image source, Babiekins
Well, it's been roughly a month since I've signed into this blog to write anything. I can't really explain why it's taken me so long to get back to it except that I felt a need to be quiet and really had nothing overly interesting to share. Every time I thought about writing anything I was met with a blank wall, which may have been a reflection of my January state of mind or the fact that I was working very hard to finish up the gardening magazine I was writing...over 144 pages of container gardening stories and info and well, I think my mind went into sleep mode and so did I. It has taken several emails from sweet readers wondering where the hell I was to nudge me into logging in.
As I mentioned after Christmas, I received a new and improved camera as a present and it seems to have scared me into never picking up a camera again. I bought myself a new, pretty camera strap (which still hasn't arrived!), a camera bag, a 50 mm lens, and an instructional DVD. The fact that I did all that and still haven't taken more than a few photos speaks to my current lack of ambition/courage. I have vowed to at least put the DVD in the player and watch a few minutes as soon as the magazine is finalized. Then maybe I'll become brave enough to actually post a picture of something.
Until that time, I decided I am better off sharing a few photos and links of things I have found to be lovely, annoying or curious and see what you think. Some are things I purchased as Christmas gifts for others, others are pretty people or homes/decorating, and others are just plain dumb.
Please, January, just hurry up and be over already!!
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The Good:
I bought this pillow for my house from Helkat Design and a green and blue one for my mum. I don't care if they are a fad; the Union Jack is special to me.
I love this blog. Her life seems so sweetly simple and back to basics, and I mean that in the nicest way, truly. Just look at this wonderful handmade Christmas she created for her "little one." And her kitchen is so pretty, too.
The Bad:
On the opposite end of the spectrum is this nursery. I have seen it floating around several blogs lately and while it is stylish, it just grates on me that a parent could so overtly choose style over safety. Yes, the yellow crib is beautiful and the room's vibe very Anthropologie, but that crib scares the heck out of me. Some may defend it, but if they do they have never had children and are glued to design sites where cutting-edge style is more important than comfort or warmth... or were the kind of parents who had a horseshoe kicking around inside of them.
I know you know what I'm talking about.
The Beautiful:
When I saw this photo of Jenny Holiday on her blog recently I was dumbstruck at how beautiful she looked with her pink hair. Have you ever seen a hair colour so perfectly suit someone? I will never have the nerve to colour my hair anything other than my assisted blonde, but for some people, it just works!!
And this blouse:
I want it so badly but the price stops me in my tracks. Plays upon all of my childhood hang-ups.
And add the high shipping charges and the taxes and duty that big U.S. retailers so thoughtfully pay/charge on my behalf and it just makes the cost prohibitive. And don't get me started on companies that won't ship to Canada!!
Yep. Beauty and the Beast, that blouse is.
And one of the most beautiful of all poems, perfect for those of us with children who are edging closer to flying the nest. My favourite line is:
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
On Children
Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
