Children's Children

I t has taken awhile but we [hubby and I ] will finally get to see our youngest baby grand this week. Ok I know I am prejudiced but tell me he isn't the cutest little thing you've seen in a long time!!! Can't help but brag on something so wonderful! Blessings Meg

God the Restorer / Why I Love My House

Hello Friends,

Sorry it has been so long since I've checked in but so many things needed to be attended to. 

I will post more about that at a later date.

This is my 100th published post and although I have several drafts that I haven't finished yet, today I am celebrating HOME, my favorite place to be in the whole wide world. My house was finished in 1901 and has pretty much been left alone for all these years.You have seen the outside and today I want to show you some of my favorite interior details which have been the same for over 100 years.This is the light fixture at the top of the stairs.These new energy efficient bulbs look a bit weird in old fixtures.

Here is the one in the bathroom, yes that is original etched glass and brass.The one below is at the bottom of the stairs, and I think it is my favorite.

Just in case you are still interested, this one below is in the master bedroom, you'll notice that one socket is not filled because it needs to be repaired one of the draw-backs of original lighting. The last picture is of our glass doorknobs, every one is original. We have glass knobs on the inside and outside of each door, even the closets! 13 doors in all! I love them! Considering that our home was a rental for over 10 years, it is amazing that any of these details are still intact.

 Trying to do our part for the environment but sure don't like the look!

This brings me to the end of my post and the original picture that started this whole day of musing.We are expanding a bathroom, a job that started two years ago and we are just getting back to it now. Actually I am glad it has taken so long  because yesterday as I was looking for a place to take a photo I discovered this wall that was about to be destroyed, and much to my husband's chagrin, I fell in love with the look, now he has to figure a way to keep the beauty of this wall and incorporate it into the new bath/laundry room, not an easy thing for a finish carpenter who likes straight lines and finished sheet rock!

I really do love old things, I struggle with letting go and I although I am not afraid of change, I do want to take everything I cherish from the past along with me for all of my life. Unfortunately this just cannot happen.

This old wall is like me standing between the old and the new, the passage of time continues and this wall will stay but it needs to be "repurposed" to work now.That's me, being repurposed as time passes, by the Hands of a loving God. This past weekend was a milestone for me, I have survived two years of grief and pain since the loss of my dear son Jonathan. I am not the same as I was but so much of the past has made me what I am that I now look forward to the re-purposing.

I am solidly grounded like this wall, I have history, I am a survivor, although so often broken and contrite in spirit, I am ready to tackle the new purposes whatever they may be. And the patina of my image has changed, there is more gray, a settled and more complete sense of  my life's journey, and certainly a renewed desire to be the best I can be.

There is such a paradox of thought as we savor every moment and yet try to get it all in and not miss one opportunity. 

Some things I am learning......................

Relax in the moment, Listen loud, Linger long,  Be as attentive as you can to everyone you meet.

ENJOY YOUR LIFE and everyone around you will be the richer for it.

It is a Wonderful LIFE. Blessings to you all,  Meg

Pink in September

Greetings from our garden home,

I haven't been around for PS for awhile but that doesn't mean that the pink has gone!!!! No, There is still plenty of pink. Yesterday was my daughter's birthday and my grand-daughter and I have been planning to make her a cake for Sunday afternoon so this little one is spending the weekend with me.

 I happen to find these great little boots for her and she is so excited. She loves them!!!!!!!! I thought that they were perfect garden boots as Izzy is my best garden helper but she wants to wear them all the time!!

 So nice that she is still a little princess too! She picked this fabric which she calls Birthday Cake and we are making her a swirl skirt. Of course she had to have pink tulle to go over the fabric to make it more special.

So as you can see we have our weekend well planned with lots of fun and lots of pink. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and make sure to stop back at Beverly's at How Sweet the Sound to see all the lovely ladies who surround themselves with pink!!!
"Yea, Thou shalt see thy children's children and peace upon Israel."  Psalm 128:6
                                                                  Many Blessings Meg

29 degrees-Goodbye Summer 2010

Greetings from the north country,

I think I don't like goodbyes!!         No, I know I don't like goodbyes!!

Last night was our first frost and the end of the bright colors of summer in my garden. Goodbye tomatoes, goodbye summer squash, goodbye pole-beans, and goodbye beautiful zinnias. Goodbye warm and wonderful sun on my back as I till my own little Eden.

I am however so blessed that the greenhouse was able to welcome many of my container gardens and I will have them around for another month or so. I will truly enjoy this!

As much as i don't like goodbyes, I do like to meet new people and learn new things. My header is my first attempt at a banner mosaic and although I will probably change it often with new pictures, it shows some of the things I have learned at an e-photoshop class created by Kim Klassen at her cafe.She has two classes and many video tutorials on her sight, and she is a great teacher.Below is just me playing with texture.

  It is the best $29 I have ever spent.I am putting her button on my sidebar so you can go there and check it out. 

              I also must give credit to the background fairy for the label I used on the french flower bucket [in my header banner] which came from her collection of wonderful vintage graphics found at her blog. Button on sidebar too! . I am still working on my photo watermark but I think I need to do that class again. May you enjoy this very colorful time of year knowing it is very short lived!!! Blessings to you  Meg

On the run in Brimfield!

Greetings blogger friends,

         Somehow or other I managed to throw my back out as we set up for Brimfield Antiques Show and I am home mending for a couple of days so I am rested up for the weekend and the final three days of the show.

        My poor hubby always goes along with these crazy adventures of mine, he keeps his sense of humor and always supports me when I am getting low or down. I was wondering if it was going to be worth it as we went crazy finishing up last minute details and then just as I was thoroughly exhausted, I looked up and low and behold a rainbow!
Hubby flashes me one of those big "I love you" smiles and somehow I had the peace of God and knew we would do alright.

 So, Here we are in Brimfield and we are having a blast and we are getting 
such positive feedback that I wonder what took me so long to get here.

But as I have said before there is a time and
A season for everything  under the Son!
These pictures are of our booth on day one.

I will show you more pics when we get home so until then, I hope you see
the Promises of The Lord in your everyday life. 

Blessings to you and yours, fondly Meg

Farewell August Blooms

This being the last Tuesday in August I just couldn't miss another Bloomin Tuesday and I, like you Jean, have many pics to share but too little time to blog until after the frost which will be in a couple of weeks here. This is what my garden room looked like today at 8am, as you can see we are beginning to get the bronze red tone of fall, a bitter sweet tone for me who loves summer hot pink right till the very last drop!!

 Here is a picture of one of the stands of Castor Beans that I have planted throughout my property. The fence is 6 feet tall so you can imagine the drama these plants create in just one season! Definitely my kind of plant! I grew many of them to sell but at the last minute decided to keep them because the seed pods and foliage are very poisonous and I didn't feel I could adequately educate my customers and take that responsibility. 

Oh Here's the pink my newest rage more Sedum.This is Matrona and standing near a new one I picked up still in the pot. I am starting to plant some of the things I won't have time to plant in one of my vegetable garden beds and I will plant them next spring in their permanent home.

And here is another fav' Love Lies Bleeding, this gorgeous annual amaranth  produces breathtaking tassels of long [20"] glorious burgundy flowers that topple over their containers, creating another show stopper.I will be picking these this weekend to bring to the Brimfield Antique Show. They look great in my antique sap buckets.
So there you have a sampling of what is blooming at my place this Bloomin Tuesday. This awesome event is hosted by Ms Jean at her Green Thumb Blog. Just hit the button on my sidebar and head on over there for all the latest blooms of the season. Hope you are enjoying these last days of the season. Blessings to you. Meg

The Backyard Jungle

Back to Blogland- Sunday was the last day of my commitment to this years VBS Day Camp Kids Program and boy am I exhausted! what a great time we had and no rain!!!!
We have had such a great growing season that the garden looks like a jungle. Literally!!!

I have always loved that tropical look and have tried to get a taste of it here in my zone 4 garden and this year Viola!!! Here I am under the Castor Bean plant which gives shade to some Cannas and several Elephant Ears.
 I am taking an online photoshop course so let me know when my photos start to get better. Hubby took this one so it doesn't count! LOL

 I am working on getting my booth ready for Brimfield. Sometimes I think I just go from one high energy situation to the next without a breather in between and then I remember the long New England winters and how much time I will spend just staying warm. And suddenly I am energized again!!!!

I will be back soon to share more of the show and the blessing of our new family addition. But until then Blessings to you. Fondly Meg

The Wonderful Days of Summer

Greetings from my home and garden,

 Oh Glorious Summer, How I love you, Let me count the ways!!!!!!!!!!

This is why I live in Northern New England, hot clear days, cool nights, emerald green hills, swimming holes, freshly baled hay and cows grazing in the fields. Now that is not what I see in my yard but it is an everyday occurrence around here. Here is what I see when I look out from my perch on my deck. This is what I call my garden room.We spend most of our time out here from May till October and I love it although it is quite a bit of work to keep it up.

