Bloom

This is a first for me.

My Christmas cactus filled with blooms once. Beautiful pink buds and blooms! I was sure it was a Christmas miracle. Much to my surprise, she came to life again at the end of February. I can't contain myself. Never, in all my {limited} history of growing things, has a plant flourished like this. I guess she's where she belongs!

Let me back up.

A dear friend gave me this plant in December of 2015. Miss Cactus came to me with a smile, and warmth and the comfort that comes from a simple gesture between friends. I managed to keep her alive until we moved at the end of March, 2016. I really wanted her to survive the move with me. Once in our new home, she got a pretty new pot and her own place in a sunny corner of our living room. I was delighted that, during the summer and fall months, fresh new 'leaves' of green sprouted from each 'branch' {I really should learn cactus lingo...cause I'm pretty sure leaf and branch don't apply...} Next thing you know it was Christmas, and tiny pink buds began to emerge. By mid January there were so many blooms!! As they faded, I was sad to see that bright burst of fuchsia disappear from our winter landscape. 

Back to present day...

As I sit quietly writing this post, my cactus is, once again, in FULL bloom! Mid February brought tiny new buds, and they have quickly filled the corner {and me!} with the bright joys of color and whimsy and possibility. I do believe this beautiful plant has found her home.

This {truly} is a first for me...

Two things struck me, when my dear friend Miss Cactus bloomed for the second time. The first was the thought that maybe, just maybe, I could help plants to thrive....both inside and out. I've wanted to, and taken some small steps...so I'm hoping that her growth will spur me along the path towards a green thumb. The second thing that struck me was that, like Miss Cactus, I am home. As she flourishes, I too am flourishing. As she blooms, I too bloom. As I watch her, I know that blooms need not come every season... that there are seasons of rest, and green....and fantastic seasons of bloomin' fuchsia!! I think we are both right where we belong.

Thanks, Lynn....for the friendship, and the little plant that came with me.

And thank, Miss Cactus, for giving me more than I could have ever imagined!!

Joining friends for Scene and Story and Life Through the Lens

All of it....

What do you see?

A frigid, tangled mess?
The warm, light of hope?

This photo reminds me that what I see so often depends on where I choose to focus.
Sometimes I see tangles.
Sometimes I see light.

This photo suggests to me that, perhaps, it's not an either/or.
Always there are tangles.
And always there is light.

When I look at this photo, I see magic.
The magic that was that moment when frigid tangle met warm light and painted
just for me
a glorious tableau....

So, perhaps, the best answer to the question,
'What do you see?'
is simply ... all of it.

I see the mess
I see the light

And I'm trying to embrace the whole tableau.

Joining Life Through the Lens

and Wednesday's Around the World

Peek-a-boo!

Little by little we have lured the squirrels up on to the patio.

First the seeds and nuts were at the edge, near the grass.

Now we put their food right up against the sliders.

And they come.

They nibble.

They peek inside...

...and sometimes, if they like the show, they even watch TV with us!

Joining Tamar

Because {January}

Because he built this wood shed with his own two hands.
Because, when I look at all this wood, I'm reminded I have a home. Of my own. With a fireplace.
Because we pretend we live in the woods.
Because of the early morning light and all of the snow kissed branches. 
Because I'm grateful that we get to fully experience all of the seasons in New England.

As I look back through all my December photos, there are many joy-filled shots. It was our first Christmas in our new home, so the tree and decoration photos are {cough cough} numerous! But this simple shot is the one that speaks to my heart. Not with a shout. But with a whisper. A whisper that says... all is well.


Linking to Scene & Story, The Good. The Random. The Fun. and Life Through the Lens

Even Though

Christmas came quietly.

More quietly than, perhaps, ever before.

The puppy and I had a lazy morning

waiting for our humans to join us.

There was sunshine.

And warm blankets.

There were sappy movies and coffee sipped

from my special mug.

Christmas came quietly.

Merry was made.

No doubt about it.

My humans did gather for feasting and such.

Fondue sizzled.

Chocolate drizzled.

And new memories were chiseled.

Etched forever into our family stone.

Oh yes, merry was made.

Even now...even though Christmas has left the house,

the spirit of warmth, love, fun, generosity and gratitude remain.

Even though family has scattered,

even though Christmas has left the house,

we hold onto the merry.

We hold on to Christmas in our hearts.

Joining Tamar and Kat

Light

"In the midst of darkness,

light persists."

Mahatma Gandhi

All the sparkly,

decorative

candles, strands and bulbs

that fill this season

are, to me, a gentle reminder

to have faith

in the persistence of the

light.

Joining Tamar 

Tales From Our Tree

My babies are grown.
Grown and out on their own.

My tree used to be full of ornaments collected throughout their childhood,
but when they flew away, their ornaments left the nest with them.

And I was left to re-imagine our Christmas tree.
I tried different themes....
Nothing quite fit.
Until last year.

