Just Because

"You can't use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have."  Maya Angelou

I made another little torn paper flower garden card today....then decided to back to cutting for a while.  But I got distracted and didn't get very far....where does the time go?  I could use a few more hours every single day.

And here's day 13 and 14 of Another 100 Days. I chose red yesterday in honor of the bloodroot sprout and today was aqua blue....just because. 

And maybe the best thing I did was make and deliver a couple masks to my son Nate. I don't get to see him all that often....so anytime we can connect it brings me joy.  

More Simple Celebrations

It was a beautiful day today....and I have more simple things to celebrate.

The mini daffodils I planted by the rock wall are a bright spot in what is still a very brown landscape. I think I'll add to it for next year.  The squirrels dug up and ate every single crocus bulb I planted...but they left daffodils alone.

Here they are in a wider view....... a small but mighty splash of color.  

And it was actually just warm enough to sit out on the patio this afternoon with a blanket....one of our favorite places to be.

And I have a little splash of color inside....my Christmas Easter cactus is blooming.....and oh what a marvelous bloom it is!

There is something so hopeful about new little perennial sprouts that poke through in the spring.  Late last fall my sister Nancy sent me some woodland splits from her yard...one of which was bloodroot. I found this interesting image online so I would know what was coming....and you can see why it's called bloodroot.

She texted me this photo of her bloodroot poking through and asked if mine was up yet. They look like little worms peeing their heads out of the ground.

And sure enough...mine was poking through too.  I see one...and maybe two little spouts at this point...but I'm going to keep an eye on it.  I'm pretty excited.

And while I'm celebrating simple things.....I might as well include my puzzle.  I've made my way through the sunflower heads....and just started working on the leaves and stems.  It seemed impossible until I sorted the pieces into shapes. It will still be slow going....but doable.  

But the biggest thing I'm celebrating today is Paul's sister Alyson and I worked together to coach Margie on how to get logged onto a Zoom meeting...and I'm happy to report we were successful.  This Wednesday we are going to try and have our first family Zoom gathering in honor of my nephew's 21st birthday.  

Simple Things

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."  Winnie the Pooh

Some days it's more important than ever to appreciate simple things.....and today was one of those days.  Life is precious.....we should never take our health and the people we love for granted.  And we should always pay attention to the simple things.

Remember the snowdrops I picked for my window sill a few weeks ago?

I let them do what they wanted and needed to do....and they couldn't be more delightful at this dried wabi-sabi stage.



The color of those green seed pods (?) is just incredible....and that hint of yellow is so wonderful.  And speaking of wabi-sabi....this cutting board made by John, my friend Patsy's dad is well loved and beautiful all on its own.  Beauty in imperfection. 

Day 12 of Another 100 Days.....green in honor of those seed pods....I wished I would have put in a hint of yellow. 😉 And I didn't realized until now that all the blues have some sort of a floral pattern....wasn't planned...it just happened. Yet another simple thing to make me smile.

Ginkgo Puzzle

I got an early birthday box from my sister Nancy which included an assortment of yummy chocolate and what appeared to be a puzzle in a lovely box.  I'm intrigued with the puzzle....but also with the chilies and cherries and dark chocolate combo.

Turns out...it's a wooden puzzle she and Craig found when they were in Germany visiting family....and low and behold it's a ginkgo leaf!  How cool is that!  If anyone is new to the blog...I have quite a personal with ginkgo trees and everyone should know at this point how much I love puzzles.  

The pieces are tiny....and it's going to be a challenge....but fun to pick away at over time.  I did match up a few.   

There are many many posts on the blog about my ginkgo tree but here are a couple of links if you don't know my story. Ginkgo day is one of my favorite days of the year!

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2018/11/ginkgo-day.html

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-big-day.html

Day 11 of Another 100 Days.

"Marvel At the Day"

We've had a couple of cool, but lovely spring days here in Lexington...good for walking and taking in the marvel of spring. I'm enjoying the trees....the birds...the blooms....and even the rocks.  

I love this little glimpse of our church in the background and long row of  Scilla contrasted with the Forsythia along the driveway of our neighbor First Parish Church.

This row of splashy hyacinths is right up the street...and such a treat to walk by. There have been years when it's gotten too warm too fast and the spring blooms don't last. But they like this cool weather and will stay beautiful a lot longer. So today I'll accept celebrate the cool spring temps and enjoy the show.

Dean and Joan love rocks as much as I do! 

Joan and I did a fully masked puzzle exchange.

The Minute Man statue on the Lexington Battle Green is all decked out for spring....

it's just a block from our house and right across the street from our church.

