Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The power of imagination

Oh, so nice of you to stop by. Do step inside. Come as you are. Come all. But oh do be careful where you step, or you may be too startled by the unexpected things you'll find here. Like what, you may ask... why, like hidden treasures and butterfly wings and dragonfly hair and magical gazing globes and and and... and all the magic you can expect, smothered in fairy dust...

And what did I tell you... Oh my goodness this spot is almost too much of a tease! Why, can you not see it? Is it really what I think it is? Oh yes, the fairies are taking a little tea break again...

A tea party under the giant elephant ears!

How fun... shall we join the fairies? Milk or lemon?

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Let's see: Teacups, tea saucers, a tea pot, a tea party... Alice? But of course, Lewis Carroll’s literary nonsense, “Alice Adventures in Wonderland”! That's precisely what comes to mind.

Oh, I still remember the first time I read “Alice Adventures in Wonderland”. Funny, and strange, how one same thing can convey such an array of diverse feelings in people, don’t you think so? I mean, what was “Alice in Wonderland” to you back then when you read it for the first time? And what sorts of feelings did it stir in you? Did you love it, did you hate it? In your child’s mind, were you Alice? Or maybe did you decide you wanted to be the White Rabbit? Or Dodo, or Bill the Lizard; or even the Hatter? How did the story made you feel then? By the way, I detested the Hatter. I hated that he hated time. Murdering time it really is not a wise thing to do, is it? ;)

For some strange, inexplicably reason, I remember I didn’t care for Alice either; nor I wanted to be the Duchess or the Queen of Hearts or any of the, at times grotesque anthropomorphic creatures in the book… but oh, how very extraordinary and wonderful and remarkable the idea of falling down a rabbit hole… down down tumbling down into this astonishing imaginary world of my own where animals could talk and I could be my very own Alice, in my very own imaginary world. Daydreaming was a marvelous thing then, and it still is...

Imagination it surely is the most extraordinary thing. From that day on my dreams would almost always took the same trail where I'd stumble upon a rabbit hole and down I went straight into all sorts of wonderful and full of light imaginary worlds.

Just like the ‘real’ story, my dreams were also tales devoid of logic; and they played without reason and common sense and they were just as magical; and pure enchantment. I had never stopped dreaming since that day…

And still today… sometimes... I’m still spinning spinning...

Traveling in time; out in the cosmos... leaving behind the clearing where the Mad Hatter's tea party is taking place... behind is the Queen of Hearts and all the creatures of Wonderland… I’m out out of the garden’s gate into this other strange vast universe…

And again, there are times when dreams become reality and through the magical mirror I happen to be in the loveliest garden I’d ever seen... a real garden, with a real house and a real woman with real twinges and growing pains... still, I chose to see magic all around me!

Magic it really is all around us, and it always be, but our ability to perceive it depends on our willingness to reconnect to our joy and delight in the small things, and enhance our creativity by letting our inner child play! That’s the real secret to magic!

So alas, don't ever stop dreaming!

And hope and hope and hope some more...

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Life beyond the garden...

We have just come back from camping in the mountains; in a campground overlooking a crystal clear lake... back from lovely bicycle rides through woodsy trails, and delicious food cooked outside and campfires under serene clear nights with all those zillions of little shinny jewels-like stars crowing the night sky above the spruce trees and pines so tall.

And then, is back to my little Paradise. I love coming back home; coming back to my enchanted garden and to everything I love and cherish.

Last Saturday in the garden, magic took hold of me...

The sky was bathed in sapphires blue and the garden of scents, and the border on the North side against the bedroom window of roses; perfect dark pink roses and snapdragons at their feet swaying in the breezes in a most splendid arrangement of colors; each of them lovely and perfect, and all day, and every hour of every minute I rejoiced in what I saw and what surrounded me; in total perfection.

And then in the house…

From May through the end of August my big square table is a happy big square table. Why, it gets to be embellished by flowers from the garden that’s why!

Roses; particularly roses…

I’m always on the hunt for beautiful flower vases and have collected a few... always finding real treasures and most perfect vases at thrift stores; and always wondering in amazement what makes people give away such treasures. It makes me feel sad in a way to think about these things... think about how these precious vases I collect today had once belonged to some caring soul out there whom, perhaps many moons ago, took her time to enjoy them and filled them up with precious posies from precious gardens so cared and loved by them. Did they ever thought that one day some unknown person whom they'd never get to meet nor ever thought of, would be doing the same?—cherishing that same precious vase they then hold so dear to their heart, filling them up with precious flowers from some other precious gardens? We'll never know who we work for, do we? It's almost like being lost inside of someone else's life.

Like everything if life; we build, we give shape to things and amend hearts and nourish souls; we construct, we make beautiful things with our hands and bestow magic with our thoughts and desires, we create and donate our time without ever knowing who will be enjoying that what we own and so enjoy today, 20+ years later. How you ever thought about these things? I do... all the time.

Who will be enjoying this garden I have created here with such love and faith and tenderness, twenty- thirty years from now? What little girl, born or yet to be born will be cutting my roses and flowers, just as I’m doing today? And who will be worshiping the Creator of all things where I pray every day—under the purple leaves of the smoke bush, under the same brilliant blue sky; among lilies and roses planted and cared of by me?

It’s a scary thought. But that’s how it is with everything under the sun. The end of all is just but a memory in the memory of those who loved us, until finally that memory is no more—vanished we are from the memory of the earth. I take comfort in the thought that we may be forgotten; our name might not be remembered by a living soul; yet, God never forgets. We’re safe in His memory. "Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.” Voltaire

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Decorating my favorite rooom of the house

Do you love decorating your home? I love changing and re-arranging things around my house and decorating it using what I already have; and sometimes, throwing in some lovely little treasures here and there too. This gives such feeling of newness and freshness all around, and I never get bored of my house doing so.

