I have risen....Tea for Tuesdays

simple gifts...buttons ...loved precious buttons....







I awoke this morning to my Carolina Wren pair singing in the glorious sunshine of the morning as they prepared their nest for their new family this Spring. It was 8:30 am and I have been able to be up all day for the first time in almost two weeks...it seems I have contracted a virus that has attacked my systems and kidneys for almost a month. My doctor asked me if I had ever had mono and I said No ...because I did not know that I was ever that ill as a teen. Wrong! my blood work showed I have had mono maybe even recently and the virus that is rushing through my body and ravaging my energies has to run its course. With bed rest...sleep for up to 16 hours a day...vitamins...antioxidants...rest and rest and rest I am almost feeling human again. Honestly I was beginning I would never be able to put in a whole day again of normal activities. I worked slowly but I am so happy that I could be up and somewhat productive. I made chicken and homemade noodles for us and... one for the kids...Morgan is having a small surgical procedure on Thursday and I will not be of any use...as a Grandmother I fall apart when my babies have any procedure that might cause them pain. I worked in the kitchen and did not try to climb any stairs while I was home alone. I was given a large cardboard box filled with some dirty but wonderful buttons to use on my pieces as I near completion ...the good lord willing :O). The treasures were there for the sorting...mother of pearls...glass buttons.... every color selection to please a button lovers possible dreams. First I have to hand wash them; sort and clip each remnant of threads used to adhere to their original garments...and finally make selections for my possible placement on my large quilt. "Bake a light " spelling?...buttons and some celluloid materials that can dissolve if they are too fragile from age and my hot, hot soapy water! Believe me it took most of the afternoon and I felt as if I had accomplished something that is a vital design element that visibly communicates a time from the past to the viewers personal experiences living today in our culture. My hand are tired...bruised from pokes from my seam ripper and scissors and multiple tiny paper cuts...my hands will heal and now tomorrow I have delightful precious trinkets to sew my story. I want to have my large Australian quilt photographed next week for the upcoming needed press releases.

Today it was a brilliant sunny day but the temperatures are dipping into the freeze zone so maybe not getting my plants in this early will turn out to be a good coincidence. My irises are showing their blooms and so far my dear deer have not munched on them. The lily of the valley is up but not quite ready to have enough to cut a small bouquet for my dining room table. The perennial sedum is coming back nicely down the steps and the lilacs are fragrant and soothing as I walk outside. Tonight's moon is almost full and has a somewhat blue light cast to the moonlight on the hillside...I think it is a full moon tomorrow so I am hoping I can get a different view for a photograph to have in the very near future. I am going to try to get to bed early tonight and think positive thoughts for a continued renewal in health and energies. "There is no knowledge of true being. The world is fundamentally in a state of becoming." Nietzsche

Thank for for your prayers and patience as I embrace tomorrow ... the spots in my brain are my brilliance shining through the cloudy days ...the rains have eased and the multiple greens are spectacular as I witness the trees unfolding their arms in renewal. I wrote "Hope like a tree reaches for the sky" back in my junior year of high school at Angela Merici High School in Louisville, Kentucky and for some reason I have been able to hold onto this affirmation. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart