Words for a Saturday Morning

Freedom

Home

Contentment

Family


The weekend looms in front of me with
all the promises of time
and opportunities for renewal.
I am among everything I love.


I am happy.


Vivaldi, the scent of coffee, the overflowing basket of laundry,
my barking dogs turning circles at my feet, the sound of the rain on the windowsills.


I am happy.

Two Branches of One Tree

Grow old along with me
Two branches of one tree
Face the setting sun
When the day is done
God bless our love
God bless our love

Grow old along with me
Whatever fate decrees
We will see it through
For our love is true
God bless our love
God bless our love

Happy fourth anniversary, my Dear Husband.

Every moment of this journey with you is a blessing and a true gift, and I love you with all that I am or ever hope to be.

Couple photo courtesy of richerresourcespublications.com.

Lyrics from Grow Old with Me by John Lennon

Never forget.

A Moment's Perfection

PeoniesThis morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open ---
pools of lace,
white and pink ---
and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
into curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away

to their dark, underground cities ---
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again ---
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly, and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

from New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver

My love for flowers has been with me since I was a child. I distinctly remember visiting my great-grandmother who, at the time, had what seemed to be a huge green yard snuggled between the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky. What I remember most about the yard was the abundance of flowers, daisies, roses and tiger lilies, one of my personal favorites. I remember one of my older cousins telling me, "Did you KNOW that if you put flowers in the freezer, they last FOREVER?" I was amazed at this valuable information, so when my great grandmother wasn't looking, I slipped out to the yard and cut all the blooms off of every flower. I went outside with a pair of scissors and a basket and filled the basket to the brim with colorful blooms. Then, I quietly climbed the steps to the back porch, opened the lid to the huge deep-freezer, and poured all the blooms inside on top of frozen foods. Once they were inside the freezer, I remember arranging them in just a way that would allow me to see each and every type of bloom.

It must have been some time the next day before my great-grandmother noticed the blooms in the freezer, but I remember vividly her calling my name and asking me "why in the world" I had cut all her flowers! I am sure I explained to her my desire to save all the blooms forever. I think she probably showed a great deal of patience with me that day, for what I remember is that she explained that if I wanted to save flowers, I should wrap them in a piece of plastic before putting them into the freezer...but most importantly, I should only cut ONE of each type of flower.

My other grandmother had peonies in her yard, and I thought those were the most amazing flowers I had ever seen. I marveled at the full and perfect blooms in pinks and whites, and grieved for them when, after such a short time, those perfect blooms died away. When I bought my first home, I was fortunate enough to inherit a 60 year old garden filled with peonies! Truth be told, I think it was those flowers that made me realize that house was meant to be mine.

This past weekend, I visited my now 93 year old grandmother, and her yard still is full of peonies. During one of our conversations, she reminded me now was the time to transplant them, and if I wanted to take some to my home in Tennessee, I was welcome to dig up a couple of hers. Out I went in the pouring rain with a shovel and my poor husband to dig up those precious treasures. Dear Husband kept reminding me how little room we had in the car for the ride home, but I had to find a way to fit them inside. I explained to him how I have loved these flowers since I was old enough to walk, and he somehow found enough room for them.

Today, I transplanted the peonies, and I can hardly wait to see the first blooms! I know that after transplanting, the plants may not flower for a couple of years...but I am hopeful. Something transplanted with so much love will surely put on a great show.

Doggone Sweet

Heaven goes by favor.

If it went by merit, you would stay out

and your dog would go in".

~Mark Twain.

"To err is human" To forgive, canine"

~Anonymous

"They never talk about themselves but listen

to you while you talk about yourself

and keep up an appearance of being

interested in the conversation"

~Jerome K. Jerome

We have a new member of the family. Duke is a Golden Retriever who was adopted by my parents and rescued from the local Animal Shelter. If this isn't an endorsement for adopting your pets from the local shelter, I don't know what is! He's beautiful and perfect! Who could resist such a face! He's 90 pounds of love!

Happy Day!

New Landscape! Phase One...

We love our house and the beautiful acre yard that surrounds it. I love to plant flowers in the spring and see things grow, and I very much enjoy sitting on our old front porch and looking out at the flowers in the front yard. Lately, however, we seem to have been growing more weeds than flowers, and we've discovered that we have a special knack for growing Bermuda Grass in our flower beds. My sweet husband and I have fought and fought with the Bermuda attempting to get in under control, and after four years, we have come to the conclusion that we have completely lost that battle. So, a couple of weeks ago, I contacted Todd Groce with Five Star Landscaping, and he will be the one to tame the weeds and grass and make our yard gorgeous. He started today by taking out all the old plantings (what little were left after our drought a couple of years ago) and bringing in new, beautiful plants that just fit with the style of our house. Below are a few photos of Day One. Already the transformation is amazing, and I can't wait to see all the plants in the ground!

Todd said they removed about six inches of old mulch from the beds. Here they have got rid of all the old plantings and mulch and are laying out the flowers in preparation for planting.

Of course, we are saving as much as possible of the older plants. This Rosemary Bush will be planted along the sidewalk so that visitors to the front of the house will catch its wonderful scent.

Max supervises as the new layer of dirt goes down and fertilizer is added to the beds.

These old borders served their purpose at the time, but they will soon be replaced with a new stone border.

The layout is looking good!

...so the plants begin to go into the ground.

...and the weed barrier goes down (no more bermuda grass!)!

It takes a lot of patience to cut out the holes in the weed barrier for each and every flower!

...and Todd puts down the mulch.

It's starting to come together! Already I love it! Coneflowers, black-eyed susans, coreopsis, and more. I adore the colors!

I love the purple and yellow...opposites on the color wheel, so you know it's going to look great!

We are moving the urns closer to the front steps. They'll need a makeover, too, after all the flowers are in the beds.

The one thing I had to have were these gorgeous yellow flowers! I love the color that really shows up from the street.

And just look at how happy Max is! He is loving the yard transformation as much as his parents! What a smile!

Our Town's Fences and Flowers

We will soon be putting up a fence around our circa 1869 home, so we went out into the neighborhood to look for inspiration. There was no shortage of beautiful fences, flowers and landscaping to set our minds going on what we would like to see on our own property. We have not yet decided if we will do a wooden privacy, white picket or iron fence, but our neighbors have certainly given us many styles to consider. Here are a few of those we saw...

This cute picket fence with arbor had a screen door as a gate. Such an adorable idea!

This rustic privacy fence has an alcove built in in which a cross is displayed. I loved the look of the rustic "God Bless America" sign against the unpainted wood.

I love old weather vanes, and I adore how this one sits atop an old fence post among sunflowers and other summer blooms. The patina on the old vane is amazing. This one is a true favorite of mine, as it reminds me of my home state of Kentucky. It is a harness horse. Lincoln County's fair is one of the few county fairs in the state that still has harness racing.

These majestic columns set off a beautiful old stone fence leading to a local bed and breakfast. The winding drive is made of pea gravel that makes a neat crunching sound under the tires of our car.

A grand old tree on the property of the B&B. I love the flowers encircling its base.

I am leaning toward a picket type fence, and I love the "scalloped" design of this one. I think this would truly set off our old home. The white really stands out against the brick of this home.

Our town has an abundance of old stacked stone fences. We had to explore this inviting back road on the edge of town. Can you see the ancient looking stacked stone fence in the line of trees to the left of the road?

I adore Black-Eyed Susans, and the old dirt road was lined on both sides with these beautiful flowers. Our new landscaping will have a lot of these flowers!

...and back to our own yard that is in dire need of attention. This is the part of the yard that we refer to as our "Back Forty." It's set apart from the rest of our property with a line of trees. We have uncovered many old, cut stones in the yard that seem to hint that there were stone walk ways throughout the yard at one time. We would love to uncover those and restore them. As you can see, the area now is mostly trees and grass. We are looking forward to adding our fencing, landscaping and special design that will allow us to enjoy our yard even more.

Summer Rain

How beautiful is the rain!

After the dust and heat,

In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,

How beautiful is the rain!

How it clatters along the roofs,
Like the tramp of hoofs
How it gushes and struggles out
From the throat of the overflowing spout!


Across the window-pane
It pours and pours;
And swift and wide,
With a muddy tide,
Like a river down the gutter roars
The rain, the welcome rain!

From Rain in Summer

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

After what seems like months without rainfall, we were finally blessed last week with bucket loads. It was like seeing an old friend who had been out of town for far too long! I was so happy to see it, that I could have gone outside and danced in it. But Dear Husband says we're grown-up now, and I'm not supposed to do things like that anymore (next rain, I've promised myself a few barefoot wades through the yard puddles). This rain has been such a blessing, and the grass is finally green again, and the flowers are thankful, as am I.

Photo courtesy of

Photo Bucket

The Simple Woman's Day Book, entry #13

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW...

Today I was blessed to see a brand new baby fawn outside my office window! I know I go on and on about the view outside my window here at Sewanee, but it truly is spectacular. Every May and June when all the babies are being born, I am fortunate to see at least one! The baby I saw today could barely walk, was so unsure on its spindly new legs, and was the sweetest, smallest one I've been blessed to see in the wild. What a rare treat! Mama was close by keeping an eye on the little guy. She knew exactly where I was peeking out the window, and the least movement, she would raise her head to stare at me as if to let me know she was watching me closely!

I AM THINKING...

what a fabulous life I am blessed to live and how full of gratitude I am that I live each day in such beautiful surroundings with so much love from family and friends.

FROM THE KITCHEN...

