Saturday, March 25, 2017

Springtime ~ In the Pink


Pink Spring blossoms are found along many streets and boulevards in Victoria.
They lift the spirits even on the greyest of days.


Moms' robe now hangs in the guest room.
She wore this frequently...and it is silky satin.
One might want a pair of pink marabou slippers to go with it!
Did you notice that the hanger is in the same pattern and fabric as the robe?


I've been keeping the flowers fresh at Mom's condo for the showings...
we think it has sold and are just waiting for the buyers to secure their financing.
There were multiple offers all well above our asking price...
the real estate market here is brisk!


Mr. HB and I went to Fan Tan on Fisgard Street
in the heart of Victoria's Chinatown
 for a date night dinner this week.
Our meal was delicious and my tea arrived in a sweet little cast iron teapot.
It was really heavy especially when you consider the size.
 Pouring tea and a bit of "weight training!"


Spring cleaning, decluttering and rearranging things have been in the works.
Two bags of donations are waiting to be dropped off at the charity shops.


I culled quite a few books from this cupboard before I rearranged the shelves.


The French Market Basket was purchased years ago.
I planned to walk to the shops and wheel my groceries home...
that has happened exactly once!

I must fix that stat by going shopping in the Cook Street Village more often  pulling it behind me!

The wire heart was meant for postcards and photos.
I like it just the way it is...unadorned.


I'm going to pull these pieces together and add a few more.
My plan is to make a candle vignette of sorts...
I love how mirrors and candles can be best friends!


I took this wee painting from Mom's condo yesterday when I rearranged the flowers...
I am not sure that I will keep it forever 
but I could not part with it...
not just yet
and I did not want to regret giving it away...
it is a small street scene in Paris.

I also plan to take one of her French style chairs to add to the one that I have slip covered in linen beside the table in the hobby room.
It could be for one of the grandchildren to sit on as we read stories
or play with the toys...
another thing that is "speaking to me" 
one that I never thought would tug at my heart strings 
but one that is saying loudly...
don't let me go!

The journey is far from over...

saying goodbye
dealing with the details
is totally keeping us busy.

This emotional process is not easy
I have my ups and downs and find myself crying while standing at the kitchen sink.
I have had vivid dreams of Mom, so vivid, that when I wake I think she is still here...

My friends have been so amazing and strangers have been kind.
Every phone call that I make to advise them of moms demise 
is met with gentle soft spoken condolences...
the agency representatives in person are more than sweet
understanding 
patient

death of a loved one is obviously something that we all share in 

 it feels like it brings out the most empathetic responses 
the "best" from most...

Thank you all again for your lovely emails...
they keep coming
and 
I must say they are a delight.

XO

29 comments:

Ellie's friend from canada said...

I love that you're keeping the little painting of Paris and the chair. But most of all I love that you are dreaming of your Mother. I am sure she is embracing you with a dreamy warmth. Bon courage!

Patricia said...

Oh, that beautiful kimono with matching hanger, beautiful! The French chair sounds lovely, and you will cherish it always too. It is important to keep those things which exert a 'pull'; the time will come for some things to let them go, and some will stay forever. You will know when the time is right. Your mirror vignette is looking very elegant already, and I look forward to the end result.

Madame Là-bas said...

Spring has finally arrived on the West Coast! It is so hard to let go of treasured belongings.
I have a red Rolster cart that I vowed to use for groceries. I really like the European way of daily marketing (fresher food and a built-in walk). Take care for I am sure that you will feel the loss of your mother for a long time.

Jennifer said...

I posted a comment which showed up on Bloglovin but not here. How very strange. I do not understand BL one bit! Congrats on seeing her condon so fast. It takes a very long time to heal from loosing a Mom. Very long. Sending thoughts your way! XO

Anonymous said...

I have yet to offer my condolences, Hostess, but you have been in my thoughts and heart since losing your dear mother. I lost mine last fall, and even in my 6th decade, I feel like a "motherless child." I do love your posts and admire your eye for style. Best wishes, Violet.

La Vie Quotidienne said...

My Mother lived next door to me and it was always my habit to go and spend time with her every afternoon. It has been over five years now since she passed away and I still occasionally find myself, late in the day, half way out the door to go and see her...then I remember. I know how difficult this is for you.

Margie from Toronto said...

Some friends of mine are in the process of selling her mom's home at the moment (her mom has moved to a nursing home as she has alzeimers) and it has been very emotional for them. Thank goodness, like in Victoria, the market is brisk so it should sell quickly - but no matter what the circumstances it is still emotional - especially if it involves our moms.

I think it's lovely how some objects have spoken to you and you have been able to give them such a lovely home.

I do love your shopping cart - much more chic than my navy blue metal one - I can just picture you wandering through the farmer's market with it this summer.

It is a grey, wet and cool day here in Toronto so no flowers in bloom as yet. Although I have been very lucky this week - I had successful knee surgery and one set of friends sent a beautiful bouquet of mixed colour tulips and another a gorgeous bouquet of deep pink roses and since I have already brought out some pink accessories and cushion covers etc. for Spring they complement the decor wonderfully and have really cheered me up.

