Winter Scape Wanderings~ Keeping the Wonder

I hope that your

new year is off to a good start.

I'm sitting here by a crackling fire, 

(that needs a log ;)

drinking tea with my feet up. 

My day started very early today for 

which I'm happy. 

That allowed me to get my work done early

and have creative time.

What a lovely "wintry" winter it's been so far.

Most days, when it's cold and snowy outside,

I can hardly wait to lay footprints

in the brand new blanket of white.

I have such wonderful memories 

of roaming the hills of our farm in Ohio.

That was way back when I was a girl and teenager.

Now the mountain you see invites me to

 wander and roam it's canyons, slides,

draws and ridges. 

If you've visited before, you know that we live

 at the base of a mountain. We call it ours,

but it really belongs to the 

National Forest Service ;)

Some mornings, we are 

awakened by the beautiful

creatures that live alongside of us.

Their antlers scrape the house as they bite off the

grass that grows there.

Last winter, it was so dry, they were drinking from

a hose that was draped in a tree.

They heard the water as it 

trickled down to the ground.

So we are very grateful that the mountains

have several feet of snow.

Aren't they such magnificent creatures?

we never tire of seeing them

but we do have to chase them off at

times because they make a snack

of the things we work hard to grow!

They roam the mountain among the trees. 

I saw them this morning skirting 

across the meadow at the tree line.

The deep snows have driven them to the

lower country to forage.

Here is a Yucca plant.  

Pronounced yoo-ka in Spanish. 

They grow wild here. 

They produce tall spikes of beautiful,

creamy white flowers during the rains!

My son and his wife lived in Ecuador for

 a year and they learned how to

cook the root. He baked us some

 Yucca root fries when we visited 

at Thanksgiving. They were delicious! 

Crispy and chewy.

Being the first snow of the season, makes it extra special. 

 I was blessed with a window that day to take a

luxurious amount of time. All I wanted really. To hike around

and take in the sparkles that wink at you when the sun hits 

each tiny little flake. To breathe in that 
cold, fresh mountain air...
Oh my.

I always want to keep the wonder

that creates excitement over these

tiny miracles that pile up and spread the

beauty of winter over mountains and valleys.

Don't you truly believe that there are those 

special little miracles and wonder in every day?

Something that touches you down deep.

I thought this little dried plant 

was so pretty even in it's simplicity.

Maybe especially because of it.

Simple pleasures.

It looked so frail but yet has held up 

through all the rainstorms and wind

and now it stands through 

the snowstorms, too.

Are we like that sometimes?

We will experience times of feeling fragile 

but we are stronger than we know.

Isn't it so lovely in all it's slenderness 

just holding up that snow 

that's reflecting the light of the sun.

(Some of my pictures are sunny and some cloudy
 because the skies cleared up while I was out.)

Thank you for coming by and sharing in

 my wanderings around the mountain.

I hope I haven't bored you.

I get so caught up in nature and life and can

obsess over the smallest thing!

I'd love to hear about something

 that you have found 

that causes you to stop and wonder.

That makes me think of Mary Poppins!

Enjoying the wonder of the simple

things in life seemed to be part of her very being.

Have a wonderful rest of your week.

Tamara xo

There Was A Time... Shall We Get Back to It?

Hello!

(heart)

Being here feels so foreign after nearly three weeks between posts!

I have missed you and wanted to come and tell you so.

I am trying to  change so many things in my life.

Te be more in tuned to people around me.

I can be so self consumed in the moment.

It has been a beautiful spring here and with the

loveliness of life there has also come the busyness.

There was a time when I was

posting two times a week but I can't seem to stop

overthinking about this and get overwhelmed!

But I'm going to work at getting back to it.

 Spring came early to the mountains and there has been work to do 

outside. The tender care of mulching,

 and weeding. I have to do a sort of plant hovering in the spring

because the baby plants come up and then WHAM!

We get snow and cold temps again.


We had a beautiful, wet snow

the other evening and Liberty and I took a walk and came back dripping wet!

It was so fun and refreshing that I was trying to find reasons to stay outside.

