Feeling the Christmas magic...

"It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas; soon the bells will start, and the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing right within your heart.”

I have been feeling happy, silly, feeling the joyfulness of the season stirring up in my soul; already wrapping up the gifts of time and love within my heart in preparation for the days ahead, and I've been enjoying decorating our little white cottage for the holidays, and now it looks like a house of lights; a big Christmas tree of sorts where each room and furniture is a Christmas ornament and bauble. 

Outside birds are everywhere, and more active than usual with all their comings and goings in wings of reds.  There were so many cardinals reunited in one same tree this morning, that they resembled Christmas ornaments on naked tree branches against the muted colors of the wintry landscape.

Then this afternoon swirls of leaves everywhere... strong winds passing through our neighborhood whipped up a little hurricane of cinnamon and pumpkin-colored leaves... leaves dancing everywhere, heaps of leaves being lifted from the floors and blowing down from trees, instilling in me the desire to be part of this fanfare in which Nature entertain itself. 

The Fisherman surely knows how to make me happy and the other day surprised me with the entire universe in red and green.  Of course, that's how I see it, but it really is just a star night laser drawing millions of tiny stars all over our little white cottage's exteriors... on trees, bushes, and furniture... even our living room and part of the kitchen gets inundated with the little red and green stars coming in straight from the large windows....

I'm elated, as you can imagine and cannot stop going outside in the purest and most creepy of darkness to just see how enchanting our little white cottage looks outside... out of a fairytale book! Everywhere I look, and all I see, is simply pleasing to my senses...

“Christmas now surrounds us, happiness is everywhere.  

Our hands are busy with many tasks as carols fill the air.”

Have you started decorating your home for the holidays yet? In our living room I still have that same old Christmas tree I spray-painted a few years ago; still looking good and still the only one I can fit in there.  This year, I wanted something really simple, something maybe unique, but always pretty. So I just wrapped some burlap ribbons around the branches, added lots of pinecorns from our woods to give it that organic look and feel I love, and top it all with strings of starry glove Christmas lights.  I love it so much!  A smaller tree sits in my tiny kitchen and another one outside.  I'll be showing you more pictures soon!

Hope you're having a wonderful week.  Hugs to all!

LINKING TO:

MONDAY

Monday Social @ Botanic Bleu

Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House

TUESDAY

Home for Christmas
The Scoop @ StoneGable

Tuesdays At Our Home @ Our Home Away From Home

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Show and Share @ Coastal Charm


WEDNESDAY

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Homemade and handcrafted
Gratefully Vintage

Life...

Days come, days pass.  We move on.  Life is that carrousel that never stops, isn't it?  And thus, another Thanksgiving is to be treasured in the pages of our memories.  This morning we said our goodbyes to those sweet dear ones of my life who were staying with us this past week and saw them part. My heart is picking up the remnants of what is left in me—the usual ambivalent emotions; this blend of mixed feelings and combination of warmth and connection to these past happy days of togetherness as well as a tinge of loss.  And it is something like the empty nest syndrome in my heart, life longings, and intense, bittersweet, inspiring, and sometimes unfulfilled emotions.  And the little white cottage sits back and watch me as I go from here to there trying to collect my life back.  And it feels clean, and empty in the bittersweet, quieted atmosphere in which it basks.  Everything is back to its normal estate of cleanliness and order, and the solitude my soul requires has set in.

Everything is back in its customary place, and we have cleared off a place in the garage under the windows to place all those flower pots and plants that need winterizing, because days are getting chilly to the bones, and all my sweaters, scarves and boots have been brought out too.  The geranium pots will be adorning our dining room/sun room for the winter and I'm already loving the pop of red brightening up my wintry mornings.  Life is so fragile.  My heart is fragile, but I try to hide this really well, and pretend it is not.  The Fisherman and I have some leftover turkey for lunch again today, and it was good and comforting and I'm going to believe that it is all well with my soul... I'm putting up the Christmas tree this afternoon, and tomorrow will be the nets and lights on the holly hedge and front porch.    

I am thankful for so much, thankful for every moment and every loved one in my life.  I want to write about the power of love, because I want to be okay with failing to love, to really and deeply love in that deepness of holiness where selfishness is shattered in self-sacrifice.  I write about joy because I'm frightened by sorrow and I want to talk about faith because I fight with every inch of my soul to keep mine alive and I don't know exactly why I'm telling you all these things, and perhaps I shouldn't, and you should not have to care, or understand me or even offer a thought... and oh well... yes, it is well, it is well with my soul.

Home

After what it felt like a very, very long time away from home, we have finally arrived.  Up the hill it waited for us the little white cottage... like a pearl in a sea of cinnamon leaves, basking under the autumnal sun. 

