Tranquility of Order

Annie’s forsythia bush is 

blooming. My bush, just across 

the street stands naked. Buds 

aplenty, but no blossoms yet. 

The scillia is just pushing its blue head through the leaf 

clutter.

Can you spot the scillia?

I can only see the scillia because I know just when and where

to look.

In a chaotic world finding a bit of peace can be elusive if you 

don’t know just where to look. 

 Nature is the surest place for me to find the Creator steadily

 at work crafting peace. The order of spring’s unfolding brings

 me peace.

Father Thomas Keating writes, “Peace is the tranquility of 

order. It is true security.” First snowdrops last week. This

 week scillia and forsythia. Spring and the tranquility of order

 nourishes me.

I am here in this place but a moment in eternal time. Before

 me and after me there was and will be this order: 

snowdrops, scillia, forsythia.

Around these cycles of bloom I make my own rituals. When

 the forsythia bloom it’s time to freshen the bath towels. Mine

 grew stale over the winter. So I wash them first in detergent 

and hot water, then I run them through another cycle with a

 cup of vinegar, finally I finish them off with another cycle of

 hot water and ½ cup of baking soda. If it’s warm and dry, I 

dry the towels on the line. If not, it’s OK to dry them in the 

dryer.

Fresh towels, snowdrops, scillia, forsythia—may the peace of 

the tranquillity of order by yours.

Spring Cleaning

We're having a blustery, cold spring here on Pershing Lane. This time of year I want to make everything sparkle inside and out as spring puts on her new green and yellow coat. It's spring cleaning time.

No I won't be folding my underwear into origami shapes as Marie Kondo suggests in The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. But I do enjoy the virtuous feeling of seeing everything in ship-shape order. This spring has been a season of deep cleaning. I've scoured every drawer, closet, nook and cranny for the useless, worn out, tired, ripped and torn. Mostly I've taken the time to sort, fold, put dividers in drawers and refold.

My friend Nancy who works with the homeless said that as they work to put folks in homes they give away beds and sheets. I had a drawer full of full-size sheets, but no longer own a full-size bed.  Out came the sheets and off they went to Nancy and her group. Now I can find the sheets I need, no more messing around with sheets that don't fit the bed and I know that someone who really needs sheets will have them.  Living simply so that others may simply live as I'm reminded weekly in church.

Mom gave me tons of her beautiful jewelry over the holidays. This rich abundance made it hard to close the jewelry drawer with all of the little boxes filling it to over flowing. I found this great hack online for storing earrings. 

 A trip to the dollar store and three ice cube trays later, I had all of my earrings sorted. I find I'm wearing more of them more often because now I an see at a glance what I have. Just put a little bit of foam or the cotton lining from your old jewelry boxes in the bottom of the ice cube trays and either pin your earrings to the foam or drop them in. They are so thin that I can stack two or three on top of each other. Neat, tidy, simple, cheap, makes getting dressed easier. All of this sorting and organizing is so satisfying.

Look what else went up this week.

Marijo put up the clothesline which she very graciously lets me use since my backyard is too deeply shaded to dry much of anything in the summer. You can't see it in this picture but little snowflakes were dancing around me as I hung these towels out to dry.  It might be too cold for them to dry much but the wind is blowing so strongly that I'm crossing my fingers.  I've just put these towels through their spring cleaning ritual.  Are your bath and kitchen towels musty after winter? I've got a special spring cleaning recipe that will take the winter blahs right out of them.  Scroll to the end of this post for the recipe. You can dry your towels in the dryer, but I think they smell even fresher when dried out on the line after their "treatment"

See the Scillia blooming behind the clothesline?  Even if snowflakes are flying it's so much fun to see these periwinkle blue flowers this time of year.

The scillia carpet Marijo's and my "community garden", the area between our two yards that we garden together. It's half the work and twice as much fun gardening together. I cut some of the scillia to bring a little bit of spring inside this morning.

Don't they look pretty sitting on the freshly starched napkin I put on the dinning room table to set off the floral arrangement? Here's a closer look.

I think these little details like the cross-stitched napkin make a house a home. I wish I had the patience to sit and stitch like this, but I can always find treasures like this at flea markets, Goodwill or antique stores. These little details spark such joy for me.  You too?