 It is fenced in with a little deck and a slider right off my kitchen. We are hoping to put down stone next year because it isn't accessible to mow and the grass grows enough around here to mow every week all summer. I seem to really love the red/pink/purple combo this year and most of what you see are perennials.The gardens are in a circle around the fence leaving approximately a 20 ft circle still to mow. Here is another view, moving around in the  circle.

Come sit awhile!

Hubby was mowing the lawn so I couldn't get too much of the circle but you get the idea. 

Thought some of you would like to see a little peek at our booth as we were setting up on Saturday for our 2nd flea market. I only have a few shots as we had to rush so with the dealers arriving hours before we were ready and then hardly got a break till it was over..... 

My husband is such a great guy!!!!

 But it was fun and a good show and I have now made the commitment to do Brimfield next month, wow I am really getting up in the world! The next shot is of a display in the making with an old splint-wood hamper in white and green peely paint which I made a liner for from an old vintage slipcover, then there is a wire basket bigger than the egg-type which I made a burlap liner for, didn't come home with either of these. 

                           

 The last shot is my daughter and her three gorgeous children. Remember that little guy I received for Christmas? Here he is 7 months old.Love them to pieces!!!!!

                          

I will be busy for the next couple of weeks  as our church hosts a vacation Bible School at a local campground and I am  writing  the program and coordinating the four day event!!

I hope you are having as glorious a summer as we are, I hate to see these days go by but alas, to everything a season......................   Much love to you my friends.    Meg

The Good Days

Happy Pink Saturday to you,

Just in case you think the only thing I ever photograph is flowers, I thought I would share a couple of pink-finds from my antiquing with one of my baby-grands. 
She was such a sport, at 11 years old I was worried that she would humbug everything but we had a blast even though one of the dealers was rude and crude we got past it.I thought this lamp was wonderful though my DH will have to re-wire it and put a new harp on , it sure has potential don't you think? 

 Now it is always hard for me to resist a pair, must be my decorating training so these vases were a must but not a steal, when I buy for myself, I am sometimes willing to pay more when I know I love something.

 I told my grandgirl that she would be on the blog again and she sorta complained but I know she loves it so here we are at the lake in Maine visiting my folks.

 Before I say good-bye on this the last Saturday in July, I really must show you the aerial view of my garden from the bathroom window.

 I know many of you are at the end of your gardens but ours is producing like gang-busters, great year to garden up north.
Have yourself a wonderful weekend and if you want to see more pink, visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound and just follow the pink. Blessings to you, Meg

Summer Joy

Greetings from the garden and I do mean literally,

I named this post summer joy because as you may have noticed I love this time of year. Seems a bit strange for me to be planted where the summers are so short, but I am sure the Good Lord knew what he was doing when He moved me here.

 Ecclesiastes 3:1" There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven." I think I have a hard time going from one season to another. I hold on so tight or I won't think about the coming changes as if that would stall things for awhile.And Yet all of life is so much change....

So much letting go....

"A season for every activity under heaven..."
Some seasons are just too short, that's all there is to it!

I have my wonderful grand-daughter with me for just a little over a week more.....time goes too fast.... so sad.... she has been in Japan for three years so when I said goodbye to an eight year old I had little idea of what she would be like at 11 and now I don't want to say good-bye anymore!!! I shouldn't be so greedy, her Mom has let her stay a month and since she will be on the east coast now I will see her more. Just me trying to hang on to what I love I don't ever want to say goodbye!

She will always be my sunshine!

So just what else is blooming in my garden? Take a look.......

 I can't remember when the Oriental lilies bloomed at the same time as the day-lilies and the Rudbeckia but here they are all shining in the sun.I have already talked too much so I will let you wander around and see the blossom explosion without me as tour-guide.

  I hope you are enjoying this glorious season of 'growth' as much as I am. My sister reminded me that summer will be half over next weekend so I plan to do the things that are most important and enjoy the season I am in.Blooming where I am planted so to speak! Blessings to You! Meg

This post is a part of Jean's Blooming Tuesday. Just hit my sidebar button and you will get to visit Jean, our host,and travel the world visiting glorious gardens and Blooming Blogs.

Pink Phlox July Saturday

Greetings from my garden,

I can't believe it has been this long since I have posted,but my life has been overflowing with grand children and boy am I blessed.

 

 Before I go off and start to work on the items I need to prepare for the flea market I am doing next weekend I have picked you this bouquet with my favorite "Bright Eyes" phlox which is not only gorgeous but the fragrance is heavenly too.Have a wonderful Saturday and I hope it is "pink" and make sure to go back and see Beverly's How Sweet the Sound and your day will overflow with Pink. 
              Blessings to you Meg.

