Life in the little white cottage

It is so nice to be back, safe and sound, after our long journey to South Florida.  Back to our rained-down little white cottage and to a mess of a garden, where weeds have gone rampant in just those few days we were away...  

I always imagine weeds watching out for me, hiding behind bushes, or from under the ground, talking among each other in hushed little voices as I go about the garden pulling those braves one who have dared come out, out of my garden forever.  The minute they don't see me around, they'd all go out... one by one, and throw a loud party.  All of their instruments will come out, whistles and tambourines, and musical instruments come to light, while the weeds sing and dance to the beat of their music. 

So that's what I've been doing this morning... pulling weeds, and throwing away all those precious potted annuals that didn't make it without my constant care... sad, but I'm learning to move on, to not be bothered by the little things in life, as much as I used to.  It is a happier, more effective way of living.  It is a happier life indeed, not having to worry about the little, unimportant things, and I need to take this philosophy to the human sphere too, because the little garden of my heart is quite a mess too these days, with worries about my ageing parents and all those people I love... I worry too much because I love too much.  But in the depth of my soul I die a little bit with each worry.  I harvest too much inside me, and that abundance have always hurt me exceedingly.  I am learning.

I LOVE HOW Nature keeps a timer all of its own... there's a time for everything under the sun, so it's been said, and each wildflower knows this too... they know exactly when is their time to shine and their tine to rest.... right now, it is the time for the daylily and iris to shine, and they are all in bloom, pervading the garden with gentle delicatessens and precious loveliness...

The yellow golden ragwort wildflowers of early spring are done, but I've kept a reminder of them as mementos of another year gone to memories, until the following spring...

These days, it definitely is rose bouquet season around here.

I prefer to leave my roses in their bushes, and only bring them inside when they're passed their glories...  it is my way of enjoying them for an extended, longer time...

If I bring them inside while at their prime I will only enjoy them for just a few days, but if I let them be, the joy will last longer....

It is safe to bring some roses inside these days now... 

I don't have many tea roses as I used to back at the house in the roses, because it is hard to cultivate them here in the humid, hot south, but the Knock-out roses are something else.   They're the queens of the south and are so prolific here, it does not matter how much you take of them or how hard you go with your pruning...  you just cut, knowing that soon you'll have yet another bout of showy re-bloom.  

These tiny, perfect buds of the prettiest pink little roses are something else...  

Again, not the tea roses I am so fond us, but these rose bushes, low, and expanding in nature, are brimming with thousands upon thousands of little roses in the sweetest of delicious pink.  Dozens of miniature, perfect pink roses in just one stem... they are quick repeat bloomers too, and fungal disease resistant, and I can always fill many vases, without the guilt.

Sometimes, when everything is quiet in the garden and no bird's song is to be heard, there are times when I hear an unidentified sound... a song? A wail? A call?  And it's the 'wee-wee' cry of a baby fairy.  And sometimes, I'm rush to think it may be the squirrels up above the canopies, or the voice of the feral in the brambles or the baby rabbits in the deep of the woods, but today when I was standing very close to the woods, I heard it again—the 'wee-wee' wail, and when I looked up to see if I could identify where it was coming from I saw it.... a black bird, or some type of a black, common bird? 

These are long days, and somehow they're still too short of days for the soul who loves the heat-swelled hours of summer and the perfume which cling to the walls of my cottage and the walls of my soul in sweet moments... my heart writes nothing except sentences full of sunshine and the scent of the privet flowers and warm rain. I drink green juices and have a salad for lunch and write, then take pictures, then work some more, and sometimes, I get to sit in the quiet garden and read, and listen to the birds that sing restlessly over-emerald shrubbery and sapphire skies; and keep on waiting and hoping upon their Creator for their livelihood. 

I have all your lovely names deciphered now, for those of you who asked. You can find them on a couple of posts below.   I don't know, we may have to open up a new page all by it self just for name aesthetics... what do you think?  It's so much fun! ;)

Thank you for participating and for coming by. I appreciate all of you, and love every comment left behind. Be blessed!

The front porch

Color plays a big part when decorating a porch. It pulls it together and makes it work if you have a pleasing palette.  Ever since we moved to our little white cottage about two years ago, I've been changing the way things look there quite a bit.  From this pretty palette of blues and turquoise, to white, to black.

A cottage will usually have lighter, softer pastel colors, but I wanted to blend things up a little to make it work with the colors of the cottage, which are the whites of the walls, black shutters and the red door.  So this year, I kept the same colors I already had there the previous year.  I only added a few things.  New pillows that are really not new in the whole sense of the word because I got them at a second-hand store, along with this super cute 'old' but new to me, cow throw, which I adore.  And it has all the right colors too!

The focal point and main pop of awesomeness there this year, however, are the lovely Endless Summer, blue hydrangeas, which, after two years of being planted are finally getting established and producing an enormous amount of amazing, beautiful blooms...

The roses on this photograph were starting to bloom, earlier on the year, and things were not as lush as they are right now...  

I love coming here on early mornings.  It's like coming out to a brand new world and stand on the tip of this world to wait on God.  To be welcomed to the new day by the Creator Himself.

Some of the new things I also added to our porch this spring are the two thrift store chairs I painted and upholstered, using a cute little dress.  You can read the story HERE, if you like.

Looking lovely sitting on the porch

The potted geraniums are the same from last year.  They are planted on a smaller pot, that I keep inside the larger pot so I can bring them in during the winter.  I took care of these geranium all throughout the winter.  I never gave up, and they are now doing splendidly...

I have planted hostas in that same bed. These hostas were not doing well last year and had signs of pest infestation, but I am learning.  Hostas are relatively resistant to insects and other pests, but nematodes, weevils, grasshoppers and snails, can make a meal out of these popular perennials.  I am in the look for these critters and removing them by hand.  It is the most effective way..