It seemed only fitting that our tree should tell the story of us.
Where we've lived and traveled.
And how our little family has grown.

The first thing I did was begin to collect 'around the world' ornaments.
Then, I went back through our Christmas photos and found some of my favorites to add to the tree!
This first set is a series of pictures of Brian reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to our kids.
The series begins in 1987 and doesn't end until 2004!

These two sweet photos were snapped right around Christmas time of their first year...
Sigh.
Were they ever this small??

I had several ornaments made from favorite Christmas card photos...
Such fond memories connected to each of these shots!

I'm very lucky to have a good friend who runs a wonderful local photography store ~ he worked with me to create these precious ornaments... I have to say that I loved them more this year as I pulled them out of the wrapping to hang them for a second time!

{If you are local to the Boston area look up Fred at Apex Photo HERE}

So, my babies may be grown. And they may have flown.
But my tree,
once full of their childhood ornaments,
is now chock full of our family memories.

And that makes me one happy mama.

Joining Tamar and Kat

Giving ~ Days 24 & 25

Generations.

Family.

Grandpa.

We are the east coast contingent of my husband's family.

This Thanksgiving, we have some members of the {much larger} west coast contingent visiting.

This is just one of the many special moments we've shared.

Just a kid out splitting wood,

and grandpa watching the kid.

He might have been the one to teach said kid how to use an ax.

Family is safe.

Family is fun.

This family plays and stays together.

Mostly,

I believe family teaches us.

For better or worse,

in thousands of practical and intangible ways,

Family teaches us.

And with this gang, learning brings blessing upon blessing.

Joining Kat, Tamar and James

From my journal:

Giving thanks....nothing but gratitude in my heart this morning. I am full, full, full...and ready for some adventures and memory making with our family. 

Backyard Bliss

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

fluttering from the autumn tree."

Emily Bronte

We've all seen this quote.

Many times.

On many memes.

This fall I have discovered something new about this seasonal bliss....

When the leaves are speaking to you

from your very own back yard,

the bliss-full, autumn tales

are even more melodious.

And soothing.

And mesmerizing.

I have

{literally}

spent hours watching the leaves change

and float

and dance

and frolic

across my {did I mention this?} very own back yard!

Joining Tamar and Lisa

Ah, Weekends

Friday and Saturday were, in a word, BLUSTERY!
Stormy, gray and very windy.
Leaves are falling and swirling about
and we are enjoying the show up here in New England!

I got to puppy-sit this weekend.

So I had to get the big girl camera out on Sunday

and get a few fall shots of this guy.

This one's my favorite!

We lit our FIRST official FIRE since moving to the new place!

Fireplace was on that "must have" list when we were looking for a house....

Sitting in front of the roaring fire

and enjoying the Pats game with my daughter and son-in-law,

I felt like a kid on Christmas morning who got

EVERYTHING

she asked for!!

Joining Tamar

Mailbox Reflection

One of the many little improvements we've made to our house in the first six months

was sprucing up the mailbox.

Post was cleaned, sanded and stained.

The box itself was replaced.

New, reflective numbers were added to the pole.

And I had name decals made for the sides of the box!

While I was attaching our name to the second side of the shiny, new box,

I caught a reflection of our house!

Only seemed fitting that our name and our home should appear together in a picture!

Joining James for

Weekend Reflections

Reflections on a summer's eve...

The sitting.

And the sipping.

The chatter, the laughter, the tasting and the memories.

The forging of a new memory

and the slow dance to the musings of days gone by.

This is the stuff that glorious summer evenings are made of.

I know there will be many more such evenings

on Wheeler Ave.

Evenings under the red umbrella,

surrounded by family and friends...

This is why we were led to this place,

our new home.

It is a place to gather,

to give and to

grow.

{also...for you wine lovers out there... those who were sipping HIGHLY recommend this vino!}

"Fan the sinking flame of hilarity
with the wings of friendship;
and pass the rosy wine."
Charles Dickens



Joining Kim and James

Good. Random. Fun. {weeks 22 & 23}

The heat of the day lingered into the early evening. As I pushed my cart around the garden center, I allowed myself to choose the tiny blooms that I liked the most. I hadn't done any research ~ which I probably should have. You see, I don't garden. I enjoy plants and flowers without knowing what they are called. I like the idea of having a garden full of loveliness, but haven't the first clue as to what it takes to actually grow the flowers that might fill said garden. So, while the sun began casting long shadows across the rows and rows of vivids and pastels, I simply allowed myself to choose whichever random plants happened to put a smile on my face. I did check to make sure that the colorful choices I made would enjoy basking in the sunshine of my second floor deck, and then I filled my cart with a rainbow of goodness.

