CATCHING UP.....

I have been trying to catch up, more like catch my breath this past month that I have been away from blogging. It has been far longer than I thought it would be since my last post. I have missed you all dearly. In my last missive I told you I was taking time off to enjoy all the preparations for my daughters wedding and that is just what I did!

My two dearest friends, who my daughter calls her " other mothers" , hosted a beautiful brunch for her, intimate and informal, just she and all her " mothers" hanging out. It was wonderful!I took a brief break from making wedding decorations one sunny afternoon for a quick stroll around the lake...I sat for a while on this little red bench letting the wedding stress float away on the waves of the wind brushing across the waters surface...Birthdays have come and gone, my grandson turned five and I have crossed into my 48th year. His came and went with much fanfare, mine slipped by quietly under a changing sky hovering over the farm...Handy Hubby took me on the best date ever!!! A drive into the mountains to a now defunct amusement park, we were allowed to tour the entire property at our leisure and met an awesome artist who is the care taker there. What can I say, I am a cheap date and easily amused (it was free and so much fun)...We had a family shower for my daughter and her intended at the farm. A big lunch was followed by gifts, cake, and fresh seasonal fruit. I noticed the absence of the bride-to-be. I saw a flash of sunlight glinting off her bouncing curls as she sprinted past the kitchen window. Curious I stepped closer to see where she was going. Barefoot and wearing a vintage dress she glanced over her shoulder to see if she was being observed. I stepped back not wanting her to see me. I stepped back into view just in time to see a dress hem and two bare feet absorbed into the lush foliage of the apple tree...I had to swallow a lump the size of one of the small apples greening on the tree. I knew what she was doing. She was saying good-bye to childhood. One last time climbing up to her favorite spot, nestling there for a quite private moment, one last act of wild abandon and freedom that belongs to being a child. I saw the branches shiver as she settled herself and I left her to her private thoughts and dreams...When she returned the house the only tell-tale sign that anything was amiss was a small twig and leaf that had intertwined itself into a curl just above her left ear. I plucked it from its nesting place as she grinned at me knowing that I knew. I placed it in a book to press it for safe keeping, a tiny treasured moment.

I spent the night before the shower up until 1 AM finishing upholstering vintage chairs from The Old House so we would have seating around the farm table Handy Hubby built (I'll tell you more about that project later)...The wedding has come and gone, we had all the bases covered, something old (her great grandmothers hanky tucked into the pocket of her wedding dress) and something new (her earrings)...Something borrowed (a bracelet that was an anniversary gift from Handy Hubby to me)...
And something blue (Cinderella blue wedding shoes)...Everything was just perfect! (More on this subject later too.)...
Somewhere in between all the planning, making decorations, and the actual execution of the big event, there was caring for my mother and doing all the daily stuff that needed doing, I found myself crumbling physically and emotionally. I held up well until after the big day and then I found it necessary to go into hibernation, that is why it has been so long between posts, I just needed to rest and give myself a break and time to catch up and catch my breath.I am up and running again after a quite long 4th of July weekend at the farm with Handy Hubby. Plans are being made to make some small modifications to the kitchen there and I have been collecting furniture to refurbish and furnish the farmhouse with (More on this later too, it seems I have a lot to post about!) The color scheme for the living room is looking something like this (I'll save the story of the color choices for yet another post. Yeah! I have blog fodder!)...To borrow a phrase from my sweet friend Bonita, I have been " living my story" . To me people and their lives are the most fascinating reads. Our lives really are like books, we all have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Our stories are written with every imaginable genera - drama, comedy, romance, history, intrigue, action and adventure, and you can't forget the current popular - reality. Since I have caught you up on my story, I would love to hear a page from yours, let me know what you have been up to in the comments section.

I hope you all enjoy a beauty filled weekend!

P.S. Posts may be sparse until after the middle of the month while I wrap up a few more commitments. Know that I am thinking of you and I will slowly be making my way around to visit and leave comments.

SCRIBBLES...

Time is passing quickly for me these days as the date of my daughters wedding looms near. It feels like I have been gone from the land of blog forever while I have been taking care of details. I am spending much of my time making hasty scribbles, illegible notes, to myself about anything and everything I do not want to forget. Tiny details have been captured on post-it notes, backs of napkins, across receipts, on any kind of paper I can get my hands on. Here I find myself doing the same in this post as sort of an update, making a few hasty scribbles...

The apple blossoms at the farm have faded...
Springs first kiss is a distant colorful dream...Easter has come and gone...
We spent it at the farm as a small immediate family unit...It rained the entire weekend...A beautiful mist hung low over the mountains...We were trapped inside with two small children and we forgot to bring toys...need I say more? We amused ourselves between rain storms by splashing in puddles with our smiling boots...Or by tossing rocks into the " ocean" as my grandson dubbed it (a flooded runoff to the creek)...One or maybe two more trips to my childhood home and it will finally be ready to put on the market. I will miss the enchantment of the back yard where many happy hours of imaginative play took place...Now that the rains have abated, we have had some warm days and we had our first family picnic here at the Quill. We played with colorful pinwheels...
And giant magnifying glasses gave us close up looks at nature...
I spent a glorious afternoon with my daughter in a woodland wonderland where her bridal portraits were taken...She went hiking in her wedding dress!...
As long as I live this will be hands down one of the best memories of my life. The day was so special!

On Mother's Day I was showered with flowers, roses, homegrown, lovingly arranged by the hands that grew them...I have been working on little wedding favors, tiny nest charms...
I have also been working on fan/favor wedding programs (please forgive the white out sections in the photo, didn't want to publish private information without permission)...
And the note I have most wanted to write...
I hope it won't be nearly as long between scribbles next time!
Have an incredibly wonder filled day!

RAINDROPS ON ROSES...

For a sea of endless days raindrops have been stringing themselves like glistening Swarovski Crystals onto a vine like necklace...Droplets gathered themselves onto tiny beginning buds...The roses were weeping...Heads bowed in silent reverence for the lives and homes lost in the recent swath of storms sweeping across the US...Would you join me in lifting those touched by the recent storms in prayer?