A Poem for Spring

Among my collection of vintage books is one very tiny one from 1844 entitled The Bouquet of Flowers. I am so very anxious for Spring to arrive! I long to see the little crocus bloom and watch the birds building their nests. In my pondering, I pulled this little book out today and thumbed through it's pages. In the introduction, there is the loveliest poem and I thought you might enjoy it with me.

Are not flowers the earliest gift of love?

Do they not, mutely eloquent, oft speak

For absent or for trembling hearts, and bear

Kisses and sighs on their perfumed lips,

And worlds of thoughts and fancies in their tears,

Touched by the rainbow's dyes? Have ye ne'er

prized

Soe token flower -- and early rose -- a bunch

Of young Spring's first and sweetest violets,

culled

And given into yours by hands so dear,

That all flowers seemed grown holier from that time?

Have you ne'er hoarded such a simple gift,

Ay, through long years, e'en when each shrunken

leaf

Bore not a semblance to the thing it was,

And the soft fragrance, that had once been there,

Had changed from sweet to noisome, -- and e'en

then,

For very fondness, could not fling away

Those dim and faded records of the past,

But laid the frail things in their wonted place,

To gaze, and dream, and weep upon again?

(by L.A. Twamler)

Til Spring starts popping up all over. . . . . .Judi

What could be great about today?

I love waking up in the morning with that question on my mind! It sets my thoughts in a positive direction and awakens my creativity. I am one of those people Margaret Lobenstine calls a "Renaissance Soul." I DO "have way too many passions to pick just one!"

I have several business pursuits that relate to passions -- and passions with no business ambition whatsoever. I just pursue them for the sheer joy of variety and sponteneity! I LOVE being a life-long learner and finding new things to learn about every day.

Most recently I was rummaging around in my antique magazines (I have amassed a collection of over 200 vintage books and magazines since girlhood), and found myself mesmerized with all the old ads there. I decided to reproduce some on fabric and do a little crazy quilting in miniature. The result are several fun ATC size (2.5" x 3.5") fabric cards I posted on Ebay yesterday. If you want to see them, here's the Ebay item number for the first in the series: 330096894164. (I'm still learning about Blogger, and for some reason, I get an error when I try to load the picture!)

Anyway, I am really having fun with this! Anybody else enjoying something similar?

Judi