Frightening times...

Dear little house of my soul called “Blog”. I haven’t abandoned you, really. Forgotten you? Never. You know that!

I have been busy… busy busy—at times frightened, grumpy, teary and sometimes… sometimes I just sit around and think and pray… pray for the world, for those who are suffering and for the protection of those I love. But mainly, I work…

Did you know dear little house of my soul called “Blog” that I’ve been back to a regular office work? Yes, I have. For a while now. My entire days consist of being in a cubicle in front of a computer. Of course, with the amazing luck of now being situated just right across the floor-to-ceiling windows, outlooking the landscape outside where mourning doves sit on tree branches and robins make their nests and serenade my days…

Walls are high enough to shown me away from the view outside while I’m sitting down, but I can still see the sky above and if I stand or go around my cubicle, all those amazing windows are there… always letting all that light in, nourishing my soul and caring for my plants. And the most amazing thing of all this is: Gloria can’t shut these shutters on me anymore. No sir!

You see, this is my new space now. But it wasn’t so when I first started. Our office space was rearranged at the beginning of this year and some of us got to be moved around. I ended up sitting here now, right at a corner angle facing the northern windows with no other cubicles alongside. What luck!

My previous office space was situated on the other side of our office, outlooking only the parking lot and I was neighboring with Gloria. Every morning when beautiful sunlight was pouring in filling each space with joy and blessings, Gloria would stand up and shut the shutters with a heavy hand, leaving my little space in shadows. What disappointment that used to be. But that is in the past now. 

Dear little house of my soul called Blog, didn’t I told you it wasn’t going to be easy working with people again? It isn’t, and it never will be, but here I am… how lucky can I be! To have this amazing spot now, away from Gloria and from everyone else… it is like having my own little garden where I can just be. 

Although I may be still surrounded by others and people’s cubicles are still all around me, mine sits in this precious corner along those open large windows that nobody cares to shut on me… 

I tried to make my little office/cubicle as cozy and as close to my personality as much as I can. So, I have filled the space with plants, books and little lights, just like I do at home. Supervisors and people love it, and even come around from time to time just to see and feel the coziness of my little home outside home. 

This past Wednesday we were finally sent home. After our State Governor issued a mandatory closedown, we sent out messages and shut down phones and computers. Before 5:30 pm everyone was out of the building. These are scary times we’re living. At such times the universe gets a little closer to us. These are strange times, times of beginnings and endings. Dangerous and powerful. The outcome depends in Whom we have believed!

Stay safe, wherever you are!  And God bless!

The orange room

For a long, long time, I’ve been wanting to make a boho garland… you know the ones—you tie strips of fabric on a string and tie and tie and tie and there you go…

But I haven’t had the time to make one… then, some time ago, to our local mall came a new boho store and I went crazy the other day looking at all the pretty things they got there.  When I discovered the super long super pretty boho strings made out of beautiful pieces of fabric on a string of beads, I almost screamed out of joy.  Ahhh, and the boho clothing they have!  And scarves and beautiful rocks and beautiful boho jewelry… the store is called “Earth Bound”, and I left carrying with me an extra-long extra beautiful garland to put above our extra-large low bed in our gypsy room… I added some fake greenery on top of it and I’m loving it all!

That same day, I also went to Ross and bought two of these lamps… they look so bohemian and chic at the same time. I love that the top part is see-through and the light that shines through is so pure and bright. The base part is sturdy marble.

Since I was in one of my decorating moods, I also rearranged the art on walls, added more plants to the room and then on Sunday I found these lovely velvet pillows at Target and almost die again… they had been reduced and they are huge and soft and they’re my favorite color too!  They’re so, so pretty!

They look so perfect and pretty in our gypsy room…

Another week went by, and this weekend I kept adding more pretty things to my pretty gypsy room.  This is an excuse, I know, but you know how it goes, you spend your days in an office on your 10-hour job the entire week, then comes the weekend and what can you do on cold gloomy rainy foggy nasty winter days when you can’t work on your garden or can’t go to the park and so on?  Well, you go shopping of course.

