little glimpses

  winter, firefly road.  a  little bit of sunshine purchased last week in asheville (tulips are my all time favorites) and moved around the house to suit my moods.  here, they rest just inside the front door - a place i rarely ever show here because the table is forever piled high with mail, gloves, keys, wallet, more mail, photographs, things to be carried downstairs to the basement.  this weekend i puttered with a dust cloth and lemon oil, and it felt good.  within the tiny drawers are hundreds and hundreds of antique mother of pearl buttons, a few buckles in there as well...  mister nut, from the river.  hilarious, i think.  he'll be tucked into a box to send to my son robin in the high country of colorado, because i think that it looks like the abominable snowman, really.  i wonder what the squirrel thought of its artwork, afterwards.
 roots at the river, just beside the trail.  walter and i walk down and then back up these roots, like steps, every time we head from the car towards the river, then back up when it is time to head back home again.  we'll be heading there momentarily:  both of his tags fell off sometime yesterday, and i have a feeling they are on the banks of the river.  i'm not happy about this.

the tags could be here, as well, on the trail that leads from my back yard on through the woods and beyond.  every afternoon around 5:30 or so, we head to this trail and i throw sticks down into the woods for walter to find, to fetch.  he loves this game.  maybe those tags are there, somewhere.  this shall be a challenge, a treasure hunt.  wish me luck.
last night's handiwork (please don't laugh!).  roy was very proud of his christmas gift to me this year, a vintage 1940's christmas tablecloth that he found in a retro shop in very hip downtown wilmington.  it was my intention over new year's to embroider his name and the date within the border; the tablecloth sat, folded, on the table beside the front door until sunday, when i relegated it to the arm of the sofa as a reminder.  poor lighting, insufficient marker for the fabric, a pitiful embroidery hoop from the thrift store all made that lettering go wonky.  it matters not.  i'll love that it is there, for every year to come.  as i told a friend who was belatedly working on christmas ornaments after her shoulders are now thankfully on the mend, "christmas in february".  why ever not?  a notion that came into being, that has now taken wing to another loving home... 


shades of things to come...
now, off to the river, so we can hunt for more treasure, so i can get back home and dive back into treasures that await me in the tidy studio....

Comments

[julie]

i cannot stop laughing at mister nut! so freaking cool. robin will love him. leave it to you to find such a nut.

and as for mr. wtb's tag...well, they have been lost and found once before so you go super sleuth and find those tags!!

[Judy H.]

Enjoyed the post; love the necklaces. :)

[susanc]

Love Mr. Nut! Good luck finding Walter's tags today ~ I hope you find them. The necklaces are beautiful! :)

[Tina in McLeansville]

love it all...except the lost tags. hope they turn up. mister nut looks like one of the talking trees from the wizard of oz, i think...too funny! enjoy this gorgeous day! hugs...xo

[vickie]

Ah..that nut was fantastic-cannot believe the face! I love finding nature's interesting treasure/gifts. Wishing you much luck with recovering Walter's tags and yes the jewelry is SO lovely.
vickie in kc

[MaggieD]

absolute bliss... except for the lost tags... but perhaps the hunt will be blissful as well. The necklaces are lovely...

[beth]

that nut face is the best find !!

[delila]

i can smell the moss and dried leaves when i am looking your photos Nina. your dog must be so happy to wander in these woods and have a friends like you.

love.

[Erin Perry]

Sounds like you're surrounded with good things in this quiet month. Faint promises of spring will soon appear, and in the meantime we can still enjoy the drawing in of early nights and chill mornings.
Erin in Morro Bay

[Patricia Walters]

I need to win the lottery! I do so love your work.

I am also amazed at your eye and vision. Finding that wonderful nut and seeing the face within. Superb.

I also wanted to let you know that its was raining here in drought riddern TX when the rain spirit earrings arrived. I am wearing them alot!

[Mary G.]

Good luck finding Walter's tags -- it'll be interesting to learn where you find them.

I need to have Christmas every month of the year!

[Lori Burek]

Love the photos and new work? The needle work is wonderful. Sounds like you are the path of getting things done!
hugs!

[susan]

Nina, thank you for sharing all these small glimpses into your very precious life. You are the best storyteller I know.
Mr Nut made me smile - and your new necklaces are lovely, as usual.
Good luck searching for Walter's tags.

xo dusan

[Barbara]

you're so hard on yourself! I think the embroidery is just plain fine. perfectly imperfect, in fact. I laugh at the walnut shell for different reasons....a bit too long to type....I have a bag of pecans I've hoisted back here to Fl from NC and my kitten (now a cat) seems intent on pilfering them out one by one and keeping me awake at night. :)

[Carol Leigh]

You know what two words really caught my eye? "Tidy Studio!" Hooray for you!

[Cindy Dean]

I love your pictures, they themselves tell a story.

[Sharron]

Love the tulips! And they just get better as they open and arc down, let's hear it for graceful aging...xoxo

[jen e]

christmas in february is great...my daughter was sick on halloween, then christmas came before we knew it, so we had halloween in january this year...i figured years from now, she'll never know the difference, she'll just see the pictures :)

i love mister nut...and i love even more that you are sending him to robin...a special mama you are.

[Sheri]

Dear Nina, greetings on this rainy Oregon morning. Thank you for glimpses into your "magic kingdom". Love your Memory and your Notion piece. Just beautiful... Whenever I loose something, I ask St. Anthony to help me find it. (I'm not Catholic, just love saints, angels and kachinas), the invisible helpers and messengers. I also love your Crowleys box and wonder if it sat in a hardware store, filled with nuts and bolts, many lifetimes ago. Hoping you and Walter find those tags and have a very special day.

Your appreciative blog reader, Sheri

Always love to look up the meaning of flowers. Here's tulips.

Tulip Flowers and Meanings
Tulips are also voracious sun seekers (like the sunflower) and will sway their heads in crazy contortions seeking out the best angle for light. This makes them a symbol of opportunity, adjustment, advancement, and aspiration. They are commonly thought to represent attainment of spiritual awareness too. Because they are from bulbs, and return every year (like the daffodil) tulips are symbolic of resurrection and determination.

[bev b]

love the nut! now i will be looking at them more closely when i find them in the yard. i love the notion necklaces...who would'a thunk you could use s/p shakers?? i need to use my left brain more...the right side is too overworked!

[Sophie]

I love these little glimpses into your life. Tulips are also favorites of mine. Your new necklaces are absolutely stunning! Thank you for sharing these pictures with us.

[sandra]

shivering spine and looking in wonderment...

[sandra]

we are in everything and everything is in us...the nut confirms it.

[rusted wings]

you just touch everything with loving magic!

[Emily]

I have never ever seen anything like that nut! Such beauty in nature's art. Roy will be so touched to see his embroidered name on his gift to you.