Relief From the Everyday

So much in life can become mundane if we’re not careful. Stay alert! Spring offers so much new life without any effort on our part except to stay alert to the signs. Smells, bird sounds, new green and yes, daffodils and hyacinth scattered about the slumbering beds. Gardeners experience firsthand the benefits we draw from gardening. I love my gardens and am inspired every time I look out over them. Others take comfort in ways that are uniquely healing for them. This week is full court press getting ready for the Simsbury Flea and Smorgasbord Show. Saturday, (rain or shine)
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Your Home Can Be Your Personal Art Place

 “Artists are picky people. The objects they live with — furniture, artifacts, ceramics, works by other artists — are usually carefully chosen, and they look it.”* My parents were both ceramicists, clay their primary medium. They engendered in us a certain mysterious connection between creativity and nature. Potters surround themselves with organic materials including plants. As children, we were in the garden daily in warm weather, playing and raising flowers and vegetables. Bennington Pottery, Bennington, Vermont Last week we visited Bennington Pottery in Vermont, a business that put its town on the map and employed many local residents for years.
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They’re Baaack!

They’re Baaack! The skunk cabbage are here. And more coming. One of my favorite signs of spring. I just have to write about them every year! It’s not just their color and shape. Or the fact that they’re pioneers, early adaptors. Or perhaps it’s their undeniable motherly qualities against all odds and threat of inclement weather. Interestingly, skunk cabbage also reminds me of the work of the artist Henry Spencer Moore- a celebrated English sculptor known for his monumental semi- abstract bronze sculptures. An artist my dad was a big fan of. Read more here about the story of incredible
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It’s Sewing Time Again

I love sewing. It brings quiet. It helps one make connections with personal history. My mother and sisters taught me to sew many years ago. Exploring all kinds of fabric, texture and colors. My passion for the arts began in a fabric store looking for prints, lace and thread for doll clothes. Followed by patterns and zippers for my own clothes. And then, sewing special dresses for my daughter too! The sensation of peace often emerges as a welcome consequence of handwork. Sewing can allow one to move forward in an ordered fashion- without undue haste. In this way, it
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Flowers Galore

Flowers are the number one reason this gardener gardens. Of course, the number one flower for any mom is her daughter. In this photo, Bridget is shown modeling our new scarf Caroline, named after a great lady, Caroline Ferriday. We’ve created a tradition where I finish a couple new scarves and snag Bridget to pose for them in exchange for coffee on me. It’s been no small feat convincing my dear photophobic daughter to help out but it’s been fun!  This year’s garden efforts will include enriching existing beds and improving all blooms. We began last fall with a general
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Desperately Seeking Holiday Love

Holidays are all about “matters of the heart”. I often wish we could divorce ourselves from the “stuff of giving” and focus on doing things for the “love”of it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a real material girl at holiday time. Remember the Madonna movie called “Desperately Seeking Susan?” Great show and one that showcased the becoming of a late bloomer who thought love had passed her by. And they did it through the material world. all the stuff of new clothes and holidays. It’s that time of year. We’re once again caving to frantic pre Christmas shopping stuff and
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Seven Designs For You

Paola scarves are now available to order. Have a look. If you love them, consider a wonderful addition to your wardrobe, AND, please pass them on. I appreciate it! Related Images:
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Standing up to Thanksgiving

Every year about this time, a vague feeling of dread comes over me—time to cook for Thanksgiving. (I’m babysitting cheesecake as I write). I decided to get a jump on dessert and just say no to pies this year. Besides, cheesecake will freeze and improve with age. Related Images:
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Say Goodbye to Summer

I finally got outside to fertilize the azaleas and put my last “discount plant” finds in the ground. Of course, that meant bulbs, watering and chips too. After a couple hours racing around, I realized I’d pretty much failed “being in the moment”. I tried. Got a lot done though. Related Images:
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