The Common Chive...Simple Elegance in the Garden: My Country Life

~Happy Monday~

 My chives have caught my

eye so many times this spring

and I've taken extra care in 

watering them to keep

them lush and flowering.

They have thanked me ever so much 

with their lasting, cheerful blooms.

Simple elegance.

Delicate, fragrant stems

and lovely, purple blooms of

the Common Chive.

They are very easy to grow

and care for but add such beauty

and joy to my garden.

 Such delicious flavor

when used to 

compliment my food.

I am grateful for this simple pleasure.

Best wishes for your day.

Tamara

XO

Sharing Adventures and Passions Through A Series

Hello everyone. 

I hope you've had a wonderful week. 

Today, I'd like to tell you about

 something that I'm adding to my blogging.

 I had mentioned it

in my Grow Your Blog post.

It's going to be a little bit

different than I had

originally stated and intended. 

I want to begin to share

more of my 

inspirations and passions

in my very blessed everyday life.

 But I didn't want to do it in 

 random way.

I always felt like it all needed

to be connected somehow.

Like on a page. 

I had mentioned pages but have been 

unsure how to create 

it the way I wanted. 

And so, instead of publishing pages, 

I'm going to share the different 

subjects in an on-going series format.

I don't know exactly how many but

there will be several and 

I will do my best to make them 

inspiring and interesting!

Things that I dream about and 

see and work at.

Revelations.

Experiences.

On-going projects.

Words~Quotes.

Pictures.

Faith.

(And as always, 

the loveliness of life!) 

 I've decided to give them

 some fun names. Here are a

couple that I've decided on:

 ~Our Wanderings: Travel

~ The Ladybug Chronicles: Nature Findings

~ A Woodland Gypsy Camp:  Building A Place to

Play and Party 

~The Shabby Gypsy: Growing the Business  

I already have an Art Inspiration series.  

  

 There will be one about our music.

The music that I and my 

family enjoy and play for ourselves and 

sometimes share with others.

 I haven't chosen a name 

for that yet. And of course, I will continue

with the craft and art projects as well.

Each post will be proceeded by the series 

name to make it easier for folks to

recognize what the post

will pertain to. Doing this

 will help me organize my writings

and hopefully make it easier for

 others to follow along

if they would like to.

I hope that this all makes sense

and will make my blog a more useful 

and inspiring place to visit!

The first series to begin is 

Our Wanderings: Travel.

I'll be sharing some photos from 

our recent anniversary trip 

to San Francisco. What a time we had.

Unforgettable and perfect!

And soon to follow is 

The Ladybug Chronicles as

I begin to share about our three little

cotton tail bunnies that my daughter and

I are raising. They are just 

thee cutest things!  :)

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

It's Friday.

Which at our house means 

Movie Night! 

We pop real popcorn,

 slice apples and cheese and

 then grab the box of wheat crackers

and Hot-n-Spicey Cheez-its...

 enjoy a movie or two together

and sleep in on Saturday morning.

This has been our tradition 

for 28 years!

I'd love to hear about a tradition of yours!

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Blessings and hugs,

Tamara 

Thrift Store Baskets to Treasure-Filled Mother's Day Gifts

Hello everyone and Happy Saturday..

Many of us went to breakfast this morning

at our favorite place. 

Trail Riders.

They make a breakfast like

none I've ever had.

Huevos Rancheros

Beans and shredded beef

cooked together and smothered with

green chili sauce and cheddar,

annnd... topped with eggs..

And THEN it's broiled to perfection!

It was a delicious meal with

wonderful family fellowship!

I really love time like that together.

It's a very cool weekend in the White

Mountains. It even snowed a bit this morning.

 I did some watering and took a breezy walk.

In spite of the weather,

I wanted to "play outside".

It's probably my need to have some quiet

after so much fun and frolicking

with our grand daughters.

I hope your weekend has been enjoyable.

I wanted to share the baskets that I

made for my beautiful, sweet 

daughters. They are the loveliest of

women. Mothers who nurture and teach

they're children with the utmost care.

They truly give their all

to their children.

  

The baskets were 

bought at thrift stores. I painted the 

one teal and the other was already a 

pretty green. This is for the 

daughter that has recently gotten

 engaged and wants this color 

for her wedding! And so I left it and did

a shabby chic 

embellishment with some of my 

hand-made flowers.