Continue to look after yourself and don't fight the tears - they are all part of the process.

Unknown said...

Dear Leslie,
I lost my Mother in 2015. While the pain has passed, I still miss her. I have many pieces of furniture from her and I wear her watch and her silver bracelet( that I gave her one birthday) constantly, and I feel close to her. They never left her wrist( until her skin was so frail, the watchband damaged it), and now they never leave mine. It's a great comfort.

Kristien62 said...

I am heartened by the sight of my irises peaking their green heads out through the snow. Here it is, late March, and the weather feels like mid-winter. Your lovely flowers leave me wishing for a real spring.

It looks like your mother left you many wonderful mementos and memories. How very blessed you are to have these things. I so wish I had the same things from my mother.

Anonymous said...

So sorry for your loss:)

SA

thepoutingpensioner said...

You've put together some lovely vignettes, Leslie. I am so like you with holding on to things that belong to loved ones. Chairs are my weakness. When we cleared my gran's house a few years ago, I kept a little brown wood desk which I painted white and which is now in constant use, a lovely black flower engraved mirror which has pride of place over my fireplace and, of course, a chair. It's what we as kids called the gossip chair. I saw my getting the chair as a real coup. It never moved from its place in the kitchen and when adults popped in, they sat there and garbled away. The adults spoke in their mysterious tongue, a French patois, so we categorised the chat as gossip. I was so proud when my invite eventually came to sit in the chair, my coming of age!
I hope this gives you a brief break in what is a difficult time.

Bonjour a tout le monde said...

Beannacht

On the day when
The weight deadens
On your shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.

And when your eyes
Freeze behind
The grey window
And the ghost of loss
Gets in to you,
May a flock of colours,
Indigo, red, green,
And azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.

And so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.



[Note: "Beannacht" is the Gaelic word for "blessing." A "currach" is a large boat used on the west coast of Ireland.]

marmielu said...

Your mother's robe is lovely. Isn't it funny the things we feel the need to keep after someone we love passes away? My dad always wore a green LLBean barn jacket, and when he died I kept that. I even wore it a bit around the yard. It always said "Dad," and made me feel he was close.
Time does heal, and it becomes easier, but never really goes away.
Enjoy all the beautiful color around you!

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking a lot about you,although I do not comment.
My father is in the hospital in a very serious condition. We are hoping for the best. He is completly quiescent for more than six months and now has got a pneumonia. I'm doing everything I can but it is not enough this time
Spring is in full bloom here,all the magnolias are so beautiful
,it is sunny and warm
Dottoressa

Rosie said...

Lovely pictures Leslie. Your mum's robe on its matching hanger looks beautiful...what a good idea to display it. I have exactly the same wire heart and although I do display 3 or 4 photographs on it, it never looks "quite right" I agree with you it looks better unadorned!
When I read about the small street scene picture from your mum's condo, I guessed you felt a connection as it was your mum's, you saw it regularly and it shows a city that you love. I can see why you'd decide to keep it.As you say it's small I guess it'll be easy to find the perfect spot for it.
Take care Leslie ... I hope your weeks going well.
Rosie

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Thank you!
Dreams can be so vivid...I think that my busy days are helping me sleep better and possibly my mind is working overtime!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I do not want to regret giving away something that I might want to keep so I am erring on the side of caution! Sounds like we are on the same page with this thought!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I see many women doing their marketing with those Rolster totes, plus they save our backs too. I often see a large French hand basket used in the shops...they always look so elegant.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I wonder what happened to your comment? I have had others mention that they are also having issues posting...not too sure why...I am sorry.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I have a friend who lost her mom, a friend of my mother, several years ago and she refers to herself as an adult orphan now. There are more of us as time goes by...

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Oh how wonderful that you lived so close...our mothers and our habits were so intertwined with our lives that we do tend to go about our daily round with thoughts of years of routines...
Thank you Adrienne,
XO

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I am trying very hard to "live in the moment"
with many things still to do I have to pace myself and getting a good night of sleep has become more important.
Hope that you recover quickly from your knee surgery. One of the ladies in my bridge group had her knee replaced and her recovery was remarkably swift and now she is free from pain. I hope yours will be successful too.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Like Mother like Daughter! Those bracelets link you both...such a lovely thought.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Mother might have been surprised by some of the "simple and practical" things that I have kept....the red spatulas have been used almost everyday!
The memories will be kept and cherished as long as I live....

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Oh I love the idea of a gossip chair!
You obviously have the most significant of the chairs...a coming of age chair is one not unlike our eating dinner at the adults table at Christmas!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

This is so beautiful...thank you for sharing!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

The LL Bean coat reminds me that our Father had a Cowichan Bay Tribal sweater that he wore until it was in tatters...he had it before my parents married and wore it until I was in my teens.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Oh my heart goes out to you Dottoressa...please take care.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I used to have postcards and photos on the heart too but decided that it looked interesting enough on its own.
My week has been good...busy but good and I got to spend time with my grandchildren which always makes me happy!