This Friday, I visited a craft store… one of my favorite places ever to shop! It’s called the Craft Warehouse, and they have so so many pretty things… way better than Hobby Lobby I can tell you that!  Oh I wanted to take the entire store with me.  It felt so springy and outdoorsy there with all the litter birds and frogs, fountains, flowers and lights… all sorts of magical lights!  My love for gardens and gardening came alive and it rekindled in a second as I strolled halls after halls of beautiful things.

I came home with a beautiful string of tiny lights, branches with little fairy lights in it and green branches and fake greenery you name it...

I changed the throw to a black and white one

OK, that's it for now! Ummm, I'm wondering what I'll do next.  One thing I can tell you is that birds are everywhere these days, and two Sundays ago was the day when the Robins returned home. It always happens every year around this time—the entire neighborhood gets inundated by them, and in your yard, they are everywhere hopping around or flying from tree to tree by the dozens. I have also started working on the garden… slow, very slow and not for long.  But I’m already getting excited by the prospect of spring and flowers and lovely warmth.

Are you seeing any signs of spring where you live? Enjoy each moment my friend!

Our first gypsy trip of the year

Some people around here were saying that it was going to warm up this weekend, and thus, we got ready and droved our gypsy home on wheels all the way to the desert….

It wasn’t.  It wasn’t warm at all.  In fact, it was colder than normal, colder even than those few days at the end of January when the sun came out—strong, and rubicund, and warmed up the earth for a few hours, permeating it with a new joy.  

Cold, and so windy it was, that we were not even able to open the awning of our gypsy caravan for fear that it could blow away.  We stayed inside all day long Friday; reading and writing and doing this and that...  

In the afternoon, I worked on adding new tiles to my little kitchen...

It turned out so beautiful... and better that my first time trying, when I used flooring tiles... remember?

I loved these black and white tiles so much, but they were too thick and heavy and they didn't stick too well to the walls, they were always falling off... so I removed them.

We cooked our meals inside this time—we usually never cook inside, because we like to keep our gypsy home free of stinky smells and such, and only cook our early breakfast of toasts and coffee inside, but this time we had to keep away from strong winds, and cooked all of our meals inside. 

 

Then, I sat down to rest... and daydream...  

Our gypsy caravan felt so cozy and warm inside... 

I really didn't care how windy or cold it was outside

Ollie the owl kept me very warm and cozy at night... and the Fisherman too.

On Saturday morning after breakfast we put on our big coats and went for our usual walk in the desert all the way down to the sundial.  We were surprised to find how much the landscape had changed during the winter months.  Winter had totally changed the topography of the desert in so many ways. The many silvery and glossy leave plants were all gone and much of the sagebrush had been moved or shifted by intense winds, leaving some areas of the desert emptied or naked, while others, such as the trails people usually take were completely covered, to the point that we almost lost of tracks... you could see the tumbleweeds awkwardly moving throughout the desert floor like some sad souls.  The desert, it is so strange, and lovely. 

Plants and more plants

I hear the garden calling my name—there’s so much to do out there… yet, I’m so not ready for any of it.  My little creative soul keeps wanting to create something and the only thing I can think of is adding more plants to my already plant saturated home… so I’m been doing that.

I’m also dreaming with making one or two terrariums… or a candle holder or a pinecone store or a small garden in a glass.  Whatever you can call it! 

I particularly like this idea...

There are many kinds of plants to pick from, that work very nicely with terrariums and sometimes, even using fake greens to create you inside garden can add charm and a natural feel to your rooms…  

I have been experimenting with a water garden, which consists of adding water to a pretty thrift store bought jar and placing your cuttings in it…

First, I bought a few things from the dollar store to embellish my jars—small river rocks, some colored stones, the ones you use for plants, cacti and succulents bedding and things like that.  I also bought two containers of the clear water beads vase fillers… they are like gel water pearls, and they come in an assortment of colors… I just liked the clear ones.  These things float and are perfect for floral decorations.  And that’s it!

Later, I decorated an old silver tray by placing a piece of wrapping paper on it and look at how pretty everything looks now!  To the tray I also added a string of pinecones, my peace rock, some fake pearls and I’m so loving this! Oh and I’m thinking I also need to add some fairy lights for a warm ambient at night… what do you all think?