A Thousand Words

The Boston Flower Show was beyond amazing! Awe inspiring! And oh, the ideas that I've come away with for my own garden and personal zen space on my porch! The following photos are some of my favorites!

One of the displays centered around new and exciting ways to decorate tables and spaces for a party or a wedding. My favorite was the orange tent. I so want to create this on my porch!
The blue tent was very cool, too. I loved the use of little white lights under the gauzy/drapey blue fabric.
(there were little lambs in a pen behind this display, sooo cute!)
There was also a large underwater themed display with a sunken ship and a flower filled treasure chest, even an octopus made out of greenery!

This nicotiana was close to 6 feet high! I've only ever gotten them to grow 3 feet, but now that I know how tall they can get... :^) I even bought some seeds while I was down there!

I want to create this in my garden! I really do! The pathway reminded me of a flowing stream bed.


The green grass and daffodils made the winter blahs just disappear! And those blahs hit hard after the foot of snow that was dumped on us Saturday. I know it's melting and it's supposed to be in the high 50's by the end of the week! Spring is coming! I'm so psyched!

I'll have more pictures tomorrow! If you want, you can see the whole set here.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Left to my own devices, I’d fritter the day away…

Yippee! I got to catch up on my blog reading today! I just haven’t had time, since so much has been happening at work. I feel like I have missed out on some pretty great stuff happening on some of my fav blogs over that last few weeks. I have been lurking on some blogs without commenting and I feel badly for that, but work has been kinda crazy. My legislation tracking has shifted from postpartum depression to making domestic violence a crime. We held a press conference yesterday and it was ah-mazing! Tons of people, lots of press and a very enthusiastic crowd in support of three pieces of legislation, all geared toward changing the laws concerning domestic violence. It was very powerful!

So winter is making a last ditch effort tonight with a mega snow storm (we’re talking at least a foot of snow!), unfortunately. Ordinarily, I like March snow (borderline love) but for the past week, spring sprung! We’ve had warm temps, with rain and fog eating the dirty snow piles and turning driveways and roadsides into giant mud puddles. We were starting to see grass and I was visualizing where my raised garden beds would go. And despite the snow, I still have plans for tomorrow. Plans for a bus trip leaving at 7:00 in the morning for the annual March trek to Boston for the New England Flower Show! I am so looking forward to St. Patrick’s Day in Boston! A day filled with fragrant blossoms and fabulous garden design, venders of all kinds showing off their wares and then off to Quincy Market to wander the shops and the streets and possibly pop into the Purple Shamrock for a pint or two…if we can get in! Oh I can’t wait! I love the hussle and bussle down there, the crush of people, the culture and diversity, getting to try the various foods. Oh, how I love it! I don’t get down there much anymore, you see my mother is a Bostonian and we used to visit frequently when I was a kid. My mum’s the oldest of 6 kids (big Irish family with Newfoundland roots). Two of her sisters and one of her brothers lived down there, so family gatherings were a big deal. Of course with some big families, not everyone gets along, so big family gatherings are sadly now a thing of the past. But we still try to pop down, especially when my aunt is up visiting from Maryland (her son now owns the house they used to live in).


These are pictures from last year. Oh, the place smelled wonderful! The lilacs were in bloom and dogwoods and cherry blossoms...it smelled earthy and green and really recharged the soul!

This was my FAVORITE display, it was fairy garden with castles. I can't find my picture of the 2 foot castle, but it was beautiful!

Anyhoo, I promise lots of pictures and stories from the day!

Have a fabulous weekend!

sleepy puppies

Two of the cutest puppies in the whole world...

Sadie the Wonder Dog and the little Molly-wog
sleepy puppies after a hard day of playing - oh what a life!

Home Sweet Home

Forever and ever ago (ok, it was only last September), I happened across a very sweet craft blog called Bella Dia (via, I believe, Little Birds Handmade) and a post the author had written in February of last year about a little wool felt house that she made.

