HAPPENINGS...

These are the happenings around here

 from last week

 and for the week to come.

 

A bit of sweet smelling springtime sunshine 

coming in through the kitchen window.  

It makes doing dishes a happy chore.

 

We emptied just about everything 

out of the screened porch

 in preparation for summer gatherings. 

 It has been a couple of years 

since we painted 

so the walls and screens were in need of a generous cleaning. 

 Everything was hosed down and off and wiped until it shines and...

 

...the Secret Garden itself 

was given a proper face lift. 

 The ivy was sprayed 

and the rock was raked 

and a light clipping was done...

...so that the fairies 

have a delightfully clear path 

to their front door

...

if you are lucky enough 

to get by the watch rabbit.

The table and chairs

 were put back in place

 and decorated with new cushions and...

...I do love the pretty new fushcia 

that we picked up 

for the old fountain out in the garden.

Little Robin 

had all of her teeth pulled last week except for the two canines on the bottom. 

 Hopefully that will keep her tongue from hanging out and so far it is working. 

 She also had a small lump removed from her chest 

and we will find out soon if it is cancerous or not.  

She is a trooper

 and is eating well and feeling good. 

 You can't tell her she doesn't have any teeth

 as she chews everything just like she did before!

A couple of years ago 

a neighbor gave the Captain a planter with a couple of iris in it. 

 For two seasons

 we have waited to see them bloom but they never did.

  We kind of stuck them back and forgot about them 

and here they are now, just about ready to open.

  One looks to be purple and the other is bronze.

  I am really happy to see them.

I received the first letter from 

Corporal Charlie Henderson Burke to Miss Audrey Rose Drollinger. 

 It was written on July 5, 1943, 

and tells of how they met at an Army Rangers 4th of July dance

 and Audrey Rose's dance card was included and shows it filled up with just one name. 

 They spent the night dancing to songs such as

 Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy 

and he hoped that he hadn't been a nuisance to her. 

 He thought she looked so pretty in her red dress 

that he couldn't resist. 

 He apologized for talking her ear off 

while never actually getting to know much about her. 

 He closed the letter by saying that maybe,

 if she had the time, 

she could spare some fond thoughts for him once in awhile. 

 He would be much obliged if she would

 as she would be on his mind often enough 

and signed off Love, Charlie..

It is all so much fun 

and it will be as hard for me to wait for each letter 

as I am sure it was for Audrey Rose and Charlie.

Jacenda Rangel, MSN RN CNL

The highlight of this week will be 

watching Jacenda graduate from the University of San Francisco

 with her Masters degree in nursing and a GPA of 4.0.  

It has been a long time coming

 with a  lot of her studies being interrupted by Covid this past year. 

 For that reason, it will all be "virtual".  

She and Jake are now living in San Francisco 

so that she could finish school but where they live in the future 

will depend on her job. 

 She has applied at a few hospitals 

and is waiting to hear. 

 Jake works from home and travels when he has to for his job with Kaiser. 

 We feel fortunate that we will be able to follow along 

with the ceremony over Zoom and You Tube.

  They both have worked very hard 

for what they have accomplished 

and we are so proud of them.  

Congratulations, Jacenda!

We will be continuing 

on getting the Cottage ready for summer. 

 That won't be long now.

Have a great week.

...Judy...

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THE COLORS OF MY WORLD...

 

Do you use certain colors

 for certain times of the year?  
Looking back through

 a collection of past photos, 
I can see that I do,
 although I wasn't totally aware of it.

In January,

 after the holidays are over 

and the snow people come to visit, 

there is candlelight and warm colors 

with bits of Christmas left behind.

When January is over

 and February rolls around, 

there is a lot of pink and pastels 

with some red in consideration

 of Valentine's Day...

...but then 

the promise of spring

 lends itself to

 greens and yellows.

Then there is Memorial Day

 and on into July when 

the patriotic colors

come on strong.

When summer hits with full force,

 blue and white

 along with pretty flowers

 will again return just by themselves

 and that seems to take care 

of that part...

... but late summer and autumn 

need some sunflowers

 mixed in with dried hydrangeas 

and velvet pumpkins.

Around here 

the holidays are always 

red and natural greens 

with the colors of each room 

thrown in.

In spring this year 

the grass is brightly vibrant

 and the valerian is 

beginning to show up...

just beyond the garden gate.

The spring, this year,

 has been wonderful.

Just the right amount of

 breezes and sunshine...

..

...life gave us a few lemons

 but we didn't have to

 make any lemonade...

...just the sort of weather 

that one would wish for 

all year long.

I hope that all you moms had

 a wonderful Mother's Day.

