What This Corner says to me

This corner of my kitchen counter sends me a message every morning when I walk in the kitchen to make coffee.

It is a message about friendship, the flea market, and zinnias growing-  three of my favorite things.

It’s about my dear friend Anna knowing that I would love this particular Mackenzie-Childs pattern and giving me the tray for my birthday.

She knew even though I didn’t know, that I would love it.

Friends know.

It’s about my friend Mary Jo giving me a Courtly Check rattan tray and reminding me- every time I look

at it sitting on my kitchen counter-  that she has washed many dishes at my kitchen sink after one of our parties.

It’s about my daughter Lauren casually saying one day-

‘look what I found you at the flea market!’-

and handing me the two pieces above.  She found both of them in a box one Saturday morning.

And, it’s about my beautiful zinnias growing that have already given me ear to ear grinning pleasure this spring.

That’s what this corner says to me.

I hope you have a special corner too.

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Linking to

Wow-Us-Wednesdays

Time Travel Thursday @ The Brambleberry Cottage

Garden Party @ Fishtail Cottage

Dear Daughters: Downsizing

Dear Daughters,

While pondering life early this morning while having my coffee, it dawned on me that because I

am ‘of a certain age’ I am now expected to downsize everything:

my home, my collections, my wardrobe, my jewelry, my décor stash in the garage, my crate of milk glass vases for  parties, my crate of champagne flutes for parties, my Christmas decorations, the number of Christmas trees I have,  my dishes, my chafing dishes for parties, my silver plate, the punch bowls and punch cups I collected for Heather’s wedding , my cookbook collection,  and my small quirky vases for my zinnias- to name a few.

Because I thrive best in a back door, find all the exits, take your own car in case you need to leave mentality,

I do best when I can keep my options open.

I have decided therefore, I am keeping my downsizing options open too.

Here’s why:

I still have my big toe in my life prior to today.

I enjoyed having all of those Christmas parties for my teacher/non-teacher friends and using my milk glass and silver plate, and decorating 3 trees, and earmarking cookbooks looking for just the right appetizer recipes.

I enjoyed finding all of those punch bowls and punch cups for Heather’s wedding so I could create a tier of punch bowls by the cake table.  Finding those punch cups at the flea market was a blast.

I enjoyed driving from Ross to Ross collecting boxes of champagne flutes that have been used many, many times at brunches, baby showers, and wedding showers in my home and in the homes of my friends.


The flip side of this memory laden coin is that sweet girls-

I know this is changing even as I write this letter.

That ship has sailed, but another one is coming in. 

Now at this new stage of life-

I would much rather sit at a ballpark watching my grandsons play baseball-

no milk glass, punch cups, or champagne flutes required.

So we shall see, won’t we, how this all evolves?

I love you,

Mom.

***

Linking to:

TUESDAY

the Scoop @ Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Tuesdays At Our Home @ Our Home Away From Home

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Knick of Time Tuesday

Perennial Borders: A Gardening Girdle

When I first started gardening in earnest (about six years ago), I was enthralled with the idea of a perennial border.

What a concept- year after year of perpetually blooming flowers with no additional work or cost.

And then I remembered where I lived… on the border of deep South Texas and Mexico.

I garden in that tiny strip (below) at the southern most tip of Texas-

two inches from the surface of the SUN.

My solution? I planted white plumbago bushes around the perimeter of the backyard.

I had an instant perennial border that loved the sun and grew bushy in spite of me.

Why white plumbago?

* It is different than blue plumbago , and the prettiest flowers in a yard full of greenery are usually white.

* It doesn’t mind being planted in soil similar to concrete.

* Large plants in my area are only $8.00 each.

* It loves full sun, very little water, and it is so bushy and bossy it holds everything behind it in making it the best gardening girdle you can find.

***
Linking to:

An Oregon Cottage’s Tuesday Garden Party

Fishtail Cottage’s Garden Party

Fertilizer Friday-Tootsie Time

Show and Tell Friday-My Romantic Home

Farmgirl Friday-Dandelion House

Where Do Bloggers Go? : Part II

I originally wrote a post pondering “ Where Bloggers Go” here.


I wrote it about this time last year, when I surfaced from a blogging absence and realized too much time had elapsed since I had posted last.

We have all periodically read each other’s blogging disclaimers in the first paragraph of a long overdue post.

It usually begins with “…I know it has been awhile”.


But here is what I hope.

I hope you small band of cool, quirky readers that gets what I say,

often over and over again- because I love repeating myself,

KNOWS where I am.

After all, you have read enough about what happens around here this time of year.

Can you guess?

Here is where I have been:

* I have been watching my oldest grandson (above) as often as we can get there, play a game I love (baseball).

It’s a win/win or better yet a love/love situation.

He is an old soul in a 10 year old body.

He wants to do it right.  He is a warrior.

*I have watched my youngest grandson (above) play a game I will now love- soccer-

because here’s the deal:  

my grandsons could throw rocks at a pile of dirt, and if I could watch and cheer I would.

He was born believing he is a warrior.

*And, I have been working my thorn scratched fingers to the bone-

in my yard-

which is a South Texas way of saying ‘garden’.


Where do you go when you aren’t blogging?

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