Those walks take me back to my girlhood days when I use

to wander the farm in all kinds of weather.

I do love seeing the new plants popping up and 

the trees heavy with blossoms.

There's also been the sorting and cleaning out of every 

"nook and cranny"! It has felt good but has been a lot of extra work.

But in the midst of the work, I've been having so much fun

 learning new songs and playing a lot of music.

It truly is my #1 obsession!

And I'm excited that there are many singing opportunities

coming up. I enjoy the people so much but

to be honest, I am not a very good performer.

I'm more of a passionate, closet musician. Haha! So, I'm having to learn to 

be more expressive when singing for others.  I always felt like that

was show-offey. But I understand now that it's just enjoying

myself and letting it be about the music not me.

Isn't there always so much to learn?

(the azalea bush that my daughter gifted me for my birthday. 

I love pink!)

 There was a time.. 

I tried song writing. 

Have you ever let something die just because

you felt you weren't good enough?

Maybe it's time to turn that negative thinking around and try again. 

Don't think too much about it. 

Just follow your heart, Dearie!

There was a time ...

when I worked like a crazy person making things..

Well...I have been working on projects again now that

the biggest part of the sorting is done.

I have finished another book page, angel. 

She is woodsy and all about spring!

I will share her soon.

And my late evenings and Sunday mornings are a good time to make cards

for friends and family. Thank yous.. Birthday cards and any other

reason that I can find to make them! I do enjoy paper crafting so much.

Do you have certain times set aside that seem to work for you?

There is a new friend that has taken up residency here... 

I will call him my new studio assistant.

He was a gift from my husband.

He received a very nice bonus from work and he

bought ME a gift :)

He is so very thoughtful and giving!

I will reveal this new little love of mine before too long.

I'm so excited to have him along as my crafting and artistic pal! 

What's been happening with you?

I know that life isn't always fun and exciting.

There are hard things and lots of hard work. 

Even when most of life is going well.

I hope that you're finding the grace and strength to 

work through the hard things and that there are good things

 to bring magic to your days and put a smile in your heart.

Thank you so much for coming by and may your cup 

be full and overflowing.

Tamara XO

A Mix of Fall Blessings~ in Photos

 A warm hello to you on this crisp, fall day. 

I am so grateful for so many reasons.

I try to keep my blog pretty upbeat as I feel there is

always hope and much to celebrate. 

May I say that I have much more hope for our 

country today than I did yesterday.

I understand that politics are very personal but I must say that

I am thankful for the turn out of our presidential election.

Without sharing details, I feel that there is much to be 

thankful for in our country.

And one of those is freedom. 

And you may have heard about the incident involving the shooting of

an AZ police officer and the taking of a 15 year old hostage.

 My son in law is a highway patrolman and was called to assist in the situation.

My 13 year old granddaughter was in the area as well. 

We are 45 miles from where it took place.

And I am just so very thankful for their safe return.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of

the police officer who lost his life. 

He was due to retire in two weeks.

I appreciate the multitudes of brave men and women

who work so hard and sacrifice so much to protect us.

Thank you for bearing with me. It's good to be positive and uplifting

but sometimes the real world needs and circumstances call for our attention.

I have many photos to share with you today.

I hope you enjoy your visit. 

Below is a golden hour walk through the Sugartree woods.

Such beauties in nature. 

The warmth and brilliant color I find in this woodland world

sometimes takes my breath away,

The path that I share with the deer and other wild animals.

Have you ever read Walden by Henry David Thoreau?

It's very fascinating and thought provoking. When I am surrounded by such

beauty in nature, it makes me think of his long walks and obsession with

the outdoors and the simple life.

 Are you familiar with Sweet Stock?

They are some of my favorites. A few years ago, I planted some here but they didn't

do well. The plants were growing in the planter from mid summer but I didn't know what they were. The foliage looked somewhat like Petunias. I let them grow as I

can never pull anything that could be a flower! 

My patience paid off and when I returned from Ohio, 

these beauties were there to greet me! Oh they smell so heavenly and have 

the prettiest, old-fashioned looking blooms! I do hope that they continue

 to come back and grace my yard with their loveliness.

