Keep Believing

Most people would look at this like just a pile of dirt. I see the "magic" soil for next years flowers & vegetables.  I have spent the past few days researching antique/vintage flowers. To begin with, I'm thinking of having just a few main flowers, and offer numerous varieties within the same species. Like Sunflowers, there are so many different kinds. I have saved seeds from several varieties I planted 2 years ago (2008).  I used the seeds for this years Sunflowers. Now I  have sunflower seeds that are 3rd generation that I will plant next year (2010).

I have saved thousands of my Hollyhock seeds as well.

I made envelopes with pictures of my Sunflowers and Hollyhocks, into seed packets and made labels for planting instructions. If anyone is interested in having some please leave me a comment and I will be happy to send some your way.

My favorite flowers are, of course, Sunflowers and Hollyhocks, but also will be planting Delphiniums, Foxglove, Sweet Peas and Nasturtium. It is so hard to choose because there are so many that I like. I keep reminding myself to start small, learn slowly and carefully, before moving on. Master one thing at a time and be good at it.

The next accomplishment:  THE VERY FIRST APRON   (size 18 months)

Yes, even babies need an apron.

This one is very special and belongs to my grand baby Laci. Especially since her mommy was primarily the sewer for this project. We had lots of fun, and I had lovely company all weekend. We have 3 more that are the same design, with slightly different fabric. I will post pictures of them when they are completed. Now I have to work on my adult ones. I may make a dozen, or a hundred, and keep them safe until their debut.

I have the honor to know a local artist,  Mary Lake Thompson, whom I shared my ideas with. Mary was enthusiastic and excited about my "new" adventure and offered her kindness and support. She said to me "If you believe and love what you are doing, then you will be a success". My daughters have worked for Mary and her husband, Dick, for almost 10 years.

I will keep believing...
The Girasole Lady

A sign

Today I designed a sign for the farm...GIRASOLE FARM
Aprons to Zucchini

They are interchangable according to the season, or whatever I happen to have at the time. The bottom one is hard to read but it says "family &  friends".

The Girasole Lady

Todays'

This yesterday has just become today. I have made peace with a couple of dreams I have had and decided  to just let them happen. Everyday I am going to do something for the dream, to allow it to happen in my life, no matter how small the task my seem.
For today I have a name for the dream. Naming the dream gives it life and reality.

GIRASOLE FARM

aprons to zucchini

Looking forward to another today.

The Girasole lady

Unsettled

I am feeling unsettled. I see an glimpse of where, and what, I want to be doing with my life. I just cannot seem to find the bridge to make the crossing. Doing what I want is not necessarily clear in my mind, but doing what I do NOT want is becoming clearer and clearer. Is it possible to move on without question, without judgement, without anger? Could I gain respect and admiration for my personal decision, and not fear anger, judgement and belittlement? If the bridge were wobbly, could I find the strength to steady it? If it were full of holes, could I patch them enough to cross over to the other side?  Would I look back from the other side and feel contentment?
The seasons are changing. Though I have chosen to ignore it, I can see and feel the evidence daily. It is not like me to ignore the changes of the seasons. I am struggling to balance my dreams with my responsibilities. I have never "mastered" any one thing. I am always "jack of all trades and master of none". I want to be a master of something.
I have thought and re-thought about so many different things, I am literally sick of thinking about them.
Is thinking nothing more than an excuse because I am too chicken to see any one thing through to the end? There are others who have achieved much larger dreams than I, with so much less. Am I too comfortable in my ordinary routine?  
I don't really know how to make the dream happen. What if I were to get off the ground, could I really fly? 
Maybe I have lived in ordinary land too long. There are those people who do not want me to leave them behind in ordinary land. They would be angry at my choices and toss stones at my feet.
I have wished away a thousand tomorrows...always believing I had an endless supply of days, weeks, months, and years. In years down the road will I look back and see that I have only wished away hundreds of more tomorrows?
Change can happen even if it drags me kicking and screaming.
The Girasole Lady

Hollyhocks for Happy Hearts

This is the poem I chose for my new home when it was built in 1998. I love my home in the country. I am still working on the lilacs :}

A rosy hearth with sunlight on the floor...

A crooked apple treee...Hollyhocks beside the garden fence...