I was able put together a cheerful dining space vignette over the last couple of days. It’s a colorful spot in my apartment during these cold winter months.
I got out my white pitchers and some of the red and white dishes I have (along with four blue transfer ware salad plates) and began arranging and rearranging.
Mostly I sat in one of the dining chairs to get all this accomplished.
I enjoy bringing my dishes out and playing with them. It’s fun to mix colors and shapes and textures to see what I can come up with that appeals to me.
Yearning To Garden:
I wish I was outdoors with my camera zooming in on a bloom. That is surely where I’d love to be.
I’ve missed gardening so, so much.
One thing about my old apartment is that I had a long flat space to garden in. And I took advantage of almost every square foot of that big outdoor patio space.
Remembering Gardens Of The Past:
Sometimes I look back on my laptop at photos from my last summer there, and I feel kind of sad.
Because even though it was a hot concrete patio, I still managed to coax many pretty flowers to grow there.
As I write this I know it’s odd, but I’ve got tears spilling over right now because I sure miss those flowers and plants and vines.
I miss my big blue raised garden bed with the big clump of hostas and Lamb’s Ear. Lordy, I sure do.
I’m happier and I feel much safer here. But the memory of gazing at those colorful flowers are good memories.
Where I lived was beginning to be sort of an unsafe area of town, so it’s good I got out when I did.
Still, I’m rather emotional lately and I’m not altogether sure why that is.
Maybe part of it is that, every January, I planned out my garden.
But right now I can’t visualize it because I don’t know what I’ll be able to do in a few short months.
And I still have trouble thinking about planning a garden area with that shady backyard space.
It’s not just that most of the yard is raised, but I also don’t think I can get a hose to it. Which means I will probably have to water the plants with a watering can.
Sweet Ivy:
I thought I’d throw in a photo of Ivy sleeping in one of her cat towers.
Lately she’s begun sitting on the piece of furniture nearest to the ceiling vent in the living room.
She sits there staring up at that vent. I don’t know what’s going on up there. She’s never done this before. It’s rather odd.
Anyway, this was kind of a crazy post, I know. Sitting here listening to beautiful piano music and playing with dishes. Crying and having visions of beautiful flowers in my head.
And Ivy suddenly obsessed with a heating vent. (Every time I think of a ceiling vent I think about snakes possibly falling through them at my old apartment complex).
So here, in this cozy little space (yes, I do know there is a lot to be grateful for), I’m going to try to have more planned posts for you. Not just me rambling as I tend to do.
A Cozy Visit From My Friends:
I want you to feel lifted in some way when you come here, even though I might be crying over a garden I had to leave.
You may remember that I left one beautiful garden and waterfall feature in Texas. Then I left another one I worked on for 8 years in January 2022.
But I have a roof over my head, and that’s truly a lot to be grateful for right there.
On the occasions when I have been out, I sometimes see elderly people pushing carts with their last few physical possessions in them. Reduced in their old age to a life the size of a grocery cart.
It shouldn’t be that way, you know. Not in this powerful and rich country.
This is what I read about the richness in the US: United States ($18.6 trillion) China ($11.2 trillion) Japan ($4.9 trillion) as of 2022.
I sit here writing this with my heart full to overflowing as the light on the patio darkens to dusk. Because I do have a lot to be grateful for.
My Daughters’ Dad Is Ill:
My daughters’ father suddenly couldn’t walk last week, so his brother called the girls to come see to him.
He had a broken hip, and when they did tests, they found it was actually a tumor on his hip that caused the problem.
So that means my daughters have been with him at hospitals in Norman and Oklahoma City all last week.
I think I’m going to order something like an Edible Arrangement basket and have it delivered to him.
I’m sure things are looking kind of bleak to him right now.
But those two girls of ours means we’ll always, always, have a connection in life. A connection that stretches all the way back to the seventies.
Even though I haven’t seen their dad in nearly 20 years, I want him to know I care and am hoping the best for him.
The girls have been unsuccessfully trying to get him to move here to Tulsa for years. But he hasn’t wanted to move from a place he’s lived most of his life.
And I don’t blame him. But sometimes you have to bend in the wind to keep going down the trail.
He lives 90 miles away in Norman, near Oklahoma City, and that means it’s hard for them to help him. But he might have to make some changes now.
Getting old is not for sissies, that’s for sure. See you later, alligators.
