the blue muse

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.

Sometimes I wish there were two of me. I could get so much more accomplished that way!

Of course, that is not the case. This week and next will be a flurried whirlwind of activity and work and TWO, three-day shows! Whew!

I will be here, but I’m sure you will be able to detect that I am out of breath from all the rushing.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for stopping by, reading, commenting, and holding my virtual hand as I whirl through this journey called life. It means so much to me.

On Wednesday I will be announcing a fabulous giveaway to show my gratitude.

Happy Monday!

xoxo

::

Some days, the beautiful takes my breath away.

::

Wishing you a weekend filled with beautiful.

::

November is going to be a whirlwind of a month. Two three-day shows, followed by Thanksgiving. I spent the past two evenings reading. All evening. Knowing that it will be awhile before I come up for air, giving myself that little gift before I get caught up in the craziness.

Birds are flitting about in the garden just now, cardinals and chickadees scavenging seed from dead flowerheads, busy, busy preparing for the winter. There are still, still, a few hardy plants blossoming. The ones that don’t give up easily. The ones that know Tolkien was right when he said that deep roots are not touched by the frost.

Winter whispers in the ear of Mother Nature, and she can’t help but blush, just a little.

I watch the sunrise from my studio window. The trees are mostly bare, but there is still color just outside my door. A golden morning that promises blue skies and autumn’s last hurrah.

It all feels so simple. So quiet. So lovely.

And so it is.

Sometimes you hear a phrase and you just know that you will never forget it. That it will always be part of your life. I love that about words. The way that somehow, even with the seemingly endless possibility of combinations, someone can hit upon a new one that just speaks to you.

Last night I read this article about Steve Jobs, written by his sister, Mona Simpson, who wrote a book I read years ago that I loved called Anywhere But Here. I didn’t know until I read the article that she was his sister.

But I am glad that I read what she wrote about her brother, if for no other reason than the phrase that became the title of this post. I have pretty much stayed silent since hearing the news about Steve Jobs, feeling that since I didn’t know him, it wasn’t really up to me to say anything about his passing.

And actually, it still isn’t. So I won’t.

But I will carry this phrase in the pocket of my heart for the rest of my life.

And I will always, always be looking for that place.

:: :: ::

*by Mona Simpson

This flower grows in my garden. At least I assume that it must,
because I took a photo of it, a photo that was in amongst
a whole group of photos that I took in my garden.

I have no idea, NO IDEA, what this flower is.
Or where it is in my garden.

Believe me, I’ve looked.

I’ve wracked by brain.

I’ve guessed.

Still, it’s a mystery.

A beautiful, lovely, blushing bride of a mystery.

I kind of like that.

::

Happy Friday.

Tucked in amongst the golds and greens and purples, I find evidence of life, fulfilled.

Blooms that are spent, yet still beautiful.

Tiny green seedlings getting a head start on next year’s cycle.

Bare stems and stark silhouettes.

Tall grasses that have yet to reach their peak.

Each moment is precious in the October garden.

Very soon, the snow will come and all will be hidden beneath winter’s blanket.

Purple monkshood stands tall and whispers

more time, more time.

As do I.

::

Life has hurled a lot of craziness at me lately. Nothing catastrophic, nothing that, in the grand scheme of things, cannot be handled, just a long list of scrambling to do things. So, deep breath. And another. And yet another.

Time gets away from me, giggling at my vain attempts to grasp it as it goes flying by. Time. That ever-elusive, enemy of my enemy who is my friend.

There is never any more or less time. Never a day with fewer hours or added seconds, time is as steady as she always has been. Patient. Gentle. Stalwart.

The craziness comes when we fill time with too many things. Adding one more accomplishment, one drop at a time, until that bowl just has to overflow. And then, of course, we have a mess to clean up. Meanwhile, time just sits there watching, probably smiling to herself at our silliness. Our scrambling. Our whining.

One of the things I have always loved about my garden is that it teaches me about patience. About blooming while planning for the future. About soaking up the sun and enjoying every last minute of it. About not giving up on a rainy day. About bending with the wind.

About that old cliche, stopping to smell the flowers. And then listening to what they have to say.

And about emptying that bowl called time, adding just a bit of water, and floating one perfect bloom on the surface.

Gently now, gently.

We say it all the time, “that’s life.” And it’s always true.

We cannot do anything, be anything, think anything that isn’t part of life.

I am stuck in a cycle of busyness, and constantly reminding myself not to complain. Reminding myself to be grateful for the work, grateful for the fact that I work from home, grateful for the view of my crazy ramshackle garden from my desk.

Tomorrow my father is having his second hip replaced. He is in a lot of pain right now, and I am grateful that the technology exists to fix that for him.

My house is an absolute mess, but I am grateful that I have one. There is painting that needs to be done, broken things that need fixing. There is always that. But I am warm and comfortable and there is tea every morning and very soon, there will be a cozy fire to read in front of every night.

That’s life. My life. And I am scattering seeds of gratitude today, knowing that they will grow into more of the same.

Weeds and flowers and grasses and trees, all mixed up in the same crazy garden.

That’s life.