the blue muse

November marches into December and the world becomes magical. Sparkling, glittering, twinkling magical. No snow, yet, but frosty mornings and hungry birds tell Mother Nature’s secrets long before she reveals them to us.

Already, the mood is changing, the holidays fill my heart with warmth and wonder and love and gratitude. Life is filled with gifts. And not the kind you buy in a store. Tiny moments of contentment that weave themselves into a blanket of beautiful.

Tiny gifts that so often, go unnoticed. In fact, the true gift is in finding them at all, seeing them, breathing them in. Allowing them to be gifts.

A rosebush bare of everything but rosehips, bejeweled by a rain that carried no wind. Droplets dangling like diamonds, even on a day with no sunshine. A gorgeous gift.

And all I had to do was look up.

I am always amazed at how much my garden makes me happy. How much it means to me.

I am grounded here, in my own tiny postage stamp of paradise.

You would laugh if you saw it, it’s not a perfect paradise at all. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s a very flawed version that requires time and patience in which to find the beauty. A slightly wild, untamed version that keeps me guessing.

Filled with secrets and gems, mud and blossom, thorn and lamb’s ears.

Filled with life.

On second thought, perhaps it is quite perfect, after all.

What a wonderful, restorative weekend it was! After Thursday, I never left my house. I spent the entire weekend in full-on hermit mode, even turning down my husband’s offer to take me out for dinner on my birthday. All I wanted was to recharge, read, rest, start my holiday decorating, putter in the garden.

And that is exactly what I did. My husband and son cooked me grilled salmon for my birthday dinner, which, in my opinion, was even better than going out.

I spent the entire day Saturday in my garden. It was a glorious day for November, cloudy, but close to 60 degrees. My garden looks so much better now, although I had time to see, close up, how much work I will have to do in the Spring to restore order. Mother Nature wastes no time in reclaiming her bounty while your back is turned.

And this sunset on Saturday was a gift in its own right. How gorgeous is that?

I read four books. Yes, four. They were all fairly short, each around 300 pages, except for Woolgatherings by Patti Smith, which was only around 80. My son bought it for me as a birthday gift. I have to say, I had a very different view of Patti Smith before reading her recent book, Just Kids, and now this one has pushed that view even further. She’s a wonderful writer.

Now it’s time to get back in the saddle again, gearing up for the holidays, working, cleaning, caring, living.

Oh, and did I tell you yet that everything in the etsy shop is 20% OFF? Plus FREE shipping?

Well, it is!!!

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Happy Monday!

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving day.

I have three days stretching out before me in which to do a million things
or simply nothing at all.

I will chip away at those million things, but the knowledge that I can also do nothing if I choose makes it all seem okay.

One of those three days will be spent outside, cleaning up the garden. It is unseasonably warm, and my garden is a mess. And while that might
sound like work, I am looking forward to that day most of all.

It’s been so long since I had time to putter out there.

Or anywhere.

Just another gift to be grateful for.

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Wishing you a weekend filled with time to putter.

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this post is part of texture tuesday over at kim klassen’s place

This has been a year in which I learned, again and again,
how much I have to be grateful for.

How blessed I am.

One of the things that I am incredibly grateful for is you.

Yes, you.

Your support and kindness and comments all throughout the year
mean so much to me.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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One of the things I do to show my gratitude is a giveaway. And now it is time to announce the winner of our recent giveaway for this gorgeous bracelet:

“When bluebirds fly.”

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And the winner is…

Honey Lazar!

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Congratulations, Honey!

I will send you an email to get your shipping info.

Thanks to all who participated, we will be doing more giveaways
early next year to celebrate our blog birthday!

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Wishing you all a day filled with
wonderful things to be grateful for.

::

chokeberries for the birds that will stay on branches until spring

tawny gold tall grasses swaying in the breeze

crackling leaves and bare branches

grey on green against a backdrop of steel blue sky

a red fox in a field of cornstalk stubble

a tumbled tangled garden that needs cutting down

everywhere i look, love and gratitude

follow.

::

::

last reminder, if you haven’t already entered, go here
for your chance to win a gorgeous blue bracelet!

All week I have had one of those colds that leaves you feeling fuzzy-headed,
like you are walking around in a fog.

But I muddled my way through, and now
it is time for our final show of the year.

Last night we had just a sprinkling of snow,
but it looks so pretty this morning, all sunny and glittery.

Just like that, winter is upon us.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday.

Thinking about how much I have to be grateful for.

Wishing you a weekend filled with good things.

And gratitude.

::

::

If you haven’t already entered to win

a gorgeous blue bracelet,

go here to enter!

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Happy Friday!

::

If you are in the area this weekend, stop by and say hello.
We will be here:

Holiday Bazaar
Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Avenue, Rochester, NY

Booth 112
November 18th • 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
November 19th • 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
November 20th • 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

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don’t forget to look up.

::

All weekend, this moon kept me company. She followed me home
from my show in the darkness, watched over me as I slept,
woke me up a few times with her brilliance
tap, tap, tapping on my window.

Soothing sentinel.

Sublime sister.

Beacon.

All weekend, this moon kept me company.

All weekend, there was peace

in my heart.

::

::

::

Thanks to all who stopped by to say hello, it was great to see everyone!

If you haven’t already entered, be sure to go here

to enter to win our gorgeous “when bluebirds fly” bracelet!

::

this post is part of texture tuesday over at kim klassen’s place

the smell of frost in the morning

warm socks to cover my toes

the exhaustion of a job well done

a windowsill glowing with sunlight

oatmeal and bananas for breakfast

two hours to fill as i please

this perfect, steaming cup of tea

those who have served

and you.

::

::

If you are in the area this weekend, stop by and say hello.
We will be here:

Christkindl Market
Granger Homestead, Main St., Canandaigua, NY 14424

Booth 59
Friday, November 11th •  1 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 12th • 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, November 13th • 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

::

If you haven’t already entered to win a gorgeous blue bracelet,
go here to enter!

::

Wishing you a weekend filled with things to be grateful for.

Yesterday I went outside to soak up some of this glorious weather we’ve been having and take some pictures. I found this late blooming bit of pink amongst all the dried up autumn plants. It felt like a gift.

And because I have been insanely busy lately and therefore am way behind on visiting and reading and interacting with all of you, and because I have two, three-day, back-to-back weekend shows coming up, I figured it was time to show some gratitude with a giveaway!

This lovely bracelet is titled “When bluebirds fly.”

The photos really don’t do justice to the gorgeous blues of these glass beads, but you get the idea.
This bracelet is adjustable, it can hook anywhere along the dangle chain and will fit a wrist that is 6 3/4 to 7 3/4 inches..
A $76.95 value.

HOW TO ENTER:
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post.

To make it a little more fun, tell me
what you are grateful for these days!
(but any comment will get you entered)

ADDED BONUS:
For an extra chance at winning, follow me on twitter or facebook and tweet or post about the giveaway for an additional entry.
Just come back here and leave an additional comment to let me know that you have done so, and you will be entered twice. Note: you must come back and leave an additional comment for an additional entry.

This giveaway will be up until midnight on Tuesday, November 22nd.
I will announce the winner on Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011.

GOOD LUCK!

…..     …..     …..     …..     …..

If you are in the area, be sure to stop by and say hello:

Christkindl Market
Granger Homestead, Main St., Canandaigua, NY 14424

Booth 59
Friday, November 11th •  1 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 12th • 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, November 13th • 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Holiday Bazaar
Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Avenue, Rochester NY, 14607

Booth 112
Friday, November 18th •  5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Saturday, November 12th • 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday, November 13th • 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.