BOTANICALS

Wildflower Wednesday project, on Saturday -- better late than never!

 

Another fun project from Junelle Jacobson's Wild Art Summer class.

ON GROWING FOOD

"The first gathering...of salads, radishes and herbs made me feel like a mother about her baby -- how could anything so beautiful be mine? And this emotion of wonder filled me for each vegetable as it was gathered every year. There is nothing that is comparable to it, as satisfactory or as thrilling, as gathering the vegetables one has grown." ~ Alice B. Toklas

My Babies!

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S REVELRY

My favorite book about Tasha and her unique talents and lifestyle.

I have long been a huge fan of Tasha Tudor, primarily known as the author and illustrator of children's books featuring her little Welsh corgis. The thing I admired most about her, however, was that she was a strong woman who was willing to buck the status quo, in order to live the life she knew she was meant to live.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been re-reading the essays in the book Simple Abundance, by Sarah ban Breathnach, this year, and this morning I was trying to get caught up on those I missed last week. The essay for June 23 reminded us that "for centuries, wise women have known that a bit of midsummer madness and magic are good for the soul." You knew that, right? But did you also know that Tasha Tudor, along with her friends and family, formed a group called The Stillwaters, who believe that life's simple pleasures are meant to be savored and that Nature is to be revered?  According to Eldress Tudor, "Stillwater connotes something very peaceful. Life without stress. Nowadays, people are so jeezled up. If they took some chamomile tea and spent more time rocking on the porch in the evening...they might enjoy life more." That is now my new favorite expression. I know a whole lotta people that are just waaaay too jeezled up! Anyhoo, every year on Midsummer's Eve, Tasha and the other Stillwaters would get together for a Great Party, filled with music, dancing in the barn, and a "sumptuous summer supper." Tudor said the Stillwaters "are very hedonistic. Life is to be enjoyed, not saddled with", and their first commandment is to take joy from each day.

I couldn't agree more, and it got me to thinkin'. I decided a while back that, in addition to our annual get-together in Dallas at Christmastime, my siblings and I, along with our mates and offspring, should have a summer shindig right here in Wimberley. This year it's being held over the July 4th holiday weekend, but next year I'm thinking I just might have to move it up to Midsummer's Eve. Not only will we be less likely to have reached triple digit temperatures at that time, we might even manage to conjure up a bit of midsummer madness and magic!

WOMEN WITH SECRETS

I'm still loving the Maisie Dobbs mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear. Each book has been a most enjoyable little history lesson for me, as it follows the pre-WWI life of a young British girl entering service in one of the big country manor houses; to the suffragettes and Maisie's education and mentoring by a gentleman who dabbles in investigation, psychology, and special jobs for the government; through the Great War and her years as a field nurse in France; and the difficult recovery period that everyone went through afterwards, from the shell-shocked and damaged veterans whom the general population kept urging to "just get over it!", to the women with no marriage prospects, now that so many young men had died, who were having to figure out how to make it on their own.

I'm now on the eighth book in the series (is there anything better than discovering a great series rather late in the game, when there is so much catching up to do?), A Lesson in Secrets. This one is set in the period leading up to WWII, and Maisie has been recruited by the Secret Service to go undercover on a college campus, to monitor any activities "not in the interests of His Majesty's government." When I first started this series, it reminded me a lot of the PBS series, Downton Abbey, but with this book we are shifting more into the territory of their recent mini-series, Benchley Circle. In fact, they just mentioned hiring Girl Guides (the British version of Girl Scouts) as message carriers when it turned out the male scouts were more interested in play than work, and went on to talk about the talented female code-breakers, who weren't allowed to tell anyone about what they had contributed to the war effort. Fascinating stuff!

Anyhoo, if you are a fan of mysteries, period novels, the women's movement, or all of the above, I highly recommend this series.

JEKYLL AND HYDE

If you are a regular reader here, you have probably heard me mention more than once that my hubby is everyone's favorite patient when he is in the hospital. He never gives them a moment's grief, saying "I just don't see the point of pissing off the ones who are trying to take care of you." Smart boy. It would be like being rude to someone who is handling your food. You'd have to be crazy, right?

Unfortunately, that philosophy doesn't seem to hold true here at home. Our daughter brought it to our attention recently that hubby usually manages to piss me off royally within 24 hours of getting home from the hospital. Right after his brain bleed, when he was still extremely weak and wobbly on his feet, he walked out the door with our grand-dog on a leash. I thought it was nice of him to take her out to do her business, but was a little worried because she is not good on a leash. If she saw any kind of critter out there by the garage, she would surely take off after it, causing Hubby to do a nose-plant on the concrete. A while later, when they still hadn't returned, I went out looking. I searched every inch of our four acres, and couldn't find them anywhere. I hiked down our long steep driveway and looked up and down the road. No hubby. By the time I found them resting down by the creek, behind a house that was being built down the road from us, I was pretty much hysterical. Hubby just couldn't understand why I was so upset, when he was perfectly fine (though lacking the energy to climb back up our driveway just yet).

After his first pacemaker was implanted, and he was told not to lift anything heavy, or even raise his elbow above his shoulder, he proceeded to unpack his new outdoor fountain from its carton and put it together, the first time I turned my back for even a moment.

Which is why, last time our daughter was at the hospital, she said we should take bets on how long it would be before he made me hit the roof this time. Whoever guessed "about five minutes" would have won.

IF I HAD A MUDROOM...

I'm thinkin' it might look something like this.

P.S. Looks like Hubby just might make his break from the hospital today. Fingers crossed!

FINAL COUNTDOWN

Well, today's the day. Hubby is scheduled for surgery at 11:00, where they will finally close up the wound resulting from the removal of Evil Infectious Pacemaker, and where all traces of staph should have been annihilated once and for all. After that they will implant Happy New Pacemaker on the other side of his chest. Lord, puh-lease let that boy experience good health for a long, long while after that. We've both had just about all the hospital food we can take!

MY PORCHLY PARADISE

Finally finished that little "sneak preview" project for Junelle Jacobson's Wild Summer Art class. For this one we were supposed to imagine a porch swing or someplace where we'd like to spend some quiet time this summer.

Lucky for me, no imagining was required! Life in the trees -- it's a good thing!