scarf dresses it up. It’s filled right now with all the makings of school scrapbooks for all the children. I am nearly done with all scrapbooks for all children for all years. Just think! Only a few more to do. By then maybe I’ll have found my sideboard and I can purge more books from the bookshelf and put the completed school scrapbooks in the big bookshelf. Then the sideboard can hold sideboard stuff (whatever that might be).
I went to The Little Wild Garden today. One word. Roses. I could not resist picking some flowers. The garden is full of them this year. My beloved little garden. I know roses need water, but I tried not to cry on them. I’ll leave the watering to the rain. I picked with joy. I know that Edna St. Vincent Millay was glad under the sun and touched a hundred flowers and did not pick one, but I had no such restraint.
I rather like my flowers in the oatmeal container. I feel like I went down from the highlands to visit an English garden and all I had was my Irish oatmeal container to put them in. Cool.
I must run. My girl needs the computer for a school project.
Enjoy each day!
By Lynn, on April 26th, 2011%
My Dear Friends,
There was a bountiful harvest this morning, fresh from The Tame Little Garden.
Now. I could tell a big fib and say I grew the bananas and the strawberries in my office, but I bet someone would see right through that. So I’m gonna stick to the truth and tell you that I grew only the chives.
Yes, the chives came with me from the old garden, The Little Wild Garden, a little garden that has a lot of me in it–a lot of my sweat, dreams and some of my heart. And many creatures that I encouraged to take up residence there. These chives started as babes, were separated and planted in pots, ready to sell at the farmer’s market, but that’s a thing of the past. Now, I have two pots of chives in my bright office window.
Did you know that chives belong to the onion genus, or Allium? The “hot” smelling oil in these plants contains sulphur, which is a good germ fighter. Chives have not traditionally been used as heavily medicinally as onions and garlic, simply because they do not have as much of this oil. Still, it’s there, and in The Tame Little Garden, chives are my sulphur-rich herbs.
I love that I can grow chives inside. It’s one herb that will do okay inside. They do need full sun, so they need a very sunny window, and they like to be used. Leaf blades can be cut down to about 1 inch from the soil and used in soups, salads, as garnish. When cold weather arrives, it’s best to put the pots outside and let the foliage be killed back by the frost. Bring them in again and they’ll come back out.
In other news, a name for my little cottage is still floating around in my mind. I worked out at the gym again tonight, and last night, so that’s three nights in a row, folks! What are we going to do with me? My my my!
The gym had several people already there when we got there tonight. Sometimes Michaela and I have the gym quite to ourselves, but then sometimes there’s lot of people there. Tonight, actually, there was a very pretty, trim, fit, muscular, (did I say pretty?) lady on the treadmill, and she had on real workout clothes. I was dressed in high-water gray sweats, bright pink Valentine’s day socks, and an assortment of T-shirts and tank tops. Thank goodness the tanktop was long. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that. Except that I was also wearing my running shoes from 1987. But I did smile. Yes, you can always wear a smile. No matter what else you happen to have on. And just for the record, she had a smile on too. And so did her male exercise partner. I didn’t pay much attention to his clothes. Mostly because I figured if I didn’t pay much attention to his clothes he wouldn’t pay much attention to mine. At that particular moment, I felt like I’d be more comfortable if I also had a poncho on (for obvious reasons) but that might just attract more attention, so I crossed that thought out of my mind and went on riding on my exercise bike like I was there all the time, and where had they been, by the way.
Have I ever told you how much I like having a public blog on which to pour out thoughts and ramble on?
On that note, I shall depart to my bedroom chamber and take up where I left off in my book, which is a secret book until I decide to tell you all about it.
I hope you enjoyed this day.
By Lynn, on April 23rd, 2011%
My dear friends,
Would you take a little complex tour with me? Now, this will not be complex as in difficult to understand, but as in apartment complex. It could get complex, mind you, if we decide to analyze everything for the last two decades, but let’s just walk and enjoy, shall we?
I don’t have many new pictures so far, but I am wanting to take more and more as I go on my walks, so I can show you the things that speak to my heart. There are things that do that here, in spite of my creatures and my beloved wildflowers and herbs being back on another street, in another yard.
Do you see any weeds? No, I don’t either. In all honesty, I am sort of enjoying this right now. The grounds are kept rather meticulously (even if all the dog owners don’t always clean up after their dogs) and there is constantly someone, it seems, doing some kind of work around here. At this point in life, it’s doing me good to rest. To just BE. I don’t need yard work at this point in life. I don’t need to worry about what to compost and what to turn into tea. I am finding solace in bright new teacups, covered in violets and roses, and a fresh box of Earl Gray from the local grocery store. Indeed.
