LIFE IS ART

Everything in life is art. What you do.
How you dress. The way you love
someone and how you talk. Your 
smile and your personality. The 
way you drink your tea. How you
decorate your home or party. Your
grocery list. The food you make.
How your writing looks. And the
way you feel.

~Helena Bonham Carter

Summer is in full swing and
while I can't wait for winter
I am enjoying all the fun that
comes with the warmer temperatures.
I've been spending quite a bit of
time harvesting food and then
putting it up. I made a blackberry cobbler
for my guys [I'm doing a cleanse
so none for me].

Next up was a batch of elderberry
flower cordial and trying out a
new salad dressing. I increased
the garlic and jalapeno, but it's
a keeper.

On my walk I discovered a
my patch of chantrelle mushrooms
was back, a treat from having
two tropical storms? A nice
surprise and they are being
enjoyed mixed with eggs.

Two of my son's and a daughter
in love surprised me last night
with a trip to Goodwill [I found
new throw pillows for the den]
and dinner out. THANK YOU!

There is always time for the beach
and cloud watching, especially when
the heat index is over 100 degrees F!
With all the humidity I have given
up trying to control my hair, even the
flat iron isn't helping, so poofy it is,
at least until cooler weather.

What is going on in your world?

1000TH POST

It is up to you to see the 
beauty of everyday things.

Well, once again I seem to have
left this space to gather dust, but
today I made a promise to myself
to come here more often and not
let the cobwebs gather.

I have been spending my early
hours of the day in the garden,
pulling weeds before the heat
and humidity keep me indoors.

 With the downpours of
rain we had last weekend
from Tropical Depression
Bonnie my garden hasn't
fared too well and I have
been harvesting what I
can.

The blueberries are just
beginning to ripen,

and I think this will be the
best fig season I have ever
had.

We have been getting the
usual summer thunderstorms
which I find quite beautiful,

A lot of my time is take up
with critter care and making
sure they are well fed and comfortable
in this hot weather.

And there is always the never
ending task of laundry.

My last baby [yes he is
MY baby so I can call
him that] graduated
from high school,

 and we have been out
of town to doctor's appointments,
[Things are looking fantastic!]

 

There is always knitting
in my day,

 and I seem to be on a bit
of a sock kick.

 I have been playing around
in my studio having fun
with paints,

and working on projects that have
been hanging around unfinished
for far too long.

It's hard for me to believe, but
this is my 1000 blog post! The
above photo is from my very
first post...

http://clover-seven.blogspot.com/2010/07/laundry.html

Life has changed in so many ways
since I opened this little space and
one of the most special changes
is the friendships I have developed
with you!  You all mean the
world to me and I thank God
for you each day.

Much love,
Tracey
XO

THESE DAYS

What's difficult in life is to stay centered
when somebody does or says something
that tempts us to close our hearts because
their heart is closed. That is hard. But that
is also how we grow. We go through those
circumstances in order to evolve into people
who can hold to our loving center no matter
what the world throws us. 

~ Marianne Williamson 

These days have been hard,
and I awake each day and
seek peace.

My Alex has been house
sitting for over a week
now and it's funny how
just one member of the
family being gone can
make the home feel so
different.

My Mike and I have been
escaping almost daily to
the beach, away from emails,
phone calls and endless texts
that come at all hours of
the day and night, we escape
the stress and wickedness that
can come [sadly] from one's
own family when someone
passes away.  We walk
for miles and miles, talk,
take photos, knit [well,
I knit] and listen to the sound
of the waves and the birds
as they call to one another.
It's a place that soothes me and
I am forever grateful to live
so close.
.
I'm still finding time to practice
each day with my camera,
and I'm going into my fourth
month of slow stitching on my
little piece of linen.

We have been eating lots of
salads as it's just too hot to cook
 [we have already hit 90F] and I
refuse to turn the A/C on just yet.
 My new favorite is mixing
leftover quinoa patties, beets,
onion, goat cheese and romaine
lettuce with a apple cider vinaigrette.

There's been time in the garden transplanting
a zillion wee kale and weeding, weeding, weeding.
The onions, potatoes and garlic all look wonderful
and there are even little tomatoes growing each day.

I finished my book, it was wonderful!
and watched the last episode of the Soprano's,
I've knit on socks and my yoga shawl and
gone out for late night milk shakes,[berry
lavender for me, chocolate for him].

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, or even the
next hour for that matter, but I do know that I refuse
to let horrible situations change who I am and how
I see the world.

Much love.
XO

SOME DAYS

Only you can 
control your future.

~ Dr.Seuss

 Some days, some hours
and even some minutes
are hard,

and when my world becomes
a little too much for me to
handle I step back, exhale,
and try to find the quiet.

 I walk my land
and soak in all
the goodness that
surrounds me.

My Mike celebrated his
53rd trip round the sun
this past weekend. With
the passing of his mama
his days have been hard,
but he always manages
to smile.

I baked his favorite
cake, German Chocolate,
from scratch that I only
bake once a year.

 While Mike had lawyerly stuff
to do in town I slipped away and
spent a few hours at my LYS,

 And now have a new pair of
socks on the needles,

 and yarn for another pair.
Andi, I found pink yarn ;)

 I've spent some time playing
with the camera and trying
to capture Miss Bette Davis's
eyes, aren't they pretty?

My sweet Twinkie even
had a few photos taken.

 I have so much to learn about
the photography thing, but it's
fun practicing each day.

My daughter Erin, son in love John,
and my favorite girl Emerson are in
Barcelona, Spain for spring break,
staying on a boat and taking in the
sights, I love this photo so much
and wanted to share it with you.

Have a most beautiful weekend my
friends,

Much love,
Tracey
XO