I have a special girly room in my house, which I love and which I'm always decorating and re-decorating.

I was dumfounded up in the air in love with this martian green dresser you see here the minute I saw it at one of our local thrift store, and then couldn't believe my eyes... couldn't believe I'd bought it, the next minute I saw it seating in my favorite room of the house.

Do you do that sometimes—I mean, buy something out of impulse and then feel miserable for having done so? Gladly, I don’t do that very often, for I despise proceeding by impetus and then feeling wretched for it.

I couldn’t return the dresser; so I opted for some paint. I love the combination of soothing gray-blues and therefore went for it. I then replaced those awfully huge pink pulls for something a little more “refined” and voila! I was very happy with the transformation.

Not too long after that I then started noticing the awful contrast between the soothing colors of the chest against the exuberant greens and pinks of the painting above it. Just looking at it robed my peace… too many colors and combinations, too loud…

So, I returned it and brought home this loveliness here... Isn't she gorgeous!

I love this painting! And the combination of colors, just perfect! I’m so happy with it.

I thought of making a wall rack to hang some pretty thing using some free graphics from the Internet. This “thing” here is what I came up with… ha-ha! OK, I’m not the best of crafter, but I did try my best, really! ;)

I finally took the “thing” down and took it to the thrift store. A couple of days later I saw it again. It had a $7.00 sign on it—couldn’t believe they dared put it out. The following day I went by again, just out of curiosity, and what do you know… someone must have like it! For it wasn’t there anymore. ;)

I then made another wall rack using a different technique this time and a much smaller piece of recycled wood; originally part of a kitchen cabinet… I like this one a little better ;)

I'm always changing what I hang there... ;) This is what I have there right now. A bouquet of dried roses from the garden and one of my favorite summer tops.

One more thing is left for the completion of the room: This little 1960’s chest; which by the way it only cost me $12.00. Husband loves it just the way it is, and is very much against me painting it. But but but I… ;)

It needs to be painted, that's for sure! ;) Now, I just need to decide on colors… would I paint it in the same gray-blueish combo I used on the 6-drawer chest? Wouldn’t that be too much of the same color? I’m thinking of a palette of creamy white with drawers in a very light pink. But again, wouldn’t that be too many colors for just one room alone? What do you think? Your comments and thoughts would be very much appreciated... ;) Thank YOU!

Friday, August 17, 2012

A fairy in the garden

(A tale... for dear Tesa. As promised - Good things come to those who wait)

I was in the kitchen washing dishes the other day when all of a sudden, I heard the most curious whiz whoosh sound coming from outside… the bumblebees?

I left my lovely dishes soaking up in warm soapy water, and went to the window to find out what it was I heard.

I looked here and there, but saw nothing out of the ordinary… except, perhaps, for the lovely purple morning glory vine growing under my kitchen window.

How lovely this vine is, how sweet and perfect the silky deep purple flowers are, and such joy they bring. And every morning when they first open up, and every time that I come across them in the garden, or while going about my duties in the kitchen and I look and see them peeking in through the open window, I marvel and give thanks to the Creator for this precious vine... Oh yes, its bright flowers are the sweetest, dear, dear little things.

I’m in awe at how this delicate looking vine was able to survive its first winter in our garden. And what a lovely surprise and gift it was for me earlier this year to have discovered them creeping up the ground again; stronger than ever!

Oh but you mustn't think for a minute that by now I surely had forgotten about the mysterious whiz whoosh sound I heard. Enthralled as I was with the lovely purple flowers growing under my window, I still would not forget that sound. So strange and mysterious it was.

So I looked there, and there, down through a frame of grape leaves, and over towards the end of the garden where the butterfly bushes grow, and to where the weeping willow stands like a ghost each evening bathed in golden light, and still could see nothing.

Then, the whiz whoosh sound again…

Oh I knew where it was coming from. I looked down the path to the front of the garden and what do you know! There it was!

A firefly? A fairy?!

(At least, that’s what I thought it was)

From the petals of the Charisma roses raised the sight and sound of joyously trembling wings. Here… and there, too! It's a fairy, I’m sure!

You see, although I couldn’t quite define her real well, I could still see her fairy shoes clearly as she flew by all round me… She was bouncing and leaping and skipping from rock to rock to bushes to trees so happily… Oh look! And she left something behind!

Some remnants of fabric? Perhaps her skirts? Oh my!
I run to the fountain at once to see what it was...

The buzzing stopped all of a sudden. I was getting way too close! The humming twinkle of little wings stopped. She disappeared so quickly! Where could she have gone? I decided I should wait until nightfall. Fairies are known for their shyness and, maybe she would show up again at dusk? then, I waited all day… until

Something sparkly snuggled in the flowers caught my attention...

Then, a dainty little fairy paused to reveal the innocent face of a child. A lovely face; big brown eyes, and a lovely toothless smile…

A true fairy indeed! Wings of many colors flicker and lift me upward, ever upward to the magical forests of my imaginations.

As yes, as you can see, it was just a sun illuminated garden statue, given to me by a lovely little girl who's very very dear to my heart. This little fairy capture the sun's energy by day and when the sun is round and crimson and goes down the horizon, it automatically lights the way to our enchanted gardens... it flickers and glow softly in 6 transitional colors, and I just love it....

Thank you, my sweet precious girl!