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Monday 31 March 2014

With Flowers In Her Hair...

A few days ago, I received an intriguing invitation from my lovely artist friend Susan Brown; an invitation to join her in her dream of creating a magical place of community.
She says.. 
 "When I was envisioning this project at its completion I pictured the beautiful decor, the exquisite music, the various people sitting together laughing and sharing....I invite you to imagine yourself in the Venue I'm creating. Really, can you imagine who you could be in this setting? Could you play? Could you get up and share yourself in this magical place?"
As I read Susan's words I pondered her invitation...do I sing, do I dance, what is there that I have to share?...there was a moment of silence in my head, when nothing at all came to mind & then I looked up & saw this picture...
and I burst in to tears!
I gasped, as I instantly recognised myself.
At the beginning of this year when I set my intention to "bloom" life quickly became very challenging & it just hasn't let up since.
There is some very deep work happening for me.
I have come to realise that I have been locked in the snare of looking in the mirror held by another (it's been that way for 50 years). I've been bound by various shades of guilt & shame that don't belong to me. They never belonged to me. They are all lies. The truth has been banging on the door of my heart, my body shouting in pain..wake up, wake up & then I looked in the mirror of Susan's picture entitled "Eve" & I knew that I would never believe the lies again. 
My new truth is just this:
  "I have the right to be here, to be me. Just as I am."
It's hard to keep going when you feel you'll never get there, but this is my new dream:
You know...
via Pinterest
I have sent for a print of Susan's wonderful Eve & you can see more of her fabulous work at Bohemian Romance on Etsy (unfortunately she lives in the United States).

Several weekends ago..I looked up to see a bride walking by.
That's a little odd, I thought to myself.
And very soon I saw a bus...a bus full of brides, in fact!
Right outside our house!
I couldn't very well go & stand on the street & take photos so I crept out on to the porch & snuck these pictures. A friend solved the riddle later that day...apparently a confirmed single girl was turning 40 & decided it was her best shot at wearing a wedding dress, so she & all her girlfriends (one of them being a neighbour), dressed for the event & then hopped on a bus for a road trip to wellington for the weekend.
All returned the following day, looking a tad worse for wear & no longer very bridal!
The entourage of dad's & husbands turning up to retrieve each one was rather entertaining too...especially the ones with small children in the car!
I had fun making this dear little Cath Kidston tablecloth recently & then sold it on Trade me. I hope it makes someone smile. The lady who bought the duraware was so lovely & brought her husband back to visit Lucy.
Dear Lucy went off to the testing station with "Liley" & Rob last week for her warrant of fitness check up. So peculiar seeing her heading off down the road without me!
The sky is so azure just now as we head in to autumn.
Look, He made me a heart with a lovely long tail....thank you.
I love this Maori family...they have an orchard on a busy road & they sell their fruit so cheaply.
You can help yourself to apples & pears for 50c a kilo just now. Isn't that such a good thing to do!
My best friend & her lovely mum..
came back again...for a week beside the sea.
We went to the Farmer's Market together & then we had a little Lucy morning tea.

It was so nice to see them & a lovely celebration of Lucy being with us for a whole year.
I love my autumn raspberries, they taste the best.
See what I mean about blue! The bog sage (that's not a very nice name is it!) flowers match perfectly, don't you think?
I found these lovely daisy crocheted doilies in Finder's Keepers last week.
Such a clever pattern & so much work.
I also found a few more plastic knitting needles to add to the knitting vase.
Thank you Lucy for being such a blessing!
The red & white striped ticking discovered in Aaron's Emporium looks rather smart.
I thought this thermos picnic basket might be quite handy for transporting the flock.
Yesterday after Rob finished work we went out to Haumoana for a walk & to be by the sea.
Daylight saving finishes here this weekend..
the days will quickly begin to close in again.
But right now, they are still balmy & warm & very, very dry.

Thank you for being so lovely & visiting me.
I hope that you have a wonderful week.
Much love, 
Catherine 
♥♥♥♥♥

10 comments:

  1. Aw, you are the BEST, BEST, BEST!
    I must buy myself a flock. The grands would love that!

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  2. Your posts are always so full of wonderful things I could write a whole letter instead of just a few comments! I'll try to be brief.

    First off you already inspire me - I love coming to your blog & seeing all the beauty you share.
    I love the cloud heart - I'm always looking for hearts & am really glad you shared this one.
    Every new thing you shared today I love - the sweet tablecloth you made, the dishes & daisy doilies, all of the sweet fun things you've added to Lucy & the fun visit with friends.

    My life is very chaotic right now with hardly a comfortable place to sit down so I've really enjoyed today's post.

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  3. and, of course, I thought of the song...If you're going to San Francisco...lovely! Such a colorful post, brings sunshine into my day, thank you. Lucy is AAAdorable and so sweet. Yesterday's Sabbath Keeping quotes were on leadership...fits in quite nicely with this post.

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  4. Such a wonderful post full of beauty and colour. I love your posts, they give me a sense of peace and tranquility and that I really appreciate.
    And most importantly, you do have a right to be here and be exactly who you are.
    Anne xx

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  5. A beautiful floral post Catherine - I just love that picture at the top & yes, it is very definately Bloom. I so hope that things improve for you as the year progresses. I adore your new lace doilies - they are just beautiful & Lucy is looking especially lovely with her red stripe ticking along with the red/white polka dot cushions. Just gorgeous.
    I can imagine your surprise seeing a bus load of brides out the window !!! How funny :-) You would think you were seeing things!!!
    I have missed your posts - your photos capture the colour & the sky & flowers so very beautifully. Have a lovely rest of the week my friend, Julie x0x

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  6. It was only the other day, that my thoughts were very similar to yours. I have arrived at the stage now, that i truly am who I am. People accept me as I am. Its a good feeling and I am happy.
    You have some lovely things there Catherine.. your table cloth is so sweet. The painting is incredible.
    lovely photos.
    happy days
    val

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  7. Such an awesome post Catherine! I so relate to everything you described....I'm very thankful to know you really asked yourself "who you could be" in the Bohemian Romance venue. So thrilled at how you articulated the truth of how you can be your authentic self. That's all any of us really needs to blossom...I'm still playing with that :)

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  8. Dear Catherine, I did laugh at the though of you creeping onto the porch to photograph the brides in the bus. That is just the kind of thing I would do. My husband would have marched out and asked what they were doing – but that’s just not me. I also smiled when I read about the ‘brides’ families turning up to retrieve them. What a brilliant idea, I can see it catching on.
    There is certainly love in the air and in your post, the heart-shaped cloud really sums it all up. Everything in your world is so colourful I love sharing just a little of it with you. Happy April, Barbara xxxx

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  9. A lovely post Catherine. I do love visiting you, it warms your heart and makes you feel good.What a giggle seeing the "brides", would love to have seen them on return.Dear Lucy, she is so special. What a lovely place to retreat to.Envy you getting fruit so cheap, of course Hawkes Bay fruit being the best in the country:-) Have a good week Hugs Shirley

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  10. Giggling over the bus full of brides... How funny! You ARE inspiring. Loving Lucy, and how much of a wonderful space she is for you. Hugs, Lisa x

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So lovely of you to leave a comment. Thank you!! So sorry if you've tried to leave one & it hasn't worked. You are welcome to email me at catherine@sunshinevintage.nz instead, if you'd like to, much love Catherine♥

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