A GARDEN OF LOVE...

" A garden of Love grows in a Grandmother's heart."

-Author Unknown-

Most roads we travel in life, figuratively as well as literally, either lead us to something or away from something. The road I was rambling on that day was leading me too something. It was leading me to a place where love never dies. Sounds a little like heaven doesn't it? Well, in my opinion, it is a tantalizing little taste of it here on earth.

On this days journey I noticed that the wild Red Buds were hanging heavy over the sides of the road mingling with the lime green of new birthed leaves on companion trees. While inching along under the bower of tree tops, fingertips of limbs entwined, I thought to myself, "Yes indeed, this red dirt road surely does lead to heaven."On this day, like all the other days I had traveled this road in the past two years, I tensed as we descended the last hill leading deep into the hollow. Swinging wide to making a sharp left just past the old Carl Henry place that despite having had new owners for these many years still had not one single curtain on any of the windows, I idly wondered if Carl's rockin' chair came with the sale and if it was still positioned facing the large front window so the new owners could watch the comings and goings on the lonesome road like Carl loved to do.

Fording the creek that always runs across the road while listening to the pop and crunch of tires on the loose stone surface, I anticipated the next ascent and our arrival. When we pulled to a stop, cutting off the engine, the sound of sudden silence filled the cab of the truck. The thrill of anticipation was quickly quelled with the forlorn look of the over grown lawn and unkempt garden.For one brief second I had forgotten that she was not there to greet us, no flash of red apron to indicate where she puttered while waiting for us to visit. I sat for a few silent seconds just drinking in the scene before me, noticing that we were not the first to arrive. Spring must have dashed in just ahead of us.It was when I was closing the cab door that I saw it, one bright spot of red in a field of green that was peppered with purple, yellow, and white - one single red tulip. A fuzzy wish, much like a dandelion gone to seed, briefly blew across my mind, " I wish she were here."It was quickly chased by the thought that I was lucky to have had her in my life, the grandmother that planted love in the very garden where I stood.I moved closer observing one single silken strand running from a petal of the tulip anchoring it to the surface of the earth. A silent line of connection and communication, just like love, weaved its way through my heart and threatened to pour out of my eyes. She was no longer there, but the connection would always be there, unbroken by our temporary separation. Closer still and I noticed that it was not a single silken strand but and entire intricately woven web that moored the brilliant bloom to the terrain. Kneeling in front of it I watched the ever present wind buffet the blossom noting that the delicate looking stands never broke loose. Love is like that, two parties can be divided by time, space, and distance and the chords of love will never be broken.The Wisdom Weaver had done her work well. I saw her message of love in the flower tenderly planted by her hands just like the love she tenderly planted in my heart. The meaning of tulips is generally perfect love. Like many flowers, different colors of tulips often carry their own significance. Red tulips are most strongly associated with true love. There is no truer love than that of a Grandmother or the Lord who let me see a glimpse of both in a spiders web and a single blossom.

I saw my grandmothers bright red apron reflected in the soft petals letting me know that she was just a thought away, tucked safely in my heart and memory. Yes, we were indeed divided by death, but still intertwined like the weaving of the web, loves silken strands extending from heaven to earth, our lives still touching with the invisible filament of love.Both their love and their lessons anchor me to this earth and enable me to travel most roads in life leading me to something...a place where love never dies. Sounds a little like heaven doesn't it? Well, in my opinion, one lone tulip and a spider web are tantalizing little tastes of heaven here on earth.

Today, I hope that each one of you get your very own glimpse of heaven on earth and that it lifts your spirit and makes your heart sing with joy!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

P. S. I hope you won't get too tired of viewing nature photos here as I am still making the transition to the new studio space. I would have shared my flea market finds with you but, well, I can't find them in all the mess. I would have shared with you what I got on Etsy, but, well, I can't find the unopened package in all the mess. I might have shown you a lot of things but the massive mess I am trying to put to order is not one of them! I'll get back to the creative side of me as soon as I can. Thank you for being patient!

STOPPING TO SMELL THE ROSES...

" It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought."

-James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane-

This morning I tiptoed out the back door of the Quill and caught the morning sky with a hint of a sleepy blush upon her rosy cheek...A light chill blanketed the land causing the blackberry blossoms to swaddle themselves in their petals to ward off the cool morning air...Most of the world lay sleeping before me as the camera quietly clicked away. One yellow iris decided to stretch out a petal to test the dewy day...Preferring to remain in her sleepy state until later in the morning.

