A Cottage Garden

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Cottage gardens have always held a particular allure for me.  

They speak of an involved and dedicated owner who knows his plot of land intimately.

If you inspect closely, you'll see that the hand that holds the cup of tea has earth beneath its nails.

A truly charming garden intrigues the visitors and owner throughout all seasons.

Carefully placed benches and birdhouses invite you to sit and relax after you've toured the grounds.

~

a cottage garden

speaks of loving gardener's hands

 touching heart and soul

~

Wendy/2013

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Winter Memories

I woke up this morning to snow. Once again I am thankful for being a stay-at-home homeschool mom. The teens and I  shared memories of snow days from back in their younger years. It was always a special occasion that called for a break from studies.

winter memories 

rolling snowballs into men 

taller than themselves

~

Wendy/2013 

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The Gift of Art

Painting by my Mom with quilt she made on the chair.  

Growing up in the home of an artist has given me an extraordinary interest and appreciation for all things creative.  I am so thankful for the beauty that my Mom brought into our home.  She painted pictures of all sorts.  She sewed everything from clothing to curtains.  She made lovely flower gardens which supplied our table with fresh bouquets. Mom made me proud to have a guest in our home.  Even now, I am truly inspired every time I visit her.  Because she loves antiques - visiting her is like going to a museum.  It has been said of our place, too.  I guess, I paid attention in that class...       

Quilted wall-hanging by Mom.  Painting on left from thrift store.  

I want to carry on the theme of making a cosy home in this post.  What better way to add cosy than by adding beauty? And what better way to add beauty than by adding art?  Art is not limited to just things you hang on a wall.  When I spot antique books arranged on a shelf; I consider this a masterpiece, too.  One of my favourite sources of art is the thrift store.  The original oil painting hanging in the photo was a "must have"; I bought for about $5.00.  It suits our master bedroom perfectly.  Adding the warm and dark colours has made the room cosy for both of us.

Some favourite reads!

Sometimes just a print or card framed can be a touch of beauty.  It does not have to be original, just as long as it speaks to you.  After all, it's your home! 

Another thrift store bargain under $5.00 ~ I love it!

I am blessed to have several artists in our family.  This next painting is one my favourite cousin did.  It graces our downstairs office.  I have many delightful pieces of her art in our home.  Having family history in your decorating adds coziness.

Rhona's Painting

I need to run downstairs (I'm in my studio) and check out my daughter's baking; fold some laundry; and have a cup of tea.  You can see why I love the teapots above: I love my afternoon tea!

Cosy Garden Art by yours truly...

Enjoying a cup of tea in our cosy home,
Wendy     

Home is a Haven

Is your home a haven?  Do the other people in your home think it is?  Do you think it is?  I am asking this because I believe it is more important than ever to have a place of rest that adds to your quality of life rather than robbing from it.

If you have children, I suggest you may want to have furnishings that are not going to give you high blood pressure whenever young people spill something or trampoline on it.  We recently bought a lovely and comfortable floral sofa set.  I love flowers and this set looks tailored to our living room.  So far, it has remained stain free because it is covered in quilts, blankets and pillows.  I've had to wash these already.

When I see a risky situation taking place, I am calm;  because, although the set looks new... it was only $89.95 at a local second hand store.  A haven home should be a place that everyone can relax in and not have to sweat the small stuff.  Trust me, I have teens now and the stuff only gets bigger...why add to it?

Unless, of course, there are allergies in your family- are pets allowed?  I was guilty of a no pets in the house policy for years until I analyzed why.  I realized that my main reason was so that our place would not smell like pets for visitors. Whose house is this anyways?  Bring on the pets!  I do draw the line on the upper floor (we have three), since my studio is on it and I don't want the things I make to be offensive to customers.  It is reportedly good for your heart to have pets to love and care for.  Our two, above, are so cuddly that I'm sure our household blood pressure count is ideal.


