from the rubbish, we find new stones

April 30, 2010 candacemorris 5 Comments



when rebuilding a life 
while standing in the rubble 
examining the stones that made up 
who
you
were

one begins to lay new mortar
picking up old bricks
handing them to another with questions
"what about this one?"
"does it need fixing too?"
because after such a devastating earthquake,
the last person's construction advice you can trust
is
your 
own



but then. time...it passes.
it flys by flippantly
throwing up your skirts
tangling your pristine hair.
gasping for breath, you finally stop spinning.
all
is 
silent.


and you are standing in front of a wall that once was.
it's shattered to the ground.
without knowing from whence they came,
people start to hand you bricks.
you recognize them, both the faces and the stones.
they 
love
you.




your hands know how to mix the new cement.
your eyes recognize the ingredients that will no longer work.
your heart trusts your building experience.
because this time
you
have
help.




each stone is unique
in texture
in color
in shape and size.


but every few lines of bricks, randomly placed 
magically found,
a stone appears.
its color never before seen.
its texture never before so smooth.
its shape perfection.

has it been there all along?
you had no idea
you had such beauty
hidden below the fallow soil.


i call these milestones.
this week was filled with them.

so we begin to build. 
a stronger,
sturdier,
softer
fortress of the heart
never
there
was.


__________________________________________________

We had a lovely week indeed.  Here are a few shots from Balboa Park, San Diego
(location of all shots above, as well)



This is the botanical garden...




We then headed east towards the fountain







Happy Friday,
crm

5 comments:

weekend at home report: sat/sun edition

April 27, 2010 candacemorris 7 Comments

After I slept in waaaaay late on Saturday morning, the saint made me crepes.  As I brrrrrrrrrrrrd my steamed milk for a cafe au lait, I stood in front of my screen door and nursed my wearied eyes with the greenery beyond the glass.  




LE
SIGH.



We then enjoyed a lazy breakfast, followed by a short jaunt around the property to discover what I had missed by way of blooms.  Look at my gorgeous daffodils!  That is the very first thing IN EVER that I've planted.  Satisfying indeed. 
This is the crab apple tree we planted in early March.  It's starting to bloom!


This is our maple...it has the most amazing fire flame in fall.



After a nibbly lunch of peppered cheddar, smoked gouda, crunchy baguette, and heavy red Barbara, we got ourselves ready for the evening festivities...a party in my honor!

This is a delicious "tatin" Devon made from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Pariscookbook
(which is on my wishlist now!)

And this would be all of us enjoying it.


We stayed up really late, so Sunday morning was another late one.   With two cups of steaming herbal tea, the saint and I sat out on our porch to enjoy the sunshine cascading through the evergreens. 


Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day in the 70s and we spent the rest of it at my home number two...
Joel's parents.
Dad found some frog's eggs.  EWWWW.  
He fed them to his fish.

I am not sure I could ever convey what true peace awaits all who walk onto the Morris estates.  Olive greeted me with a cute little polka-dot dress and newly chubby cheeks.  A pair of geese had a family last week on Dad's pond, and since I had never seen goslings, I was so disappointed when I heard they had already left.  Well, they made an appearance on Sunday!  It was like God and Washington are attached at the hip or something.   After my photo shoot on the property, Mom made a veritable feast, and we settled into the evening watching old slides, which is one of my very favorite family activities.

SO CUTE.

And speaking of cute...





And oh my family...





It truly was a perfectly relaxing weekend, full of love and true gratitude for all that my life is right now, and I came back to my sister and my beautiful niece full of energy and renewed perspective.





Can you feel the love?
XXOO
~crm



April 2010 : A trip home
See more details above.

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