The tranquil sounds of the night were fading as sweet bird melodies began to drift from the bramble where brilliant red flowers were showing off their fiery color...I noticed that last weeks tiny red velvet oak leaves have all but disappeared...Only a few remain...The wild ferns waved a shy good morning to me from their hiding places among the stones on the rocky ridge line...The first rays of the sun winked at me through the thick foliage of the old oaks in the east woods...Reaching out its fingertips to tickle the tops of the trees with its warm touch...Casting its golden smile over the dawning day. The sweet faced False Garlic, also known as Crow Poison, began to show its sleepy face...I weaved my way though a wooded trail scented with the musk of earth hoping to catch the deer arise from their slumber. I was too late. Continuing my trek through the hush of the dawning day, warmed by the memory of the sun kissed Yellow Lady Banks glowing against the stone well last evening gave me pause to stop and smell the roses one more time...Sweet scented clusters of pale yellow roses dripping, draping, and dangling their bright beauty softening the landscape of our cottage...Reminding me to savor the common everyday blessings; the sights, the sounds, the scenes, and the smells of a dew-drenched morning where the Master Gardeners footprints appear in the soft green grass of the garden. I pause beside the old stone well, just where I stood last evening admiring the handiwork of nature, and recall the words of Dr. Margaret Moore Jacobs in "Roses Every Day"..."Our earthly life is an unfolding like the opening up of the petals of a rose. Yesterday the bud was there, the petals tightly folded around the heart of the flower, like a glorious promise. Today the full-blown rose is there in all its glory, beauty, and wonderful fragrance. And tomorrow we shall find the soft velvety petals strewn on the warm earth. But the memory will be treasured on a cold winter day when there are no roses..."

A garden is a good place to be sometimes, when out daily lives get too tangled up with the

"everydayness" of living. The heart and soul, the body and mind come to rest just by looking at the living green of a garden in the springtime.I hope you have enjoyed a morning walk with me here at Quill Cottage and that your day is overflowing with the blooming beauty of heightened awareness of your everyday blessings!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME...

"I saw a pretty bluebird, yesterday,

Rocking itself upon a budding spray--
The while it flutter forth a tender song,
That brought a promise of sunshiny days."

-Andrew Downing, The Bluebird-
A little birdie told me that nest building is not always easy.. Sometimes one must go out on a limb...Be open and fully expose ones self to new ideas...Try on a few new colors...Play with texture...

Nothing is carved in stone...Don't get in a hurry, sit with the new ideas for a while...

Relax and enjoy the process letting new ideas blossom all around you and hatch naturally...I am trying to take the little bird's very wise advice on getting the new studio space put back together. Today I am taking the day off from working on it and taking a flea market field trip to be inspired by some of my favorite dealers displays and maybe find a treasure or two that will spark new ideas. I have exhausted my decor and design books and I still don't have a real feel for this space. I know I want different but I have yet to figure out exactly what different is.

Since I don't have anything new to share I hope you won't mind if in the next few posts I dig into my stash of things I have not shared, like these sweet images from an old child's poetry book. Feel free to save them and use them in your art!(FREE IMAGE)

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I wish putting this new space together were as easy as weaving the little nests, sewing the little blue birds, or even painting the tiny nut shell eggs!(FREE IMAGE)

I hope each of you are enjoying a beautifully blessed and inspiring day!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

BYE-BYE MIDSUMMERS DREAM BLUE, HELLO RED CALICIO...

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is is a part of ourselves, we must die to one life before we can enter another."

-Anatole France-

This morning my head is filled with crazy song lyrics amid a mixed confusion of feelings for all that has transpired over the weekend. On the one hand I hear the Beatles singing, "You say goodbye and I say hello, hello, hello, I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello..." And I am wondering the same thing, why oh why did I say goodbye to my cozy, magical, tucked away in the back corner of the house, safe, best lit, deer, bird, and squirrel viewing, everything I need is only a few steps away studio!!! I said goodbye and my little abandoned studio is calling hello to me.

And then there is that song of longing for something that has passed. Running through my brain is, "You're gonna miss this, your gonna want this back, You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good times, So take a look around, You may not know it now, But you're gonna miss this..." I found every last word of this chorus to be true. I could hardly sleep last night for wishing I could move back in there. I must be crazy.Perhaps you would like to hear the rest of the story as I have left you at an ending and not begun at the beginning. It all started on Friday afternoon. I had been happily creating in my Midsummer's Dream blue studio the entire day not knowing it was to be my last day to inhabit that space. It caught me by surprise and I have been reeling ever since.

