Iris Make Me Happy

Sooo true today... After a 3 day trip with wake up calls before 4 a.m... this night girl is dragging her sorry butt. I worked with 3 flight attendants that I adore, and had a fabulous time in Mexico, so I'm not complaining...

Driving home today, I kept looking at the weather and thinking my barbecue was calling me... I LOVE BBQ chicken! One of my favorite meals... I was trying to think of how I could do it quickly. What I could get around.. because I can barely see straight... I'm thinking I have to do laundry, grab kids, post a blog, work on open time, clean the cat's litter box... and all I want to do is put my fuzzy pink slippers on, lay down on the couch and pass out... Yet when I pull into my driveway, I see them... IRIS! They're beginning to bloom. I leap out of my car and wander all over my garden... taking pictures and oohing over each one of them. I LOVE IRIS!


The blog begins to write itself in my head... The exhaustion leaves for a while... I am rejuvenated by the happiness my Iris give me. I look around the garden and yearn to get my hands in the dirt. I look to the calendar in my head and figure out when I will have enough time to do a 'spring cleaning' of the garden and plant my veggies.


I see the perennials that have come back, yet again, faithfully. I wonder why anyone would plant annuals. I get their purpose.... But perennials are like Christmas every spring... A gift that keeps on giving. I love that I plant them once and they keep returning... bigger, stronger...


Another gift that keeps on giving and keeps returning bigger... stronger... the love that I have from my boo... I'd like to thank him for 'getting there' on a few of my overnights this month... I love you beyond reason... Each day is a gift.

And with that... the first picture of this blog has inspired me... I have the drink... I have the cat... a bath is calling my name...

Oleta Adams "Get Here"

You can reach me by railway, you can reach me by trailway
You can reach me on an airplane, you can reach me with your mind
You can reach me by caravan, cross the desert like an Arab man
I don't care how you get here, just - get here if you can

You can reach me by sail boat, climb a tree and swing rope to rope
Take a sled and slide down the slope, into these arms of mine
You can jump on a speedy colt, cross the border in a blaze of hope
I don't care how you get here, just - get here if you can

There are hills and mountains between us
Always something to get over
If I had my way, surely you would be closer
I need you closer

You can windsurf into my life, take me up on a carpet ride
You can make it in a big balloon, but you better make it soon
You can reach me by caravan, cross the desert like an Arab man
I don't care how you get here, just - get here if you can

I don't care how you get here, just -- get here if - you can

Early Spring

It is officially Spring, and yet in Atlanta, it has been Spring for weeks. I've been cringing, watching all of my beloved bulbs and fruit trees happily start to bloom... I kept waiting for that final March frost... and now, I think, I can breathe easily...


Well maybe that's the wrong words to say... no one living in Atlanta is breathing easily this week... With 9000+ pollen counts, our homes, cars, and streets are yellow... I'd wear a gas mask though to watch the Spring revival every year if I had to. From such desolate landscape to such amazing beauty in a small space of time... It really takes my breath away and is a reminder that life does rise from the ashes... what was bleak will shine again...


I don't know what I love more... Forsythia, Daffodils, or Dogwood... Do I have to choose? Ones a bulb, ones a bush, and the other a tree... Perhaps I can love them all equally...


This little redbud was a freebie from Arbor Day Society... Loving it... look how cute and pretty it is this year...


My blueberries are looking fabulous so far... I'll be blogging "Aim for the Birds" soon, as I fight them for the luscious fruit these bushes will bear...


My country road, that takes me home... this time of year it has cherry trees lining the left, and dogwoods lining the right... How lucky am I to drive by this beauty daily...?


Country Roads, Redux... (Sorry John)

Almost heaven, West Suwanee,
Appalachian Mountains, Chattahoochee River,
My life is new here, newer than the trees,
Where theres lil mountains, and barely any breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong,
West Suwanee,
Mini van mamma,take me home
Country roads

All my memories, gather round him
Sweetest man, stranger to Hotlanta
Dark and sexy, paints my love 'cross the sky
Misty taste of bourbon, teardrop in my eye

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong,
West Suwanee,
Mini van Mamma, take me home
To the country roads

I hear his voice in the midnight hour he calls me
Radio reminds me of my man far away
Driving down the road I get a feeling
That he should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong,
West Suwanee,
Mini van Mamma, take me home
Country roads

Take me home, that country road
Take me home, that country road

Only Child Syndrome

Bob Dylan - Make You Feel My Love

When the rain
Is blowing in your face
And the whole world
Is on your case
I could offer you
A warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows
And the stars appear
And there is no - one there
To dry your tears
I could hold you
For a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you
Haven't made
Your mind up yet
But I would never
Do you wrong
I've known it
From the moment
That we met
No doubt in my mind
Where you belong

I'd go hungry
I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling
Down the avenue
Know there's nothing
That I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging
On the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change
Are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing
Like me yet

I could make you happy
Make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends
Of the Earth for you
To make you feel my love, To make you feel my love


I have had an AMAZING few weeks. Everything seems to be clicking into place. My kids are great, my job is good and the warm sun is stroking my cheek as Spring returns to Georgia...


