I wanted to post a few recent snaps of my house and link up with Styling the Seasons again, sneaking in just under the wire before the month is over.
So: the meaning of February. Hearts, of course, and my daughter contributed some worthy ones, made in her after-school art class.
And flowers, no doubt. Tiny, star-like daffodils are cheering, and the perfume of hyacinths is heady, amazing.
But I think equally expressive of love and tenderness is the idea of roots: those delicate, usually hidden parts that both feed the blossom and are, once we really look at them, equally wondrous. That's a better metaphor for what we witness, and what we cherish, when we love someone.
And so, for this month, a display of the rarely seen.
Yes, I know, this post might have been more apropos at the beginning of the month. But it's worth pondering these things at least all February long, don't you think?
Yes, I do think. And I always enjoy seeing your mantel. Love the hearts. Can't believe how quickly Feb. has slipped away. Winter, too. I like the metaphor on your mantel. Wondering what you'll do for March.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do think. And I always enjoy seeing your mantel. Love the hearts. Can't believe how quickly Feb. has slipped away. Winter, too. I like the metaphor on your mantel. Wondering what you'll do for March.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita, I'm glad you agree.
DeleteWinter seems to be coming and going around here. Gloomy and pouring at lunchtime, sunny now. Forsythia in full bloom either way.
Hmm, March. Looking back I think March was the first time I participated in Styling the Seasons, it will be interesting to see if I can come up with anything fresh for year two.
Ah, what a wonderful metaphor you've drawn with the roots and love --- this is so, so true, and it's really warmed my heart this morning :) .
ReplyDeleteI miss the days of artwork (such as the hearts your daughter painted) coming home. But I have a "practical" question: when February is over and you "re-decorate" for March, what will you do with your daughter's artwork? My over-the-top sentimentality for pretty much anything to do with my kids has resulted in me accumulating what is probably crazy-lady amounts of painted hearts and so forth, "stuff" that will one day really need to be sorted through and - gulp - culled to a reasonable amount (whatever *that* is!). I've been thinking of doing a post on this, but am just a bit embarrassed to admit how much stuff of this nature I'm hoarding, so I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this...
I do save some of her artwork from year to year. The heart garland is actually from last year; it and this year's big heart just went up into a plastic bin of seasonal decor in the attic. I don't save a ton of this stuff though -- to be honest, what I tend to keep from year to year is what appeals to MY aesthetic sense and that is...a minority of what she brings home. :-P Sometimes I also find that what I tucked away, say, three years ago no longer seems so wondrous in comparison to her more recent work, so there is some degree of shuffling things in and out (but not everything...sometimes the really old stuff retains its charm).
DeleteOne thing that I do wish I were better about though is making a space for the work she brings home to shine because she is often proud of it when she first brings it home. And then also I wish we had a better system for encouraging her to rotate older things out and decide what she wants to keep long-term and what she wants to let go of. I confess that I do a lot of temporary out-of-sight-out-of-mind stashing of her art projects, and then cull them later. This has never come back to bite me (yet...knock on wood) but it would be better if she could take some deliberate hand in the process.
I have to chime in...When my daughter was in middle school and obsessed with all things Twilight, she made a plate at a paint-your-own-pottery place that featured meaningful words and images about her obsession. I kept it for a few years, but it was never getting used and I was in a decluttering mode. I packed it up with some other not-used-much dishes and donated them to a thrift store. Don't remember how, but she found out right away. Went back to the thrift store and was so thankful when they let me just take it back home again! I got the feeling I wasn't the first person to do such a thing. :-) And, I'll probably have that dang plate forever now!
DeleteToo funny, Rita! I'm happy to say that my daughter went through some of her recent artwork last weekend and was able to let go of some of it to be recycled. I'm glad I involved her in the process. And I consider myself forewarned not to even think about touching any of her Harry Potter stuff...or whatever other obsession comes down the pike next!
DeleteI love this display of your daughter's artwork juxtaposed with those forced blooms and their roots -- very cool and definitely worth our wonder!
ReplyDeleteThanks, mater, they are good companions on the mantel for sure. Hope your weekend is going well!
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