If you look at the little white cottage from the top of the hill to where its foundations rest you may think that the maple trees, oaks and bald cypresses have swallowed it up in a great big gulp, and everywhere you look you'd be surprised and your eyes gifted with the colors of pumpkins, cinnamon and clove...

I am looking forward to the upcoming days ahead... days of gatherings, and small acts of kindness, apple pies, a hug, a kiss, an invitation to talk... and every single rose growing in my garden to lift up my heart into praises of thanksgivings and gratitude...

Ah yes, down below the trees in a glowing cloud of burning leaves, grow these November roses... 

This astonishes me... it is like a little miracle of sorts, and although it is true that bushes won't grow as profusely as they'd do in June, the fact is that I'm still bringing in roses from the garden this late in the year.

When the sunny days of summer pass, and flowering plants lose their leaves and cease to bloom and gardens up north become dull and colorless, my little garden is still producing blossoms throughout the fall, despite seasonal changes.  In fact, now that insects, humidity and summer plagues are behind, my roses are looking healthier than ever... love this suppleness of green, perfect leaves.   

And while roses bloom, other plants glow in yellow leaves that are tinged pink.  

Our little world has been lit with all the autumn blaze of goldenrod.  Showers of leaves have been pouring down while in our absence, and now every inch of ground in our front yard where the big trees are closest is covered.  

I wanted to just let leaves stay where they fall, but we're expecting more loved ones over for the holidays, so this afternoon mom, dad and the Fisherman helped me rake and move away all that thick layer of leaves that was covering up the front yard. My heart is overflowing with thanksgivings and celebration of divine goodness... for roses in November and health that still allows us the making of memories and good moments among the not so goods.  Thankful for dear ones and togetherness that unites us, gives us security, much-needed support, and that sense of belonging that encourages us to love one another.  My mother's illness has started claiming more of her and more of us all... there's no light at the end of the tunnel. I don't want to think about bad things or dwell on the negative, but my heart dances around those thoughts and feelings like moths to a flame.  I'm frightened.  To watch her decline in her ability to take care of herself it is heartbreaking.

I hope you all have a blessed thanksgiving.  Be thankful for what you have, and let those around you know how very special they are to you.  See you soon.

Tampa

The Fisherman and I love Tampa and the Tampa Bay area, on the west coast of Florida.  We get to go there often, and I always look forward to these visits with great anticipation.  We love almost everything about Tampa... the proximity of the sea, the vibe of the modern city, its tropical climate, and light winter winds... 

At the resort where we are staying some go around in their golf carts, some are seen in groups of threes or fours playing golf and looking at distances to determine par for a hole, while others scramble the green grasses along the banks of the lake trying to find the best spot to fish.  As for the 'Dreamer', she's happy to follow behind her Fisherman, as she hunts for treasures and collects gifts left behind for her by the Natural world... birds, pelicans, tropicbirds, egrets and blue herons and the awesome flora of the Bay. 

Trees, flowers, shrubs, groundcovers, and vines are a truly paradise to my heart.  I can never have enough of such colors, leaves and forms that never die...

I am never left without a feeling of awe and wonder when I'm before those ancient, giants trees of the Tampa area... There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of branches that resemble prehistoric beasts or in the trembling of a leaf.

You almost feel you are in some prehistoric Jurassic park when walking by them...

But my favorite... oh my favorite trees of all would have to be those southern live oaks and bald-cypresses...

...magical trees they are, I should say.  Surely trees pertaining to the fairytale family of trees which can only grow in fantasy stories.  These magical trees grow witches' hair that hang from their branches in full sun through partial shade.  People may call it Spanish moss, or beard lichen, but oh I know that in fact Spanish moss is neither a moss nor a lichen.  It is authentic witch hair!  

If you may believe me, these trees are responsible for gifting witches around the world their fair amount of witch's hair... thus, gifting some with more, some with less as they see it fit...

And yes, these are the silly things I'd do in a golf resort filled with golfers from every part of the world who by now may be thinking I'm a total nuts, and these are the stories I fabricate as I follow my Fisherman around the lake, who by the way, I should say, had been blessed by all the gods and goddesses of the lake, including those humongous alligators we've seen there with the catch of his life!

We could almost believe what was happening.  This was such a humongous bass that at the beginning I thought the Fisherman was pulling out an alligator...  I scream so loud and laugh so much out of my joy that a few golfers had to come by and see and even take a picture or two...  I'm so happy for the Fisherman as this has been his dream for years!  Of course, we threw the bass right back into the water where he belongs...  but at least I have all those pictures to prove this ever happened!  A Fisherman's true dream!

As much as I like all the fun time we're having here, I'm already missing our little white cottage and dreaming with returning to it.  Soon I'll be putting out all those Christmas trees and decorations and making our nest a cozy, happy place to be.  I hope to see you around then! ;)