Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Color & Curl


On a chilly, misty April afternoon I stumbled upon a bed of tulips.


They added such cheer to my day....helped me to believe it was really spring!


Their blooms were wonderful blends of rich, vibrant, royal colors.


And their curly leaves added extra charm to these beauties!




Joining Kim for

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Black & White Wednesday ~ Philosophers


Most often remembered as the “Father of Little Women,” Amos Bronson Alcott is usually forgotten as a leader in educational reform. He was not only a teacher and Superintendent of Concord Schools, but also a founder of one of the first adult education centers in the United States, The Concord Summer School of Philosophy. The idea of having a place where adults could come together to learn had been Alcott’s life-long dream; the first summer session was held in 1879 within Orchard House itself. By 1880, Bronson had constructed the building he called "Hillside Chapel" 
to house future sessions of his School. For the following eight summers, adults from around the country came to participate in Alcott’s vision and to interact with some of the greatest thinkers and educational pioneers of the 19th century.


"Friends...they cherish one another's hopes.
They are kind to one another's dreams."
Henry David Thoreau

"A friend may well be reckoned
the masterpiece of nature."
Ralph Waldo Emerson


As I toured the buildings and grounds of Orchard house this past weekend,
I was fascinated by the thought that Emerson and Thoreau spent time
in this home, in this school of philosphy and walking in these gardens.
These men were good friends, 
and, along with Bronson and the Alcott women,
shared many, many, many hours of deep conversation.
I mean, can you imagine?!!?


"Our friends interpret the world and ourselves to us,
if we take them tenderly and truly."
Amos Bronson Alcott



My Memory Art

Monday, April 28, 2014

an April Showers kind of weekend....


We had a chilly, rainy weekend up here in the Boston area...which was good for the budding plants and flowers. And, as it turned out, not a deterrent to any of my weekend plans.

I spent Saturday in Concord, MA - a lovely and historic town - with nice coffee spots and great shopping! This view to the left is from the doorway of my favorite gift shop - Nesting. You can see the brick and steeples that characterize our New England towns from their second floor stoop. 

After catching a few raindrops, and visiting Orchard House, I went hunting through some big antique stores. In case you didn't already know this...there are few places more deserving of the word random than an antique shop! 

I was on the hunt for some turn of the century music books or hymnals, and I found exactly what I wanted! I needed a special gift for the son of some life-long dear friends who gave his senior recital on Sunday. We got to hear him sing his last college concert! It was a beautiful concert, and so much fun to share in the time with his wonderful family!











Joining Tamar for
The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Orchard House


"Love is a great beautifier."
Louisa May Alcott


Yesterday I spent a few hours by myself and took a tour of the house 
where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women.
Literally saw the desk where she sat, pen in hand, putting words on the page.


There were so many things I loved about these few hours.
I enjoyed the time by myself doing something just cause I wanted to.
I love that I drove by this rich slice of history on the way to meet a friend for coffee.
I loved the chilly, rainy afternoon
and imagined there were many such days through history just like this one in Orchard House's front yard.
I loved listening to a tour guide who very obviuosly loved what she was doing.
I loved learning.
I loved the rain drops on the branches
and the beginnings of new life.







I guess what the Beatles sang is true...
All I needed for a lovely Saturday afternoon...
was love!


 Joining friends for
and

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Six Word Fridays ~ Flower


easily mesmerized as I stare deeply
 into the heart of a daffodil




My Memory Art six word fridays

oh forsythia....


your joy-filled song of
spring carries gentle whispers
of my girlhood home




Joining Kim and Co. for




Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Black & White Wednesday ~ Seeds


"All of the flowers of all the tomorrows
are in the seeds of today."
Indian Proverb


Several years ago I stumbled across was led to a quote that profoundly altered my perspective on my day to day life. "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." It's a Robert Louis Stevenson quote that {quite literally} caused the ground to shift under my feet - that caused a dramatic paradigm shift in my life. Something in the simplicity of the sentiment set me free from pressures that come when we measure, compare and find satisfaction only in accomplishment. There's so  much a farmer can't control about the harvest. There's so much we can't control about the outcome, about the future. But we can plant seeds. Lots of them. Each and every day!


