Autumn Swap

I came home yesterday evening to find a package waiting for me. Don't you love it when you receive packages in the mail? Especially when you are anticipating their arrival? Sweet Relyn is hosting an autumn swap and she paired me with a lovely new friend Diane, who is currently living in Germany. I opened up the box and found many goodies inside.

She included a thoughtful card with such kind words. I discovered that she had been to my city a few years ago....if only I had known her then! In fact, the very first post I saw when I visited Relyn for the first time, years ago, it was a post about her visit to Victoria. What beautiful synchronicity. Once again, if only..... Maybe, if I am lucky, they might return one day.

Inside the box I found a jar of homemade applesauce. How tempting it was, to go grab a spoon and indulge right then and there. But no...I will save it for a special dish. It is not every day I get such a wonderful homemade gift. But I have to say, I did nibble at a few pieces of this divine rich dark chocolate that I found nestled in next to the applesauce. As soon as I took this picture, a few squares quickly disappeared.

And the book she sent....I love the worn feel of this book. It feels as though it has been loved before it reached my hands. It contains a collection of essays about books. Well, I absolutely LOVE books. I vow to never own one of those digital readers. I love the feel of them in my hands, I love to turn the pages, I could (and do) wander bookstores for hours....so as long as they continue to make real books, I will always stay loyal to the real thing. This book was written by a woman who "once found herself poring over a 1974 Toyota  Corolla manual because it was the only written material in her apartment that she had not read at least twice." This is a woman who loves to read...it will be interesting to glimpse into her insights.

At the very bottom of the box were two gorgeous magazines. I poured through the pages, soaking up all the beautiful eye candy. These were some of my favourite images. Could I please have a rustic table and chairs next to a glass door like that? Could it open to a lush garden? With adorable little bird houses like these his and her's? I have been collecting images like this for a while now, as I try to uncover what inspires me, what my tastes are...they are ever changing, but I am learning more and more about myself as I go through this process. Lately, I have fallen in love with all shades of white. I dream to have a house of my own one day...a place I can lovingly create, make my own. But for now, I will use these inspirations I find as steps on the journey toward my dreams.

And that was not all that was in the box. I found some adorable little things to hang on my doors. There was a cute little mushroom made of fall leaves, an autumn wooden hanging that sounds like rain when the leaves collide with each other, and this little welcome hanging...Diane, how did you know it would go so well with the colours of my front door? So intuitive you are. ;)

This swap was great fun. And meeting someone new is always a gift. Thank you so much Relyn, for being such a caring and dedicated host, and thank you Diane for the lovely treasures you sent me from across the big blue sea. One day I would so love to see your corner of the planet. Germany has many charms.....and so do you!

Celebrating Debi

Debi, today I celebrate you. I celebrate your newest published article in Artful Blogging, but mostly, I celebrate you. And what would a party be without a little cake? I picked up this cupcake yesterday, and dedicated every scrumptious bite to something beautiful in you...

The first bite... this was the sweetest bite. This one was for your love of words, which manifest into the most lyrical pieces of writing. You invite me to imagine the world you live in with all of my senses engaged. Not only can I picture the places you describe, but I can hear the curtains flitting with the breeze, I can feel the fallen tulip tree blossoms under my toes, and I can smell the rain approaching on a hot Texas night. The softest shades of blues and greens are all around me, so calming and peaceful.

The second delicious bite was for your attention to detail. You see fallen leaves that look like birds, you watch shadows move across the walls, the night sky tells you stories as you look up from your swaying hammock, you see hearts everywhere. You capture things with your camera that make me do double takes...that make me gasp with delight, when I see the hidden gem that you have brought into the light, just quietly waiting to be noticed.

This substantial bite is for your intricate creative process. Passion seems to drain out of you, through your paintbrush and sweeps itself across your canvases with wild abandon. Your calming, simple style is deceiving, for it is never a simple picture you paint. Intuition is your faithful guide...the very soul of your paintings.

This one is for the uncanny way you turn the most ordinary things into breathless beauty. Your entire blog is like this. The world, through your unique frame of view (and frame of mind) is extraordinary, and full of magic.

This last morsel packs a punch. It is for your honesty. Your raw, unapologetic, unedited, unfiltered honesty. You are the real thing, Debi. When you speak of loss, when you recall a memory, when you reflect what a certain colour does to your psyche, how the people around you affect you, when you talk about your charming neighbourhood, and how it is changing, how you dream of a new place to call home....whatever it is you are feeling, you speak straight from the most authentic places in your heart. When I read your words, my heart takes its own journeys, and I am grateful for the explorations.