Take care, Wendy


    

   

Home Sweet Home

I am the kind of person that really attaches myself to the nest.  Whenever my husband, Ian, and I have moved into a house that we have bought, I decorate it as if it will be our only "Home Sweet Home".  It is probably a little stressful for hubby, because I usually need to arrange the furniture a dozen times before it is just right!

After having bought and sold homes four times, I really wanted to stay in one spot for the duration.  So we bought six acres in a rural setting.  It came complete with marauding deer, black bears, raccoons, cougar and wolves to name the larger visitors. We never saw the wolves - but we heard them!  Thinking we could not have children we had a small character house, slated to be demolished, moved onto the raw land. Naturally, being the smallest place we had bought, yet, the babies started to come.  So, we moved on another character house to join onto the first!

Meantime my garden was struggling due to busyness on my part; but, I believed there was lots of time ahead, as our three children would not be small forever.  I wanted to make our nest a cozy, loving and nurturing one.  The garden and writing took back seat.  Just when I was able to really get into the garden again, after 16 years of just maintaining our place, stuff happened.  We needed to move.  We were not going to grow old together with our plum trees lining the driveway and with the fir floors marked from tricycle tires. Ian and I would grow old together in town.  

But, you know what?  Our new place was equally loved by its former owner, too.  Janet's son is a landscaper and he practiced on this .77 acre garden.  So while I was raising babies at the old nest, our future place was being planted with ferns, hosta, peonies, roses, rhododendrons, azaleas, lilies, maples, blueberries and more... The new nest also has all of the character of our old one.  Instead of tricycle tire marks on the fir floors, I found some toddler footprints stamped under a chair. Janet wanted someone who loved to garden to buy the place; that's me all the way!

I cried as I drove away from our previous abode.  It was a brief falling of tears because I had in mind another location that I would never have to leave.  None of the places we live in on this earth are permanent. The Lord has promised that He has gone to "prepare a place for us" - a place I can hang up my  "Home Sweet Home" sign forever.  In the meantime the sign looks great in the new dining room.

Moved in and loving it,
Wendy

P.S. I'll post a photo of my vintage "Home Sweet Home" sign next week!

Everything is in His Hands

Welcome back!  Here is the promised photo of the Christmas tree of hope.  For those of you who did not read the previous post, yet, you may want to after this.  Just in case - have tissue handy... Today I want to tell you about a time when God used some simple words a kind widow offered me in advance of a deep valley I went through.  You just never know how the Lord will use you and you might not find out on this side of heaven.

It was a testy season of our life.  My husband, Ian, had been let go at his job since the society's contract ran out and a for-profit group took over.  We had a baby and a toddler to help distract us from our financial concerns, but we also wanted to provide well for them.  I had just put down the baby for a nap after nursing him to sleep.  Just as I got half way through a book I was reading to our toddler, the telephone rang.  I have received bad news over the telephone before, but none had been so shocking up until then.

Before I get to the phone call, let me introduce you to Anna.  She is an elderly, godly, and gentle widow who has been beautifully molded through both blessings and adversity.  I had spontaneously requested prayer at church, one day, and Anna came up behind me and warmly placed her hands on my shoulders.  She told me that she doesn't hear well, and that she had not heard my prayer request; but, she said that she believed the Lord wanted her to tell me that, "Everything is in His hands".  I thanked her. A week later the phone call came.

My dad had died on his bathroom floor, alone.  It was sudden.  So we packed up our boys and made a nine hour journey to arrange a funeral and say goodbye to my earthly father.  His apartment showed no signs of my dad knowing he was soon leaving.  A newspaper lay open on the sofa, a Bible lay open on the kitchen table and his retirement gift Rolex lay on the bathroom counter.  I had recently talked to my dad and he had been experiencing dizziness.  It turned out that he missed his doctor's appointment, regarding this issue, the very day of his death.