I fell in love with this little house, all felty and embroidered and I vowed that I would make one. So I bookmarked page and periodically came back to it to ogle the little house...vowing to keep my vow to some day make one.

Finally, last Thursday evening, with the threat of a snow storm looming and the anticipation of a snow day off from work, I broke out the graph paper and set to work making the pattern I would use to create my very own little house. Now I didn't have any wool floating around my home (which is surprising), but I did have craft felt. I dug out my embroidery floss and set to work. This is what I came up with (the pictures are a little blurry)...

It's a little fat, the door and window are crooked, but how darn cute is this? My thought is to make a bunch of them, along with some soft trees (you can find the pattern at Little Birds Handmade) and make a village o' softies!

Just had to share.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

sadness and mourning

Slates Restaurant and Bakery
Originally uploaded by faerytreecreations.

Many of us in Central Maine are mourning the loss of a favorite restaurant this week. I've posted about this place before, my most favorite local restaurant in Hallowell...Slates.

Sunday afternoon saw a horrible sight, one of smoke and fire billowing out of the 2nd story window of this little restaurant, a fire that quickly spread through the historic building until it no longer looked like the quaint little place to enjoy country chicken pie or Sunday brunch. Now it just looks like a charred and half frozen wreck, with the roof and most of the 3rd floor caved in....and no sign in sight of reopening anytime soon.
Slates was a community restaurant, a meeting place with mismatched chairs and tables, walls painted funky colors and many with murals, tin ceilings and low lighting and ambient music; it's workers were (are) a family and that was the feeling you got when you went in. I've celebrated many friends' birthdays, many afternoon lunch's with my mother, a few romantic dinners with ex-loves and even a bad blind date.

I know Slates will rebuild, but it's so sad to see this happen and my heart goes out to the owners, the workers, the patrons and the community.

songs of enchantment

I am so psyched that I'm doing the happy happy dance of joy!

Can't you see me? I'm spinning and jumping, with my arms flailing!

Can't you hear me? Yips of joy and shouts of "Waaaahoooo" are echoing off the walls!

I am going to see Loreena McKennitt! In April! In Boston!

I can't believe this!

If you've never heard that ethereal voice, listen here, there are little sound bites to give you a taste. She's amazing! Her music is haunting and heart-wrenching, energetic and alive, with pipes and drums and pianos and harps and all manner of orchestral instruments.

The music evokes images of dancing 'round bonfires during the solstice in swirling long skirts, calling down the magic of the old gods. It's Shakespeare and Tennyson and Blake in song.

This is something I've been looking forward to for 13 years, since my friend and I discovered her music and swore that if Loreena was playing anywhere nearby, no matter the cost - we would find the money and go. And go we shall, to Boston! To spend the day wandering downtown, to check out the shops, to find little out of the way and interesting places to have lunch and dinner and then top the evening off listening to the enchanting voice of Loreena McKennitt!

Seasons

Every winter, when the Lake freezes, it amazes me how just months earlier I was swimming here.

"Damariscotta Lake - summer and winter"

I love seeing the Lake from this wholly different perspective. Places that you could only swim to or row to, you can now walk to.

Snowmobiles, trucks and 4-wheelers replace speedboats and jetski's; walking, snowshoeing and cross country skiing replace canoes and kyaks.

And when the day finally quiets down and twilight falls, all you hear is the whisper of snow sliding across the Lake on the wind and the ominous moan and groan of the ice shifting underfoot.

I needed this weekend to come to an appreciation of winter again and not want to rush right through it to get to spring. I needed the icy wind baffling at my triple layered body in order to appreciate the warmth of the woodstove when I went inside. Walking in slow motion through snow, fighting against the wind to appreciate how it felt to slip those boots off and walk unhindered through the house. And when the heat of summer comes again, I will pull out the memories of this weekend on the ice and appreciate the feel of that summer sun, of tank tops and t-shirts and summer skirts, of sandals and the hum of bees rather than the hum of snowmobiles.

