Bloom time

I have a black thumb. I promise. Used to be I couldn't keep a houseplant alive to save my life. I even almost killed the "impossible to kill" plant my mother-in-law gave me when we got married. It was a cutting from her plant which had started as a cutting from her mother's plant when she got married some thirty-odd years prior to that. Oh, it was one I couldn't kill but almost did. I'm happy to say it's alive and well now and I'm determined to keep it's legacy going.

So I got better at paying attention to the plants around me with that same self-determination that allowed me to teach myself to knit, crochet, cook, bake, not kill some important things and learn to grow others. It helped that I landed on an old farm with it's rich black soil and so many long-lived plantings all around. Despite my ineptitude at gardening they just kept on growing or coming back every year if I did something wrong or the dog trampled them to death.

It was that forgiveness if you will that alleviated my fear of planting, growing and possibly killing what I put in the ground. I learned that not every dead plant was my fault and that plants are some of the most forgiving living things you can involve yourself with. All you have to do is pay a little attention to what they need and respond accordingly.

I'm no perfect gardener still, mind you. I've given up on competing with my Martha Stewart-esque mother-in-law who lives next door and my other neighbor who is a horticulturalist/landscape architect whose work is pictured every few years in Southern Living Magazine (you think I'm joking but I'm not). I'm clearly outdone. My yard, to quote my husband, "Has bits of beauty in it but then it looks like napalm went off every so often." He's referring to the deep chasms dug by the dog and her propensity toward making beds in my lilies. I just laugh and keep on planting, realizing that not everything is in my control, really hardly anything is.

All I know is I'm usually surprised by the garden. Depending on the weather, where I put things and how much attention I pay them, some things have their best year ever. This year goes to the clematis, that no matter which direction you look at it from,





is just one big cascade of purple goodness.

Winter knitting

saturday
sitting in the nook
listening to the steady pour of rain
knitting up some special orders
some off-season winter knitting

big pink scarf
baby sweater
hat
booties
necklaces

searching for the right dog to adopt
watching movies
thinking about the morning's baseball game
hoping to see a rainbow later
happy lazy Saturday

the nook

I feel like a kid again who found a secret hideout. Like when I used to make forts out of sheets strung across the furniture all taped and tied up any which way. Or when I'd climb a tree or play in the attic or crawl down to the end of my sleeping bag with a flashlight and a book.

There's something special about small places with walls, windows or fabric all around. It feels different, it sounds different and the sense of protection, safety and even annonymity is undeniable.

This place is for knitting, or reading, taking pictures (as you've seen), helping with homework, having long talks, or just daydreaming. I've been wanting my own nook, I just didn't know it. Thanks to my special nook-maker I now have one. I hope you do too.

Give a girl a camera

And if that girl happens to be your 13 year old niece,

or your 11 year old one,

you'll never know what you'll get.

But these two surprise me every time.

(okay, so I did a little editing, but still!)

New

As summer fast approaches and the wardrobe shifts to open necklines and unconstrained clothing, so increases my jewelry selection. Perhaps the best thing about making jewelry is that I have an ever-changing personal collection.

I make, I pass on, I give, I sell, I re-make. I couldn't be happier.

If you're looking for simple, these pieces fit the bill. Any of them. But you can't get more pared down or easy going than my basic black. It goes with practically anything. Or, at least that's how I wear it.

The view from above

Recipe for a perfect Friday afternoon:

1. 85 degrees and sunny
2. pack up the boat and children
3. grab sandwiches on the way
4. go to the river (the close one)
5. hang out

6. draw
7. read
8. catch fish (just the boys this time)

9. knit a little

10. knit some more

11. throw everything in the catchall family bag upon hearing thunder

12. fall asleep to a Spring thunderstorm

I can think of so many reasons why this is the start to my favorite time of year.

Raining

I welcomed the rain today which is odd for me because I usually don't. I like to take the dog for a walk in the afternoons or go for a run or do anything but sit inside. But today we needed the rain. Me and the grass.

It's a good day for sitting and making and reading the latest magazine to come in the mail, from which I found stereomood.com. I first tried picking my mood but the music didn't match, so then I tried picking the music and found out what mood I was in. Let's just say it wasn't "raining".

And if you're wondering why I didn't post anything to commemerate Mother's Day let me just tell you I thought about it, but anything I was about to say just didn't do it for me, so I figured it was better to be quiet. If you really want something to speak to you about motherhood, just click here. If you're a mom you'll know exactly what I mean. If you're not one, it'll make you want to become one. Enjoy the rain.