Posts from the ‘Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day’ Category

Nov 14

Coming Unstuck on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

I received a sweet message from my friend, Brenda Miller, wanting to know where I was, because I had not blogged in so long. A full month since I’ve been here, and a busy month. We had a precious visit from family on the Matlock side, lots of time sitting on the porch, and picking up pecans and cracking them. Pecan season has come and just about gone. We got a pretty good harvest, despite the drought.

There was before that the email-hacking, and that had set me off kilter. I was on internet-stress already. (Do you think that’s a new disease of modern times?) Then my mother became ill and required attention. We are the sandwich generation, with a parent on one side and grandkids on the other. There were multiple fun fall festivals (aka Halloween for our generation), and after that weekend, I was ready to collapse.

Fall has come in, almost gone now, too. Of course, we don’t get the color of you Northern gals, but we do get a softly changing season.

The sweet olive tree has blessed, and amazed, us by blooming three more times in the past four weeks.

And today we harvested our satsuma oranges from trees planted just the past spring. Ah, the sweet citrusy scent brings back memories of the tangerines we would always find in our Christmas stockings.

Between caring for grandkids, my mother, and life on earth in general, I have scant time and mind for my writing, and what time there is I focus on my new book project. In these weeks I’ve finished the first third, as well as synopses for 3 books of a new series, all submitted to my agent for her review. Meanwhile, I press on. I’ll tell you, if there’s nothing else you can do, just keep on going in the general direction you hope for. It was E.L. Doctorow who said: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” This is true of life, too.

I keep writing. I would really like to have the entire book finished before submitting to a publisher. I want the freedom. I want to practice writing as a discipline that hones my craft, helps me understand more about me, builds my confidence and nourishes my creativity.

I hear the question: How can you need more discipline for all that after over thirty years of writing and over thirty books published? Haven’t you got it down yet?

No.

Coming back to this blog I’m facing a lot of things that have troubled me in the past month–my lack of energy, being torn in a thousand directions in a life as wife, daughter, Nana, friend, chief cook and bottle washer. I want to find my place, and I feel like I do, and then slip promptly off again. This is my life.

So, just for today, I’ve come here again, the writing bringing me back, as it always does. I’m grateful to be helped along by friends like Brenda…and by Napkinwriter Sue, who wrote a great post ‘Stuck’ all about ways to get unstuck…and Carol, who so generously hosts the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day each month. Drop over to May Dreams Gardens and check out the other posts by creative gardeners and writers.

Blessings,
CurtissAnn

Oct 15

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Learned Lessons on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

It’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day for November! (Lordy, did you see that? I skipped a month! I imagine you can relate. I’m already looking at Christmas gifts– yet sweet olive is blooming here, again!)

Sweet olive blooms are more white the second blooming, and smell just as delicious.

I cannot recall the name of this rose, but it is one of the antique roses.

I learned the past week: Don’t give up. Good surprises are always just around the corner, like sweet olive blooming a second time, and oxalis in the shade, and this pink rose that has kept repeatedly blooming since the spring.

I learned that those little flowers the grandchildren like to pick for Nana, which I think are wild garlic all over the yard in the spring, actually have the lovely scent of cloves in the fall.

And that we have what I take for wild morning glories growing on the fence row! These are brand new, so unexpected, growing in ditches around the neighborhood, too ~

I learned the past week that no matter how hard one tries, the unexpected not-so-good happens, too. My email was broken into, someone from Brazil logged into it, imagine that. This thief of peace and security sent two emails with links either to virus pages or simply unsavory sites to the majority of my contacts. As a dear friend pointed out, though: “…I figure masked marauders could also break into my house at any time, and I don’t go around worrying about that.”

I learned, too, that God uses it all, even the distressing events, to bring good into my life. From the mailbox break-in, I finally began making some needed changes to my life. I’m spending less time on the internet and more time writing, reading, playing in the real world.

So we learn, do what we can, and go on enjoying life, which is the point of it all.

Visit May Dreams Gardens to see other Garden Bloggers Bloom Day participants. The GBBD posts are havens of peace all around the world.

Sep 14

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Sweet Olive and Other Lights for Bloom Day

I am flabbergasted. This morning I thought of the sweet olive blooms that come in the fall. I thought it too early, that they would come late October. Then, surprise!

These blossoms are quite yellow at present, when in the past they've been more white. They grow on the 'woody' branch, at the juncture of branches and leaves. The sweet fragrance is strong and divine!

I've discovered a water lily is one of life's most beautiful and toughest blooms.

The sweet olive blossoms and this water lily are about it for us now. Both usually go far into fall and winter here, but, remembering the wisdom of Shel Silverstein: “Anything can be…”

My world is a most beautiful place, even without blooms. These are taken from a morning bike ride around the neighborhood:

Great live oak in morning light.

I’m posting these early for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, held each 15th of the month. Tomorrow, jump over to May Dreams Gardens to visit other participating bloggers. My thanks to Carol for starting this enjoyable event and continuing to host.

Blessings, CurtissAnn