self care truth no. 2.

holidays bring me home. 

when working for yourself and loving what you do, 

you tend to work a lot.  and all the time. 

i love these days that bring life to an almost hault. 

days that provide space for a new pace.  

where the day is filled with freedom to choose the next pace.  

so i dig in. 

these days remind me of the daily pace i want to have for myself.  i give myself permission to rest.  to clean.  to gather with friends.  to share.  the freedom of spontaneity.  i love. it.  today's time in the garden was soul food.  sitting.  listening.  making good food.  sounds like most any other day, right?  it is.  though it's the permission to do exactly what i want in a given moment that excites me.  to sleep in past 9 ((when has that happenend?)).  to play cards with my boys after a late lunch of hummus, veg, and fruits.  oh, it's a good pace.  it's a good space.  i am thankful for these self care days to just be.  and then to move forward and share presence with friends gathered to be together.

what do the holidays give you that feeds your soul?  

in the garden: signs of summer.

a sweet little harvest on my birthday.  

these tomatoes have made some really good salsa & gaspacho! 

a slice of the garden with boutiful greek oregano + giant rosemary!  

((we'll be dividing this rosemary, offering rosemary for drying to anyone who'd like!))

sunflowers! ((taken by my sweet boy!))

((he takes another! his mother's son.))

and...one almost twice as tall as i! 

in the kitchen: making plum jam.

we love our plum tree for many reasons.  

of course: plums, plums, & more plums.  

our tree has shown us the meaning of abundance.  

preparing the plums you see their beautiful natural color.

making the jam using natural cane sugar & pectin.  oh, my.

plum jam in the morning light.  this was a double-batch, 

one of four ((and more to come)). 

though, my favorite comes only for a short time.

green plums with sea salt.  i think i'll have one now.  

pure delight! 

in the garden: a new first bloom.

what a beautiful bloom from the sarah bernhardt peony recently planted in my garden. 

it's meant to tell a story of friendship.  

may friendship continue to bloom, 

being planted in the proper soil to receive 

just enough light, water, and blessing. 

in the garden: more spring blooms.

calafornia poppy.

great columbine.

coral bells.

lungwort.

clematis.

i love these mornings walking into the garden after morning exercise.  i love witnessing the blooms in various stages of opening.  it's a beautiful gift, the gift of witnessing.  these days i witness blooms in the form of flowers in the garden, budding relationships, connections with kindred spirits & friends, the creative blossoming that comes from the work of our hands, a creative birthing that is taking shape within me, and the beauty of so many stories of others.  there are sacred tasks along life's marking moments.  the ability to witness your own journey with awareness and mindfulness is a gift.  the ability and gift of witnessing the journey, the life story of others is a sacred task.  

while some of the introspective writing has been stilled in many ways on this space, i've been digging deep, listening to my heart.  a clergy friend asked recently what i was most passionate about these days, what lit a fire in my heart.  i was called to attend to that question, and have almost avoided it at times.  i am passionate about so much (according to another dear soul).  i don't want my passions to be so diffused that they are no longer those spaces that really light a fire in my heart.  i want my path to be lined with blooms and goodness.  what i've realized is: it is.  i continue to step into the spaces that i am in love with.  i admit, these spaces will change.  that's why i name what this moment is like.  that's why i'm spending the time recording these marking moments in life.  these sacred spaces where art + spirit + creativity meet.  the spaces where my soul is centered and whole.  where i am fully myself and am embraced as suzanne.  i'm creating that suzanne-sized space that i prayed for so long ago.  now to move closer to some other hopes, which aren't so glamorous, but hold meaning and significance.  

that's one reaon i love the dirt. it's dirt.  it's the space that these blooms thrive within.  the worms underneath are caring for the soil.  they're doing their best under the spaces we tred.  in bereavement work, i'm like the earthworm.  i'm there working in the spaces of the soil of souls where hearts are heavy, stories and memories flow like living water, and the need to move within those sacred spaces is present.  the need to be present, to bring vitamins and nourishment is evident.  in small ways i see the space where the blooms will return, but mostly i witness the dirt.  i see the love and care many put into creating a space for love to continue to grow and for healing to take root.  it's a sacred space.  when i'm tending these spaces, like i did in seven weeks of the last 3 months, i find myself more and more introspective.  i find myself carrying the stories, stitching quietly, practicing yoga, loving my loves, and cooking. i find myself living well in the way i try all days, but also encountering spaces of life in careful, quiet ways.  

today i will move freely, practice sharing, and love deeply.  i'll witness life as birds sing, bringing my awareness into the present moment. i will live into my call, even as i research air conditioning for the studio. i will be. BE. me. 

in the garden: along the front of the house.

the dogwood continues to show its best year.

the clematis is the largest its been. i really need to make a proper space for this to grow tall.  

thinking about how to accomplish a good trellis from repurposed wood in the shed.

my favorite guacamole hosta of my various hostas.  

love, love this plant with its shades of green and large leaves!

sweet coral bells that just opened their blooms, 

with the shadow of some of our tiger lilies. 

 woo hoo! love these!

my japanese poppies returning for their second year. 

i love the shade of these orange beauties.  

they're saying goodnight for the evening in this image, 

but you get the idea of their abundance.

in the garden: spring continues.

a mostly cleared garden space for planting. 

((signs of our giant rosemary plants left and right.))

the cherry is producing the berries.

our irises have started to bloom.  

a while has opened and the purples are soon to follow.  

the blueberry continues to look good.

an armenian cucumber plant growing.  

our greek oregano and a bit of the flowering rosemary.  

this rosemary has bloomed for two years straight, i think.

more oregano, which has been shared again and again.

mint. mint. mint.

mint and a yellow yarrow getting ready for blooming time.

a sweet violet. lovely.

a sign of butterflies to come...

in the garden: spring blooms.

our cherry tree is loaded with blooms. 

each is so beautiful.

the earth bears well, with the earth worms beneath the surface. 

the lime thyme is gorgeous and plentiful.

the blueberry blossoms are so full. 

i cannot wait to see what emerges!

((these were taken a couple of weeks ago but only now posted.  enjoy!))

in the garden: celebrating what's blooming.

pure delight in each bloom unfolded.

how does your garden grow?

peace to you and yours.

the work of our gardening hands: lavender

the lavender is harvested and added to a pitcher made by the hands of my friend ana.

one plant.

stems standing tall.

surveying the harvest of only a portion. you can hardly tell they've been cut. each stem is lovely, each blossom. these will be used in a few ways: in laundry bags, dried & in vases, and in strawberry jam (if i'm not too late!)