Armchair Travel & Magic in the Moonlight

Aren't spring blossoms the cheeriest?

 The surest sign of spring.

Not much else is happening outdoors yet, but the trees are beginning to leaf and the grass is greening up. I'm so glad that we are in the hopeful time of year in our part of the world.

This is the lovely second year bloom of my cast off paperwhites. I tossed the spent plant into the nearest flower bed right after Christmas two years ago and it surprisingly came up again in the spring. My kind of plant! 

To express my appreciation I have set up a little fairy garden set beside the solitary bloom.

The rest of the yard still lies in suspended animation.

Vinca

Something that has me enthused about gardening this season was stumbling across a mention of the film Magic in the Moolight set on the French Riviera in the 1920's. Need I say more? I had not seen it before but have now watched it a dozen times, often with the sound off. But the music is great too.

It's a perfect film for an armchair traveler. Released in 2014, PG-13, about three stars. The sets are luscious, the gardens divine. The lavish costumes are all vintage and gorgeous. The architecture and landscape are a main feature of the film. Lots of container plantings and dreamy verandas. We are going to do more garden pots this year because of the gorgeous scenes in this movie.

Oddly, I found the story more amusing when I read the subtitles with the sound off.

Magic in the Moonlight

Closer to home... rose buds are coming on.

And the little boxwood made it through another winter!

And lilac. (Unfortunately just a few this year.)

I was asked about the swarm of bees poem in my last post (a sketch from The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady), so here it is in full.

"A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay,

A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon,

A swarm of bees in July is not worth a fly."

... a proverbial bee-keepers' saying, mid 17th century; meaning that the later in the year it is, the less time there will be for bees to collect pollen from flowers in blossom.

Finally, it's national poetry month. Did you know? So if you're needing a little mental stimulation you might google "April is the cruelest month" and you will get a list of material to choose from starting with the text of The Wasteland by T. S. Eliot. Move on to questions to ponder like "Why is April the cruelest month?" and other discussions. Darkly thoughtful, and not as cheery as bee proverbs.

"The best way to understand the poem’s endless allusions — obscure in some places, impenetrable in others — is to have both the text and a glossary to hand. However, it’s also possible to appreciate the poem on a more basic level: its lyrical flow, jarring juxtapositions, and surprising images." From the National Review

Click here for the rest of the interesting current article.

Thanks so much for coming by!

 Your visit cheers my day like cherry blossoms.

Jacqueline

Start Where You Are

Hello dear blogging friends! I am wondering how you all are doing. You may know that I have been scarce here on the blog in recent months. It has been a couple of worrisome years for me, and I find that the worry part of my brain uses up all the creative space.

I went through the motions yesterday of finally finding my new camera wherever it had last been laid. (These are the simple tasks that are more challenging these stress filled days.) When I finally got to where I felt I could put together a post, I turned on the camera and it said "change battery pack." The manual shows that my Canon loses its charge even when not in use. Sounds about right in my case too!

So for today, in the spirit of, Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can, I am using older photos.

 

I brought my computer, magazines, books, and stuff out under the trees. It's seventy degrees today and no wind. And I am tired of being inside so much. It's soft and green now out here, and I can hear a few cheery goldfinches and feel a lovely breeze even if it is still a tad chilly. I can already feel my blood pressure dropping.

No sooner did I start writing than my computer started talking to me too and politely informed me, "Your battery is running low. You might want to plug in your PC." 

So that's where I am for now. Trying to recharge. I still quite enjoy the pretty images on blogs and Pinterest, but I find I am looking more to seeing how you all are doing in these stressful times. I have spent a lot of time online, purging old broken links and sometimes wondering where so many former bloggers have gone. I am ten years into blogging now and still enjoy looking over the old comments and posts. And of course, I am that many years older now too.

So I will start where I am and use what I have. I am already finding that easier. I need blogging therapy more than ever at this stage and hope that I can be more regular. Because I really do want to do all I can to keep level.

Like many of you, I have loved ones all over the country. And I pray for all of us, and hope we are all doing all we can to stay safe at home.

So glad you came by!

Jacqueline

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Making Room For Romantic Style

I am looking forward to spring, and indulging the more romantic side of cottage style lately. I tend to swing between a mix of styles on a regular basis anyway. 

I also went sort of off script and bought this whimsical gardeny themed wall art that I saw on Amazon. I don't do much large scale whimsy in my decorating, but it is so cheery and has every garden fantasy I possess in one image. 

As usual I have been trying things out in the nursery/guestroom. This room has the most sunny window in the morning and so a lot of plants get revived for a spell in here now and then. I sometimes put on the spa music and pore over my books and magazines for a moment or two of reviving myself! 

I forage fleamarkets for anything garden this time of year too, and just found this darling little plant stand. A few McCoy vases show for now, but I love using a garden stand on a table to serve from or for displays. A shame to cover it up with too many plants! Haha!

These are the latest bits of linen and laces! I just love the creamy color, and the crochet trim on things.

Nothing more romantic than lace! The one in front is an especially old shawl. 

I also found a couple of old wooden hotel hangers for two bucks each. I have even visited San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara! These are full of old romance with the perfect patina. 

This space may be very small, but it has held many big dreams. . . .

Happy days ahead!

Jacqueline

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Familiar Things For a Winter's Day

Hello Friends! It's almost Valentines Day and so I am sending you all the love!

It has been a long while since I checked in here, but as you will soon see, not much has changed.

I think I mentioned that I have a new camera, so this is a very experimental post. I always want things to be simpler than is possible, and I don't want to spend the time it takes to learn new gadgets. But things finally reached critical mass and I think I made a breakthrough!

I just started with what is right in front a me as a subject, but there are always one or two new things of course.

 I am so proud that after two years my Oxalis shamrock is still alive! It went completely dormant, wilted, and lost all it's growth just before Christmas. I panicked! But I read up and learned that due to conditions that this is kind of normal. I repotted, got it a sunny window, and you wouldn't believe how fast it all came back. I'm just so pleased!!

This little embroidered runner is new to me and makes me almost as happy as my resurrected plant.

I use my few seed sacks in a ton of different ways, and always have them ready nearby too.

And a couple of mustard pots still line the shelves.

And pitchers in a row. (I would need detailed instructions on how to live without those...)

There have been so many dark days that I decided to leave my lighted birch trees up a while longer. I brought them home from the shop and still couldn't find the heart to put them away. There have been so many houseguests of late that I find they are a lovely way to light the way in an unfamiliar place. A gentle night light emanating from the center of the whole house. 

There are only small changes to the top cupboard shelf. Sometimes I just want to look at something different!

These little brown baby boots are new here and cheery as all get out! And after a very long time of longing I managed to get a few sprigs of tallow berry to decorate with. They are not native here, but I love the way they look in vignettes.

The days whiz by. Folks come and go. Before we have a chance to look up we have turned another year older. I find that I don't change things up as often as I used to, and love the sameness of things more. At least in the wintertime. . . .

I hope that this finds you surrounded by all that you love too!

Cheery days ahead to you!

Love,

 Jacqueline

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