Dad, this one's for you!

My father passed away on October 9, 1998 from pancreatic cancer. He was 81. The night of the wake, as I sat grief stricken, unable to understand my world without him, my 17 year old son came and said: "Mom, we ran out of chairs!" I did not understand what he meant. He looked worried and said again: "Mom, there are no more empty chairs!" I turned and looked around. I was stunned. The room was overflowing! Who were all these people?! Where did they come from?!

One by one, total strangers came and paid their condolences. The grocer’s daughter, the postman, the butcher, the florist’s delivery man, the bakery’s manager and countless other people who seemed to have known my father and were truly upset about his death. As I stood there, numb with pain, I felt my broken heart swell with pride. My father, the helpful, the kind, the patient, the optimist, the one with the ever present smile and the contagious laughter had a special collection. Friends!

Years have gone by since that day. I’ve learned to accept that he is no longer here to share a cup of coffee and read quietly together...

he is no longer here so we could watch a silly movie and laugh until it hurt...

he is no longer here so we could take a walk in the park and feed the ducks...

he is no longer here to help me and offer good advice...

 You’d think that the passing of time has made the memories fade but the fact is, I miss him more each day. He was just that type of person, totally charming, impossible to forget.

I am very lucky to be married to a wonderful man who is not only a loving husband, but also a loving father. I have many things to be thankful for, and at the top of that long list there is my father, a bright shining star, the one who taught me:

“to believe in love and to have faith”

“to seek inner peace in Nature’s beauty”

"that a smile does not cost a penny but is worth a million”

"that no matter what, there is always a solution”

“to make sure and laugh many times a day, every day” and so much more!

On Sunday, as we gather in the garden and celebrate, I will play my father’s favorite song:

I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom, for me and you

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue, clouds of white

Bright blessed days, dark sacred nights

And I think to myself what a wonderful world…

Dad, wherever you are... I love you, I miss you, and all my thoughts are yours on this Father's Day... 



Images by Weheartit.com and Bing

Getting ready

The past two days have been cloudy and very humid. The air felt thick and heavy. Even the birds seemed to be lethargic! This morning however, the sun came out. All clouds have lifted and there is a sense of urgency. Mother Earth is getting ready for the "big" day.

The fairies in my garden are restless preparing to celebrate the Solstice. They flutter about looking for flowers to adorn their hair.

They play and splash in the fountains

I let them rest on my swing and dream of the day when the sun will shine for what will seem forever.

I too, could feel the tremors... the excitement...so I've rushed to air out my wings. I am undecided as to which I'll wear!

(Image by Weheartit.com)

How about you? Are your wings ready?

My dreams my wishes and I

Wishes... loud, quiet, silent.

They come and gather 'round me,

They follow me everywhere I go.

Dear wishes, dear dreams, my constant, faithful companions.

My wishes and dreams are mine and mine alone,

A palpable part of me.

We breath together, my dreams, my wishes and I,

Our bond is strong, unbreakable, lasting.

My heart is a wishing well in which I throw this shiny stones,

Polished by time and desires,

Washed by tears, bathed in laughter...

See them fall, see the ripples...

Wishes and dreams, they gather and follow me.

They jump and cry and sing.

 See their trail, see their glimering sparkles...

My very own fairy dust!

Wishes by day, dreams by night.

A constant flow, a perfect continuation,
The fuel that keeps me moving.
The fire of my hearth.

My wishes and dreams were born when I took that first breath.
They shall die when I exhale the last...

They are mine and we are one.
My dreams... my wishes... and I...

Dear Friend, before you go, please touch the butterfly and let it's magic fill your day XO

Photos by Weheartit.com and Bing Images

Dreaming and wishing

Thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is YES..." (E.E. Cummings)

Wishing everyone a Monday full of positive, happy thoughts.

Photo by Bing Images

Good morning!

"Morning  has broken, like the first morning

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird.

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning

Praise for the springing fresh from the word.

