Guess Where I Went

May 7, 2011 by

 Yee haw!
I spent eight hours answering emails, packaging and shipping jewelry and sorting some material orders today and when it was all said and done, I was feeling kinked.  I hopped on my trusty bicycle (not quite a dapple grey Percheron…but it will do) and pedaled over to the post office, then down to my favorite antique shop for some haggling and finagling and then finally, oh-sweet-mashed-potato-Idaho-heavens-above, (Whatttt???), I made it to the nursery.

I love this time of year!
I used all five senses while strolling around the greenhouses.  I ran my hands over plants, sniffed and nibbled on the herbs, took in the chroma-vibrancy laid out in all directions, I think I even heard the cellular hum of chloroplastic work.  It was magnificent.

CONFESSION:
I knew I’d get carried away with my plant purchases, as my eyes tend to be larger than my available garden space, which is why I rode my bicycle instead of taking one of the trucks.

I did walk away with one ceramic mushroom (long story), a pineapple mint and a chocolate mint.  Whew!  RW will be pleased by my self-control!

Our springtime is winding down here and I’m trying to squeeze every minute out of every day and every ounce of love out of my man before he takes off for the fire season.  Gosh.  I can’t believe it’s already here again.  At any rate, I’m going to treat this weekend like a weekend.  Tomorrow there is cattle branding over at the Gilbert Ranch, the installation of a new fume hood in my secondary studio space, a movie with the lady friends, some tasty meals (if I don’t burn them) and some quiet times with RW. 

I hope you bite off more than you can chew, this weekend,
and I mean that in a good way!

Cheerio!
JSL


Post Scriptus:

I wore my swan, all day.
She’s so glad she’s mine.

Filed Under: flowers, garden, idaho potatoes, plants, spring

Yellow

April 14, 2011 by
“I understand how scarlet can differ from crimson because I know that the smell of an orange is not the smell of a grapefruit…Without color or its equivalent, life to me would be dark, barren, a vast blackness…Therefore, I habitually think of things as colored and resonant. Habit accounts for part.  The soul sense accounts for another part.  The brain with its five-sensed construction asserts its right and accounts for the rest.  The unity of the world demands that color be kept in it whether I have cognizance of it or not.  Rather than be shut out, I take part in it by discussing it, happy in the happiness of those near me who gaze at the lovely hues of the sunset or the rainbow.”
[Helen Keller, The World I Live In, 1908]

…humdinger.

I picked daffodils this morning
because their yellow hues made my soul sing.
I wanted even more sunshine in my home,
more light for my eyes,
more color.

What hue is twanging your heartstrings today?
Filed Under: color therapy, daffodils, flowers, spring, yellow

Under the Sun

May 13, 2010 by

Standing tall under the sun.
Seeking out the light.
Singing to those last strains of sunset as they fall 
over the edge of the West Bench.
Looking to the hills (where does my help come from).
Knowing I will be sustained.
Knowing I am not meant to carry more than I can bear.
Finding gladness in the cascade of beauty around me.
I will not be moved.

One of a kind.
Hollow formed sterling & citrine.
Made for a woman who needs to feel bound in peace.
Maybe, made for a woman like me…

Thursday comes in with a steady blue sky here.
The sun rolls away all the clouds.
I’m barefoot in the grass with the tulips resting their nodding heads against my knees.
Have a beautiful Thursday, my friends.
May there be peace in your hearts.

Love,
Quilianna
Filed Under: flowers, New Jewelry, peace

The Noisy Florist

August 26, 2009 by
Yesterday morning was so quiet.
I wanted to spend the entire day in the studio but I took a few moments in the morning to cut some fresh flowers for the various nooks in my home.

It’s peaceful, walking through my gardens, selecting by hand and blade the bits of flora I wish to display in the kitchen, washroom, living room and various bookshelves inside the homestead. Lately I’ve been picking flowers for my studio space as well because to look over at a vase filled with long stem roses and sunflowers on the huge tree stump in the middle of my studio floor instantly brightens me. The freshness is transported from my sight to my heart to my hands and suddenly everything is coming up sterling-roses.

It’s always satisfying to bring the outdoors in, even if the outdoors are cultivated, as is the case in my yard. To be fair, I have a heap of odds and ends that I’ve collected over time out in the wideness of nature:
sun bleached bones and antlers
wasp nests
stones
shells
seed pods
…culminating in a lovely sort of house of curiosities.
The flowers are the cherry on top even if they’re short lived.

The blues were bright, the yarrow bleeding tones of yellow and rust. The sunflowers looked like they’d been sent to earth on a flower barge, pushed by solar winds, to settle in the soil of my backyardscape.

The scent of the Russian sage drifts into my bedroom from where it sits on the bathroom counter. It’s still humming with the buzz of bees.

The roses, delicate and stalwart. Loquacious and fine.
Happy to spend their blooms in the peace of my home.

If I had chosen another path, I might have been a noisy florist for it’s just so fun to harvest blossoms and witness the gladness they manage to imbue a space with.

I did make it into the studio after fooling around with these flowers for a spell and I whipped up something so delicate, ladylike and old world….I cannot wait to show it to you.
And finally, thank you so much for your wonderful WONDERFUL responses to my last blog post. RW is home today and when he read the last bloggity as well as your splendid reflections he was delighted indeed!
Love you all to smithereenies,
Jillian
PS Did I inform you as to the loveliness of my weekend last? I had the darling Miss Stacey visit me and we went hiking, made pear jam together, ate a bunch of tasty food, sipped tea and margaritas and spent some time making some jewels in my studio. Plus, she informed me of the bizarre black market on Etsy which was a FASCINATING education of sorts, though a teenie bit saddening. It was altogether a truly restful weekend spent in the excellent company of a wonderful woman. Wowsers. Sometimes I feel so lucky that my socks might blow right off my feet…knowing all of you kind of affects me like that…your amazingness makes me feel like I’m in a wind tunnel walking into an unnaturally beautiful and strong breeze.
Now. I’m getting off my duff and out to
do a bit of work.
Filed Under: domestic arts, flowers, New Jewelry, plume gables