Lost in Transition

While getting rid of some of the spam comments on my blog this past week, I realized that lots of comments are getting hung up in the system somehow.  I noticed comments I had never received, nor responded to, which had been posted on my blog that I was completely unaware of.

These were not spam comments, but thoughtful comments left by kind people and I never even thought to check each post to see the comments, because the comments are supposed to show up in my email.  Yet another thing about blogging that makes me sigh.

Although I don't respond to each and every comment that comes my way, I hate thinking that I've missed some and never would have known about them had I not gotten rid of spam, which seems to be well equipped at getting through.  So to those of you who I've missed, please know that it wasn't intentional, it was simply absentmindedness on my part!

We have been plugging along with the massive garage clean up...yup it was that messy that it's taken this long to remedy, and it's still not perfect, but much closer to perfection than it has been in 7 years...and that makes me very happy!

The time consuming part is that we couldn't just throw stuff out en masse, but we had to open each box and container to see what treasures they held, then decide if they were still "our" treasures, or if we should turn them into someone else's treasures.

It's funny how something can seem so important to you at one point in your life, yet just a few years later you are ready to part with it because it no longer holds the same meaning for you that it once did.  I guess as we transition through life our priorities change right along with our tastes and sentimentality.

What we found was that we were way more sentimental about our children's books, games, and toys than they were.  When I asked our daughter if she wanted us to keep her Go Go The Walking Pup dog...a must have one Christmas when she was little as it had a leash and could walk on its own thanks to the magic of batteries...she responded with a text that read "I have no idea what Go Go The Walking Pup even is, so yes donate it!"

We got a similar reaction from our son regarding his childhood toys, except that he went online to see if they were worth anything first...ahhh to be young and in the phase where a few bucks supersedes the "remember when" factor...but his sentimental transition will come, one day.

 (Orchard Oriole)

I feel like lately I'm a little lost in transition rather than lost in translation.  My sentimentality has shifted, and I now treasure moments, not things, much more than I once did.  I've never been one to value possessions over people and memories, but sometimes parting with items that represent a certain stage or point in our lives can be difficult, especially when those items were gifts from people who are no longer here, or those items belonged to, and were treasured by those who have passed on.  Or worse yet, they magically transport you back to when your children were little.

When you get rid of those items it can be both freeing and a bit daunting.  And what is meaningful differs from person to person.  As we stood dripping with sweat in the garage sorting through childhood memories, I could see that what brought back memories of our children when they were young for Mr. Tide was often different than what I found difficult to let go of.

In the end, we were able to let go of the stuff and focus on the here and now, and the gift that we are able to make new memories, with the bonus of having a clean garage!

I can hardly believe that it is July already, back during our long winter it seemed like such a distant time, this wonderful season of summer which I love so much.  Like the toys our children once loved, the seasons are fleeting and we need to focus on the present and not long for the past or wish for the future.

I think I'm going to like being lost in transition for as long as it lasts, for we know that this too shall pass, and everything really is just one phase leading us into another throughout our lives.

I plan to keep getting rid of things which tie me down, force me to worry about them, or cause me stress over where to put them.  And I also plan to enjoy every single day in a way that I thought I had in the past, but now realize that I really wasn't.  

That means less time on the computer, which I've been enjoying SO much, more time spent with friends and family, less time worrying about having a perfect house before having everyone over for a big dinner, more walks in the evening, more time in the kayaks, and less time doing the things I don't really feel passionate about...like weeding for instance! ;)

I know many of you are in a transitional phase yourselves, and I hope you let yourself get lost a little, because knowing where you're headed all of the time can be so boring!  Happy July!

Happy Easter

From our house to yours...

Happy Easter!

I Love You to the Moon and Back

In a post a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had an extensive bunny collection.  Some of them stay out all year long, others only make an appearance when Peter Cottontail comes to town at Easter time.

Today's post is dedicated to just a few of my favorites, besides the Beatrix Potter figurines that I showed you here.

See that cute carrot above, well it was a gift from my good friend Doug Vogel.  When we had lunch with Ms. M recently, he brought me a little gift, the darling carrot and...

This adorable bunny which holds it!  Doug and his wife Joan are such nice people to have lunch with, and the bunny was just an added bonus!!  Thank you Doug and Joan!

I'm sure Doug and the others at Studio Three Flowers are all going a little crazy right now trying to fill Easter orders, but if you live in Charles County and still haven't gotten yours yet, be sure to give them a call.  Their website doesn't do them justice, they have really wonderful things and gorgeous arrangements, so if you live in the area, pop in and see for yourself...and no I don't get compensated for saying that, I just truly love their work!

I love blue and white together, and this little bunny has been part of my collection for a very long time.

Some of my most prized bunnies are from the worlds largest and oldest porcelain manufacturers, Herend.   I have a few of these, which were given to me by my children for birthdays or mother's day via Mr. Tide because they were little, and I love them!

They are tiny, at just a little over an inch tall, but their "fishnet" pattern and gold adornments make them so special.  These, along with another one I have, stay out year round because I just love to look at them!

This Baccarat crystal bunny is another very special piece.  It was a gift my husband picked up for me in Paris.  When I see it in my glass fronted cabinet, it reminds me of him and makes me smile!

My mother is the one who got me addicted to chalkware!  I blame her for the next set of bunnies.  I have several others too, and they were made by a local woman who does a beautiful job of creating these using old European chocolate molds.

The dancing rabbits figurine above was actually one of the pieces I inherited from my mother, and I love how sweet these two bunnies look as they stare lovingly into each others eyes.  Mr. Tide and I do this daily! ;-)

This little guy, pulling a wagon load of eggs, was one of the first ones I purchased.