There are many beautiful shrubs here. These, I think, are my favorites as far as traditional apartment landscaping goes. I am taking copious mental notes (will this turn into a book?) on what I love and want to take always with me, even perhaps to a new home someday.
Can anyone say thick planting? Of course it is not too much for yours truly, whose biggest problem is probably that of cluttering things up. No, not too much for me.
And my little Annie! Where would I be without her? She has been a constant companion. I have to take her everywhere with me these days, so she won’t howl and get us kicked out. We love our walks. Here she is staring off at some strange sight. There are numerous dogs here. Annie loves it! The grounds are large and well kept and it’s an easy walk in any direction. And we do walk in any and every direction!
Must run for now. I am thinking my two youngest children would like to get out of the apartment and get something new to wear. Not much. Perhaps a new skirt for my princess and new shoes or pants for John. All is well.
Enjoy this day.
By Lynn, on April 9th, 2011%
What’s the weather here this morning? Gray, wet, chilly. But are we happy? Yes.
There’s a verse that has been going over and over in my mind. I cannot even tell you where it is, but it says hope deferred maketh the heart sick. It’s something that I’ve proven. I also know that when there is hope, even a gray, rainy day can’t dampen it. It’s like a little light in the dark. The dark cannot overcome even a little light. So even a gray day cannot overcome a tiny ray of hope. Where would we be without hope? 
I’ve been working on a doll. You shall see him soon. I think he looks sad. Michaela thinks he’s really cute. Anyway, when I start with a lump of clay, it just sort of ends up being a person. It’s like the energy from my hands makes it one way or another. I do not really plan to make a person look happy or sad or like a farmer or an old man. It just happens. This newest man is dressed and waiting for just a couple of touches and then you can meet him.
I have so much catching up to do! I have things that need to be listed in the shop. I have stuff that needs to just be thrown out. I still have things sitting here in baskets to sell to the antique store, drop off at the consignment store, donate to Goodwill. There are things I need to buy, but trying to be the grown-up head of household here and do things in their time.
The pictures are, of course, from The Tame Little Garden and the apartment. It is getting fuller and fuller. (That statement felt like Pooh Bear.) And you won’t believe what I saw through my office window yesterday! A creature! A very large creature. Or two! Butterflies and bees. Yes, there’s a row of blooming shrubs that would be close enough for me to touch almost if the window was not in the way. The grounds are really pretty here, and I must say it feels good to sit back and let someone else do the garden work for a change.
Again, thank you for friendships and kindnesses. More to come, as this little apartment becomes a warm home, at least for a season, and maybe longer.
By Lynn, on April 4th, 2011%
You know I have to have a garden. The Wild Little Garden is a thing of the past. Now it’s time for a tame garden. An inside garden. A garden with well behaved, exotic plants. A garden with only one creature. Can you guess who the creature is?
Michaela and I found this pink-blooming cactus, and we thought it was perfect for my office. My office has a huge window, allowing the bright healing light to pour in on me and my plants.
Do you know who the creature is?
But of course. Beagle in action. Newborn baby fatso Annie beagle. No more spiders. No more snakes. No more bees. Only Annie. But Annie will do. After all, a person can only study one creature at a time.
Once again, from the bottom of my creature-loving heart, thank you for ordering so much from the little Etsy shop. I am busy making things to fill it up again. Creating is a healing process too. Out of the heart (weary or happy, doesn’t matter) comes forth all sorts of thoughts and ideas that need a place to rest. Paint brushes and kneading, sculpting hands give them a home.
I don’t care to even admit how stressed I’ve felt this morning. Can you say 8 hours of work and a tax appointment? But then I rested, in the quiet of my room and was assured again that all will be okay. One little step at a time.
By Lynn, on March 12th, 2011%
The Reformed Little Wild Garden is coming along. If only I didn’t have to stop to work. And cook. And eat.
The carpenter had a dumptruck load of mulch delivered for me. I love that man. Even if I do have to threaten him with a frying pan every now and then.
Even the rabbits love the carpenter. Because he lets them live here. Rent free.
And he even tolerates me saying things to him like, “Honey, I cannot believe you wanted all these rabbits.”
“Yeah, right,” he says loudly. At least he smiles when he says it.
Have we ever had such a springtime crop of chickweed? I think not! Part of me wants to let chickweed take over the yard! The neighborhood! The world! I just know it would draw in more garden fairies. Does it not look simply enchanting—the view under this bench? But The Little Wild Garden is going for a more refined, even reformed look this year, so out the chickweed went. Good thing the carpenter has rabbits that I can feed the chickweed to. I think I need to make a huge infusion and freeze it into “chickweed ice cubes” for summertime use. It’s such a cooling herb. What do you think?
