Right Down the Street

Subtitle: A Generous Heart... A Playful Sense of Adventure....and the Final Stop for The Wandering Flowers

Settle in....I have a story to tell.

Patty was a big cheerleader for The Traveling Flowers. If you are new to the blog...that journey started here...with a guy named Chuck. With the help of Cherie and Dale Chuck's hand crafted metal flowers made a cross country trip from California to Maine....and Patty celebrated with me every step of the way. After they arrived...she secretly photographed them around my condo. 

She invited them down to her garden for a photo shoot with her evening primrose....and she brought Sluggo (her stuffed banana pepper) to my garden for another photo shoot. 

Patty was a fan....and that caught Cherie's attention. Patty made an impression.

Cherie contacted me in early August saying she thought Patty needed her own Traveling Flowers....and wondered if I would help with the surprise. Of course I would! 

She and Dale were heading out on a two month driving adventure to and from California to visit her dad.....and she wanted to bring Patty some of Chuck's flowers. She called them the Wandering Flowers  this time....and on their return trip...showed them the the roadside attractions along the way....and I shared all of that here on the blog. Cherie and Dale....along with the flowers arrived home in Pennsylvania last week. 

Cherie boxed them up....and courtesy of the USPS they made their way to Maine. I love her MUSE box...which is a actually a bag from the Corning MUSEum of Glass to cover  a wine box. Cherie knew...and you probably know too....but I learned the hard way that you can't send liquor boxes through the mail.

The flowers arrived at my condo on Monday....and today they wandered down the street to Patty's home....after making a stop by my front door.

Thanks to Chuck's generous heart, and Cherie and Dale's playful sense of adventure....The Wandering Flowers have made their final stop....right down the street.

They checked out the back garden....but landed by Patty's front door while she was out.

Surprise! Patty loves them....and Sluggo does too!

Thank you Cherie and Dale....and thank you Chuck!

What a fun connection journey this has been!

Slug Shenaigans

Laughter and sorrow often travel together, and sometimes the silliest things carry us through the hardest moments. Diane Wilk

Yesterday while I was visiting Patty I got to hear more about Sluggo...her precious banana slug. Sluggo is now featured in a book called ADVENTURE IS IN MY SOUL. It's true story of how after a tragic loss an entire extended family found connection, comfort, and laughter through a stuffed banana slug named Sluggo. 

Patty was instrumental in making sure all the family members had a cousin of Sluggo that could comfort them and accompany them during family gatherings and travels. Patty's clever like that!

Everyone played along and over a period of several months shared their slug's shenanigans through group texts and emails. Patty's sister-in-law Diane turned these adventures into a book. It's just a delight.

Even in life's darkest seasons, there is still room for laughter, joy and absurdity. Family Matters. Loves survives grief. And sometimes the best way forward is simply to hold tightly to on another and keep smiling at the wonderfully ridiculous parts of being human.

After our visit....Patty brought Sluggo down to photograph him in my garden with The Traveling Flowers....they seem to be related not only in color....but in spirit. Cherie and Dale had fun on their wonderfully ridiculous journey with these flowers. 

The whole Traveling Flowers journey can be tracked in these posts...in reverse order.

Actual Rainbow

I thought it was fitting for the last day of Pride Month to share an actual rainbow in our neighborhood from three years ago. I got a call from my neighbor shouting "GET OUTSIDE!" That's all he said...and when Dan tells you to go outside...you go outside.  I wrote about it here: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search?q=neighborhood+rainbow

It may be the last day of June...but I hope I never stop searching for...and sharing rainbows. 

Patty invited The Traveling Flowers for a play date today with her yellow evening primrose white astilbe. She had fun doing a little photo shoot. 

It's kind of ironic....because as I was following the rainbow three years ago around the neighborhood I ended up in Patty's backyard and photographed this delightful spring bloom.

So I'm ending this post with the end of the actual rainbow in almost the very same spot in Patty's backyard You can't make this stuff up! https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search?q=neighborhood+rainbow

New Respect!

Subtitle: Little Did She Know

My last yellow daylily of the season just bloomed and that reminded me that it was time for an update on the Traveling Flowers. If you are new to the blog...it's a little hard to explain the WHOLE story...but this is a good place to start: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search?q=Chuck

I have new respect for Cherrie and Dale as they carted The Traveling Flowers to all the sites as they made their way from California to Pennsylvania. They're a bit heavy because they sit on a solid rock...and they're a bit awkward to carry. So kudos to them as the played along and had fun with that wonderful adventure. 

Here is a little bit of the journey they made around Parsons Pond. After spending several weeks in the TV room...they did a little more traveling. 

(Hang in there...this ended up being a long post.)

They were in the dining room for a while on Connies fabulous hutch. I enjoyed them for a few weeks...but it wasn't quite right. Too much going on.

Early this spring I put them out on the patio....thinking this is where they would be for the summer. But there was too much going on in that corner...and that's where Paul has to pull the grill...so I need to keep it really simple.