"trees and shadows"
(this will go into the file of future fabric projects, it would make a great winter wallhanging)

More pictures from this weekend's ice fishing excursion here.

Time flies...

Wow! It's been almost a month since my last post. I didn't really mean for my absence to go on so long. It started getting busy at work and by the time I came home (after being on the computer all day), the thought of jumping online again was just too tiring! I haven’t taken time to write or read any blog posts! How very sad. And it was so cold for most of that month hiatus…bitterly cold with wind chill factors putting us around 10 below on several days (that’s about –23 for you Celsius fans). February in Maine just makes you want to stay inside for the month and not venture out!

It seems like a million things have happened…and nothing at all, most of it centering on work. One of the pieces of legislation that I’ve been working on for the past year, regarding postpartum depression and women’s health, is finally seeing the light of day! And the press is jumping on it; which is giving the women I worked with (the Postpartum Support Initiative of Maine) the spotlight that they need and deserve! I was completely behind the scenes on this (which suited me fine; I’m not a seeker of the limelight. I’d rather see the issue highlighted), helping them with the legislative side to all of this. These women are the most fabulous people, so supportive and easy to talk to, warm and caring. If I had postpartum depression, I’d want these women to help me. The best thing is that the local evening news is doing a piece on this issue (which airs tonight and will be rerun during the news this weekend) and interviewed some of the women from the Initiative. I am so psyched for this group, getting this recognition!

I’ve also been working on a domestic violence bill for my boss and we’re having a press conference in 2 weeks to try to get the ENTIRE legislature to support this legislation. The bill will change our current domestic violence law from police arresting both people involved in the dispute and sorting it out after charges have been filed, to allowing for a thorough history of the situation with an investigation before charges are made. Far too often, a woman in an abusive relationship will be at her wits end and strike back at her abuser. The abuser will then call the police on her, resulting in the abused woman getting arrested for assaulting her abuser. What better way to reinforce the thought that the abuse was her fault? No wonder women in these relationships don’t want to call the police…they get no support!

Okay, enough about work, we had a foot and a half of snow (45.72 centimeters) dumped on us on Valentine’s Day! It was great! So pretty and I got to stay home, all snuggly in the recliner with a blanket and the wood stove going, working on my pink and green quilt. Then I had to go shovel different areas that my plow guy couldn’t get to…and that just sucked. And now I want spring! I keep hearing bird song every day and some days are in the high 30’s (around 3˚ C) and all the seed and bulb catalogs are coming in, inspiring me. I walk outside every morning and see a 4 foot WALL of snow (from the plow) blocking my view of my backyard, but in my mind I’m seeing a warm spring day with green grass and a ground cover creeping across my back hill, flowers and vines and trees sprouting. Mmmmm…it’ll be hard work to get it to look the way I envision it, but that’s what I’m aiming for this spring.

Oh, I am also one window away from sheet rocking my future bedroom. My Dad helped me wire in new electrical plugs (rather, I helped him…he got to be the electrician, I had to be the mind reader/gopher/contortionist light holder – a role I don’t wish to reprise any time soon. My back and my knees are still aching from crawling around a VERY small attic and twisting this way and that to get the light where my Dad needed it). Now we just need to replace that window and start sheet rocking. Then I can paint! Yippee! And put down carpet! Whoo-hoo! And move my stuff in and turn my current room into a studio!! (I know you can’t see it, but I’m doing the “Happy Happy Dance of Joy” right now. It’s kind of like the Snoopy Dance, but with flailing arms and yips of joy). It's been slow getting to this point, but I'm so close to my own studio that I can almost taste it...uh, you know what I mean.

Now I will close this long update with the promise to take lots of pictures during this weekend’s Ice Fishing Party at my parent’s place. I don’t ice fish, but the men in my family do. My mother is using it as an excuse to make lots of toasty warm comfort food and have the women sit around inside to craft, quilt, scrapbook, etc. etc.