The violets are lifting their sleepy little heads after a long winter’s nap. They look like lovely swans.
Violets. Be still my heart.
And more violets.
I’m off to bed. Be thankful. And happy.
By Lynn, on March 11th, 2011%
It’s a simple task but oh so helpful to me. I find after being out just a few minutes that I’ve forgotten my troubles. There’s something about having your hands in green plants, smelling the broken earth and listening to the songs of birds that is good for the heart and soul.
Suddenly I realize that I’m not worried about bills, world news, or being behind in housework or school work. I’m just me. Aware of God and how small I am in His big universe, but how much he loves us and has given us.
Today I am reminding myself to do more things outside. It does me good.
By Lynn, on March 8th, 2011%
That’s what I keep telling myself: keep looking up. It’s a good thing to remember to look up. As my friend Marqueta says, onward and upward!
This time of year it is especially easy on many days to look up–bright skies and new flowers make it easy!
The daffodils keep blooming and so far we have not had a frost to come in and kill anything back. We have had some cold nights and some frozen birdbath water a couple of mornings, but I am truly loving the springlike weather and waking up to bright light behind the curtains!
The hellebores are so pretty!
While we are looking up, I want to share something that my friend Carrie told me about. It’s a raffle giveaway for a Nikon camera in order to help raise money to bring a little boy, Noah, home to his forever parents.
http://www.silvamoose.com/MoosePages/MomsPage/tabid/59/EntryId/188/Nikon-D3100-Camera-GIVEAWAY.aspx
There’s the link. Carrie has mentioned this family before–she’s doing so much to try and help this family. I am going to buy a chance to win! There’s a chip-in widget on the sidebar of the blog linked above. Consider helping!
Hyacinths! Be still my heart!
The above picture is not super clear, but it was taken through glass at quite a distance and I’m thrilled that it turned out as clear as it did. Yes, bluejays have quite the reputation as far as being aggressive and running other songbirds off, but I do think they are beautiful birds. I must admit, it made me happy to look out and see this bluejay at the birdbath.
I could just sit here all day, visiting blog friends and writing about all things fun and frivolous, but Michaela is having a math-intensive school day and I am working today. Truly I know what I need to be doing. Enjoy this day!
By Lynn, on March 1st, 2011%
At the gardening center yesterday…
What? Did you say something?
Okay, okay, so I went back and got more pansies after writing about how restrained I was. I didn’t buy that many more.
Anyway, as I was saying, when I was at the gardening center yesterday, one of the store attendants saw me looking at the newly arrived flowers.
“Don’t be fooled, now. It’s still March,” he said.
Boy was he wrong. It wasn’t even March yesterday. It was still February. But, okay, I knew what he meant.
I turned a deaf ear and said, “I just love spring.” And I sped away to get my pansies. If I was the only one acting like this I’d be embarrassed, but I’m not, so I’m okay with it. There were loads of people there buying pansies and pretending like we live in zone 9.
At this point, it’s all fun. I took the bottom of a bird bath that froze and broke in half and planted a pansy in the top of it.
I saw a creature in the dirt. Come on, folks! Creatures don’t lie. Spring is right around the corner, I tell you!
Things seem a bit barren, I know, but I actually just love this time of year. As you are aware, The Little Wild Garden will be a jungle in just a few short months. This time of year I always blissfully believe that I’ll keep things under control and that I’ll actually have some say in what grows where.
A woman can dream.
The last few days I have just let myself be lost in the feeling that only comes this time of year. These mild days are so lovely! I’ll take ‘em when I can get ‘em and be happy.
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About Lynn
I am the mother of four delightful children: a 23-year-old son, a 20-year-old son, a 17-year-old son, and a bright and bubbly 13-year-old daughter. I share an apartment home with my 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. My little home on the internet is called Rose Cottage because of my love for gardening, roses, and all things romantic and Victorian. Welcome.
I'm a North Carolina girl and I love sharing North Carolina links and information. I do medical transcription from home. My hobbies include making sweet little dolls from clay who are named and have their own stories to tell. I also make old-fashioned brooches. These are for sale in my Etsy shop.
For 13 years continuously, I homeschooled some or all of our four children, but the time came that our homeschool had to be closed. It was the end of a beautiful chapter in my life. I will always be a strong supporter of homeschooling and I will continue to review books and maintain my homeschool website, The Healthy Homeschool. The Players
Lil Ol' Me
Son Daniel, 23
Son, Big Joe, 20
Son, John, 17
Daughter, Michaela, 13
Annie Fatso Beagle
My Symphony
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
1810-1884
What You Do Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.
Contact Me 
I would  for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
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