I wonder if you could do a series of posts that show the flowers at your last apartment. I know you lived there several years, so maybe show some photos of your patio the first year, then, a week or so later, show the patio the second year, then the third year, etc. It would be interesting to see how your patio flower arrangements changed through the years. I love your daily posts and am inspired by your decorating creativity! Just today, as I look at your wall with the yellow quilt on it, I am wondering what my dining room wall would look like with a quilt behind my grandmother’s pie-safe!
I love your rambling, vulnerable posts as we all can relate – we are all human. I believe it is good to let those feelings surface and acknowledge them – and at some point try to take control of them by finding new solutions that can bring you renewed peace and happiness. Your new apt is a safer and better place for you to be going forward. Focus on that aspect and then make whatever little bit of gardening space you have a spectacular space for you to really enjoy. A grand space can also be created in a small area (google something like “amazing NYC balconies” for inspo). Also, a small space will be much easier to maintain as the years go by. Indoor gardening can also be very gratifying and it keeps your air healthier too! Surround yourself w plants and flowers in the space that you DO have and CAN access! I bet there are some wonderful friends where you live too, you just haven’t met them yet. Maybe the apt mgmt would host a mixer so people can meet their neighbors – nothing fancy, just some lemonade, coffee, cookies etc, and an hour or two in the clubhouse. I guess what I am saying is focus on the future and the positive things and what you can do and expand those ideas. Sadly it is a reality for most of us to adapt to a different way of life as we age, but it shouldn’t mean sacrificing our peace and happiness. By the way, I am saying all of this to myself as well and to all of us who are getting on in years!
I love your ramblings too…and am addicted to reading your post each day.. I too have the winter blues and you bring some sunshine to my world even if you are struggling.. reminds us we are all human.. and we all struggle at times…love reading others comments too…consider yourself hugged💕
Brenda, life is a struggle at the best of times and when you are in pain it makes it all the worse.
The silver lining is that many that follow you have some of the same issues and can offer suggestions or just an ear to listen.
I could not agree more about the indoor garden or the raised beds inside your patio. I know it is hard to see the positive but there are so many in your new apartment. You have friends, and you don’t need many, one or two good ones is great.
You have a covered patio, nice to sit in when the weather is nice. Remember at the old place the patio was so hot in the summer you could not sit out there?
Take it one day at a time my friend, I know that you miss your garden but perhaps you could channel your gardening energy into something else. Maybe an online class offering your knowledge to others?
I hope that you have a wonderful day!
I quite like your ramblings about this and that. I’m sitting here drinking a cup of coffee, and it seems like I’m there in your home, and we’re just having a conversation….well, I’m doing the listening at the moment, and you’re telling me what’s going on in life. And, I’d compliment your cheery dining space vignette!
Well, I guess I’ll get to rambling then, Amy!
Lamenting about everything happening in our daily lives is very good for our souls. Whether we’re talking to ourselves, writing in a journal/blog, etc is not a bad thing. I thoroughly enjoyed your post today. I’ve been thinking and lamenting about things happening in my little corner of the world.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your heart. I don’t want to forget to mention how much I love the new decor, especially the white pitchers.
I tend to miss my collection of pitchers (and that wasn’t all of them, but almost) when they’re put away.
I like your ramblings, Brenda. I enjoy hearing your thoughts and opinions on different topics. Some of my favorite posts are just you talking about your days, family, fur babies, and anything else that brings you joy. When you talk about those types of things, you can hear the smile in your voice. I love that! And you’re such a sweet, thoughtful person. Not many people would be so kind and considerate to their exes. Just sharing your feelings, good and bad, makes me feel like we are real friends. Like in real life, we could be sitting together, talking, and enjoying each other’s company. I always appreciate any effort you put into making an interesting post for us, but I really want you to know, I enjoy your ramblings probably the best. Have you thought of taking some of your favorite garden pictures and turning them into canvases? Then you could display your own artwork around your apartment. That would be beautiful!
Great idea!
This time of year is kind of dull after fall with all the color, then the holidays. The weather this year has been downright dreary, cold and wet and not much sunshine in my neck of the woods. Doesn’t do much for my mood. Also, have been having health challenges as well so that compounds things. I too am not sure what I will be able to do in a couple months. Yes, getting old is not for sissies at all! So, I completely understand being emotional. Adapting to unwanted changes is difficult. My mind thinks constantly of things I want to do, but my body is not cooperating. So, I am just hanging onto gratitude for what I still have and my fur babies. Two of my cats hog the heat vents in the bathroom and bedroom. Even they think the weather is yucky! I enjoy everything you post as it is real life stuff.
