THE JOYS OF MAY...

"Let all thy joys be

as the month of May."

Francis Quarles

17th Century poet

May Day

 has come and gone,

but the circle of

freshly picked Dollar Store blooms

remain as

 a welcome...

...and now

that the joy of May

is upon us,

the door opens and

lets the sun light and

soft breezes

come through.

Lilac Tide

was the name that

 Victorian poets gave

to this season of

beautiful blooms.

"The lilac 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 the Flowers"

1905

An enchanting flower,

 the lilac. 

So pretty

 beside a bed

fluffed and

 awaiting company.

"Sweetest of the flowers a-blooming

In the fragrant vernal days

Is the Lilly of the Valley

With its soft, retiring ways.."

Paul Laurence Dunbar

My folks on their way to a dance in costumes my mom made

Early 1960's

The Captain's Mother, Grace

One of the many joys of May

 is the celebration of

Mother's Day. 

 One deep regret

that I have in life

is that my mom

never got to see our Cottage

or sit beside the lilac bush

 that was grown from a start

of one of hers,

 but she is here

 in spirit

 all the same.

"The shadow of my mother 
danced around the room
 to a tune that
 my shadow sang."

Jamaica Kincaid

"My Mother"

"There are few of us 

who cannot remember 

a front yard garden

 which seemed to us 

a very paradise 

in childhood."

Sarah Orne Jewett

1881

The race

for the best sun spot

is still ongoing and

this one was won

by a nose.

"Some people like

 to make a little garden 

out of life."

Jean Anouilh

...Judy...

Hope you are all

 experiencing

 the joys of May.

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UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL...

New beginnings! 

 Although spring 
has been here for awhile, 
Mother Nature has finally decided 
to align herself with the calendar.

 We are having 
some beautiful weather and 
when beautiful weather happens,
 my mind turns to 
cleaning house!

I have been dusting and doing
 and taking on one room at a time 
to get ready for what,
 I hope, is a
 peaceful and delightful summer.

 Before anything else, 
I would like to give Katie at
 Let's Add Sprinkles 
a tremendous thank you
 for featuring my 
Kitchen Shopping 
post last week. 

 I am always so appreciative 
when someone takes 
their time and efforts
 to give me such an honor 
and, Katie, 
I thank you very much.

As I told you in my last post,
 I am turning the Cottage into
 a blue and white summer place. 
 This is not a new concept.
  These iconic colors are timeless and
I have been reading 
that a lot of you
 are doing the same thing.

  
I have kept almost all
 of the Victoria magazines 
over the years and
 when an idea comes to mind,
 I look to them to help me 
in my search for 
just the right things. 
 I've seen so many 
wonderful ideas and,
 of course, 
almost all of them use items 
that I could only dream about.
  But, as I am dusting and doing,
 I have been looking 
through my stash of blue and white and
 find that I have more 
than I thought I did.

Because these colors 
are a recurring theme 
throughout the Cottage,
 I think I sometimes 
take them for granted and
 don't really look at them as
 the strong influence 
that fuels the way 
I like to decorate.

...so, 
I have gathered a small selection
 of blue and white 
that I have on hand and
 while choosing ones to use in my project, 
I will take you along 
as I look at them..
up close and personal.

Some of these 
will be used throughout the project,
 some will be put back 
on the shelf for another time and
 as we proceed through the summer,
 other colors will be added 
to celebrate certain occasions.
  
All of us 
favor certain colors and styles and 
if we look closely 
at what inspires us, 
it might make it easier 
to put a 
special look together.

When you see, 
up close and personal
 all that inspires you,  
you might be certain that
 you are on the right track or,
 it may surprise you, and 
send your imagination soaring
 into a whole 
different direction.



...Judy...

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COMING ATTRACTIONS...

The sky is blue

The trees are green

and

The sun is?  White?...

Is that what summer looks like?

  Haven't we always

 thought of the sun as yellow?

Didn't we learn 
as small children 
that the yellow crayon 

was always chosen 

when depicting the sun?

 We think of sunshine

 as a warm color, but yet, 

when we look directly 

at the bright summer sun, 

it doesn't appear

 as anything but 

a white light.

That is my story and

 I'm sticking to it, and 

I am using my story 

to decorate our Summer Cottage

 in shades of 

blue and white with

accents of

 real and faux greens.

It helps 

that the color blue 

seems to be a mainstay in the Cottage.

 As long as I can remember 

blue has been a

 dominate color 

in my life...

...I can remember 

dresses that my mom insisted 

that I wear as a child 

always being some shade of blue and 

the pattern of the dishes

 that served my mom's wonderful 

home cooked meals, and 

which are now lining the shelves 

of our dining room cupboard, 

was Blue Willow.

  Blue 

is an easy color 

to get along with...

...it can be perked up 

with red 

for a patriotic holiday...

...or by adding 

virtual sunshine,

 can take us into 

the fall season.

For now, though,

 in this transitioning time

 between spring and summer, 

blue and white are just

 coming attractions.

The colors of this summer 

are still in the planning stages and 

until the definite presentation is set, 

we will be content with 

what is changing in the garden.

 Maybe it isn't as exciting now

 as it will be, but

 it is definitely 

on the way.

The brilliant greens 

of the spirea 

are awaiting the arrival of

 its pretty pink blooms...

...the tiny pink azelea buds 

are starting to show

 some color...

...sweet little faces of

 Forget-Me-Nots...

...the Lily of the Valley 

will soon be a mass of

 tiny white bells...

...and Miss Lady Banks, 

although shy about starting,

 will soon be

 very showy.

The beautiful white camellia 

is almost done blooming. 

 Constant rains 

seem to have hurried 

up the process...

...the little grape hyacinths 

are making a small carpet cover

 around the lawn...

...the maple tree 

is setting forth 

dainty and tender

 green shoots...

...and a fern is

 unfolding 

and adding its whimsical shape

 to the garden.

The giant hosta 

is returning in 

the Secret Garden...

...along side of 

the beautiful green leaves 

of a hydrangea bush.

Last, but by no means least,

the lilac is starting to show

 against the blue sky.

The above photo 

is from last summer and, hopefully,

 the garden will come back again.

 When the garden is in 

the transitional stage, 

these same thoughts emerge each year 

but it hasn't failed us yet.

 As for now,

 the lawn has just been mowed and 

the scent of freshly cut grass 

is filling the air around the Cottage.

 A trip to the nursery 

is planned 

so some colorful annuals

 will be added to the mix this summer.

  There may be a little less lawn

 in the future 

as our water rates 

are being raised again but 

whatever is in store 

will make for a 

very happy and 

well deserved

 summer.

...Judy...

A quiet Easter morning 
at the Cottage.

Hope everyone had 

a beautiful and blessed 

Easter holiday.

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