Round one, the early spring cleaning is done.  All of the wood furniture has been washed down and polished. I even washed and polished the knotty pine walls of our den.

Such a warm cozy room to sit in on nights when the spring winds are howling and scratching with little icy fingers at the windows. 

While I've been dropping off donations, I've also done a little guilt-free shopping at Goodwill.  Look what I found

I wanted a fresh ornament for the front door.  These purple and pink boots filled with spring flowers fit the bill and Prince Charming liked the cost. Boots and silk flowers set me back less than $10.

Round two of spring cleaning which mostly consists of washing windows will wait until the neighbor girl, Hailey, comes home from college.  I've got her lined up to work with me in June. 

Yesterday we had 15 minutes of sunshine, the wind died down for a bit and I got out to inspect the neighborhood for evidence that spring is coming.

The Daffodils are blooming. I don't have any of these bi-colored daffodils in my yard.

or these itty-bitty cuties

They are so small, they are about the same size as the scillia, maybe three or four inches high. I think I might need to add both of these to my garden when I'm planting bulbs next fall.

The peonies are just peeking out.

And the pink magnolias have broken bud

The white magnolias are in full bloom!

This tree also comes in an ornamental size.  I wish now I'd planted this tree instead of the small dogwoods I planted on the south side of the house.  We're just a little too far north for dogwoods to do well. In four years, I think I've gotten one blossom on one of the two dogwoods I planted.  I'd love to trade them out for these magnolia wonders.  But Prince Charming doesn't like it when I move something as big as a tree, especially one that's living, for something I argue is "better". I suppose his objection stems from the work of digging and lifting and digging a new hole. Cross your fingers friends and let's hope for some dogwood blossoms this year.

The maples are "blooming"

And the crab apple is leafing out

David from Stella's Guesthouse and Gardens dropped by this week with my order of giant tree lilies.

David says to plant them at least 7-inches deep.  That's a lot of digging.  They need to go so deep because they are so big that they need to have plenty of ground support for the stalk and roots.  They'll look like this when they bloom.

Won't they be stunning?

They are going in the sun perennial bed

which looks like this now.....

And will look like this this summer.  Can't you just picture those giant tree lilies in the back?! I like my gardens full of flowers cheek-by-jowl.  Some people like their gardens with a little breathing room but I always think there is room for one more flower in my garden.

Before I forget here's the recipe for washing away the winter blahs out of your towels:

Run them through a wash cycle with only hot water & 1 cup of white vinegar. Do not add soap.

Then run them through again. This time using hot water and 1/2 cup baking soda. Again, do not use soap. This process will strip the residue that has built up and cause them to be fresh and practically new again. You will notice they absorb better as well.
Repeat this procedure as needed

Hang them on the line outside to dry.

We've had quite a romp through the house and neighborhood this week and the snow is really coming down now so I better go snatch my towels off the line. Take care of each other until we talk again next week! Hugs xxoo

Fooling Mother Nature

It's too early, David, the sage gardener of Stella's Guesthouse and Gardens, warns as he delivers my order of pansies.  Too early for such warm weather he means.

The lilacs are coming on too quick. They need to shelter in place and wait until the hard frosts of April pass before they put out their bloom buds.

Marijo who's come over from next door to pick out some pansies, shifts from foot to foot as we watch David pull out of the drive. Now I'm worried too, she says.

Frost won't hurt the daffodils or

or the Hellebore's also known as Lenten Rose.

These beautiful scillia love cold, snow and frost.

Frost could nip the bleeding hearts just emerging from their winter sleep.

Don't worry, I say. It's an old farmer's trick to ward off the garden gods. If you get excited at the nice turn of weather, the garden gods will hear sending a killing frost or blizzard. David's protecting us by telling the gods the weather's too warm. 

Though it did snow the day after David delivered the pansies. It wasn't a blizzard. The blessing is working!

This March has been relatively nice all month, even exceptional for a couple of weeks.

The completed pots

 David isn't fooled. Now that he's blessed the garden with his "too warm" blessing, I'm sure to have arm loads of lilacs in May. Mother Nature's the biggest prank player of all time.

Enjoy your April Fool's day.  

Isn't Mother Nature grand?! Take good care of each other dear ones until next week.