plant lady

miniature rose plant $6.97 at Walmart + assorted sunny windowsill indoor blooms, herbs, plants ... with Mr. Big Oliver

Everyone knows that any great plant photograph looks better with a cat and we're not just talkin' any ol' cat. I am slowly and surely becoming an indoor plant lady, at a time when I am supposed to be lessening the things I live with (downsizing) I find myself coveting plants - big, small, tall, hanging, creeping, succulent, teeny, flowering  - it's official - I've become a plant lady.

We (the Prince and I) had to go to Truro, a nearby bigger centre, to do a few reno/household errands yesterday afternoon. I threw together one of my dutch oven specialties, into the oven at 250 and off we went. A beautiful hour long drive both ways. Now shopping together has never been an easy activity for us in fact it's one that's almost guaranteed to invoke a lil' sarcasm, a little sniping, a little crankiness which very often turns into hurt feelings and even sometimes - fights. Not yesterday, as I stood with our loaded cart in the Walmart check-out line waiting for Doug to pick up one last thing. I turned and saw him approaching me (all dressed up in his skinny stylish jeans at my subtle suggestion ;-) carrying a potted miniature rose, looking tres smug and pleased with himself. Now D is a Prince, no question and a Prince of many things, but Romantic I'm afraid is not one of them, certainly not the traditional kind of romantic anyway fortunately this hasn't ever been an issue for me. But ... I gotta say - a girl, especially a plant lovin' lady like me, loves a little potted plant love (not to mention a bit of romance as well) - someone's been reading What Happy People Know by Dan Baker ;-) & it was by far our happiest shopping trip ever ! xoxo

beautiful people

the sea / seaweed & barnacles / flying crow / a huge and very old poplar / cellar spider / crows

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

via Kelly Rae Roberts

god made a dog

beautiful Winnie Dixon / Virgil's bachelor pad / la lunch* / old wood siding / Mr. Ease, the dude enjoying tea time with me / la lunch 2 / Oliver in his office (this little mouse has a velcro opening in his belly that I fill with Cosmic Catnip - ya huh) / seed heads & blue sky / more Missy D

* I'm usually a lean protein (tuna, crab or salmon) salad - no carb lunch girl but every now & then I get a craving ...

a wonderful video about dog love

ease it is

this gorgeous, tres typographic, wee (11x5.75) hooked rug arrived in the mail yesterday from Allyson

I'm high on believin' ... ease it is

A reminder, in an oh so clever graphic designer-ish way*, to not give up on my one lil' word for 2013 ease. We, les gang and I (especially les cat gang), well actually it's just Oliver & I can't decide if it should be my new mouse pad (it works really well), my tea time lay my head down & soak up the (hard e zed) ease nap mat or Oliver's posing rug. Regardless we are thrilled and touched with the sweetness that often arrives here in the comments and at the post office.

Also including my fav colour pink and new favourite ease-y colour green. Ahhhhhhh ....
Merci ! Allyson Marcolini from Hooked on a Feeling (ooga chakka ;-) such a great name for her blog

how about some lil' bit cheesy ;-) afternoon chair dancin' ? OK arms in the air, swivel, swivel, all together now ...

a bit of blue

brass patina - new powder room door / starling love / basil flowers / zoom from the grassy hill out into the strait / the last ice / a spring day & windows open wide / gulls & sea / oh oh ! building inspector on site (and very dirty reno-rama floors)

new things

a new 11x14 poppies giclee print & lots more new things in my Etsy shop

sweet tea

my beloved teak topped desk, my 2 cup brown betty, a new giclee order to count & some sweet tea

sweet tea, sweet tea, sweet tea, sweet tea, sweet tea ... sweetie

It's just 3pm and already I feel like I've had a good day. A great day. I've gone on 2 walks (with dogs), had breakfast, battled 6 neglected village Tom cats (three of which I had never seen before today) as they tried repeatedly to gang rape an adorable, petite, black & white, unspayed female Doug & call Miss Mew (she has a "home" in quotations nearby) but is thrown out to the lions at all hours (especially when she is in heat) and in all weather conditions and we suspect fed only very sporadically. So we feed her & she hangs around Chez Susan's ... today her boyfriends ALL arrived to hang with her. Well there will be no gang raping on my watch Buckos, armed with a spray bottle of water, dialed to maximum distance & maximum squirting strength, a whole lot of stomping my feet & yelling Git ! said like only a good Maritime girl can yell Git ! Git ! Git ! I mean it ! & don't come back !! Sigh. Then I came back inside and made Paula Deen's Pot Roast (for the first time - it sound's delicious) threw that into the oven (it cooks in a cast iron covered casserole for 3.5 hours), and made a potato scallop to go with & it sits awaiting it's oven time, did the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen, fed the birds and now here I sit at the TTD with Oliver (of course), Winnie snoring in her bed at my feet with a big fat mug of steaming sweet tea. Orange Pekoe, lots of milk with a bit of sweet. Heaven.

