tending to me

Friday, June 6, 2014













itty bitty Betty* annoying the lushness of our fenced in back garden / a new studio windowsill geranium started from a cutting / I ♡ teeny periwinkles / dandelion love from the front garden / salad prep / itty bitty in the chair beside me - afternoon ice tea break / nature study love - ants / gorgeous white blossoms / Sam&Oliver having an afternoon snooze in the chocolate brown bedroom / geranium buds / apple blossoms in the backyard

let the beauty of what you love
be what you do Rumi

It feels like I've been on vacation these last 3 weeks since that wonderful & terrifying Starbucks project finished, was printed & hung in the new Starbucks shop at 1 Yonge St. Toronto in the Toronto Star building. Finished successfully and I could finally breath a big sigh of relief. It feels since then like I've been lost, unfocused, unproductive, spinning my wheels trying to choose my next project and/or priority from a long and growing list of new self directing things to choose from. It, this stage, always makes me nervous, this stage that follows the end of any big & challenging project, the stage that soon feels like a let down, then a let down morphing into laziness. But it's not that, not really.

I've been tending I think, tending to me ... recharging, resting, rejuvenating, rethinking, revitalizing me. This stage is just as important I've realized, this down time is essential to grow & nurture innovation & imagination. Creativity needs some rest also. Since last September I've been working on customer based work steady - fantastic & rewarding. Now it's time to create some new Susan work and I can't wait ! I'm gearing up for new things, new directions. Bonjour last half of 2014 !

+ plenty of gardening + ant observation (my new favourite creature ;-)

* for all you IBB - Itty Bitty Betty fans (& kitten godmothers) a full Betty post coming soon - she's quite a cat !

8 comments:

  1. you deserve a break dear susan and i'm glad you are taking it and enjoying it. your mind simply does not know what to do with itself when mega super huge pressure is not being placed on it. it is in an adjustment period. i'm going shopping this evening and on my list are some geraniums in a multitude of colors with the ultimate goal of learning how to take cuttings and have geraniums blooming in the south-facing windows of my breakfast nook this winter. i'm excited about it. and, lastly, that ibb betty is the sweetest thing. i think zoe needs an ibb in her life, don't you?!

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  2. i forgot to say that i'm also shopping for ingredients to make your granola as well. yummers!

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  3. Aaarrrggghhh! Periwinkle shells in abundance. I am so jealous.

    IBB is one good-looking cat.

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  4. I could spend hours in that little pile of seashells! Enjoy your R&R time. It is well deserved.

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  5. Hi Julie, John & GS ! Happy Weekend to all

    Julie geraniums really are the easiest thing to grow successfully, they do love sunshine, are super easy to start from a cutting and I do promise to write a post about "best big geranium practices" soon. I love terra cotta pots, but I make sure that the saucer's are either glazed or terra cotta coloured plastic this will prevent dampness (mold & mildew) under the pot and on your windowsill. I would suggest starting with as big a pot(s) as your windowsill can stand and an assortment of colours will be gorgeous.

    I recently bought 2 neon hot pink (LOVE) geraniums and 1 white I can't believe it took me so long :-)

    John & GS, you have know idea how many times way back in the day when I had only 1 golden retriever Emma Jane Louise and when she & I would walk on the beach I would plant myself beside one of these shell dumps and collect shells in a mesmerized, as if drugged state. I have jars & jars of tiny periwinkles collected ;-)

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  6. You photos are always breathtaking. Congrats on getting the big project done done done! And I can't wait to see the new art! xo

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  7. Your photos are always beautiful dear Susan, I love these. Betty looks so sweet in the vastness of your wonderful garden, beautiful pictures of flowers, Itty Bitty Betty, Oliver, Sam and your lunch.
    I think that coral coloured plant you posted before is a 'diascia', very pretty, it will look wonderful in a window box.
    I am pleased that you are tending to yourself, all of that creativity and hard work must have been draining, you need to have a rest and spoil yourself a little.
    Looking forward to the IBB post! :)
    love and hugs
    xoxoxo ♡

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  8. enjoy your time! and thanks so much for all that beauty!
    xo

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