Bloomin in the Rain

Greetings from my garden home,

There are many many things in bloom right now but this is peak garden-work time so I don't have as much time to blog or take pictures when I am pulling weeds and watering, although looks like we will have day 7 of rain this week. When it comes to color, I am not an orange lover but this particular begonia really caught my eye and then I saw the name "Million Kisses, Devotion" you know I couldn't resist.

 I do wish it was hot pink though.I am going to go over and join the folks at Bloomin Tuesday with Ms Jean Green Thumb.Come on over if you want to see some gardens and flowers. And just is case it is raining where you are, here's an umbrella to keep you dry.

Have a wonderful week as you prepare for the family picnics, parades, and fun. Blessings Meg                                                                            

Never enough pink

Greetings from my garden home,

I have been participating in Pink Saturday for over a year now but my success in meeting Bev's challenge has not been realized. I think the problem is when I go visit on pink Saturday I forget who I have visited and then it takes too long to go back so I just blog along justifying my laziness and wishing I had jotted down a fellow PS gal's blog to use for next week, well this time I decided to do something new. Every time I post for Pink Saturday I get at least one new person who stops by to say hello so I decided why not visit their blog while I'm writing  my post and feature my new friends blog for PS, so here goes..

 This week I received a visit from a dear lady named Debbie, at Simply Debbie. Debbie is more social than I and just a visit to her blog let's you know right away how much she cares for others even when you know she is hurting herself. She has a great big heart for prayer and to really make a difference in other peoples lives. Her blog is easy to navigate and while there you will meet some of her friends and family.

Some how or other there is not quite enough pink to show off in the garden yet. Things are still mostly purple but the cone flowers and the day lilies should start blooming soon so pink will again take center stage.

These flowers don't look pink in this picture but they are actually a hot pink canna in an urn with a bunch of other mostly exotics
[At least they are exotic for Vermont] 

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and remember to count your blessings.

Tell the people you love how much they mean to you.

We still live in a free country! Praise the Lord! Blessings Meg

Peonies

Greetings from the Northeast,
I very rarely cut my peonies because my hubby can't take the smell of them in the house. But I made an exception today knowing the temperature would reach 90, they will be short lived. These are in front of the house in a border garden so the people passing by get to enjoy them more than I do. I want to transplant them into the garden room but the fall chores take precedent and that hasn't happened yet. They are huge, dinner plate peonies and it doesn't get much pinker than this.

 Also thought I would throw in a more subtle pink foxglove which started of white and slowly turned into this gorgeous shade of pink.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend and be sure to get back to  Beverly's at How Sweet the Sound and peruse all the other pink posts from around the globe. Blessings to you and yours. Meg

Coleus Camoflage

Greetings from the garden,

There really is a mystery to gardening that goes beyond all that one sees. 
Truly Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as glorious as these!!!
A wonderful meticulous Creator has his signature on all this design around us.

 Having the greenhouse this year has allowed us to be a part of the butterfly dance as it tours our region.
I try to grow many of their favorites and have discovered that we share so much of the same taste. 
Several of these swallowtails have been hanging a round alot lately but I couldn't resist a photo shoot with this one when he landed on the coleus, notice the similarity in design.
Our Loving God continues to reveal His attributes in nature if we will stop and take notice.

 I am thankful to Him for all I am able to see and enjoy with my senses. It really is a wonderful life. A heart of gratitude can make the difference between a regular day and a great day! I hope you have a great day and enjoy the splendor all around you. Blessings to you. Meg

What's Bloomin Up North

Greetings from the garden,
This has been one of the warmest and driest springs I have ever seen here in Vermont.But that doesn't stop the old stand-by's from producing their show. These irises came with the property and although they are not as striking as some, they certainly are prolific and faithful! I don't know their name but I have moved them all over and they spread every year and kinda fill in for the in-between time after the bulbs and before the peonies.

       Then there is my most favorite of perennials. My Catmint, or Nepeta, Walkers Low is the cultivar and it is one of my top ten that I would not be without. I have planted it all along our border which is three feet from the road in a pedestrian village and everyone always wants to know how I get my lavender to grow so well.
 
My garden is quite lavender in color this week as you can see. Here are the chives blooming in with the perennial Bachelor's Buttons which are a great blue-purple. My biggest problem in this garden is keeping everything separate as for some reason everything in this space gets huge. The chive flowers are over two feet tall and this is the same bed where the monarda gets to be over 6 feet tall.

That is the show for now but the buds far outnumber the blooms so there is more to follow. Be sure to go to Jeans Green Thumb Blog or click the button for Blooming Tuesday on my side bar and follow the Blooming Tuesday Bouquet Trail to see the flowers from other regions and I hope you have a great week. Blessings Meg