Hello dearest ones! I am so glad to be here today, checking in with all of you. I have some thoughts about my current situation that might resonate with you.
From Braintree Hill Rd, just down the way.
I am still processing both the “Blue Wave” and the passing of my Mumsie. (THANK YOU for your thoughtful comments on my last post. They helped. xo
Walking meditation with my tea, in this wonderful bunny mug, made by Brown Bunny Pottery here in Vermont. I found this at the 2025 Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival, walked past it four times before I circled back to purchase it. A splurge, indeed. But now much beloved.
I am joyful beyond measure as I try to absorb the power of the Americans who voted for change. I hold thoughts of our new leaders close to my heart. They have their work cut out for them.
And I am still in the midst of sadness that my Mumsie is gone from this world.
And I am trying to live, holding both of these truths at the same time.
I found a wonderful quote, (apologies, without attribution).
Isn’t that a beauty?
So, I have been using my gathering basket to collect supplies to make things with. There’s now a rose hip spray on our front door, and those dried sunflower and rhubarb stalks will help me get started on an insect house I plan to make in the spring. I may not actually be arranging flowers…but this a seasonal next best thing, right?
My Mumsie was a miniaturist. I am a sucker for kids’ books. We both adore these delightful little books. As I was collecting my basket of goodies, I felt my Mumsie next to me.
Amy Chaplin, who wrote one of my favorite cookbooks, at home in the whole food kitchen, wrote, “As a small child, I was mesmerized by the stories in Jill’s book series Brambly Hedge. Her tales about a community of mice living in roots and tree trunks, in harmony with nature, are beautifully illustrated with detailed drawings of their day-to-day activities…especially the tall, wooden dressers lined with jars of berries, roots, and nuts that the mice collected.”
So, in the midst of so much, here’s to following our bliss. To be inspired by tiny mice, rose hips, freshly fallen snow, old black and white photographs of folks long gone, but not forgotten…
I invite you, dearest ones, to join me in “arranging flowers” …whatever that might look like for you right now. xo