I bought some herbs too. Because I like the idea of cooking with fresh herbs. I've never done this, but hope that I can actually incorporate this into my culinary routine. Once I had decided on a potting soil and picked out some cute gardening gloves, I headed to the cashier to make my purchase. When the total came up on the screen I thought, "Wow. This is more than just an idea. It's an investment! I better actually be able to keep this little guys alive?!?!!" This notion, if you know me at all, is not a given. I'm not known for keeping plants alive. And I can tend to like the idea of something much {much} more than I like the actual effort it takes to make it happen. I was one of those girls that liked buying the ski outfit more than I liked the skiing itself. But I digress.

Next came the loading and unloading. The cleaning of the fairly-old-but-never-used planters. The reading of the directions. And then, finally, the planting. My favorite part of this process was experiencing the warmth of the soil. There was energy...warm energy...generated by the soil. Digging my gloved hands into the bag of potting soil again and again was, well, new to me. And invigorating. It was one of those moments when you say to yourself, "Oh. This is why people like this!" I guess you could say a 'better late than never' moment. The fun came when all the planters were full and settled into their new home on my new deck....and I started snapping photos! It's always nice when you try something new and it turns out {almost} like you imagined that it would.

So, here I am. In a new house with so much light. And space. And land. It's a home that begs for plants and flowers. Here I am testing the waters. Dipping the proverbial big toe in to see how it feels. I will do my best to nurture the living. To pay attention, take my time and find joy in this new adventure.

Joining Tamar for some

Good, Random Fun

Raindrops

"Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...

...nothing's bothering me!"

B. J. Thomas

Who knew how fun skylights could be??!?

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

Good. Random. Fun {Weeks 20 & 21}

These last few weeks have centered around two things:

Finishing up some of the last unpacking minutia

and

beginning to explore the area.

I have two old printer's trays...one for nick-nacks and one for jewelry.

I could unpack two whole rooms in the time it took me to

hang, unwrap, clean off and re-fill these two "antiques" ...

good thing I love the end result so much!

We've also begun to buy a few house plants ~ the 'finishing touch' for this otherwise empty corner of the main room.

The peach hibiscus we bought has NOT disappointed!

So many blooms already!

One of the funniest, most random and unexpected thing we've discovered at our place

is the nightly frog serenade!

I will try and get a recording that I can upload - I mean they are SO LOUD we can hear them

with the windows closed and the television on...ribbit!

I have had tons of fun beginning to explore my area.

The history is rich and I look forward to many new discoveries!

This past weekend we had our first official {non-family} dinner guests.

My boss and his wife...friends for more years than we'd like to admit...hung out Saturday night.

When the realtor first asked me to describe what I wanted in a house,

I told her that I was hoping we'd find a gathering place.

A place where family and friends are always welcome.

I so loved fixing dinner and getting everything ready for our friends...

This place is made for parties!!

Linking up with The Good. The Random. The Fun. and Life Through the Lens

Reflections from the Move

It's funny to look at the photos on my camera feed....how did we get stuff done and communicate details before we could text photos back and forth? Should I buy this microwave? This shower curtain? This screw is this big and this cabinet looks like this. And look! We're hanging doors! It's a hoot - when I look back to see all that we've communicated to each other as we marched through this move-in process.

I'm happy to report there are now some things hanging on the walls!!! I caught my reflection in the glass of this frame this morning... This framed sketch has been with us over thirty years! I had a local artist draw the Harvard bell towers and foot bridge for my husband as a graduation present....might need a new mat ~ I didn't realize how yellowed it is until I saw this shot. You can see our lovely patio and back yard reflected. I thought this made for a nice 'full circle' moment.

We're lucky enough to have brick in our bedroom ~ this is the back of the main fireplace. Our bedroom and the loft above it are a newer addition, and I just LOVE the feel of it! Very roomy and open and full of that amazing light that makes this house so special! Last night some of our photos went up on the brick, and I caught this reflection as I finished making the bed today.

Happiness. Yup. The to-do lists have more things crossed off than not, and this place is really beginning to feel like home.

Joining James for

Weekend Reflections

Follow the Sun

"But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun."

The Beatles

In case you were wondering how we're feeling about all the windows

and ALL THE FANTASTIC LIGHT we have

in this new house...

we love it.

And so does a certain puppy.

He basically spent the weekend following the sun from hot spot to hot spot.

Happiness is, after all, a warm puppy.

Joining Kathy for

Song-ography

Good. Random. Fun. {Week 15}

We are settling in.

I can't find the words to tell you how good it feels!

I settle by doing things like hanging a pretty wreath.

My husband settles in by caulking the tub and shower.

Mars.

Venus.

It's pretty humerous to watch us prioritize what needs to get done next!!

I have a flowering tree!

"Mars" washed allllll the windows this weekend.

And I, "Venus" took plenty of random pics through those windows of my flowering tree.

We had the grandpuppy for the weekend, which was loads of fun!

He didn't get out much,

but enjoyed all the sunshine in the main room and laid around quite patiently

while we got lots more done in the new abode!

Joining Tamar for some

Good. Random. Fun.