It’s hard to accept when your mind wants to do so many things, but your body won’t cooperate.
I think you could easily have a 100 foot hose run from your far away spicket. I have to do that! I run a 100 foot hose from my only spicket I can access from my backyard way to the far corner, and I leave it on all the time during the summer so I just walk to where the end is and turn the nosel on. You could have a nosel right by where all your plants are and turn it on there and not have to walk way over to where the faucet turns on. you could also get a splitter, so than another hose runs to your outer flowers which you can turn on right there from your patio. I do that with my front flower beds…just step out my front door, turn on the splitter nosel and my sprinkler is on without me having to walk 100 feet to the other side of the house! we need to get creative when our place only has one faucet! I like the other ideas of growing violets and the stepped shelving out by your patio! Marilyn
Well, I’d have to take it off and turn it off every time; the sprayer part anyway. I’ve been told they get stolen. Ron told me last summer that every time he puts one on someone takes it.
I like what Ann E said. Let management know you are interested in a different ground level apartment and eventually one will become available. You could check it out each time to see if the patio/garden area is better for you. I know it would be difficult but it seems like you will be there a long time so might be worth it in the long run. It might even be a one bedroom so in the long run you would save money. Hang in there. Linda, in cold and snowy Keno, Oregon.
I’ll put my thinking cap on. I don’t think I could manage anything in the near future with this ankle.
I, for one, truly enjoy your “ramblings.”
Well, thank you. I do indeed ramble and am sure I’ll continue to do so. But I want you to have more informative posts.
I love New and Notables, and also really love Home Tours!
I’m going to scout around for home tours, etc.
if your apartment complex has a sprinkler system, you can have a professional hook into the sprinkler lines and put up a spigot for an outdoor hose that comes off of that.
perhaps it’s near enough to your backyard that when you are nimble and able again to garden that could solve the water problem.
I doubt they’d let me mess with their sprinkler system. However one does come up close to the sidewalk and it waters many of the plants I have or had.
I think January is often a bleak and sad month for many folks…I have felt up and down some too…and being older and not in perfect health, never helps. But it is good to note that things could be worse too…and we do have some blessings. I hope things work out ok for your girls in dealing with their dad.
That’s why I put together the vignette with my dishes, to push aside the January doldrums.
My grandmother rarely lived in a house that worked well for gardening. She found that growing African Violets was just the thing for her. African Violets are fussy little plants, but they make the sweetest blooms. They grow well indoors using special grow lights. You might enjoy flower gardening again this way. It would be an excuse to “tinker” with plants.
At one time I had a whole table of African violets with a grow light over them. Hadn’t thought about that.
And don’t forget how easy they are to propagate by just pushing a leaf in the soil.
Like Claudine I just lost my post! Anyway, maybe Ivy is hoping to get some heat from the vent. My two cats are laying on my floor vents a lot more now because we have had a lot of cold weather! And we’ve been notified due to the harsh weather nationwide gas prices are going up so our January bill will be double or maybe triple! !
I know you would like a sunny yard but I fear your moving would be hard on you physically and set you back which you don’t want. Your major problem is lack of water and must be very frustrating. Could you run a hose from the spicket near your front door!
That spigot is a long way off, so no. That would probably be a 100 feet from my patio. The spigot is in between mine and Steve’s apartment in front.
My Clementine lays on the heating vents all winter!
Our natural gas bill has doubled from last winter, too. It’s terrible.
We all get the blues from time to time. It’s hard be happy all the time. I turn 73 in February and I am thankful I have my health. I have broken my elbow twice on the same arm so in two years and gained 14 lbs. I feel like a slug. I started walking again yesterday 3 miles and today too. I pray you will soon be able to get back to gardening and doing the things you love too! Don’t give up! I admire you for wishing the best for your children’s dad.
I have no idea what I weigh. Wish I could do some walking. But yeah, we all have our worries. Right now Ivy has that big woven basket on top of her. Don’t know how she managed that! Lord, she is entertaining.
I have also wondered about your last garden. I wondered if your last apartment was rented out and if the new tenant was happy to find the plants that still survived. I remember that herbs grew profusely from cracks in the concrete.
It’s sobering and sad to see our peers being affected by the trials of old age. My husband and I are seeing this in our circle of family and friends. It has made us conscious about being careful with our own well-being.
No idea. But the elderly woman who I guess still lives there said they carried out many bags of stuff from the patio. Wonder if they pulled up all those plants and tossed them?
