On a snowy day...

On a day like this... 

What is there better to do than this...

And my little garden friends?

There's nothing quite like that first crunch in a fresh, untouched layer of snow, and it seems I’m not the only one who takes pleasure in a snowy day. Mourning doves, chickadees, nut hatches, juncos—they are everywhere, dashing from tree to tree; from snow clump to snow clump.

Mourning doves; those permanent dwellers of the garden came wearing new puffed-up exuberant coats of feathers

Filling the garden with their magic, and in their flight bringing wishes of peace and the beauty of life, the warmth of the sun, the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of a family and the triumph of love.

It is the flight of winter and its magical song...

And it is like a fantasy kingdom of ice out there... It is like going through a magical doorway to find yourself stumbling into this enchanting place where every tree branch is an icicle beaming magic under fair rays of light…

Squirrels have gone mad attacking the birdfeeders and quarrelling among each other.  Four of them were feeding from one same feeder at one point!

Of course, snowy days are perfect for cocooning yourself in your favorite room with piles of colorful pillows and favorite books!

A time to fill your room with pretty things too!

And I don't know about you, but when it snows I feel this magical desire in me to bake!

So I baked an apple tart and ate it too!

With my favorite cup of coffee and a book to read.

Bad or good, these are some of my favorite things to do on a snowy day...  Do you have a favorite pastime you like to do on a cold, snowy day?  Whatever you do, or like to do, make sure you enjoy each moment of it, for that's all we have in life; moments.  Everything else is uncertain.

See you soon Friends!

After the holidays

And where has time gone? A whole week without coming here is like an entire week sleeping. Or being without food, or water.  And all those dear people we looked forward to seeing and spend time with them, and all those things we planned to do and all that food I wanted to try and make, and all the places we wanted to visit—everything, is in the past now.  Time. Like a petal in the wind, flows softly, and yet it disappears so quickly.  Every life is but a minute in time, but each so important. And the garden—the garden is a myriad of leaves, and petals immutable in the rhythms of time.

Everything speaks of decay and death, yet there's so much beauty in it, so much life in all death, and I find my spirit soaring above all... in faith and hope and all good things.

I sit outside under the chilly morning, and wait for the Mourning doves to come...

...and they do! They'd always come and ignite the magic...

I find so much solace in my special place; my garden, my sanctuary... always an evidence of faith, linking us with all the misty figures of the past who also loved Nature and nurtured it and planted it and were nourished by the same emotions that sustain my soul today...

We got a new Christmas tree today and now, hundreds of miniscule lights light up our front windows and embellish our living room, filling it with magic and dainty delicate light… I love it so much!

Thanksgivings

Our heater decided to stop working the other evening… we tried turning on our gas fireplace to warm up the house, but strangely, it wasn’t working either… then, we closed the door to our bedroom, went to sleep under heated blankets, and spent the most wonderful, cozy night ever.  In the morning, outside our bedroom the rest of the house felt freezing, as if the doors to the outsides had been left opened throughout the night. 

The heating and cooling systems guys came by that following morning around 10, and had everything working again.  The house started warming up slowly, but steadily, while my favorite music filled each room with the peaceful tales and musical tones of the Native American flute.

I watered and fertilized all my plants after that, making sure those that require the more humidity got properly misted too.  They are all doing wonderful, but trying to keep these many plants alive during our dry cold winters is not easy, I can tell you that...

Then, I decided to bake something extra yummy! Spinach and artichoke Puff Pastry Pinwheels!

And of course, a cup of coffee in a sprinkle of cinnamon to go with it too! 

 

What is it about cold weather that makes you want to bake?  Do you feel that way too?  Later, after I finished my morning snack I went upstairs to ‘declutter’ my gypsy room a bit…

I am super excited these days, because our Florida family will be spending an entire week with us this Thanksgivings—a miracle, I’d have to say!  You see, on all those long and forgotten past years since we lived here in the house in the roses they had never visited during our cold weather seasons.  In fact, this will be the very first time ever my sister Lissette and her husband will visit our northern home... she has a serious problem flying you know, and had never set a foot on an airplane again since that day an eternity ago when our little family came to the US from Spain.  She might have to be drugged to get here, but hopefully she’ll be fine.  We need a lot of prayers I can tell you that much!

She and her husband will be sleeping in our main guest room, but Papi (dad) will have to stay in my gypsy room the poor guy! Lol  

We bought two top mattresses, and made a daybed out of an old couch.  It feels super comfortable, and I know that because I've already slept there!  So I hope he'll like it too!

It feels so comfy and homely here, and I love it!  I love my bed placed against the wall.  Our bed in our master bedroom is nothing like that, but ever since I was a little girl I've always felt more secured and sheltered when my bed is placed against the wall.  I tend to sleep better, and I don't know why that is.

I don’t know how dad is going to take it, but I have a feeling that sleeping under the watchful eye of Frida Kahlo all night long it isn't going to be of his liking… 

...neither would be having to live among so many plants... all that amount of plants I had winterizing there!  Thus, I felt obliged to take part of my dear geraniums out and just let them succumb to the merciless cold nights outside.  What pity, but I didn’t have any other place to put them.

Is your Christmas tree up yet?  Have you been decorating for the holidays already?  I'll be super busy coking and washing lots of dishes for the entire next week, and possibly more because some of our kids are coming too!  But how very blessed I feel.

Is a sacred, joyful time of the year, but also a time of bittersweet moments too, and I already know that there will be moments when all of the happiness, all of the magic of these blissful hours will flow together into these stirring, bittersweet memories and will flow away, becoming temporal and transitory once more.  I miss you so much mom.  Nothing will ever be the same without you anymore.

Winter is here

We woke up this morning to our first frost of the year.  Shrubs and rose bushes were covered in tiny particles of ice, and the delicate vines looked something like frozen spinach out of the freezer.  I’m afraid that my daily strolls through the garden have come to an end for now, and sitting outside to observe Nature for hours while I let sunshine dowse against my skin, is done too.  I must not forget, thought, that I still have the warmer hours of the afternoons to enjoy, cozy blankets and the firepit.  So from time to time I will still come out here to refuel and count my joys.   

The sky, too, is growing darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of winter nights.

The mourning doves resembling angels—extravagant and silvery and magical have been coming to the garden every day...

...to feed off the garden's floors and serenade my life.  

And the chickadees and juncos keep foraging the garden for food too; almost invisible against the red autumn leaves scattered in colorful dreams along flowerbeds.  Can you find them?  

How lovely the days are, how beautiful Nature and the time spent nurturing my quiet soul with visions of the undisturbed beauty found in my natural surroundings… simple things, big sentiments, a whole lot of joy in small occurrences. Oh, let us never forget that whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.

Peace and blessings to you, my friend!~