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning

born of one light, Eden saw play

Praise with elation, praise every morning

God's recreation of the new day" 

Lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon

Don't you just feel like that? You jump out of bed and there it is: LIFE! I must confess that back in the those days when night life was alive (if you know what I mean) getting up early was almost a punishment, something old people did. My father, a man for whom 5 hours of sleep was more than enough, tried to make me see what I was missing. He claimed early morning was the best part of the day. It wasn't until I had my children and those early feedings were the alarm clock I could not ignore that I realized my Dad was right. The peace, the silence, the way the body feels soft and tender, untouched yet by the stress, the rush, the noise, and all those mundane duties that numb our senses and stiffle our dreams. Father knows best...

On this  beautiful morning I want to thank my dear, sweet friend  Vicki from Vicki's Bit O'Earth for having bestowed upon me this very special Award: 

"This Award is for those who are brave enough to expose

just enough to reach, touch and possibly help someone

else to see something differently.

I pass this Award on to:

Sheila Deeth from Sheila Deeth Drabbles  
Sheila calls her daily poems "drabbles." Truth is, they are moving and beautiful. I am always amazed by her non-stop and ever flowing inspiration.

for being true to herself!"

If you love gardening, beautiful babies, chickens, and great recipes you will love Vicki's place! I thank you Vicki! It really means a lot that you thought of me :0) 

I also want to send a very special THANK YOU to Kiki for dedicating her June 3rd post and poem to me! Kiki is the creator of Awake with Charm and Spirit and Heart of a Wizardess. Her photographs are just magical. She captures light and shadows and gives the illusion of movement and life to everything.  I will be joining Kiki to celebrate  The Birth of June and Summer Solstice Magic, hope you will too! I'm not sure how this "linking business" works so please visit her at Awake with Charm and Spirit for more information. Kiki, thank you for your talent, your visits, your comments and for being such a great friend.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. May sunshine, love, and birdsong fill your days. xoxo

Gardening bliss

These past few days have been spent in a gardening frenzy. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, except for yesterday when a few storms decided to come and pay a visit. Since I had been secluded due to the allergies, I must say when I finally took a closer look: it was a jungle out there! 

As many of you know, I live in a town quite close to NYC but I refuse to let that stop me from creating what I hope looks like a "cottage-country garden." Every year in late March I start (indoors, of course) my beloved Morning Glory seeds, and every year I am mesmerized by their incredible beauty.

My feathered friends and I love the sound of trickling water

 I feel joyful to provide them with a drink  and a place to take a bath on those hot sunny days. Things so hard to find in the city!

This little one was in such a rush it did not give me a chance to see that the fountain was not set up straight!

 There's plenty here for everyone...

Speaking of everyone...this rascal and his family of THREE have moved in AGAIN to our roof. They have managed to find and break into the place we had tried to close countless times during the past 15 years. I do believe they pass around the information: "Go to Alina's house! There's a room with a view!"

We now have to wait for these babies to grow and move out so we can start all over again. A project which fills my dear husband with, let's just say..."despair." He truly believes I have something to do with this, but honestly, I don't! I just think they are so adorable and they make me smile...well, they must pick up the vibes (MY vibes) and know it's safe here...

This makeshift water feature sits next to a crumbling retainer wall (a subject of a very long and ongoing legal issue) Luckily, my fairy friend doesn't care.

Owning a purple caravan is not in my immediate future, but I do have a purple garden shed!

Actually, purple seems to surface here...

there...

everywhere...

For the past three years I have been inviting Miss Bateman to come into my garden, but in spite of my watering, mulching, fertilizing, and everything else including begging on bended knees, nothing happened. I had given up. I truly had, when all of the sudden, this weekend, as I was walking around the garden there it was! One single gorgeous bloom! I could hardly believe my eyes, but it was not a mirage, Miss Bateman really WAS here!

I felt like a proud parent shocked to realize her child had been listening! Ahh, the joys of gardening! A single bloom having the power to make my heart sing, to make me want to work harder, disregard an aching back, sore hands, and stiff knees. It's all so worth it!

I hope you did not find this post too long. I just wanted to give you a glimpse of the things that make me happy.  There are so many!  I want to thank you for leaving such lovely comments  on my last post. I'm sorry I have not answered as I usually do, but as you can see, I've been enchanted and held prisoner by the beauty of the garden.

Have a wonderful day,