I knew I would see him again in heaven, one day, but grief comes none-the-less and I would lay awake for hours until I could almost feel Anna's warm hands on my shoulders reminding me that, "Everything is in His hands".  With this comforting consolation I would release the racing thoughts and drift to sleep. Thank you, Anna, for being His hands to me.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  John 13:35

in His love,
Wendy

P.S.  If you would like to see the lovely rhododendron in this photo: come back next week and I will show you it - in all its glory!

Hope Eternal

It's rose blooming time, here, in my garden.  The one you see pictured is on the front garden fence. I've been slowly training it to climb at various spots along the south facing side of the house. This old fashioned rock rose drapes itself over our privacy hedge like a bridal veil. It gives people, who walk by, an aromatic treat that hints at a secret garden behind the cover.

I have given you, also, a hint of the mysterious planter I promised to show you. If you can stay with me for a bit longer, I'll include a more complete picture.  I hope you will read on, with me, as I want to speak a bit more about hope. Today, in church, the word, "hope", kept popping up in the music lyrics, Scripture references and sermon notes.  Our pastor mentioned that prisoners of war that survived, where others did not, because they had experienced hope. Hope was their salvation.

I remember, years ago, when my husband and I had been chosen by a pregnant teenager to adopt her baby, it brought to mind a friend who had prepared for an adoption only to have the birth-mom change her mind, moments after the birth.  I recalled that this friend had gone out, weeks before the birth, to purchase all the necessities of a newborn for the nursery.  It was a time of heartbreak for that couple; but, eventually the birth mom gave them her child when it was 6 months old.  I was there, that day, when the little guy arrived. He had the biggest smile.  I think he sensed that he had landed in a good place.

So, it was our turn and I phoned this friend to ask if she regretted buying and planning for the newborn. I wanted to know if it was wise for us to do the same.  She said there was no harm in hoping and she would do it all the same again.  So, off to the baby department, of The Bay, we headed.  Those are great memories I have of the two of us lovingly picking up soft flannel newborn night-shirts and receiving blankets.  Pink, yellow and blue bunnies scampered across a matching set of both.  We discussed how we wanted our child to have the best mattress for their crib that we could afford.  We wanted to be good parents.  It was during that shopping trip that we became aware of just how much we wanted to hold our own baby. We dared to hope, and it was delicious.

With all the preparations and nursery decorating done, it was time to wait.  As the weeks went by, we were met by silence.  No word from our lawyer and no word from our contact person came during this time. Yes, we had been chosen, but had the birth-mom chosen to keep her child?  It was still her child. This happened over 23 years ago and I can't remember all the details.  But I do remember that she kept the baby and we passed on the baby stuff to someone, close, who was newly pregnant.

We were crushed.  But my friend was right, I would not have done it any other way.  Hope is exhilarating. Perhaps it can be said that it is better to have hoped than not to have hoped at all. So, heavy hearted, we celebrated Christmas with a miniature live evergreen complete with tiny decorations. We went on a romantic weekend at an ocean resort; I bought a vintage green (of course) convertible, and life went on.

A few years later I experienced an early miscarriage.  It was confirmed by my doctor. I had not even known if I could get pregnant, so I named that baby, Hope.  A year later, I was paying closer attention to my body and was able to discover the next pregnancy early.  Hope helped. The baby clothing we had purchased ended up back in our hands. Our friend's baby did not need them anymore; since he was now a preschooler. It was wonderful to see those scampering bunnies again. We ended up using those clothes for three babies of our own.

Recently, my daughter, who is the youngest of our three children, and I were watering some bonsai trees  in the garden.  I told her about our failed adoption and how my favorite bonsai was the Christmas tree of grief that we had purchased over 23 years ago.  It is a lovely tree to me, now.  It reminds me from where I've come, and it reminds me to pray for Elizabeth.  Perhaps she has a daughter now too, and perhaps I should rename the bonsai - Hope?

I hope that you have stayed with me; I will post the closeup of the planter below. If you would like to see the bonsai tree of "Hope"... show up next week and I'll post it.

This verse is worth repeating: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

Take care,

Wendy