This spring has been slow to flower here in New England. But we all knew it was coming. Always does...eventually! And as the new buds open, and pollen spreads, and seeds dance across the breeze, we know that the flowers of next spring are coming to life as well!

It can be so hard to hold on to this idea. If we're building a family, or a business...if we're striving to make a big life style change...or if we're trying to mend fences and build bridges....whatever we are striving towards in life, it can be such a struggle to gaze with satisfaction on the planting. So difficult to be consistent with the watering while we wait for growth. For accomplishment. For the harvest.

There's a Bible passage that speaks to this, but that I believe I misinterpreted for years. In Corinthians it says that one man might plant a seed of faith, and others might water it, but it is God that makes it grow. For years I thought that if there wasn't growth in my faith, or certain "results" in my life that either God wasn't blessing me or that I wasn't planting or watering enough. Truth is, I think God really wants us to be free from all of that judgement! To let go of things we can't control, and invest in those things we can. To let go of the harvest and to plant freely. Plant seeds of faith, kindness, discipline or creativity,  take a deep breath and trust that the harvest will come in its own sweet time. A rich, beautiful, worth-the-wait harvest.




My Memory Art
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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Sunday Funday!


I loved my Sunday.
It was eggs-tra good!
It started with puppy time.
He played in the park, and my girl and I got to hang out and talk.


And walk.
And feel the sunshine on our faces.


She put up with my interruptions for blooms and buds.
A "look at that" {pause for photo} thrown in... right in the middle of her story.


The best "look at that" was the random hawk (falcon?) spotting!
This guy drew quite a crowd along the path...he was hanging out in someone's yard!


I took som time by myself at Robbins Farm Park in Arlington.
{also known as skyline park, for obvious reasons!}
It was wonderful to sit in the sun and enjoy the view of my city.
The Marathon is being run today.
Here in Boston it's been a week filled with remembering last year...
remembering who we lost,
remarking on the courage and determination of the survivors,
and getting ready to take back this day for the runners and for the city.
I spent a nice, long quiet time alone with my thoughts and prayers
and enjoying the innocence and laughter of children playing.


Then it was home for the fun.
All the kids, some food that reminds us of Paris, and steaks on the grill.
There's always lots of laughter.
And good conversation.
But we "dine" in our sweats, so photo-ops are in short supply!
The funniest moment of the night was when my husband said,
"I'm ready for dessert!"
And then proceeded to spill the jelly beans out of my cute table decoration.
And eat them.


This Easter
my cathedral was made of a path, a hill, some sky and some trees
and
my congregation was my family
and 
my sermon for the day was:
"Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord all the earth."
Psalm 96:1
It was a wonderful day.


Joining Tamar for



Sunday, April 20, 2014

hello darkness, my old friend....


i've come to talk with you again


because a vision softly creeping


 left its seeds while i was sleeping


and the vision that was planted in my brain
still remains


within the sounds of silence
Simon & Garfunkel



My two guys,
stood on the porch as the sun set.
I wandered in silence,
to capture a few new buds
in the golden light
before darkness fell.
There was traffic out front,
some chirping birds
and a neighbor's music floating on the breeze.
But I was lost in silence.
The silence that comes when I'm 
alone with my thoughts.
Focused.
Sounds and time just seem to fade away.

As I climbed up the stairs to the back deck,
I heard easy conversation flowing between 
father and son.
Such a simple thing.
Such a sweet sound to break my silence.
It wasn't hard to stand in this moment
and know that it far exceeded
any vision ever planted in my brain
while day dreaming or night dreaming.

Having grown up kids is wonderful.


 Linking up with Song-ography and Simple Things Sunday