This next Monday we should be celebrating Patriot's Day in Lexington....the biggest day of the year in our small town when there's usually a reenactment of the first battle of the Revolutionary War.  But this year it will be quiet and peaceful on the green while we shelter at home.

Day 10 of Another 100 Days....today it's yellow in honor of the daffodils.

Back to Batiks

"Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue...and the dreams that you dream of really do come true."

I'm getting back to a full spectrum batik sewing project I started in early January.  I set aside when I started the online Fabulous Florals class and the winter became all about painted paper and collage. So it sat.....until now.

This is where I left it the back in January.....just finishing the oranges and golds.

And this is where it is today.  I worked my way through the greens, teals, and aquas....and am heading into the blues and indigos...then on to the purples and violets.  

I am hoping to make it into some sort of art piece for the condo.  I may end up cutting it apart and rearranging a bit....but for now I'm going to keep adding to these long landscape rows and see how it looks.  I love getting back to batiks...and I love all this color!

It looks like stained glass when I held it up to the light. 

And when you look at the whole thing you can see all the "oops" moments that can only be seen in the light. I'm trying not to have seams line up....but here you can see all that do....that's what happens when you just wing it. I think they'll just fade away once I topstitch.

Day 9 of Another 100 Days.....using some darker blues....and orange, the complimentary color of blue.

Cheery Masks

"In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to."  Dave Hollis

I had to smile when my son Sam posted this picture on his Instagram page.  He's tapping into his colorful supply of bandannas that he gets in his Christmas stocking every year and said he's trying to be "cheery" while out and about in a mask.

I'm working on another pile for Margie's senior living facility....as of this evening I've made another dozen.

 I made some that were a little more neutral on one side....

and cheery on the other.

And I found some cheery fabric for a mask for Margie.

One side is a little wild but it has two of her favorite symbols....a peace sign and the world.  The other side will be a simple aqua pattern.  Cheery....don't you think?

And here's day 6, 7, and 8 of Another 100 Days.  I'm enjoying this daily sewing practice....and I think these are pretty cheery too!  As a matter of fact I've been spending quite a bit of time sewing and have even gotten back to a project that has been patiently waiting since January.  More on that tomorrow.

Who I Want to Be

My mom always had magazines and catalogs around for us to cut up and I have very clear memories of the box of used greeting cards upstairs at my grandmother's house that were up for grabs. I even remember the way it smelled when I was sorting through them. They both would have loved that I am making flowers out of torn catalog pages.

Rainbow scraps from a Gudrun's World Catalog:

I don't have a lot of photos of my mom and grandma....but I love this one because when I think of them....this is how I picture them.  Grandma (Bessie) always wore a dress and stockings and took the time to put on earrings, some sort of pearl or beaded necklace and usually a pin...and a little rouge on her cheeks....even days she was all alone.  My mom (Elaine) had a more casual....but very put together sense of style....and she put on lipstick every day. I'm fairly certain that in this photo my mother is the age I am right now.

These classy women remind me of who I want to be....who I hope to be.

During an e-mail exchange with Linda late this afternoon I was reminded of a favorite Easter memory.  

My mom used to turn this cake stand I wrote about in this post upside down as an Easter centerpiece.  She would put flowers in the hollow base and line the underside of the top with Easter grass and our decorated Easter eggs and those fuzzy little yellow chicks.  I remember thinking it was so special. Mom had a flare for decorating and homemaking. I'm sure she learned that from Bessie...and I learned it from her....and I am grateful. I think I AM a little bit of each of them.  

Happy Birthday....

....to my mom.

Today would have been my mom's 94th birthday. She died when I was 29 years old and was just one year older than I am right now.

Happy Birthday Mom!

With the help of my sister Nancy my mom was able to make a trip to Maine just after Paul and I moved there back in 1987.  She loved seeing the ocean and our new home....and she is the one who taught me how to make a house a home.

I shared this poem here last year on my own April birthday....and today I'm sharing it again on what would have been hers.  I spent a good chunk of the day yesterday raking, weeding, and cleaning up gardens....so I'm especially tuned into the "old camel" and the "inexhaustible flame" that was my mom.

August Third 
by Mary Sarton

These days
Lifting myself up
Like a heavy weight,
Old camel getting to her knees,
I think of my mother
And the inexhaustible flame
That kept her alive
Until she died.

She knew all about fatigue
And how one pushed it aside
For staking up the lilies
Early in the morning,
The way one pushes it aside
For a friend in need,
For a hungry cat.

Mother, be with me.
Today on your birthday.
I am older than you were
When you died
thirty-five years ago.
Thinking of you
The old camel gets to her knees,
Stands up,
Moves forward slowly
Into the new day.

If you taught me one thing
It was never to fail life.