I hope you have a fun-filled and fabulous weekend. I’m going to try to read a few blogs and maybe catch up on the month I missed in the lives of my favorite bloggers!

:^)

Woes

I’m having one of those weeks:

Monday – got up early, the day was starting off splendidly.
*Took the dog for a pleasant walk, had a great breakfast, headed upstairs to take a shower and really start my day.
*The bathtub backed up (while I was taking a shower) causing the drain pipe to leak onto the floor and through the floorboards. So naked with wet hair, I'm kneeling between the sink and the tub, bailing the tub out and shoving towels under the leak.
*I called my brother (the plumber) and asked him to check it out after work.
*Went out to Juli’s for dinner, hanging out and TV watching
*Came home at 11:00 to no drain pipe attached to my tub, no note from my brother and the realization that there would be no morning shower. A plan to get up early was created.

Tuesday – woke up late.
*The dog decided that she was going to drag me all over hell’s half acre before doing her business and heading home (45 minutes later). I know you’re saying “I wouldn’t have put up with that”, but I couldn’t leave her home alone for almost 10 hours without her doing what she needed to do – lest I want to clean up the mess she would leave me on my dining room rug. YUCK!
*Forgot about the lack of shower, had to wash my hair in the kitchen sink and run upstairs to wash and get dressed in the bathroom.
*Was late for work.
*Forgot my dress shoes and had to wear clunky winter boots that squeaked on the floors whenever I walked.
*Talked to my brother, who assured me the tub drain would be fixed that night. It just needed a new pipe.

Wednesday – dragged into work at 7:00 am looking like I’d just been dragged from bed (which is sorta true) with a backpack full of toiletries, a bag with dress shoes, my purse and the day’s business attire on a hanger.
*Showered in the Legislators private bathroom (which is like showering in a very sterile hospital or school bathroom, only you don't share it with anyone)
*Dragged all of my stuff back to my office and stuffed it under my desk
*Went to lunch, only to find out that my check card would not work, that the number had been stolen when that processing center’s computer had been compromised. Thankfully the woman behind the counter knew me, took pity on me and told me to pay her tomorrow.
*Called my bank, who told me that the account was fine, but they cancelled the card and would issue me a new one within the next 10 business days.
*Had to leave early from work to run to the bank to take out money to get gas because most gas stations around here don’t take checks.
*Talked to my brother again, learned that I have a “special” bathtub (it’s a really old and wonderful claw foot) that requires a pipe that is inch and three eighths in diameter. Pipes don’t come in that size anymore, they all come in quarters now (you know, inch, inch and a quarter, inch and a half, etc.)
*Physical ailments cropped up making me feel ill and I just wanted to crawl under a rock.

Thursday – still feel like death, go to work anyway.
*My brother says he’s going to try to switch out the drain on my tub with an old one he had.
*This doesn’t work and come to find out, the tub drain pipe needs to be replaced all the way to the chase…through the floor boards…meaning the floors have to come up.

My friend Fran believes that we draw negativity to ourselves when we have a bad day because we are focusing on the fact that we’re having a bad day. We relate to others how much our day is sucking and the more we talk, the worse we feel and the more negativity is draw to us. If something crappy happens that threatens our ability to have a good day, we need to let it go, to say “Okay, it happened, it sucked, but I’m over it” and focus on something good that’s happening…even if it’s something as miniscule as our hair looking good, our clothes fitting right, how great that cup of coffee/tea/juice tastes, etc.

Today is Friday. The week is done. The problems are stopping right now! I’m focusing on only good things to bring positive energy to my bathroom and to my life.
So, yesterday I told Marcia I’d be late to work this morning and I slept in.
*Sadie took the super shortest walk she’s ever taken (thankfully, as it was -19 degrees with the wind chill).
*I headed to my sister’s to use her brand spankin’ new shower with the killer water pressure in the bathroom that her husband just finished. I was in my glory! It was like having a massage at 7:30 in the morning.
*My hair came out just right
*I got to see my sweet little Molly dog!