Now I'm about to do my giclee print inventory, counting basically - sounds simple enough, but for some reason it's a job I detest and one I liken to ... hmmm say some sort of difficult trigonometry or algebra problem, or I know like one of those weird & dazzling (at least they've always dazzled me non Mensa girl) If the 6 houses on Blank Street were all painted a different colour and each house has 3 trees which 2 houses have dogs ? Ya huh ! That's how I feel about inventory, ordering giclee prints, stocking my etsy shop, yada yada yada. I'll stop here before the full force whining begins.

I've had a really good day so far ... my plan is to continue the goodness ;-) seriously ! happy Saturday
Look for lots & lots of NEW things dans my Etsy shop tomorrow !!

sweet tea, sweet tea, sweet tea, sweet tea, sweet tea ... sweetie

what goes down ...

the good big brother Oliver (& Virg) / miniature old growth forest / cold / old beautiful poplar / lunch / the crescent beach - nearly ice free / Cavallini moths / for lichen lovers / more miniature forests & great big love

Struggle is proof that you haven't been conquered, 
that you refuse to surrender, 
that victory is still possible, and that you're growing.

down, up, down ... up again

What goes down ... does eventually always bounce back up again. Thankfully. Phew ! And often up in a furious burst of enthusiastic creativity & optimism. So much so that one ponders the natural place and order of "the down" in the big scheme of life/things. If  only I could remember all this when I am mired in "the down" but that never seems to happen . If I could remember that "the down" is most often temporary, fleeting sometimes (days at most usually) and that it somehow magically fuels "the up" and when I feel that exceleration back up again ... well then I remember and am grateful, I am grateful for "the down". The down, who no question, can suck so much life and time and hope from me but if it leads to "the up" then Hey " who am I to try and chase her away. I'me beginning to believe once again the need to cultivate a special relationship with her. Let her hang out, watch TV with us ... but maybe not talk to her too much.

Remember this rumi/nation

it's the truth

Hey you, April ... Ka pow !

2 books that are saving my life at the moment are Dan Baker's - What Happy People Know & Brené Brown's - Daring Greatly. I know that sounds extreme but it's the truth. If you are someone who suffers - suffers from any of the afflictions emotions mentioned above read these two powerful books and cut yourself some slack. Plus I highly recommend watching Brené Brown discuss her new book Daring Greatly in two fantastic interviews with Oprah. I've listened to them while working at my desk already myself maybe a dozen times each ... because it's the news I want to hear, it's the story I need to hear. It's the truth I need to burn into my consciousness ... and I am burnin' it in with intention & a ton of gratitude.

well meaning & kindly

cob web weaver spider* / miniature lands, hills & valleys / from the weekend / a frosty leaf / Monty's Emporium of Vintage Goodness / dried seed heads / Canada geese - their back ! but maybe they never left / Missy Dee-lightful & me

have faith in a benevolent and magical universe

words of wisdom, words of hope & I'll take my wise hope anywhere I can get it lately, thank you very much.

These particular words, the last line of this week's Cancer - Bohemian Tartscope. Hey you eye rollers ! I can see you, so stop it ! Amy put me onto this site and I love it. Each week a new tarot card matched up with your zodiac sign. This week's card for me The Star. Early Monday morning some thing I look forward to - a bit of guidance, some relief - maybe an explanation of why things, nearly everything have been so difficult lately. My word for 2013 is/was ease - but I say Yo ! 2013 wtf ? & where's the ease ? & where'd she go ? the past 3 months have felt like constant inner struggle, not at all like ease. Maybe that's why I picked ease ? Ha Ha Universe I get the joke, not laughing. Yeah, yeah I picked ease because struggling seems always so natural for me. I know how to struggle, how to stress, how to fear, how to be anxious, how to make things feel hard & difficult. I chose ease because it is the one, big lesson the Universe is shouting at me, it is the lesson I need most to learn.

Well, I'm tellin' ya ... I feel like I'm learning Quantum Physics or maybe Japanese (it feels like I'm not learning anything at all) like I'm fighting any ease lesson all the way, with all my might, fighting it 'til it exhausts me. And I'm tired and it's only April ... 2

So ...

maybe I will have a little faith in a benevolent and magical universe ... can't hurt, can it ?

The Star is inspiration, hope, guidance. You are going to get a sign that you are moving in the right direction. This is a green light for you. If you have been looking for a path, praying for a little help, you are going to find it this week. Something will appear to recharge your faith, you will get your star to follow. Trust that you have divine assistance and look for synchronicities to validate that reality. Go ahead and believe in signs and omens, consult an astrologer, have faith in a benevolent & magical universe.

ps. I say Yo (now) instead of Hey ! 'cause Yo ! we LOVE Breaking Bad ...  ;-)

* I have no idea the actual species of spider this is, no wait I do (Google sung by the chorus of angels). It's a Cellar Spider. This spider lives in our bedroom between two large terra cotta windowsill pots and I love him or her. I treat her like a pet and check on her several times a day - she thrills me, really she does. Her little legs are the same size as her cob webby web, so much so that she blends in with her web almost completely at times. Proof that the universe sure is a magical place.