Just for fun.....a couple weeks ago I took them to the pool with me. While I was swimming they sat in the corner getting a little sun.

And don't they look pretty against the catmint.

They sat in the shade on a lounge chair next to me while I drip dried a bit.

A week or so ago Patty suggested we take the flowers down to the pond. She has enjoyed the journey of The Traveling Flowers as much as I did and liked the idea of them touring around Parsons Pond.

My photo isn't that great...but it was a beautiful day and the flowers were pretty sitting up on the railing.

I continued around the pond  to talk to another neighbor and Patty offered to drop them by my front door. They would have been a bit cumbersome to carry around the pond.

Little did I know that Patty had a little photo shoot of her own before she dropped them off.  She posed them in the little rock garden at the end of the street.

Here they are by the vintage metal laundry basket she gave me that I've filled with begonias. They are sitting on my precious granite heart rock that I've had for years.

And she took one more shot by the pots on the other side of the door.

I had a great idea earlier today that I thought Patty would enjoy.  Little did she know...that while I knew she was gone...I took them down the street and photographed them with her rainbow parade of pigs. Perfect for winding down Pride Month! 

In the end....they have landed back in the TV room where I spend almost every early evening writing these blog posts. I love them here....and it's where I appreciate them the most. Cherie and I have stayed in touch...and these fabulous Traveling Flowers have given us a very special connection...and I am grateful. And a shout out again to her dad Chuck...who made it all possible. I have a huge amount of respect for his handiwork...and his generosity. 

In The Zone

The sky was pretty special this morning!

As is the bloodroot that is just starting to bloom in my garden at the corner of the woods. Just look at that center! 

Patty and I had round two of making a lampshade for her bedroom yesterday...we learned from our mistakes during round one. We used leftover fabric from her new curtains...it's a crisp white linen...with pretty floral medallions. 

The fabric was challenging because the embroidered flowers were raised a bit...making it difficult to wrap and tuck. And since neither one of us are actual shade makers....getting the pattern just right was also a challenge. 

But second time's a charm...and we're happy with the result.

The friend helping a friend make a lampshade....that's who I chose to be yesterday! 

   

The shape of the new shade matches the other shade and another touch of this fabric in the room is fresh and pretty. The photo doesn't do it justice. 

While I was in the zone I recovered the lampshade in our TV/playroom...it's been bugging me for years!

The blue and white polka dotted cotton fabric had faded....and just wasn't right for the space.

I had just enough fabric left over from the living room shade I covered years ago. It's still polka dots...and looks so much better.

And I can't tell you how much I love my squishy lumbar pillow that I made from a cotton sweater I never wore. 

I do love my polka dots! 

Do you see what's on the table?

This is the where The Traveling Flowers are going to live for a while. I sit in that orange chair throughout the day...and every evening to work on my blog. I'll enjoy them here in this zone for a while.

Connecting

Subtitle: My Heart is Full!

Joyful Puttering: Collecting, Creating, Connecting...that's what the banner at the top of my blog says. And all of that brings me joy. 

To the casual observer...my studio is in a constant state of chaos. I'm constantly trying to assess what I have collected over the years and figuring out what I should let go of...and what I should keep. The problem is...I see potential in everything.  When I'm trying to tidy up...I always find some  some bright shiny object so it's more likely that I'm creating something rather than organizing. And when I find myself connecting with someone...THAT is what it's all about.

Dotty was one of the recipients of one of my blue and white journal. She wrote a poem about her journal...and you can read it on her blog here.  

If you check it out.... you'll see her little creation that she tucked inside the yellow envelope that I included in one of the pockets in her journal.

My heart is full.

Julie received her Joy Journal a few days ago...and sent me several photos of things she has already tucked or glued into her journal. It's going to be a wonderful place for her to tuck her favorite things from her grandson. How can you not save his adorable writing! souen is sewing in Connor's four year old world. His grandmother is a quilter.

And now one of Connor's hearts is tucked in the little pocket

My heart is full. 

I made did several journals for Lynn long before the Joy Journal Project including an altered purchased journal with her papers stitched in as inspiration. 

Lynn sent me some photos of a few of her pages in her altered journal and that makes me so happy. You can see just a hint of the inspiration paper on the far left for this spread.

My heart is full. 

And just a few days ago Cherie wrote about The Traveling Flowers and Chuck, her dad, on her blog. 

You can read that post here. 

My heart is full.

And just today....after a 3,000 + mile journey from Chuck's workshop in southern California..The Traveling Flowers arrived at their new home on the east coast in Portland, Maine. 

Ben....our mail carrier humored me....he was part of the journey too!

From Chuck's shop....to Cherie's front door...to my front door....these handmade flowers have connected us! And don't you love how my sweatshirt matches Cherie's door. 

My heart is full! 

The journey isn't over. I will be auditioning them in various places around the condo...inside and out when the weather is better. For a few days....they'll live on the coffee table in the heart of our home. 

Did I mention that my heart is full?