Memories of the Season...

Ironing my Grandmother's linens.

Preparing guest bedrooms.

Conversations.

Setting the table with care for many special mealtimes.

Real or...Imitation?

Our tree came down today. It was a lovely Clemson Greenspire from a local tree farm. It stood in the center of our living room - the center of our celebration. Not for the gifts underneath (although those are nice) but because of the Life it symbolizes.




We bring Him into our homes when we bring His creation in. Why do we settle for imitations of the real thing?

American Holly: Ilex opaca

Joy to the World!

In Bloom

Amidst the curled up and crackly shades of chestnut and chocolate a green spire stood straight and tall, ending in a burst of pure milky-white blooms. The eponymous Christmas flower...beautiful Narcissus tazetta in an outdoor setting. Found while "birding" (STOP!--start--STOP!--start) our way to the Canal this morning.

A Gift

Thank you.

Adornments of the Season

Freshness...provided daily...for celebrations both clamorous and quiescent.

Chocolate Cake

Four different chocolate layer cakes---all delicious, but which one was THE BEST? I baked all four and after a small dinner we taste tested.

The winner--Barefoot Contessa Chocolate Mocha Cake and for those who don't care for a coffee flavor in their chocolate---Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake.
I am now prepared for all “special” events where chocolate is needed: family dinners, having friends over, afternoon snacks, babies being born, comfort times, Sunday dinners, funerals, celebration times...LIFE.

The Storm

Two nights ago a huge storm blew up the creek and the little dancer's jewels tumbled away---her lithe form and smooth trunk are exposed. She will wait through the winter anticipating her spring adornment. Many other things were laid bare...

Black-eyed Susans (from "Welcome" post).


There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Indoor Blooms

These were definitely investment pieces. I purchased these two Christmas cacti in December last year, babies..one in pink and one in white. They summered on our patio, basking contentedly in the Gerogia heat and humidity. Waiting quietly in the background through Easter brunch, Birthday dinners, the Fourth's low country boil, and many family get-togethers. Finally in late November I noticed tiny buds at the end of many of the branches. It was their time to shine. I brought them indoors, fertilized, and placed them to their best advantage in the living room. Up to this point they have been our only Christmas decoration this year---and, really?...what more could you ask for?

Adagio

For the past week and a half, I have been mesmerized by the daily performance in my neighbor's front yard. The dancer's trunk is upright, then suddenly her back yields and gracefully her limbs arch and droop. Her form is partially obscured by color---deeply faceted citrine stones, rubies, and emeralds sparkle about her---in fact, the colors seem to emanate from her. The same colors fall in gentle drifts surrounding her, reminiscent of The Nutcracker's snow scene, yet it is not 16 dancers on stage, but one. She pirouettes, sways, flutters to and fro, then becomes still. Another breeze sweeps across the lawn, kisses her lifted arms, and the Japanese Maple begins her dance all over again.

In Bloom

Here in the South, our world is adorned with magnificent flowers...

waiting to be plucked up and arranged.
All to celebrate the birth of the Christ child.

Camellia sasanqua. Incredible.

Early morning walk on the Canal

Have you ever seen a beautifully painted landscape, so charming and alluring that you longed to step right in and experience it fully? Kind of like Mary, Jane, Michael, and Bert in Mary Poppins when they clasped hands and leapt into one of Bert's sidewalk landscapes. Well...my boys and I did it this morning. We opened our back door and jumped right in. The thermometer read 30, a thick frost with low hanging fog lay across the land.




Our soul longs to connect with our Creator. "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." Psalm 42:1

Savoring Fall

Please excuse the hiatus. We have been like the squirrels, busily nesting and gathering for the coming winter. Although local merchants would have us believe that CHRISTMAS IS HERE, bold brushstrokes of cadmium yellow, vermilion, and burnt umber highlighted against an azure Georgia sky tells us otherwise.

Garden Journal

For Newnan Coweta Magazine readers, my 2009 garden journal is now in my Etsy shop. You may click on the link in the upper right-hand corner of this blog page. For those of you who are not readers, A Record of the Garden 2009 is a journal and planner for gardeners to keep track of information related to their garden. You will receive it as a packet of pages that are formatted for a standard 1” or 1 ½” three-ring binder (binder not provided). Each packet contains a binder cover, 4 seasonal dividers (with my original watercolors), and, for each month of the year, a calendar, a plant record, a “notes” page, and a “photographs and sketches” page. Using a three-ring binder gives you a lot of flexibility--you may add and remove pages as you like. You can add dividers to keep track of your newspaper and magazines clippings. Happy journaling!

Aloe

Have you ever seen aloe bloom?

It was as tall as the wonderful lady who tended it --- my Mother-in-law, Linda.

Election Day Roses

A few days after planting these rose bushes in May--purchased from my local Supercenter for the low price of $1.00 each!--a large mother turtle, ambled up from the creek into my rose bed and promptly left her eggs.

I wasn't about to fertilize the roses...

but they have behaved beautifully.

.

Fall Lavender

I had dreams of a prolific lavender hedge winding its way around our patio---when we happened to brush against it, wafts of sweet scented lavender would assail us. Being conservative, I thought it best to try out some lavender in this spot before investing in 20 seedlings. I carefully and protectively planted 3 at the end of April. I watered, I fertilized, I limed, I cajoled--no lavender in May... June...July...August. Finally,in September my dreams were realized. And it continues through October.

Welcome

In some people's opinion we've come down in the world---the neighborhood is not as “nice” or as manicured, the people are different, it's in the wrong school district---But God has shown us what He esteems is not what the world esteems. There is more joy here, more life, more beauty, and more real people. We will build our lives here. The tangible evidence will be our garden, built on the banks of the creek with the herons and egrets looking on. Welcome to our adventure.