Today, it's all about you.
You are lovely.
You are a meditation on living with soul.
You are a gift to us all.

Many thanks to sweet Amy for hosting this wonderful celebration today. What a beautiful heart you have.

Now I must brush off the crumbs, those delectable crumbs, and go looking for a copy of Artful Blogging for my very own. I can't wait to see what treasures are inside.

Happy Spooks Day!

Pixie, kobold, elf and sprite,

All are on their rounds tonight;

In the wan moon's silver ray,

Thrives their helter-skelter play.

~Joel Benton

Have fun!

Stay safe!

For Keeps

Sometimes you find yourself in a moment that seems to stand still for you, just long enough for you to be aware that this is a moment you will keep forever. You will never forget.

Sometimes these moments are little happenings.... nothing monumental. But something in it stirs you and coaxes you to imprint it into memory.

There we were, a week ago.... my mom, my dad and I, standing next to a deep slow moving stream. We came upon it by accident. It was a beautiful little spot, and as we gazed into the water, as if in a trance by the gentle current, my mom told me how she loves how the leaves, the ones that are submerged, how they tumble and turn underwater as they move downstream.

And all of a sudden, a new universe appeared before my eyes. Like a child seeing something for the first time. I have watched leaves float along the surface, but under the water...this was new. Well, it was new to my ever-increasing awareness of things. I stood there, mesmerized by these little leaves doing slow graceful somersaults deep down in the cold clear flow.

And then, disturbing the peace, was the child inside my dad as he launched a small stray tree trunk into the flow. He wanted to see how far it would go. Not very. It lodged itself between a tree and a rock wall on the far side, where it probably still remains. But inside myself, I laughed at this grown man, still curious and childlike at heart. Remnants of the little boy he used to be.

All three of us were briefly held captive by this little stream. We stayed for quite some time, observing and playing with the water as we watched for salmon, as rare a sight that day as a meteor in the night sky. And we gasped when we did see one large and lonely fish, resting in the slower pockets of the stream. And I gasped again as I caught a glimpse of these mushrooms growing on a floating log!

It was this quiet, uneventful afternoon....this fleeting fragment of time next to a stream that I won't forget. I felt such gratitude, to be with my family, to feel a sort of unity in our experience of that day. I felt loved and I felt loving. And all felt well in the world.

One of my dear friends just lost his father. And when he spoke to me of his final moments with his dad, one thing became very clear... the only important thing, all that really matters in the end is the love you share between those closest to you. I carried that in my heart that day as I walked with my parents. I am so grateful they are here with me, and that we can share these simple, unassuming moments like this together.

Yes. This is a day I will keep forever.

I Heart Fall

Happy October my friends!

This is my most favourite month of the year. I am wrapped around this season like a warm fleece blanket. The air feels so fresh...so good.

And the trees have been turning ever so slowly. What used to sound like a soft wishhhhhh as the leaves flickered in the summer breeze, now sounds like a restless rustle. The leaves are indeed restless. I stood very still in a maple forest this afternoon and watched them fall. Some spun in rapid tight spirals, angry to be separated from the branch. Others twirled in open, loose circles like the graceful arms of a figure skater. And some were completely motionless, except for the slow, quiet drift to earth.

Have you ever been lucky enough to watch a leaf the very moment it separates from the tree? It's kind of like watching a meteor shower. Hoping that you will see that soft beam of light right exactly where your eyes are aimed at the giant sky. Usually you see a flash in your periphery and glance quickly at the fading star before it vanishes. Usually you see the leaf as it is already floating. I have yet to see one detach.

As I set up my tripod and peered through my camera, I would hear soft sounds as though a hiker was approaching...it was only the sound of the leaves settling after their graceful flight through the sunbeams. Little golden whispers, all around me. My only company as I settled into my solitude. Click here to see the images I captured today.

I was happy in those trees. So very much in the moment as I listened, and took in the scents that fall exhales. And as I silently expressed my love for the forest and its beauty, the forest told me how much it loves me too....down by my feet, next to the river, was this most perfect heart shaped stone. I couldn't stop smiling as I returned along the path. The stone in my pocket and a knowingness that love is all there is.