Handy Hubby and I were on the way up to the farm to mow and weed the yard when he made the announcement. Due to the recent changes at his work he would no longer have an office there but be based out of a home office and in the field. The current office situation will no longer work as his desk is in a common area of the home with no way to shut out distractions or noise he might need for phone calls or concentration on blueprints. So, he needed my studio.He was being extremely generous because he was offering me the larger of the two spaces we could use. I would then have room to have up to six students if I wanted to begin holding classes, more wall space, larger windows, and a closet double in size for supply storage. He did not need that much space, just one wall really for his desk, computer, and product literature storage. We could get a small sofa bed for seating and that would solve guest sleeping if needed - not the most comfortable but the most practical. It sounded like a wonderful solution. He dangled the carrot and I bit!

We chattered like two squirrels all the way to the farm and back sharing ideas, plans, and dreams for our new spaces, both excited over the prospect. The next day we were at the paint store selecting our perspective paint chips still riding on an excited high. With a quick move of the assorted accumulation in what was to become my new studio we were off and painting.In the afternoon when the paint dried we got the contents of the room moved in an somewhat placed. I was still on an excited high at that point. We rounded out the day by patching, sanding, and priming the old studio. Yesterday we tackled the painting. I let Handy Hubby pick out his own paint chip for his new office and was shocked that he picked a shade of red - Calico. It is more of a brick red and in some lighting can look a little like brown. Anyway, paint away we did. We will do the second coat this evening, with a little touch up of the trim to freshen it back up, and then it will be move in ready.The singing in my head began last night as I was trying to go to sleep. I was tossing and turning and suddenly feeling anxious. I had the crazy thought of slipping out of bed and running to the big box store for primer and paint and restoring my room to it former glory and putting my stuff back in there, letting Handy Hubby be lost in all that other space. Space is highly over rated, you really don't need that much.

Sensing my restlessness, he asked me what was wrong and I felt silly saying it aloud. "I miss my room!" He said, "I understand, I really do, it is not about the room, it is about the change." He was right. I was nervous about all the changes we have had taking place. I was anxious about having our lives, routines, and schedules altered. I was wondering how he could conduct business and I classes or have friends over without the one disturbing the other. I was wondering about the blending of this new phase in life for us.

This morning I stood in the hall between the two rooms and looked at them both and thought of all the changes they have seen since we moved here. First they housed a little boy and a baby girl and those were happy golden years. They changed and housed a tween and a teen. They moved forward housing a young man and a young lady. Then, all too soon they were empty. One grew into a small home studio and the other a place for a collection of oddities. Now it is time for them to grow and change and be useful in new ways.

From where I stood I could see the two new colors on the walls and there was a certain harmony and coordination between the two as I knew there would have to be between each rooms occupant. I said goodbye to what was, smiling, and facing what is. Yes, I am going to miss this...But, with the offer ringing in my ears of the last words he whispered to me as we dropped off to sleep, "It's just paint. If you are not happy we can change it back and move you back in anytime you want to. And, if you don't want to, you can sit in my chair anytime you want to and watch the deer. It's gonna be OK." He wasn't talking about the paint or the choice of rooms, he was talking about us and our lives. We are going to be OK.

As I tackle trying to make this new room feel magical a new tune pops into my head, I hear whistling and the words, "Here's a little song I wrote, You might want to sing it note for note, Don't worry be happy, In every life we have some trouble, When you worry you make it double, Don't worry, Be Happy, Don't worry be happy now..."

I am off to make myself a happy day and I hope that you all will do the same!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

SHARING SPRING GIVE AWAY WINNERS...

"Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment."

-Ellis Peters-

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Thank you to all who signed up and left such sweet comments. I so wish I were independently wealthy and could gift you all with something. Your friendship and encouragements means the world to me. Thank you for your visits and your precious presence.

The winner of the Sweet Spring Nest is...Charlene!

The winner of the Songbird Scrap Pack is...Celita!

The winner of the Little Lamb Collage is...Dorthe!

CONGRATULATIONS!
Please email me your mailing address so I can get your packages in the mail.

I got to be a winner recently in a give away Diane had. Just look at this darling box topped off with one of Diane's watercolors. Adorable and the perfect accent to display in the kitchen at the farm!

Right on top was the most breath taking handmade journal I have ever seen! The cover features a precious little bird...Each page is beautifully embellished with a different design and just enough room for writing in favorite quotes! Here are a few of the pages...The back cover is just as stunning...Inside the box was a whiff of heaven! A beautiful tag sachet filled with lavender and a sweet petite hanging sachet...A couple of tiny floral tags...Lastly is a sweet egg nestled in a raffia nest!

Diane, thank you so much, I love every little bit of this wonderful gift.

Here is a sweet image for you to use in your art. Enjoy!

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I hope each of you have a weekend filled with brilliant beauty!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy