Saturday, November 12, 2011

THREE YEARS OF LAWN TEA

Three years ago today, I tentatively sent out the first post of these almost-eight-hundred, just flinging thoughts and memories out there to the whole universe, and now here we are---later in time and life, with many changes and new happenings happened and written and shared.


Still not up to posting as I'd like to, but I thought today should have at least one little Hello and a very large Thank You to all of you who have joined in and shared the moments of our days.   I appreciate and love you all, and am so grateful for all the wonderful sweet friends who have come to be such a part of my life.


So---just a small moment---a morning walk with Sweetpea, as we walked and marveled and looked at the world with wonder---the ordinary and the marvelous.

ADVENTURE WALK

We came upon a broken bag at the curb, bits of someone's plastic recycle scattered for several yards, the colors and the shapes splayed in the sunshine.   A paint tray, coat of pale yellow in the bottom, with a small waterline of soft blue to attest its former use.   We talked about the smell of fresh paint, how it brightens up things, how the roller rolls smooth through the thick colors and transforms walls with a swipe of the arm.   We speculated on places which might now BE those lovely colors---a cozy kitchen in the soft butter yellow of my own, or a baby's room in either that or the pale blue.


The rollers, some small bright cylinders which had been the V-legs of what looked like a child's easel, bits of crumbled pearly egg cartons scurrying in the breeze, a deep quad container which had held four hefty pots of new plants, long blue ribbons of painting-tape, dotted with color and furled into the bows and twists of Mardi Gras---all testament to New Beginnings---lay sprawled on the pavement like scattered toys.


I explained how it was to be refurbishing a house, trying to imagine the cool silence and vast expectant rooms, stripped to the echoes, awaiting transformation and renewal.    And I tried to imagine all those NEWS---the starting outs, the clearing aways, the brightenings and the cleanings.   






We came home and sat down at the dollhouse, which has accumulated WAY more than its share of needfuls---there always seems to be a new denizen for the never-ending backyard menagerie flowing from Ganner's pocket, and what started as a few little farm animals has progressed past farm, through Noah, and into Open Range/Jungle/Pampas/Veldt stage.   The little herd of cows, the couple of chickens, the goat and the lambs---those have blossomed, beginning with the yak, I think.   After all, after a YAK, the sky's the limit.

And now we have monkeys and an elephant and a raccoon, many cats, from snobbish little pillow-puffs to a whole fleet of fast jungle ones, a dozen dogs, a kangaroo.  All sizes of fat pink piggies, a whole stableful of mis-matched horses, with such a giant steed standing eaves-high guard outside the patio, folks are gonna be driving up craving Dan Dan Noodles.  

The latest is a white tiger, which she triumphantly claimed and crowed, "A SNOW Leopard!!"  And could not be dissuaded, though we explained spots and stripes, so Ganner proposed that perhaps this leopard got caught out in the rain and his colors ran.

We scooped everything out of the bright plastic rooms; we put our faces deep into the tiny spaces, shouting  a little HAH! into each small emptiness, as she always does when we enter a building, to hear the resounding in any vestibule, especially those little entry-ways with two sets of glass doors and nothing but space between.


A little Pine-Sol spray, a few paper towels, a pretty piece of border from a sticker-book cut into a cunning carpet-runner and matching valance and stuck in the little dining room, and our tiny house is refreshed.


And so, with several days since to work on my own house,  I have been slowly going floor-to-ceiling, round the room down here, scattering debris, putting the fear into dust bunnies, finding a lost brooch, the top to the tiniest teapot, a long-despaired-of shoe---in rightening these rooms for the great arrival of five-to-stay and more to visit.   

Moving slowly, and looking forward, still shouting a little "Hah!" out into the world, hoping for an echo.





21 comments:

  1. Three years -- wow! I enjoyed your post this morning (as always). Hugs! :)

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  2. Thank you, Denise! It's always so good to see you drop in.

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  3. Congratulations, Rachel, on reaching such a memorable milestone -- my days have been richer and brighter these past three years because of you and your beautifully simple, yet eloquent, way with words.

    Your kind and gentle spirit is reflected through your stories, and I thank you for sharing them with us. You are truly an inspiration, and I look forward to many, many more LAWN TEAS.

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  4. Janie,

    Your words and kindness mean SO much to me, and my own days are enriched by your moving and evocative photos of "back home."

    Thank you for EVERYTHING.

    rachel

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  5. Rachel, I have missed you. Does that make you feel as warm as it does when I say it? Because to miss someone, they have to have a place in your life that echoes with emptiness when they are not there. We have known each other since the beginning of these 3 years...and in my heart the knowing has become a friendship. A sweet friendship with one who 'gets' the words I write...and from whom I learn many lessons both in the art of writing and the art of living well and with purpose.

    Bless you, sweet friend. I hope the sun shines on you all day!

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  6. No real sunshine today, Tonja, but it's 67 here, and we just got in from a long breezy walk. We stopped at neighbor Honey's house and splashed in her driveway puddles---the best in town.

    Then we had to put on fresh socks and pants and put our rubber clogs atop the dryer, and we just had cocoa and marshmallows for lunch.

    You make what you can outa whatcha got and this made the blustery day cozy.

    Thank you for the sweet words, dear friend.

    rachel

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  7. Rachel, my heart smiled when I found this post. You are a gift for all of us, and I know everyone treasures you.

    Thank you for sharing your joy. Love to you, dear friend.♥

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  8. Beverly.

    I always treasure your sweet comments. Even with this creaky laptop with molasses for circuits, I'm enjoying the luxury of being able to ANSWER the comments for a change. But cannot seem to post on anyone else's.

    Thank you for reading and chiming in!

    rachel

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  9. Hah! Another Sweetpea story for Mom...she's in Hosp. right now..I'd like to put it out there to your friends who pray/believe that I'd love it if they could say a word or two for her..thank you and congrats on 3 wonderful years Rachel..you are always a part of my day..thank you for that.

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  10. Bev,

    Thank you for your kind words and for being here for all the three years. Give your Mom our best and brightest thoughts and tell her she's in my prayers.

    She, too, feels like an old dear friend.

    rachel

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  11. I was delighted, then I related and then inspired and back to delighted! Just a great morning to read this post. "Warmth" is such a great thing to get from a blog!
    Thank you!
    Mona

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  12. Oh, Dear Mona,

    It's always lovely to hear from you---and WARMTH is the word for your welcoming home and that cheery red kitchen that I love to visit.

    Thank you for all the kind words,

    rachel

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  13. Nice having you over for a visit. Enjoyed reading so many different things you have been experiencing.

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  14. Good morning Rachel, It is wonderful to know you are out and about walking with your darlin Sweetpea. Honestly, I have been worried about you.I am happy for your lovely Blog reaching three years running. I know very well the time it takes to keep a Blog going. Congratulations.

    With the help of your text, I am clearly imagining a vast herd of animals in the confines of your dollhouse. All because of a yak. HA! You are the most fun and interesting writer to be sure. I have missed you my dear friend.

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with loved ones all around you.

    Blessings, Jeanne

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  15. LV,

    It's always nice to hear from you, and I SO enjoy dropping in for a look at your place---from the simple quilts on a bed, to a glimpse of the sky which takes my breath away.

    JEANNE,

    Thank you, DEAR friend for all your faithful reading and commenting. Visiting you at your lovely home takes me away and into a lovely 'nother world of hospitality and family, with mountains and beautiful autumn gatherings. And the people you've introduced me to!! All treasured and enjoyed, as are their blogs and their adventures.

    Thank you for being my friend and for looking in on me.

    rachel

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  16. Oh, Rachel, so hard to comprehend that it has been 3 whole years, and yet ONLY 3 years with you on Lawn Tea.

    Wonderful memories with Sweetpea's animals. They seem to have grown exponentially since we were there. I was so privileged to be taken upstairs to see them with her! Give her a great big ol' hug from me!

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  17. Dearest Rachel:
    Three years, and every post a gem. (I haven't been up much to blogging either. Next week is my goal.) Much love, Maggie

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  18. CHESAPEAKE,

    The years have FLOWN, have they not? Occasionally I look back at a random place, and it's like the diary I never kept in school--rememberings of people and places, and now I cannot even remember jotting down some of those things. And I swear the menagerie wanders the house at odd moments,strewing books and phones and eyeglasses into unlikely places.

    And MAGGIE DARLIN'

    Thank YOU for the kind words over the years, and the encouragement---and for sharing your own wonderful remembrances and charming wit.

    What a joy to see the card---So glad you had SUCH a grand week with the chillun out there in Wonderland.

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  19. Being talked to seriously and being truly listened to - those are only some of the things that Miss Sweetpea will remember and treasure. If I ever have a grandchild, YOU will be my golden mean.

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  20. Happy Anniversary to you! I'm so glad you set up shop. :-)

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  21. Hello dear Rachel, Thank you so much for your sweet comment on my Pink Sat. Post. We were on the road on Sat. and my comments are belated. We are having Thanksgiving with our children and grands in FL.

    Blessings to you and yours. I pray you are much improved by now. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones all around you.

    Much love, Jeanne

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