 Here are a few shots from The Narrows in New Mexico.

 Such majestic and gorgeous formations. 

 I made many new kitty friends while in Ohio. This sweet fellow came to 

visit me during my quiet times in the Sugartree gypsy camp.

The others were all met while shopping. 

They were sort of store greeters! There were three in all. 

It was so charming to have them follow 

me around while I shopped.

Do you enjoy backroads?

I do. 

Honestly, this is one of my favorite things about being

in Ohio. Such rustic charm and it's so peaceful.

I have so many girlhood memories of dirt roads.

Picking wildflowers and visiting neighbors.

I road my horse, walked and bicycled for miles all over the countryside.

My wanderings began when I was about 10 years old and

I love to wander still~

Here we are back in AZ.

 This is the last of the tomatoes and I had some fun with

gathering herbs and flowers around the yard to make this arrangement.

Aren't nature and gardening glorious?

And so beautiful how they blend together in perfect harmony.

I have been working every spare minute that I can on Christmas

offerings to sell and give away. I have also

been working on some pie pumpkins to give as gifts.

The past two weekends were so fun as we had the kids over for a 

big breakfast with all the fixins and fried apples too!

It was a lovely time.  We also had a fall party one evening.

It was complete with a bonfire, with the gypsy camp trails all aglow

with white and orange twinkle lights and caramel apples for dessert.

We adults played some music and sang around the fire while the kids

ran the lighted trails like wild Indians!

It was VERY chilly but so fun!

I hope you've been enjoying your autumn. 

I'd love to hear about  what you've been doing.

Thanksgiving is just a round the corner!

I have a simple project to share next time.

Have a wonderful week and thank you for your visit.

You are all so special and I appreciate you so much!

Hugs,

Tamara

This Gypsy's Early Morning 'Air Frais' Devotions ~

 It's 6:30 AM and I'm being called outside..

It's my gypsy heart that says

"Come on! Let's meet with the early morning. We can greet Him and the sun

with fresh energy and an open heart to begin the day."

The air is cool and smells of pine needles that blanket the ground under my feet.

One of those scents that I wish that I could bottle and save forever.

 I start a fire and the wood is damp from the rain..

the smoke billows and as it rises, assumes the form of the rays of the sun 

as they shine through the trees.

 I light the candles. 

 I have a little jar of dried flowers that I've saved to bring out as a

small offering of my gratitude for all the beauty that surrounds me and the 

blessings that abound in my life.

 There's a breeze but the candle in the wind burns strong..

I sit quietly and with a thankful heart. I think about God's faithfulness and the

the goodness of the earth and the richness of my life.

 There's just something so serene and reverent about being among the trees.  

It's as if every negative and stressful thought just seems to roll off and disappear

and peace rolls in like a slow moving train.

Steady and strong and sure.

It's the perfect place. 

For me.

I've always been that way. As a young girl, I would roam 

the hills and woods for hours at a time.

Rain... snow or  sunshine..

Beauty and blessings..

Every moment of every day.

They're always there.

Words from one of my favorite worship songs called 

All the Earth

All the earth will declare 
That Your love is everywhere 
The fields will exalt seas resound 
Hear the trees' joyful cry 
Praising You and so will I

You can listen to it here

Perfect illumination..

******************************

The AZ monsoons have started and the skies have been beautiful

all dressed in their layers of fluffy ruffles.

My flowers are loving the summer rains..

Colorful fabrics all washed and ready for projects!

I was so excited to find this little stack of joy at the flea for a dollar a yard.

Bliss~

I've been thinking pillows since I brought this fun fabric home!

They would look so festive with the white pom pom trim that I just ordered

from Wal-Mart. It was a GREAT price. I was going to share it with you but it's no

longer available at that price. But I found another source here

that sells 12 yards of 1 1/8" trim for $16. 

I love pom poms... and lace and seam binding...... ;)

Do you have a favorite trim?

Wishing you a wonderful week and 

many thanks for coming by!

TAMARA xo