 I want to tell you about 

the Mother's Day present

 I got from Tami and Tim.

 

 Have you heard about 

The Flower Letters? 

 Twice a month, for one whole year, 

I will receive a letter

 delivered, the old-fashioned way,

 by the postman. 

 The correspondence is between 

Audrey Rose Drollinger 

and Corporal Charlie Henderson Burke. 

 The letters take place 

during World War ll 

and are centered on 

one of the most significant days in history,

 June 6, 1944... D-Day. 

 Their relationship develops 

through their correspondence 

and the significant role 

they each play 

in the day's events.  

They are thrilling stories of

 history, mystery, adventure and romance. 

 I can't wait to get the first letter 

and will happily share with you

 their journey

 along the way.

...Judy...

I would like to extend

 a huge thank you to Linda 

for including my lilacs

 as one of the features last week

 at Love Your Creativity.

Thanks so much, Linda.

The pleasure was all mine.

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FOR THE LOVE OF LILACS...

 

Welcome to the month of May.

"May is white clouds behind pine trees/

Puffed out and marching upon a blue sky,

May is much sun through small leaves/

May is soft earth/

and apple blossoms,/

and windows open to a south wind.

May is a full light wind of lilacs."

Amy Lowell

The lilac is one 

of my most favorite flowers.  

I love everything about them. 

 If I could, I would wish

 to be surrounded by lilacs 

my whole life long. 

 My farthest away memory

 is of my great-grandmother, Susie,

 standing in the doorway

 of her Victorian farmhouse

 with a lilac bush

 in full bloom beside her...

"A faint smell of lilac filled the air,

There was always lilac in this part of town,

Where there were grandmothers, 

there was always lilacs."

Laura Miller

When we lived in Santa Cruz, 

our neighbors from across the street 

gave us a small off shoot

 of their lilac bush. 

 We planted it

 in a corner of the garden

 and it thrived.  

When we moved to the Cottage 

we took a piece of it with us, 

although everyone said 

that it couldn't be transplanted, 

and it thrived here also.

Regardless

 of how it was trimmed (or wasn't)

 throughout the years,

 it was always beautiful and fragrant.  

This bush has been here at the Cottage 

for close to 30 years 

and a good 20 years in Santa Cruz before.

  This bush and I 

have always had an endearing relationship 

up to about two years ago.  

When the first tiny buds appeared 

on the slender stems, 

I couldn't wait to pick a big bouquet 

and bring all of its glory into the house. 

 It was a sad day

 when I realized that,

 in close quarters,

 the scent was overwhelming to me

 and I could not endure it.

The last Cottage lilacs in the guest room

2018

 

 Today, I have taken a chance, 

and for just a little while,

 I brought an antique pitcher

 full of lavender blooms

 into the Cottage 

to share with you, 

along with some words that I found

 that convey their beauty

 to the poets in all of us.

Lilacs:

"You are the smell of all summers,

 the love of wives and small children. 

 You are brighter than apples, 

sweeter than tulips."

Amy Lowell

"Now that the lilacs are in bloom, 

she has a bowl of lilacs in her room".

T.S. Eliot

"The lilacs stood close 

to Elizabeth's window,/ 

all purple with bloom.../

 but a wind is stirring the lilac blossoms,/

 and a wonderful sweetness

 came floating in."

Mary E. Wilkins

"The Message of Flowers", 1905

"A pewter bowl of lilacs in the room/

 seem to him to weigh 

and change the gloom."

William Faulkner

"If you have a garden and a library

You have everything you need."

Marcus Tullius Cicero

"Just now,

 the lilac is in bloom/

 all before my little room."

Rupert Brooke

"The Old Vicarage"

In the Language of Flowers:

Lilac:

The first emotion of love.

I love the colors 

of the flowers and the walls together 

along with the shape

 of the oval frame

 behind it...

...and its elegance

 against a rustic background...

...but lilacs and blue skies...

it doesn't get much better

 than that!

I am so sorry,

 for myself as much as

 for everyone else, 

that this beautiful flower,

 with its vibrant colors and sweet scent,

 has to be removed 

out to the front porch. 

 It still is my most favorite

 but I will have to be content

 with its beauty

 only in passing.

"The smell of moist earth and lilacs

Hung in the air

Like wisps of the past

And 

Hints of the future."

Margaret Millar

"To be overcome 

by the fragrance of flowers

 is a delectable form 

of defeat."

Beverly Nichols

"In the dooryard

 Fronting an old farm house

Near the white wash'd palings

Stood the lilac bush tall growing

With heart shaped leaves

 of rich green."

Walt Whitman

 

Have a wonderful week 

and take in the beauty

 of the lilac 

in springtime.

...Judy...

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