My man and I have been traveling... three cities in three weeks... I've spent soo much time with him recently, that I think I'm about to rival my cat in his ability to purr loudly.

Driving away from him today I felt my mood spiraling into a free fall... It's crazy, I know.... I'm so spoiled rotten that I miss him when I walk away... I got home and went into my garden to cheer myself up... I couldn't find the joy, but I could see the beauty... my period hormones were winning out... positively gleeful that they found some bad juju to hold onto... so I grabbed my cat, turned on Pandora, and took a nap.


I woke up and decided to go for a run... big girl panties on and Ipod charged, I ran for nearly 4 miles. Running IS my salvation. Always has been. I went into a deep depression after I was raped at 15... When I came out of the depression 6 months later I started running... and I haven't stopped since... Running gets my head straight. I laugh, I sing, I cry hysterically, and run while I'm doing it... I run out anger and sadness... I run and embrace joy and life... I run... to feel alive.


I ran today and dropped my hormones off at the local high school where a deserving teenager could keep them for me. I know there's absolutely no reason for me to let myself into a funk.

What I was suffering from was only child syndrome... me me me me me... I'm sure it's because I'm an only child that when it's not all about me for a half a minute, I panic and pout... I know I'm being an ass when I'm feeling that way, so I don't say anything... I get angry with myself because I know I'm being unreasonable, and that just perpetuates the downwards spiral... because I don't like to feel icky and angry... So I pep talk self and scream at self... I can and do snap out of it always... today it only took me four miles lol...


The sun was shinning high... my family is happy and healthy... and I have the love of my life... my ONE... You know how I feel... amazingly good...



Michael Buble "Feeling Good"

Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Reeds driftin' on by
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Fish in the sea
You know how I feel
River running free
You know how I feel
Blossom in the tree
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when the day is done, that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
Fooor me

Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Yeah freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
It's a new life
For me

And I'm feeling good

Growth Despite Vermin

Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
I want to be someone who believes - Mr Jones - Counting Crows


I am a planner... I'm constantly looking ahead, planning the direction of my life... focusing on the future but enjoying each day... maybe that's why I love gardening. I can plan and watch my plans take shape... each seed I sow... each bulb I plant... adds to the garden that I envision in my future. It's a slow process as I can't afford to put the money needed to make my garden the oasis I want... but in the past 4 years I've been slowly adding another plant... another tree... getting joy out of the evolving beauty of the seasons... Each new flower makes me stop, stare, smell (if aromatic), grin, and inevitably take pictures... I want to remember each bit of beauty produced there. I'm proud of the way it's shaping... the sweat equity absolutely paying back in droves....


I recognize things will hamper my well laid gardening plans... like bunnies... storms... or dead growth that needs to be removed to let the plants shine... sometimes its painful to prune.... but I know with pruning and lots of careful tlc the budding plant will become something stunning to be proud of...


As I write about my garden, it's come to me this is also true in human living... part of our growth process is removing dead growth... getting through hurts and rejoicing in accomplishments. When our mistakes (vermin) are laid at our feet it can be painful... but if you learn and grow from these, they are valuable lessons that can be plowed into our past...

It might take time to remove all the dead growth from our seemingly long winter... but I have all the time in the world... and plans in my heart for a perfectly imperfect life with you in it... so I will take your hand, help you remove our dead wood with apologies and fertilize your heart with all the love you know I have for you...

I should have just said I understand, and I am sorry... take the time you need to digest it. I'm not going anywhere... the peace that comes from being with you has always been better than existing without you...

Iluanf



With a little love, and some tenderness
We'll walk upon the water
We'll rise above the mess
With a little peace, and some harmony
We'll take the world together
We'll take 'em by the hand
'Cause I've got a hand for you
'Cause I wanna run with you
Yesterday, I saw you standing there
Your head was down, your eyes were red
No comb had touched your hair
I said get up, and let me see you smile
We'll take a walk together
Walk the road awhile, 'cause
'Cause I've got a hand for you
I've got a hand for you
'Cause I wanna run with you
Won't you let me run with you? yeah
Hold my hand
Want you to hold my hand
Hold my hand
I'll take you to a place where you can be
Hold my hand
Anything you wanna be because
I wanna love you the best that, the best that I can
Hold My Hand - Hootie and the Blowfish

I Didn't Say Aim For Possums!

In the last couple of days I've noticed an abundance of road kill - possums and raccoons... Neither affect my garden, so please drivers, back off!


Senseless killing affects the psyche of all... My heart goes out to the families in this week's OH shooting rampage... Our children in GA are taught to go into a room without windows if a tornado is coming... In CA we teach our children to duck under tables if an earthquake hits... Do parents in America need to tell our children how to duck, run (not in a straight line) and hide in the event a classmate brings a gun to school? Columbine... Virginia Tech... and now Chandon?