I like the idea of grow light indoor gardening for you. My friend with similar mobility issues put a little stacked one in her kitchen so watering was a breeze. I’m sure they have tons online to pick from
Oh Brenda, so much to take in. You just get it all off your chest. It will make you feel better. Sorry about the things weighing on your mind. I love the bend in the wind to keep going down the trail. That struck a nerve for me and it pretty much sums it up. You are strong and know moving was the best thing for you. Hopefully soon the pain meds will allow your therapy to make it easier for you to walk. Then the planting can begin. So continue to plan on that garden. It you need to start out slowly, there are large, stacked planters that you could put right out on your patio. The possibilities and combinations are endless! I love the quilts!!! I love the new and notables and the the home tours. I like the back and forth comments to and from your readers. We have 35 houses in our development and most people have been there for years. Of the 25 or so that are on our Facebook page 20 read that I said Merry Christmas and only 3 responded. Not getting picky but it’s like if someone says hello, you should at least click the like button, we are neighbors in a very friendly neighborhood. You and Ivy snuggle and have a great day!
Unfortunately Ivy is not a snuggler. She won’t get up close to you. I know I’ll figure out something on/off the patio. I always manage to come up with something. Yeah, sad they didn’t at least respond.
I’m sorry, Cindy. They should have said Merry Christmas to you too. I understand the disappointment though. I usually send out about 60 Christmas cards every year, and I’m LUCKY if I get half as many back! It’s not quite the same though. I realize cards and stamps are expensive, but it costs nothing to click a like button or write a quick Merry Christmas back on someone’s Facebook page. I hope you had a nice Christmas.
Not sure what happened but my post may went before I was finished. As I said you are welcome to share you sad thoughts as well as happy successes. Your apartment is so cheerful and looks so happy. I wish you had more friends to drive you around. You need to get out more. Sorry your path to outside is so difficult. Take care. We all love you.
Claudine
Problem is, I moved in in terrible pain, had surgery 6 months later. So I never really got out to meet people. Ron and Pat (he makes those ships) are not in good shape. And I only talked to John during gardening season. Only person I really know is Steve next door. And thank goodness for him! I just can’t get out into the complex where I would meet more people.
I think you are remarkable!
I think you are lucky that you have found people to help you, as much as you have. I know that you are simply depressed, or having the winter blues. I know I am having both! It is hard to admit I’m depressed.
I think you know enough people through your blog, that they should be able to pitch together and fix you unlevel yard. I’m sure there are people within a reasonable distance that can help you! If not, your yard work is exactly the kind of thing Boyscouts, girl scouts and church youth groups are here for.
Please, get excited about Spring again and start making some phone calls and get yourself some help!
Kathy
I can’t change the unlevel yard. They created it because of problems with water not flowing out. I guess water was doing too much damage. Maybe it’s the tree roots problem. Someone told me to watch for water seeping into the carpet in my bedroom closet, because the woman before me had trouble with that happening.
This is the time of year when the short days and the cold weather start to wear us down. We miss being able to be outside in warm sunshine and (hopefully) a nice breeze and low humidity! We miss seeing green and then flowers everywhere when the world wakes up in spring and starts blooming again. I sure miss seeing the sun just about every day. We went at least 10 days straight here with no sun except for 30 minutes or so 3 days ago. I bundled up and rushed outside to soak in the weak rays, it felt so good! All too soon they were gone, but I was energized enough (like a battery?) that I got most of the driveway swept up from rogue leaves, pine cones and peanut shells left behind by my fat and always hungry squirrels. Today, finally, blue skies and sunshine, and we may get above freezing temperature wise. When the weather gets better, if you are able to get out on your patio with your scooter, maybe you could have some high wood tables or structures made and garden in them like raised planting beds or just a surface strong enough to hold several pots. If that’s not feasible, perhaps you could get shelves that hang on ropes (like a ladder) from the top of a window in your living room or the stationary part of the patio door and fill the shelves with herbs and flowers; a step style plant stand would work too. You could create a garden indoors until you are able to get around safely outdoors. Etsy has options, so does Amazon. I did a search for “rope plant shelves” and up they popped.
I’ll check into raised beds like they make for the disabled. I had plastic ones at the other apartment. But they were so shallow the sun burned the plants right up.
After while crocodile!
I know this seems like a lot of work and maybe a big groan, but could you put in for an apartment in the same place with a better outdoor space, or do you think you can make something of yours and it’ll just take more time? It just seems like that is your first love and your apartment location isn’t tops for your love of gardening!
I’ve given that some thought. But I’ll just have to see. Physically it would be hard.