You see, I was helping my daughter move. Packing and unpacking are not easy to do. But, finding sweet memories lost in a box stuffed in the back of a closet made it all worth while.
Arriving home, the daytime high temperature only reached 34 degrees (F), and icicles were still hanging from street signs as I drove up. So, I didn't expect any blooms to be greeting me. And it was too cold to walk around hunting one.
But, I did have some surprises upon my return. I had gardening books (ordered before I left) waiting for me. Seed catalogs. Sweet comments on my blog. And a beautiful bracelet from Jennifer of Three Dogs in a Garden. Isn't it gorgeous? (Actually, it's much prettier in person.)
Thank you, Jennifer!
Then I began checking my 313 emails. And I realized: the post I had written for Jennifer's writing contest had been published! Wahoo!
Please click HERE to read it.
It's titled "Don't be the Crazy Cat Lady", and of course, it's about gardening. Jennifer also enhanced some of my photos, and they are gorgeous. I knew that Jennifer would make the photos look beautiful, as she always has the loveliest photographs on her blog.
Thank you again, Jennifer!
It's always fun to be pleasantly surprised when returning home!
Wow, congrats Holley, what a fantastic essay! It was well thought out and very humorous!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stacy. I am glad you enjoyed it! :)
Deletenothing better than a sweet surprise!
ReplyDeleteSo true! Got to love the surprises that make us smile!
DeleteLots of neat surprises, Holley.... Congrats!!!!!! That was nice of you to help your daughter move. I'm sure that your garden will be fine --even though I'm sure it missed your TLC...
ReplyDeleteWelcome Home.
Hugs,
Betsy
Oh, yes, the garden is fine. It's winter, and since I hate the cold, it gets ignored a lot in the winter anyway. :O
DeleteLoved the essay. Beautifully crafted.
ReplyDeleteI spent (wasted) precious packing hours reliving tender memories. I hope years from now my children will discover them and enjoy them all over again. Some of their kindergarten drawings and early notes to me are going to be framed so I have the pleasure of them all the time.
Oh, those hours were not wasted! Sometimes it is important to relive those old memories. I am glad you are going to frame some of their drawings. They will bring such joy to you each time you pass by them.
DeleteMoving is busy! Glad you had time to be with your daughter...I read the essay! It was hilarious!!! So true about finding a passion vs. making resolutions! Cheers to you girl!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was fun to be with my daughter - and it is always exciting to learn about a new area. I am not one to make resolutions - I wouldn't keep them anyway! Might as well just have fun in the garden!
DeleteI loved your essay! Congratulations! You deserved to win. The photos are fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deb. Jennifer did a wonderful job on the photos. She is so talented.
DeleteLovely essay, I don't envy the cat lady.
ReplyDeletehaha - I don't either! I can't imagine all the destruction that 700 cats could make!
DeleteCongrats Holley, you deserved it :) It was a great read and the photos are fab!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am very impressed with how Jennifer texturized my photos. It really does add another dimension to them.
DeleteGlad you had that time with your daughter and that a box of memories was found. Moving is always such hard work. May she do well in her new space and enjoy making it truly hers.
ReplyDeleteYour essay was delightful and your photos stunning.
I've read about the cat lady too and have wondered how she keeps them from fighting with each other.
Have a great day ~ FlowerLady
Thank you for your well wishes. I, too, have wondered about how the cat lady keeps them from destroying things - and each other!
DeleteNice to be able to visit that long with your daughter and help with something that is a tremendous amount of work.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Yes, it was nice, even though I know that fish and company stink after three days! ;) It was a lot of work - moving always is. That's why I've vowed to never move again - they will have to do all the work if they ever want me to go into a nursing home! :O
DeleteCongratulations! I liked your essay and the message--why not find a passion?
ReplyDeleteYes, everyone should have a passion! I can't imagine living without one, even if it changes through the years.
DeleteJust read your essay and you are well deserving of first prize! And I wondered where you were but I thought it might be a winter vacation somewhere warm. I hope the daughter moved closer to you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marcia. It was an honor to be published first, although there was never a "first prize" officially awarded. Unfortunately, my daughter moved several hours further away. :( But, you know that means I'll just visit for a longer period of time when I go see her!
DeleteCongratulations Holley, that was a lovely essay. My neighbours to my left calls me 'the flower lady', I am very happy to be called that, as long as the word 'crazy' is not part of the expression!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you had a nice time with your daughter, moving is stressful, I know, I currently live in my 23rd house (counting from birth) and I have lived here for 11 years. But it is an opportunity to discover belongings you don't see very often, or things you had forgotten about :-)
The flower lady is a wonderful thing to be known as - and yes, it's much better than being called crazy! :) Wow - 23 moves! That's incredible. I, too, have lived in my home for 11 years. No telling what is stuffed in the back of my closet! :)
DeleteI thoroughly enjoyed your essay. It wasn't wrong to think of cat poop - just normal, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteGlad the move went well, my son is 23 and tells me he is never moving out - so I won't have that pleasure, although I'm not sure that the word pleasure and moving house should be said in the same sentence.