We haven't planned for our dinner tonight, but I am in the process of researching a gluten-free diet and the benefits of it. I am also in the process of cutting out two things from my diet...red meat and chicken (the latter is going to be much easier for me since driving down highway 64 recently behind a chicken truck). DH and I want to improve our health and feel the best place to start is with our diet. I'm looking for gluten-free recipes if anyone has any to share!

I AM WEARING...

a new product I was fortunate enough to stumble upon while on my recent trip to Fairhope and Point Clear, Alabama...new beautiful sparkly body butter that smells wonderful! Thanks to Betsey at Rosie Blu (http://www.rosieblu.com/ - be sure to tell her Paula from Tennessee pointed you in her direction) for including a sample in my shopping bag!

I AM READING...

a fascinating book, also recommended by Betsey at Rosie Blu: The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto. I AM LOVING IT! I began the book this morning before work and had to force myself to put it down in order to make it to work on time! I can hardly wait to get home to continue reading it.

I AM HOPING...

that the day ends as beautifully as it began.

I AM HEARING...

the sound of birds outside my open window against a soft background Mozart. Is there any more beautiful combination?

AROUND THE HOUSE...

we are still unpacking from our trip, but the laundry is finished. I love the smell of fresh laundered clothing and linens! We are preparing for our yard sale in July, so each evening Dear Husband and I plan to trek up to our storage room and clean out at least two more boxes! We may be finished by Christmas! Ha!

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

My newly discovered "must have" - 222 waters! (see Rosie Blu's website)

A FEW PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK...

Grocery shopping for new gluten-free products, a trip to the local produce stand, baths for Molly and Max (after a trip to the lake for a quick swim that I'm sure they will love), DH's "swearing in" to the Lion's Club as their newest member, handwritten letters to family members whom I miss terribly, and work in the flowers and gardens.

PICTURE THOUGHT...

Oh, how I loved our trip last week to Point Clear and our stay at the beautiful Grand Hotel (sigh). The sunset over Mobile Bay each evening was breathtaking.

Daddy's Girl

I have always been a daddy's girl, and I can proudly admit that! At 42 years old, I am still a daddy's girl. I was blessed with a wonderful childhood and a wonderful, Christian father who was loving, supportive, stern when needed, and involved in all aspects of my life. He was the rock of our family and my hero. I believed my dad knew all, could do anything, and was the best dad in the world. I still do.

Happy Father's Day, Dad. You're still my rock and my support, and I am forever grateful.

I love you,

Summer Time Favorites!

I love summer's fresh garden veggies and sweet, locally grown fruits. Each summer I grow my own tomatoes, peppers and herbs, and I can't wait for the first green tomatoes to show up on the vines. I admit I sometimes have a hard time allowing them to ripen to red, as fried green tomatoes are a favorite of mine. But I've also been known to pick a red tomato and eat it before I can get it back to the house. I love them!

We also look forward to seeing the Dennison's Farm strawberry cart every summer and can't wait for that first taste of those sweet berries! If you've never had a Dennison's strawberry, you've missed out on strawberry perfection! I'm trying my hand for the first time at strawberry jam. We have so many and love the taste so much that I'm anxious to preserve it so that we can have it all year long.

And the summer squash...oh my. What a treat! And fresh lettuce and green onions? I have two words for you...Wilted Salad. It's to die for! Couple it with hot, just-from-the-oven cornbread made from my grandmother's recipe, and it's heavenly.

I even bought some raw peanuts the other day so that I can boil a batch. This is something DearHusband just doesn't understand. But I wonder how someone can live in the south all his life and not appreciate boiled peanuts!?! Of course, he also doesn't like Wilted Salad...what a sacrilege! There's still hope for him, though...he WILL eat the green tomatoes and fried okra with me. Yum.

Yes, I do understand that most of what I've listed is not exactly in the "good-for-you" category when dunked in hot oil and fried. We don't do that EVERY DAY....but maybe two or three times per summer, and believe me....we treat those times like special HOLIDAYS!! ;-)

Summer in the South is delicious...whether fresh or fried!

Photography Credits:

Tomatoes -biscuitpower.com

Strawberries - jandic.com

Squash - hilgersmarket.com

Memorial Day 2009

Thank you to those who have sacrificed everything

so that we may live free.

Never forget.

Members of my family who have served in the Armed Forces:

Uncle Edmond L. Lesko, U.S. Navy (Vietnam War)

Grandfather Aleck Lesko, U.S. Army (WWII)

Great-Uncle Albert Lay, Jr., U.S. Navy (WWII)

Great-Uncle Roy E. Moore, U.S. Army (WWII, Korean War)

Great-Aunt Jeannette Lay, U.S. Navy (WWII)

Great-Uncle Glen Edward Lay, Jr. U.S. Marines

Great-Uncle Ronald L. Bruce, U.S. Army (Korean War)