This lovely cookbook was discovered on 

Vanessa's blog...

The Fanciful Twist.

She did a review and baked many of the 

items in the cookbook.

They are dreamy and magical

to look at and I wanted to taste each

one as I read her post! I

ordered mine from

Amazon.  

(I love cake and can't wait

to try some of the recipies! I bought one for myself, too ;)

Here's a poem for our children.

What More?

Could any mother wish for more?

I stand beside my open door.

And look out on a world so grand,

And yet confused on ev'ry hand.

I wonder what the future holds

For you, my child, as the scene unfolds,

And in my heart there is just one prayer,

"May God go with you everywhere."

There are many things I could wish for you,

And some of them might even come true;

But I won't build castles that crumble and fall,

For that would never do at all.

Dreams are made of such gossamer stuff

That they vanish at even the slightest puff;

And so, in my heart there's just one prayer,

"May God go with you everywhere."

Phyllis C. Michael

Thank you always for

taking the time to come by.

If you're a mom to someone or
in a mother's place, it's a special role. If you 
are caring for, giving to and nurturing someone, then...
you have the heart of a mother and
 I wish you all the .......

Most Blessed and Happy Mother's Day!

Tamara xo

Having Fun With Paper Flowers

Making paper flowers is something 

that has interested me for a long time.

It always looked so fun to try
and the results can be stunning!

 There are so many ways to 

share them. I have been gathering 

pins and even bought a book. I hadn't tried 
any of those yet but was
 was looking up some paper resources.
If you've never heard of 
Papermart, 
it's a link worth checking out.
Paper.. Paper.. Paper.. but a
wonderful resource that isn't limited
to paper and their 
prices are very reasonable!

And as I was doing some blog-hopping,
I was so inspired by Miss Vanessa's
flower post as well! 
If you've never visited 
A Fanciful Twist,
you're in for a real treat! 
She's such a sweet lady full of 
inspiration and whimsical fun! 

Soooooooo......

I sure had a fun time yesterday 
just trying some different things.
I began to try to imagine some different
touches to the Mother's
Day baskets that I'm putting together 
for my two oldest daughters.

I am on a quest to try to give 
others the feeling that they are 
Over-The-Top-Amazing, Cherished
and that their presence in my life
is worthy of celebrating!
I don't always do a very 
a very good job. But I'm
working on it. I guess that's always 
a good place to start! 

They are such special
mothers AND daughters. 
I'm so grateful
that they're in my life.
I feel so honored and privileged
to be called their Mother.

One is mine by adoption
and the other is mine by birth but there is
no separation in my heart between the two.
 I really wanted to do something 
a little extra-special for them~

 

Here's a little thought about tutorials.
I'm not very good at them. 
(I always feel guilty because I don't do them.
Especially, when I read others who 
do such a beautiful job!)
Also, if it's not a difficult technique, 
I feel that people are very clever and 
have their own ways of figuring 
things out. I am, of course, always
glad to answer any questions that
any of you may have!

Another reason is that I am trying to 
just manage posting! My little grand-
daughters are here for three days,
which I absolutely love,
but it leaves little time for 
posting in general! :) 
We have a very large family..
all the way around..
Siblings, children and grandchildren
and it keeps me very busy!

I hope that your week has been wonderful!
I have been catching up after our 
spectacular 
Anniversary Celebration.
I will share a few photos next week.

Tomorrow I hope to share the baskets and more thoughts on Mother's Day~

Thank you so much for visiting.
It really means a lot.

Tamara XO

The Life They Are Living ... Our 30th Anniversary

Being deeply loved by someone 

gives you strength 

while deeply loving someone 

gives you courage. 

Lao Tzu 

30 years of marriage. 

A place of refuge and commitment. 

Where self gets intertwined

and slowly becomes the translucence  

of two moving together,  

 somewhat invisible ...

and then again separately 

while being recognized as individuals.

There's laughter that rings

through every room of the house that

became a home ....

all because of the

Love 

that came to rest and grow there.

First in their hearts....

 and then it filled every space of that 

humble dwelling. 

********

I will be away for a time. 

Jeff and I are going to San Francisco

for a week to celebrate our love

 and this rich and full life 

that we are blessed

 to live!

Have a blessed week, My Friends. 

I will miss you.

Hugs,

Tamara