Red door.  Red geraniums

These inexpensive Halloween, witch's caldrons turned into hanging baskets have some ivy geranium growing in it.  The birds must love them too, for they have chosen to build their nests there.  I was quite surprised the other day as I started to water the pots and a frantic mama bird almost crashed right onto my face... I didn't know she had her nest there and felt so terrible afterwards thinking I could had drown the wee ones...  I still haven't mustered the courage to look in and investigate...

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The Iceberg roses I planted in front of the holly hedge when we moved here are all in bloom right now, bending down with the weight of pearl-white beauties over the path that leads to the front of the house... like a snowy carpet, letting visitors know they're welcome. 

I find that these roses are some spindly things, with long, thin canes and a low profusion of bloom.  I am not too happy with this outcome and haven't been able to figure out why is this so. They get all the necessary amount of sunshine and care, and still seem to resist aiming for excellency.

Petal-covered path love...

And here it is... the cottage surrounded by trees seen from the top of the road... trees bordering all its corners.  It is a circle of perpetually flowering privet trees, surrounding an area of green grass and red roses.  I just can't love it any more... so so in love with our little white cottage and so very thankful for the simple life we live.  

We'll be heading down to FL early tomorrow morning and won't be able to post for a few days, but I will be reading.  It was fun creating the name aesthetics of all your beautiful names...  you can still leave a message on the previous post if you want to have your own name deciphered.  I'll be happy to work on that after we come back....

See you then!

Name Aesthetics

I have decided to dedicated this space as a fun, free etymology and onomastics resource to the meaning of all your lovely names.  Names are deciphered and interpreted by the great Madame Tallulah, but please be aware that nothing here is real, nothing an authentic statement, other that perhaps it is just a fun way to spend a few minutes while you are here.  

Even if you are here just to browse, we hope that you will enjoy a unique spin on a fascinating study field. We invite you to add your name without expecting much of anything; nothing grand, true, or historical in the sense of justice and words.  Just add your comments, and participate in our forums if you wish.

And here with you.... Madame Tallulah! ;)

A crystal ball, river stones, magical cards, a bowl of bones, holy water, rosary beads, an owl, a cat, a bag of seeds, diamond earrings, string of pearls, gold and silver, skirt that swirls, rings of onyx, ruby, sapphire, lithely dance, around the fire, eyes that see beyond this world, a woman, a hag, a crone, a girl, trust, believe, give me something to keep, and I will tell you of what you seek ;)

Leave a message, and our Fortune Teller, Tallulah will gift you with a short aesthetics about all of your beautiful names!  ;)

The Gypsies...

I woke up flat on my back in the middle of a clearing. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. It looked like the forests we had back home, so I immediately called out, "honey where are you?"  Nobody answered.  ¿Where was I?  Should I be worried, or feel concerned?  Why, it was such a beautiful place, trees in the woods were swaying gently under a warm breeze, whispering secrets to my ears and magical words...  I stopped by a bush overflowing with little red berries, sat down by it, and decided to collect some of its fruits....

Then, I heard voices.  Children playing somewhere down below, people's voices becoming whispers in the distance, a song being played on a radio, the smell of food being cooked atop a slow fire, so I started walking down towards where the voices and the smell of food guided me....

The enchanting and exotic songs of unusual birds filled the air, and down below my part of the forest, trees opened up, and I saw the most amazing view right from where I was standing... the sinuous river, like a lady-snake, green and peaceful, running gently throughout the land all the way to where the horizon swallowed it up in a big, dear embrace and I could see it no more. 

Everything was so green and lush and gloriously peaceful and beautiful... but where was I? The minute I saw our "Gypsy Caravan" all memories came rushing back to my mind.  Of course, we were at the Gypsy Camp!  We had been camping, and I just had fallen asleep! 

I run to our 'home away from home'... our "Gypsy Caravan"!  And immediately felt safe, and happy, cocooned in lushness of lavish textures, and rich colors....

The Gypsy Caravan is divided into 4 different sections. The first section is our cooking spot, simply a small fire and some metal baskets to hold all of our food and cooking supplies. 

Most usually, we'd cook outside, but when it is cold, or we just want to heat up water for our late night hot cocoas or teas, or sometimes lattes during our cold movie nights, we use the stove...

The second section is where our table and sitting area is, it is where we read and write and watch movies at night under small lights, all huddled up in our comfy PJs.  It is also where we enjoy our early breakfasts and always, always the best of coffees...

I love how the sun shines through the windows on early mornings...

The third section I've already shown you... it is my 'personal' compartment, where I play and read and sometimes sleep, but only during a short nap during daytime.    

For I always always sleep on the other bed at the other side of the trailer at night... huddled up in the warmth and love of my 'Fisherman'.

He won't sleep on 'frilly beds that's what he says... so I try very hard to keep things pretty simple there... 

...but the views there.... ohhh, they're always the best!

The Fisherman engaged in doing what he likes best...

...but didn't catch a thing... hehe!  Don't tell him I told you, though...

We ate dinner outside...

And slept under the pretties of round moon and the enchanting sounds of an identified creature whose two-toned song sounded to me as if it was saying "went to the river" "went to the river".
  

The Fortune Teller came by to visit late that night...

A crystal ball, river stones, magical cards, a bowl of bones, holy water, rosary beads, an owl, a cat, a bag of seeds, diamond earrings, string of pearls, gold and silver, skirt that swirls, rings of onyx, ruby, sapphire, lithely dance, around the fire, eyes that see beyond this world, a woman, a hag, a crone, a girl, trust, believe, give me something to keep, and I will tell you of what you seek ;)

Hope you've enjoyed our little stay at the gypsy campground!