And I just love the muted but vibrant colors found on this one.

I even have bunny candles, like this little bunny who is popping out of a cracked egg!

Some bunnies are more special than others, and this one is another favorite.  It was made by my mother who loved to do needlework.  The little basket holds tiny little eggs, and I love how she is clutching a little carrot!

This little cabbage holding bunny was another piece I inherited from my parents.  It's made of felted wool and I love the delicate little cabbage.  At the risk of sounding like a broken record...it's one of my favorites too...are we beginning to see a pattern here?   I love bunnies!

And last, but certainly not least is this little cutie.  A gift from my sweet daughter Anglefish, it is the palest of pinks and everything about it says Happy Easter and welcome Spring!

So there you have it, some of my favorite bunnies...I told you I had WAY too many, but I won't part with any of them, I love them all!!!

Did anyone get the title reference?

Finally I have something I can link to the beautiful Chania's blog Razmataz for her weekly Friday Photo Challenge!  Woohoo...to see more Easter lovelies visit her blog by clicking HERE!

Violets

Violets and sunshine, is there anything better? 

Ok, maybe violets, sunshine and chocolate might be better.

Or violets, sunshine, chocolate and the ocean...that would be nice.

Of course I wouldn't be opposed to the prospect of violets, sunshine, chocolate, the ocean, and no bills.

So, I think we can all agree that having a bouquet of violets sitting on our porch overlooking the ocean, while basking in the sunshine with a bowl full of yummy chocolate, with not a care in the world, including bills, would be pretty hard to beat!

Well, at least I have the violets! :-)

We are supposed to get the violent storms that caused so much devastation in the south yesterday, so I am hunkered down and writing.  I hope none of you were affected by these same storms, and my heart goes out to those who were.

Enjoy your weekend, and I'm so glad you liked the little store tour from my last post.  I will be firming up the plans for the Spread the Love Meme party and posting about it very soon...I'm excited about it and hope you will be too!

Beatrix Potter and Me

You may have noticed by my new springy header picture that I'm ready for Easter.  This year Easter is very late in coming but that won't stop me from enjoying all of the bunnies I have around my house.

Growing up, Easter always meant new shiny white shoes, a new dress, a hat, some gloves, and maybe even a matching white purse or sweater.  My mother loved Easter and she always made sure we were dressed to the nines.  

Born just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, my mother was a proud Virginian, so while many people had let go of the classic Easter attire by the late 1960's and early 70's, we still looked like we were ready to greet the Queen on Easter morning.

And I can remember the beautiful hats my mother and grandmother wore each year on Easter Sunday.  They were a cross between a frosted confection and a floral bouquet perched atop their heads.

When I had my own children, I carried on those same traditions, just minus the hats.  We have pictures of my daughter all dressed in pastel pink with ruffle topped socks and patent leather shoes clinging to an Easter basket nearly as big as she was.  And when our son came along, he got to sport little smocked outfits with bunnies and carrots, something Little Lord Fauntleroy would have been proud to wear!


 

There was always a big Easter dinner too, with corn pudding, fresh asparagus, Virginia ham (is there any other kind?) and homemade rolls just to name a few of the goodies.  And for dessert, you had to have fresh homemade coconut cake, along with something chocolate, and lemon chess pie.

There were Easter egg hunts, and we always brought a change of clothes for the children so that they could rip and race around the yard without ruining their spiffy new duds.  And the other tradition was to open the gift my mother and father gave the kids each year, a new Beatrix Potter figurine.

Each year my mother, who dearly loved Beatrix Potter, who find just the right figurine to give to each child.  Growing up, we each had a few figurines of our own, but she really began the tradition in earnest when my niece, the eldest grandchild, was born.

When the grandchildren would stay over with my mother and father, Nana (my mother) would read them Beatrix Potter books.  Those tiny books were full of wisdom and adventure, and the kids loved hearing the tales of Peter Rabbit, Jeremy Fisher, Jemima Puddleduck and the like.

Sometimes, there were life lessons in the stories, and sometimes my children were just plain confused, like when Peter's father spanked him, something we didn't do at our house. 

Beatrix Potter was a very interesting woman who purchased property in the Lake District of England to try and help preserve the rural landscape which she so loved.  And upon her death in 1943, she left most of her property to the National Trust.  She also had dogs who look a lot like mine, and because she was such an animal lover, I have always felt a sort of kinship with Ms. Potter.

My friend Dan used to tell me how much I would love the Lake District, and I hope to go there some day. 

After my mother died, we found meticulous notes on which figurines had been purchased for which child.  And even after her stroke, she still managed to give each of the kids their precious Easter gift.

Along with the figurines my mother and father gave to the grandchildren, there were plenty more to be found at her house.  She loved these sweet little porcelain creatures brought to life from the pages of books written so long ago, and she had amassed quite a collection over the years.  I even brought back several figurines to give to my mother as gifts when I visited England for the first time.

The one pictured above with Peter holding a bunch of daffodils was one of her favorites.  My sisters and I went through her collection after my father died, and my sister M brought out "the" list to make sure that we didn't duplicate what we already had.  We separated them into ones that no one had, and then ones that someone didn't have, etc. before dividing them among each of us.  We also saved some out for my brother to take.

 

The little bunny figurines I've shared with you today are just a few examples of the 50 Beatrix Potter Figurines I have in a cabinet in my house.  One day I hope to have grandchildren, and I will likely continue the tradition of giving each child a figurine for Easter.

For now though, they remind me of my mother, of Easter, and of those wonderful tales told as only Beatrix Potter could! 

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