You are indeed a worthy winner!!
I agree that 'moving' and 'pleasure' are not usually used in the same sentence! Unless it's after the move is over! ;)
DeleteCongratulations! Though I'm afraid I am already considered the crazy garden guy.
ReplyDeleteha - I don't think that's a bad thing to be - I would take it as a compliment! Now, 'crazy cat lady' is probably not meant as a compliment! :O
DeleteGreat essay Holley, I also enjoyed the waltzing rose post that Jennifer directed us to. I agree with you about resolutions, but I did make one this year - to eat more healthily, as I've stopped cooking since I started gardening & blogging.
ReplyDeleteI think you should be very successful with your new resolution. Just grow some things to eat, and surely you'll be eating healthier! Thanks, too, for the compliment! :)
DeleteCute essay, Holley! 700 cats is just too many--and that is coming from someone who loves cats and has two herself. 700 cats on a savanna or a wildlife sanctuary would be just fine, as would be 700 Roses in a botanical garden...or 100 Roses in a smaller garden (well, one can never have too many Roses, but that's another story). Anyway, congrats on winning the essay contest and the bracelet. Glad you're back home safe!
ReplyDeleteI agree - I love cats, but 700 is waaay too many! I don't think anyone could have too many roses, though! Although I suppose my husband would disagree! ;)
DeleteI love your story! I love cats but don't want 700! That's a lot of yacked up fur balls. I'd rather have 100 roses. :o)
ReplyDeleteOnly someone seriously crazy would want 700! Yacked up fur balls! haha Oh, I hadn't thought of that! Yuck!
DeleteYour story was great Holley! and wowee look at that bracelet. well done.
ReplyDeleteThe bracelet is truly beautiful. I wish my photo had done it justice, but I just couldn't make the jewels sparkle like they do in real life. Jennifer makes these bracelets - she is truly amazingly talented!
DeleteNow 34 is warm here Holley :) Great essay. I missed this contest but if Jennifer has it again i will surely enter. Lovely prize too...I am only the crazy garden lady here!
ReplyDeleteYes, temperature is all what you get used to, I guess. Anything below 60 is cold to me! :O I'm sorry you missed the contest. I know your writing is wonderful, and the bracelet is a beautiful prize.
DeleteI love cats and I enjoyed reading the cat story but 700.......NO NO NO - I rather like to have 700 roses.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way! No way could 700 cats EVER be a good thing! But 700 roses would be pure beauty!
DeleteNice essay! Gardening is much better than . . . catening?
ReplyDeletehaha - I do wonder what the correct word is! I would much rather be known as a gardener than a .. catener! :)
DeleteIt must have been nice to bond with your daughter while you helped her move. A chore, but also a treat at the same time. My son recently moved, but I live all the way across the country from him, and it made helping him difficult. I loved your story about the crazy cat lady. I used to have four cats, now I have two, but my husband still sometimes calls me "crazy cat lady." But I am most definitely now "crazy gardener lady." I've been considering getting a couple of roses this year, I've stayed away from them because they are so much work.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your recent blog anniversary! And thanks for visiting my blog for Foliage Followup!
Oh, I hope that you will get some roses. I feel no garden is complete without one or two. Some are more work than others, so do a little research and you will be so pleased when your rose begins to bloom!
DeleteHolley, lovely essay!
ReplyDeleteAnd nice surprise, wonderful!
Thank you, Nadezda. It really was a wonderful surprise. :)
DeleteYou little essay is so true - gardening is a wonderful passion which gives back so much to the one who gardens and a bounty to be shared with friends of family. Your bracelet looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine living without a passion, it fills my day. And you are right that gardening is one that gives back - with beautiful flowers and yummy vegetables.
DeleteHi Holley,
ReplyDeleteI have just discovered your blog from the essay you wrote for 3 Dogs in a Garden. It is brilliant, and I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. This year, my own "resolutions" were centered around things I love to do, namely gardening, the point being that I would be doing them whether or not they were associated with any new resolve.
I am now following your blog, and look forward to more of your posts in the future!
Keri
Welcome! I think you hit the nail on the head with new resolutions - make them things you would do otherwise! Centering them around gardening sounds like a great plan!
DeleteThat was a great read, put a smile on my face, and beautiful photos too. The bracelet is lovely, and well-deserved.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I love the bracelet! It was a fun contest to enter.
Delete