Memories...Treasured Past and Precious Present

Years ago I saw this wall hanging in Groff's Nursery in their Christmas House.  Early on I came to realize that fabric, color and texture interested me.  I thought about weaving, tried batik and silk painting, some crazy quilting and now ordered supplies for doing batik again. I just know that fabric of my own creation will look super cool on the drums we are making!! What does this picture have to do with any of that?!?  The connection is the cleaning and purging that Bill and I are doing to make the house more Wabi Sabi (Japanese term) and discovering what is most important to us.

The Japanese view of life embraced a simple aesthetic

that grew stronger as inessentials were

eliminated and trimmed away.

It is about making our surroundings more simple and truly being at peace learning to live with less.  Of course, I have to admit that this was not always the truth.   Now I think about the Relationship Recipe Ingregient of Understanding and know that I make my decisions based on understanding who I am and what works best for me.  The simplicity clears my mind and allows me to focus on what might be rather than on what I have!!  Nice.

Back to 1975 and Groff's Mill House at Christmas.  I went shopping for holiday gifts and saw this wall hanging.  It was more than we would spend on something, should I say impractical?  I took Bill back and showed it to him, and then, even though I WANTED it, it was not to be.  Imagine my total joy and surprise on Christmas morning (very early because Bill had to be at work on the early shift at WKBS where he was engineering for the TV station), when I came downstairs and there was the wall hanging just waiting for me. I was joyous and it has stayed with us for close to 40 years.  Hey could we take it on Antiques RoadShow??  They would talk about some wear from age.  As the years passed and the colors did not 'match' or something took its place, it got put in a safe place.  Today, while Bill was cleaning the cubby space at the top of the stairs to make a home for some of the drums we are making, there was the wall hanging.  Now it has been brought back to life and is hanging for us to see...and remember.  How sweet life can be when we can go back and think about all of the things we have done that have brought us joy and carry them forward into the present with a peaceful spirit!! 

And the Perfect Fall day...tah dah!!!

This is the last post for today because as I sit her and create these, I realize that it is almost two in the afternoon and the perfect Fall day that I am talking about is right outside my window and if I stay here, I will miss it totally - and now wouldn't that be a shame (since the rain is due to come for the next few days.)  I just wanted to take the time and show you a few pictures from Morris Arboretum - the giant Japanese bell, and the entrance to the giant bird's next with the blue robin's eggs, the suspended bridge and lots more wonderful parents and children out with us encouraging and FUN for the day.  OK...enjoy the glory and I am going to go and revel in same!!  PS: the woman in the upper left is Connie - the perfect person to be at the welcome wagon and share the facility and events with the public.  She is just gentle and charming and I know that I felt honored to have her focused time talking with me.  She is definitely a DARE to AFFIRM person!!  She makes everyone feel as if they are special!!