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Seeking happiness, to me, "It is the shrewdness of the fox after the chicken. A low order of mentality often goes with it." Sherwood Anderson.
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Within my core tribe none seek happiness, yet they are the happiest souls I know. This is hindsight.
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Pic, above, here.
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Plants in the house, flowers in vases, an awakened joy. Perhaps it's leaving my 30 year garden, and 3 years later our ca. 1900 home is still under basic construction: pond, dams, roads, drainage, well, irrigation, house renovations, gravel, shade trees, sheds, etc.
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A tipping point was reached, happily, last month when he asked, "Are we living in a greenhouse?".
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Something I know, for sure, about the vase, above, if it is narrow, in addition to wide, it's a magic vase. Needs fewer flowers, and the shape helps put the arrangement together. Zero clue to that fact, until this phase of life.
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Pic, above, here.
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An old conceit, above, new to me, from The Land Gardeners. Dig a clump of bulbs, plop into container, poof, flowers for the house. White planter, above at back, easily found junking. How many times have you passed them by, and at 75 cents probably. Once done, bulbs go back in the ground whence they came, no guilt.
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Pic, above, here.
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Recognizing the 'line', above, in the floral arrangement. Great satisfaction in 'knowing' about the 'line'. Line? Bottom left daisy, to the top right daisy, thicker in the middle.
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Works in reverse, below. Line top left into thick middle ending bottom right. Creates a natural look, gardenesque.
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Pic, above, here.
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Pic, above, here.
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Another 'line', above. Didn't discover this line, found it in a book, bought almost 2 decades ago, not read until this year.
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Pic, above, here.
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Quite saucy, wit, above, using the 'line'. In a layer of prescience, I've bought pretty vases at estate sales since the 80's. Crazy, zero time, zero talent, until this year's epiphany. Why add this to my life? A hunger for the 'doing' and greater hunger for the flowers in the house, life.
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On the floor, below, pure joy. Signs of life lived. A mess to be swept? Therein lies the privilege, and thanks. Stewardship & joy.
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Pic, above, here.
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Our ca. 1900 home came with 2 kitchens. The back kitchen we've turned into laundry, cat-ery, and most recently, floral arranging room. Happy chaos. Magic room with door to living room, back deck, and Jack/Jill bathroom. Beside the fridge, an old majolica umbrella holder with a variety of brooms & mops. Well used.
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Happy.
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A local farmer's market is nearby, must get my Ivy Topiaries into more homes. Not every market Saturday, but several. For fun.
Pic, above, here.
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"...the object drawn doesn't matter so much. It's what you feel about it, what it means to you." Sherwood Anderson.
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Happy.
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"Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant---there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing---and keeping the unknown always beyond you..." Georgia O'Keeffe.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara