It is so nice outside, and feels sooooo good to be out there.  Not just physically good, but emotionally delicious...

It is warm, 72' F.

(22.2' C)

Sunny warm rays that do so bewitch.

I suppose it is safe to tell you a little secret...

There is a place you will find us at a quarter past two on Friday, and Thursday, and perhaps even Wednesday too?

Hanging from a tree, in that warm of warmest Arizona sun...

Reading Robert Louis Stevenson...

Dreaming.

Sitting still.

An inner peace I have been searching for since I was 16 has found me.

I can sit still for an hour, entranced with thoughts of nothingness...

Not move.

Just listen to the birds, and breathe.

Then maybe read a little, and...

Dream of spring, and fairies and hollyhocks and bees...

The sun is oh so warm, and the breeze cool, brisk even.

Kisses your toe, your shoulder, your nose...

Blissful moments.

Almost silly good, if you know what I mean.

Sun, birds, warmth, hammock.

Wake me up, please!

Or, maybe don't.

:)

I listen to a cd playing in the distance.  A cd I have had for 10 years or more.  Filled with beautiful ethereal songs, that take you away in the greatest drift of feelings and calm.  I always flip the cd on when I go out onto my back porch.  The songs, heard so many times, feel like a part of me in my outside world.  Where time stops and I just re-energize.

I didn't even know if I could find the cd online, but I did.  With sample tunes too.  Here it is, Sound healing by Dean Evenson.  So, that is what I have been listening to, almost every day for 10 years or more (along with a few others, but that one is constant).  With my fountain on and the birds chirping, it's just so yummy.

So, back to hammock days...

Music flowing in the breeze...

The mountains hovering so beautifully...

Silly perfect, you see?

A tattered favorite straw hat.  My constant companion in the sun...

And to think, just a few days ago, it was snowing?

The boys play and sleep all day...

Begging me to be done with my silly human games -

And get back to my real duties.

Like furry hugs, and belly scratches.

Everyone wants to jump on my lap and snuggle.  Which is sort of difficult on a hammock.  So, I get refueled, and then...

Skip away...

Telling my hammock, I'll see you again soon, if I can sneak away ;)

Where would you be right at this very moment?  If you could be anywhere?  And, what would you be doing?

I wonder that sometimes.

Close my eyes and think, where would I be now, if I could be anywhere?

What would I be doing???

I think, back in my hammock, in that warm sun, without one care in the world sneaking up on me.

Yes yes, that is where I would be.

But, maybe on a deserted warm beach too, searching for seashells.  Oh yes!  But only if I could come back home in the blink of an eye, and bring my treasures found with me ;)

You?

Love, V

ps:  I popped some new cards into my shop yesterday.  I have been keeping them quiet for a couple months now- until it felt like just the right moment to share. 

And, for some reason it feels like it now.

The cards are commercial quality - just lovely in person, with a satin finish.  They have so many uses, from thank yous to anything really.  I have sent a couple out myself.  I should send snail mail more often.  It is so much fun to give and receive, isn't it?

Roses (from my garden)

And...

A Tuft of Stars -

Both photographs taken in my garden by me, and turned into cards.

Now added to my shop...

♥

Collecting from the garden...

So fresh, so anticipated.

Time to harvest...

Brussels sprouts, and...

Broccoli.

Our garden, tended and loved by me ever so much, is gifting its winter eats in baskets full.

Only take as much as you can eat at one time...

Tender and fresh.

With the brussels sprout plants creating their own giant rose, right at the tippy top...

And in the center, the highly anticipated, cabbage like baby. 

A tale I had read and read of.

Edible too, and so we will.

But next, the brussels sprouts themselves get munched (as we have already enjoyed leaves while waiting for sprouts), with many more sprouts to harvest this week.

A little butter and olive oil, tossed with garlic salt.

So delicious beyond words. 

Sweet and tender, mild and succulent!

Such wonderful winter eats we have enjoyed from the garden.

After the greens, a little spice beckoned us.

I brought home a bunch of Hatch chilies last month, and so, I felt it was time to start cooking some up...

Cut them off the bundle, 15-20 or so.

Shake out the seeds. (or save for planting)

Pop into a pot of water and boil until super tender.

(open windows, as they can be strong whilst cooking)

Cool for a few minutes, then pop into the blender with a bit of the water they cooked in.

Then, strain into a bowl, pressing down on your strainer with a spoon, little by little.

You are left with glorious chili sauce (chile), to spice up and use as you wish.

I carmelized some sweet onions, garlic, red bell peppers then browned a little ground meat (you can use turkey, or beef, or no meat at all). Flavored with garlic salt to taste.  Poured in two cans of kidney beans, using all the contents in the cans, liquid too.  And last, poured in the chili, and let that all come to a soft boil.  (you can add more of the water you cooked the chilies in to create the thickness you wish)

We like to put corn chips in our bowl first, then pour in the soup.

Top with sour cream and avocado, yumm!

Voila, you have homemade chili.

Using your own chilies really makes a difference.

Perfect eats for a brisk winter evening.

And, when your beau announces that he has brought home more fresh blueberries (with an impish grin on his face), well...

You know what that means.

Pie please :)

And so, I happily oblige...

Again.

All the while, baby tomato plants are being born.

Sweet little things.

Growing in the warmth of the studio, and my room, and back and forth.

So hard to believe that spring is just around the corner.

Time slips by incredibly fast for me.

I blink, and there goes time.  Hours pass like minutes.

The garden makes time go by so much faster than I could have imagined.

Especially keeping a vegetable garden year round.

This has been amazing, everyday something new is going on, and every day there is more to do.  Prep for the next season of growing things.  Seeds, and harvesting, and weeding, and thinning, and caring for.

Before you know it, summer and fall are but a faint memory, and winter gives you a couple last hugs before saying, see you in a year. (in Southern Az at least)

As you look towards the horizon, you can see spring riding towards you, making clouds of dust in the distance.  Showing you, it is almost here.......

A month away, minus a day.

Tuesday March 20th, they say.

Love, V

ps:  Yesterday Miles and I went out to see my parents who were in town (normally Matty gets to go, so this time is was Miles' turn for one on one time with me), and we saw poppies lining the sides of the highway.  So beautiful, those poppies.  And then, we noticed 3 wee poppies in our own garden, along with wild desert evening primrose early in the morning, and gobs of chamomile.

I am seeing lots of the poppy seeds I sprinkled in autumn growing into big and strong plants.  I check them almost every morning, giving them water as needed.  I always dreamed of a garden full of poppies.  Mostly because year after year, I drive by this one house, and the entire garden is a field of poppies.

So so pretty.

We'll see what happens with our poppies this year.  I just can't wait!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

I just love today.

The more over the top the better.

The more silly, sappy, ooey gooey Valentiney, the better.

Pink and red are my fave.

My sis made the garland above.

She sent me a lovely parcel, filled with Valentine treats she made.

I saved it for this morning, along with a big box from Mombie.

Lovee's homemade cards knock my socks off!

They are hilarious.

He has been painting a heart shaped rock for me every year since we met.

Sometimes they are big, sometimes they are small.

Sometimes they have words.

Sometimes none at all.

Matty and Miles and I made Lovee a homemade card too.

I tried to put red glitter lips on my photo.

But, well, it didn't work out so well, hahahaa!

To me, the cheesier a homemade Valentine, the better.

The sillier, the even more better.

I saved Mom's box for last...

I'll tell you what the parcel she sent is.

It is Valentine's Day in a box.

I don't know where I would be today, if I didn't have a Mom like her.  Over the top is normal to her.  Her norm begins at over the top, and increases from there.

I love it.

I just realized, she is a HUGE reason I still feel like a kid.

She keeps me feeling ever so young.

She doesn't pressure me to grow up, ever.

Plus, growing up is overrated, isn't it?

She says there is a pipe cleaner ring, that she made, inside the box.

I still have not found it.

:)

But I know who might!

I hope you are having a delightful Valentine's Day.

Even if today makes you roll your eyes...

Make it a "you" day.

You You You!!

You are wonderful and lovely, and kind - and you matter.

A whole lot.

You do.

I know what you are thinking.

Those are just words.

How can she say that, she doesn't even know me.

But - I know what I am saying.

Sappy or not.

It's true.

Be kind to you, won't you?

Sooooo...

Here's to a holiday made for -

Sweets and mushiness Galore!

;)

I am late on all our plans for today, must run for now.

(plus, Miles has his head on my lap and is whining for me to be done, and Matty is standing up behind my chair)

Looooove is in the aiiiiiiiir!

Looove, V

ps:  Be still my heart! It's SNOWING!!!!!!