I’ve focused on these things all day and you know, it’s been a really good day and tomorrow, my brother and I will be ripping up the floor in my bathroom and replacing the drain pipe and it will go smoothly, with no problems whatsoever! By Sunday, I will have my shower back and by Monday, my morning ritual will be back in full swing. God I’m such a creature of habit!

Have a great weekend, all!

Surprise!

Do you ever surprise yourself?

Something happens and you react and mentally you’re surprised at how you reacted. Or you say something in a public situation that sounds absolutely brilliant and profound and everyone around you is nodding or commenting about how right you are. Or you happen across something you wrote, a piece of art or a craft project that you made and you surprise yourself with how amazing it actually came out and think that you couldn’t possibly have written that, painted that, created that…“the symbolism, the color, the flow…did that really come from me?”

I’ve been having these moments. I was reading a book and I was relating to someone about how much of a social commentary this book was, how it could be related to the “invade and assimilate” tactic of British rule in Africa and India which directly links to how the US is doing relatively the same thing in Iraq. And an intelligent conversation ensued. In my head I was thinking, “Whoa! Where’d that come from? I actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about!” Color me surprised.

I was at a friend’s house this past weekend and in her room there are a few little things that I painted on the walls, things that I painted forever and ever ago. One was a very small scene of a winter tree with moonlight behind it, the other were apothecary jars and bottles. She used to have her dresser sitting in that corner and I painted the jars to look like they were sitting on the dresser (now they look like they’re floating in space), but it surprised me how much attention to detail I paid, the reflections of light, the depth and design of the bottles…it reminded me that there were so many things that I once knew but have since forgotten.

And this isn’t all; I’ve been running across so many things. Things I wrote a hundred million years ago (it seems), quilt tops I’ve made but never backed, pictures I’ve drawn and hidden away. It’s like the Universe is bombarding me with things that creatively make sense or show me that when I take my time and get into my Zen space that I can create and create well.

These little surprises are making me feel overwhelmed in a way, though. They are testaments to my ability when I get all doubty and encouragement when I need it, but they’re giving me the itch to create…All. The. Time. And I’m finding it so hard to motivate myself to focus on one thing. I want to do so much, but the Zen space in my head is just beyond my grasp at the moment. On top of that, I’ve received a few magazines in the mail that have so many ideas that I want to try (let’s heap on more things that have me itching to create). I’m trying to be good, I’m trying to focus. I’m trying my hand at a quilted floor covering that will eventually be a gift for a friend, but I stare at it and think of so many other things that I want to do and then I get resentful of the little tiny batik squares (that used to be swatches) that I have to sew together to make strips, then sew the strips together to make the background. I think I just need to slow down and not force myself onto any one project. Maybe I just need to start a bunch of different projects and float with my mood.

I can’t wait to get my studio space up and running. Unfortunately, it has to wait until the new bedroom is rewired, sheet rocked, painted and carpeted for me to move in there and turn my existing bedroom into my “Creative Space” (and there may be some rewiring going on this weekend, if I can convince my Dad to come for a visit!) It’s slow going, but I’m diligent in my renovations, but like my creative moods, my renovating moods come and go too. I think I need to do a little meditating and get back in balance. That always helps! And despite this lack of balance, I’m not in a bad mood or feeling lost. Strangely, I feel very happy, fairly organized, just a little out of focus. How weird is that?
Anyhoo, have a fabulous Thursday, my friends! I hope everything is in balance for you.

Mmmmm...snow day

A little bit of this:

And a little bit of this:

Throw in a quilt, a cup of tea & a good book and that's it for me folks!

Whenever it snows and I'm at work, I think..."Oh, if I were home now, I'd just curl up in front of the woodstove with a book." And of course, on those days when I am at home and it snows, I do housework. Well not today. It's Martin Luther King Day, it's a holiday here in Maine and it's snowing, so I'm taking full advantage of this.

I've got the Chai steeping, the stove crackling, a copy of Wicked next to my chair and a quilt ready to be thrown over my lap. I'm so ready...after I catch up on some blogs!

Feeling out of touch

I feel like I'm missing so much...you see, I really haven't had time to check out many of my fav blogs in the last 2 weeks, or even really keep up with my own.

My job went from zero to chaotic in no time and my desk has been moved and rearranged, so I'm no longer hiding at the back of my office, where I could sneak quick reads of everyone's blogs with my officemates being none the wiser. Now I'm front and center and there is no sneaking. And I didn't get moved because I got into trouble or wasn't doing any work, it's just that I was really rather hidden and people tended to forget I was back there, so now I'm right in the open where anyone who walks past me can see what I'm doing on my computer, despite the privacy screen - which is a bit annoying, especially when I'm doing something with my boss' schedule and a member of the Press (nosey little buggers) is gaping over my shoulder.

So I apologize that I'm being such a slack blogger/blog reader. I need to take time out on the weekend to catch up...which I will try to do...promise! Maybe Sunday night when we're supposed to have a horrific mess by way of weather (I'm hearing snow, sleet and freezing rain straight through to Monday, yikes!)

Dechristmafication

How I spent my weekend...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

My house is officially de-Christmafied and I have space again!

Yippee!

Happy New Year...3 days late

Change is in the air my friends! With the new year comes many new things...at work it's the start of a new (and always crazy) session and at home, I've adopted the mentality of "Out with Old and In with the New".

2007 will be:
* the Year of the New Couch (to replace the shabby, uncomfy one I currently own)
* the Year of the New Bedroom (that I started on last year)
* the Year of New Kitchen Flooring
* the Year of a REAL Creative Workplace - an actual studio where I can have my computer right handy, my sewing machine always ready to be used, my easel set up with paper and charcoals really nearby, all my craft, art and fabric supplies organized for easy access and an inspiration wall (inspired by this)!

2007 will be the year of many things, but these will be the majors, the things I really would like to get done.

Happy New Year everyone!

Let’s take a trip

First we need to go back in time. It's December 24th, we're at my parents house on Damariscotta Lake and it's about 3:00 in the afternoon. The last two days have been windy and rainy, but today we have weak winter sun and very few clouds in the sky. In an hour the sun will be setting and one of the best places to watch the sun set is a little stretch of land in East Boothbay Maine, called Madeleine Peyroux into the cd player to pass the time.

(30 minute time lapse) Wow, that was fast...
Look, you can start to see the ocean!

Ah, here we are, slowing down to a snail's crawl to see what we can from the warmth of the truck. We'll park just up ahead...
here, on this curve
Look at that view!
Are you ready to get out and brave the elements?

Feel that wind, it'll just about knock you over and make you wish that parka's came with wood stoves!! Aren't you glad that you bundled up?
Be careful of those rocks, they're slick in some spots (as you can see from the algae green stain on my left knee where I slid - oh but that will be a bruise tomorrow!)

Even the seagulls are struggling to fly.
Can you feel the sea spray?
Look what some other dear adventurer left behind for us. Portent of good things to come, maybe?
Sadie doesn't get to the ocean often.
She's loving this! But I think it's time to head back to the truck. That wind is just a bit much and my hands are frozen. How 'bout you? We'll drive up toward the Ocean Point Inn. It's closed now, but we'll just drive past.

Can you see all the debris that the wind and high seas from the day before threw up onto the road? That must have looked wild!
Oh, lets go see my favorite house down here
It's just up this way.
How cool is that? It's a year 'round house, so we can't go walk around the grounds (and I think there's a car in the driveway now!)

Shall we head for home? It's after 4:00 and that sun's about to set. Take one last look at Ocean Point, my friends. We'll have to come back again in the summer!

**************************************

I'm so happy that you were able to go with me! I've been wanting to do this for some time and Paula's walk to school really inspired me.

Did you enjoy our trip? We'll have to do it again sometime!