Do, Did, Doing

My Special Word

Wow. Things are really coming along. It’s beginning to look a lot like 2019. Red and green decor, parting is such sweet sorrow.

I know, right?

It seems like I just put away bits of paper and ribbon and tags and a Santa plate with one bitten chocolate chip cookie left on it.

Step by step. One post-Christmas foot in front of the other.

And together, we resolved to tackle a Special Word for the year.

Happily, it looks like DIY and I have been a match. I’m pretty sure. That’s my considered opinion. I resolved to do (it yourself). I did. And I’m doing it still. 

For the record, I’ve DIY-ed quite a number of projects since the popsicle stick birdhouse and the hydrangea centerpiece. Let’s see… where do I begin? 

I did a Nordic-style star from crabapple branches. 

I emulated cotton bolls made out of water-color stained and wadded cotton balls and pistachio shells and got them 'growing out' of sprigs picked up from the backyard.

I made centerpieces galore out of leafy branches and berries flanked by a candle with a kokopeli-designed wrap.

Then there’s the topiary from a banana stalk that's by the wrought-iron mirror adorned with red papyrus from Kenya.

And such a grand curtained entry to the laundry room festooned with pompoms.

There’s even a feathered directional restroom sign on a wood hanger.

I really didn’t spend a lot of time planning about doing the grandiose. Accomplishing the extraordinary. Going up the mountain top.

I simply went all Monopoly. Get on with it. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.

And as I worked with seemingly paltry items, whether sticks or a shriveled bouquet or garden cuttings and clippings and yarn, I felt like I have achieved something special.

Because when you imagine...

And create...

That one small thing raises you up the mountain top.

And blesses you with the most grandiose feeling of having done something truly extraordinary.

BTW, I just saw the most jaw-dropping bed linen. A Moroccan wedding blanket. All white and nubby with fluffy pompoms. And highlighted by sparkly thread warping and wefting throughout.

And just like that, I knew exactly what my next DIY was going to be. A latch hooked, cross stitched Moroccan-style throw for the coffee table. It's going to be a long-term project, so the reveal won't be forthcoming soon.

But hey, time is one thing I've got. Wait for it in a blog series on Morocco sometime this fall.

P.S. What insight have you gained from your Special Word endeavor? Inquiring minds want to know.

P.P.S. In other news, I’ve come up with an idea for next month’s blog. Actually a reader suggestion. Time to get to work on that one!

  

Hello, Adorbs!

My Special Word

Drum roll, please...

Happy to report that I've been faithful, so far, to my DIY Special Word.

Opportunities have been serendipitous. Younger Daughter and I had just exited a cafe when a hydrangea bush with a crown of florets stopped me in my tracks.

It was on its last leg.

Dried up.

A little sad.

A little tired. Signing off and heading for Hydrangea Heaven.

When Second Granddaughter saw it later, she said, What is this dead thing?

I thought it was adorbs (a term for 'adorable' that I've borrowed from my equally adorable First Granddaughter). I wanted to preserve it for all eternity.

What do you think? Should I, or shouldn't I? 

OK, so the house is split with one abstention.

Just so you know, my decision tipped the scale in favor of the shoulds. The sprig went home with me that day.

Here's how I DIY-ed it into an easy centerpiece. It only took three minutes. Start the timer.

Looked for a red glass vase in the basement - 70 seconds.

Checked branch height so it was proportionate to the container - 10 seconds. 

Pinched off lower stem segment to shorten it - 1 second.

Went back to basement to get a couple of cattail stalks and magnolia leaves to fill the arrangement - 74 seconds. 

Casually fluffed everything for the most-pleasing placement. Do NOT over-think this step. - 15 seconds.

Got a cup of Hubby's brewing ginger green tea - 10 seconds.

Sat and enjoyed - a really long time!

Exquisite? Yes, I think so!

Oh, that was the tea. And the hydrangea centerpiece, too.

(To be continued)

Where The Wild Flowers Grow

For Azul
January 13, 2019

My eyes are glassy. I'm deep in thought, as if I'd already crossed the ocean. For a second, the past and the present have been fused into one swirling scene.

At home on the mainland, I can see myself. Coffee in hand. Greeting the wildflowers out the front window.

And Azul. My forever peach-faced lovebird.

You may remember. He is one of the guys in my life. Subject of a blog way back in September 2017. 

He has just swung down from his bird house, a DIY-ed project featured in the Home, Tweet Home posting prior to this one. He's nibbling millet and his favorite sunflower seeds. I chat with him about the weather, divulging, It rained last night, Azul, as if he wouldn't know, even though from his perch he has a panoramic view of the outside world through the glass window. He glances at me, but continues to crack open a stubborn sunflower shell. I try to humor him with a sunny prediction, Azul, it's going to be a nice day today. His response is always nonchalant, a small, Chirp. Why do I always comment on the obvious?

Each day, it is just me and Azul and sunshine dappling the flowers.

Then, day turns to night and quickly into dawn though I don't notice the change until it has already passed, as if I'd been a sleepwalker awakened by the sunlight. In the distance, a cheerful warbler glides over the banana plant silhouetted against the horizon, as if carrying the sun on its wings.

The insistent ringing of the phone has intruded into my fading dream. My baggy eyes sag in the morning light. Second Daughter lets me know. Azul is no more.

In the spring when I go back home to the mainland, I'll look out the front window, as has been my wont. Coffee in hand, I'll walk toward where Azul used to be. 