An hour ago it came out that the gun was from his grandfathers (who he lives with) barn. Yessiree gun rights activists... guns don't kill people... people kill people... and when you leave guns in a place where children can get to them, you are increasing the chances of them being used maliciously (teenage angst) or accidentally (how many kids have injured themselves or others out of curiosity?)... Screw you all and your right to bear arms... I shouldn't have to worry about educating my kids on escaping classmates with guns... Nuff said... except my prayers are with the last child in the hospital... may they survive, heal and thrive...


Years ago I went to an eBay convention... and to my surprise, Davy Jones did a concert on night 1. It didn't occur to me that he was alive still... I remember thinking "HOLY SHIT Davy Jones? Where did they find him!" LOL He was a completely entertaining performer... I consider myself lucky to have seen this concert... I grinned from ear to ear while watching... singing songs from my childhood... I have memories as a child walking to school with my besties... singing...

"Here we come, walking down the street
We get the funniest looks from everyone we meet.

Hey, hey, we're the monkees
And people say we monkey around,
But we're too busy singing
To put anybody down..."

RIP Davy... and thanks for my memories...


My life has been stressful the last couple of days with car troubles and taxes... but I think I've come to grips with it all, and like a cat, I will again land on my feet... I'm blessed with an incredible emotional support system around me that keeps me sane when I'm feeling a bit broken... I love you all....


I'm staring outside and seeing the fat little birdies return to my birdbath and garden... It's time to start feeding them again... I stopped because of the chipmunk digging a condo association under my flower and vegetable gardens... Hopefully he moved when the fast food restaurant closed...


What that fat lil birdie is telling me... is the same thing my garden is telling me... "Spring is here... Believe as we believe... Don't live in fear of the cold of winter... We survived and we thrived..." I love my fat little birdies... and my early daffodils... :)


I BELIEVE!

Mom Says Aim for Squirrels Too...

After reading my last blog, my dear mother said "Squirrels dig up bulbs, get them too..." Since my Spring garden is definitely affected by rabbits (the nibbled greens) and potentially affected by squirrels (all bulbs)... I've decided to put an APB for either on the country roads of Suwanee...


“Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest.
The soul, uneasy, and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.” - Alexander Pope


In Spring, hope springs eternal... I have always loved Spring... Winter, with all of the dormant bleakness and bitter cold depresses me. January, post holidays, is the worst of all. Nothing to enjoy... it's just a month you must ENDURE. Then late February, something amazing begins to happen... Little green leaves start to peak out of the soil... winter has rejuvenated their lil bulb souls... and by March, Hyacinth, Daffodils, and Crocus are all bravely fighting the elements reminding us that even when life is depressing, to look around and find moments of beauty... if winter can pass and earth can glow again... so too, can we...

I step out each Spring, wander my back 40, and find these bits of beauty throughout my garden... and it makes me smile... as the temperature begins to hit the 60's again, I stretch my arms out and look up to the sun... like the plants, I reach for it's healing warmth. Spring is here... and in ME, the hope that lays eternal begins to find ways to make dreams reality... Depression is shaken off, and my brain can function again, spinning cotton candy out of rain clouds...

On so many levels, my Winter has gone and Spring is warming my soul once more. Life is simply... good...


"Don't you worry your pretty little mind,
People throw rocks at things that shine
And life makes love look hard
The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours..." - Taylor Swift "Ours"

Avoid The Squirrels

I've decided to take a break from blogging about my personal ups and downs. I've closed my "Just So" blog for the time being and am going to focus on my garden, children, and four legged beasties... Let me close the other blog saying simply, I'm happy, content and am focusing on counting my blessings...


Last night one of my close friends posted on facebook that she'd hit a squirrel and was devastated. My sarcastic, nay witty, comeback was "Aim For Rabbits"... Squirrels are cute fuzzy creatures that do no harm to your garden. Rabbits, from late February to November are the bane to any gardeners existence. If it might look good on your plate, know the rabbit family living in your backyard will think it is an appetizer.

I find solace in my garden... I always have... today I stepped outside into the almost balmy 60' winter air and started to unclutter the dead of winter... what I found under the brown leaves was a mixture of fresh greens, plants nibbled to the ground, and stacks and stacks of fresh rabbit poop... They've been hiding a secret... The garden has been coming alive, and they are having 10 course meals.


It's time to go 'caddy shack' again... and try to outwit these furry flea brained creatures. I'll try out new vegetables and see which ones they turn their noses up to and which ones might actually grace my table. I'll loudly make promises to plant enough for them if they just leave 60% for me... the little creeps will leave 20% if I'm lucky... Just look at how many of the plants survived in this bunch... :(


Two for me, five for nature... I long for the day where I will have the money to install a fence that will keep out the deer, and keep in my 180 pounds of four legged rabbit repellent... I do realize though... at that point I'll be blogging about wanting to string my mutts up by the tails for digging in my garden... Sigh...

For now, I'll appreciate that winter will be ending soon... and feel gladness in my heart as spring refreshes my spirit... peace in my soul as I touch the earth as the warm sun shines on my back... and I'll vow not to swerve when a rabbit hops across the country road before my home.


All pictures above were taken today in my garden.