The space by the glass window will be inconsolably bare. He will not be there nibbling his seeds.

But I know to peer outside where the wildflowers are blooming once more. Because I know that's where he is. 

I'll whisper, Azul, I don't know how the day is going to be.

As the black-eyed Susan sways in the early breeze, I can imagine him nudging me toward the brightening sky as if to say, Don't worry. Can't you tell? It's going to be a nice day today. 

Farewell to Azul

For Azul
January 13, 2019

Saying goodbye to a beloved pet, big or small, is one of the hardest and saddest things. But perhaps, verbalizing feelings gives closure. Sharing eases the grief as well. Here's a beautiful and heartfelt farewell from Second Daughter, printed with permission. Thank you, Iris. This will be imprinted on my heart.

I carried the cage to my car
Settling him into the back seat
Alek buckled him in
Cooing to him - Ass-ool!

Azul winters with us
Every spring when my parents return
I am relieved he has survived my watch
None of us know his age
Although he has many, many years

From the front seat
I turned to check on Azul before backing out
Sitting in his food bowl
He looked at me with bright, expectant eyes
Ready for anything!
Even a cross country trip

Azul adjusts easily to our house
He putters around the floor of his cage
The penthouse too high for his weak legs
Alek says he waddles like a penguin
His shape has become generous
Binging on plump sunflower seeds

Though awake his eyes are half closed
Perhap tired from being ancient
He always smiles
His chirp is now quiet
Still cheerful

He eats often, sleeps often
On his own time
What a life

The first real snow had fallen
I woke early and heard him tinkering
The blanket remained over his cage
Rest a little longer, Azul

When I uncovered him later
He was gone, resting against the side wall
His eyes peacefully shut
It couldn’t be, but this was it
My tears flowed all day

I nestled him in the cloth roof that topped his cage
Placing three beloved sunflower seeds by his beak
Wrapping the bundle with variegated yarn that matched his colors

Peeking into his food bowl
I smiled that he had cracked every seed

I removed his personal effects from the cage
Who knew a bird could have personal effects?
A pink gem from Alek
A cross-stitched sign that bore his name
A lock and weight on the door to keep the jailbird in
His looking glass
One last feather as a memento

My parents’ yard was blanketed in snow
I swept around until I found the bricks
His resting spot that my mom prepared
Somehow we knew the end was near
A hole already dug

I laid Azul to rest
Swept the snow back in place
Sprinkling one last meal of birdseed
Inviting his bird friends to join the celebration of life

The house already seems so quiet
No pitter patter of tiny feet
I walk by the spot of his old perch
Surprised he is not there
His memory will forever flutter my heart

Just last week Alek asked
Is there a bird heaven?
Yes, I replied easily

Azul is there now
Chirping loudly
Joyfully

Home, Tweet Home

My Special Word

Who’s with me? Who’s ready to face 2019 with your very own Special Word?

Oh, good. As you may remember (or not), mine is DIY. If I may, I’d like to showcase my early success with this word.

Come sit by me. Grab a cup of French Roast coffee and an almond biscotti. Or a glass of Chateauneuf Du Pape wine and boursin-slathered garlic-and-chives pita crackers. (Aside: I just like to work the Chateauneuf into this writing to make it seem like I wear berets and just flew in from the south of France.) 

Look at this amazing, incredible, and hopefully soon to be super-pinned DIY project.

The one crafters will talk about for generations to come.

It is a replacement for Asool's dilapidated twig domicile.

It isn't perfect. Not even close. The verticals are not perpendicular to the base in some places. A glob of glue covers the gaps between angles that don't match.

But what is stellar about it isn't the actual object itself. 

It's about believing you can create something from dollar-store craft sticks and a glue gun you've owned since the Shrinky Dink era.

It's about using your knowledge of arithmetic and basic shapes.

Applying the logic lesson that the size of the bird house needs to fit within the cage door dimension.

There is such a wonderful lesson in this crooked, lopsided avian abode.

It's about imagination and vision...

... to make something where there once were just sticks.

Perfection?

It is totally over-rated and over-emphasized.

The joy and beauty and the wonder of this project is the imperfection found in every line.

And the look of satisfaction from a sleepy love bird who's comfortably snuggled within.

How have you fared with your Special Word? I'm eager to hear about it.

(To be continued)

Just One Word

My Special Word

When 2018 rolled out its red carpet, our church team launched an initiative called My Special Word.

Doesn't that sound incredible and purposeful and a great way to start off the next 365 days?

Except...

... except I discovered that a year was really a long time to date a word.

Right?

At first, I was totally in. On the second week, I was starting to lose steam. And by the following month, I was so over it.

Ironically, my word was avante. Remember? It was my battle cry. Go, move forward. You heard about it because you helped edit my blurb, held up the cue card during its videotaping segment, and believed enough in it to adopt it for a churchwide spring endeavor.

But seriously.

I know. You're not surprised. Easily Bored is my middle name. Nickname: Forgetful. Pass Code: Can't Commit.

So I'm trying again. It will be a little different.

I'm choosing something to inspire me. A word to live by.

DIY (Do It Yourself).

Okay, I see you counting. I know these are three words, if you want to be picky, but sometimes you have to give yourself some slack.

This is a new day.

A new year.

What about you? I thought that you may want to choose your own One Word. Or perhaps carry over or modify what you had from the previous year.

(To be continued)