Back to the Garden
 

Remember how it was that all we could do was plan our travel over the sea? Clothing mattered, how to pack became a science, what to eat and drink explanded our vocabulary and palate, we were curious of who we all were here and we didn't have time to tend to the garden in our own back yard. Well, that's how it is these days with me, weeding, planting, transplanting, positioning a victorian trellis and training a grape vine. Envisioning the spring with a new crop of bulbs and hauling out the grow lights has got me thinking forward. There is no overseas travel planned for me in the next year but my back yard has taken on a whole new perspective and offers boundless opportunity for transformation. <BR> <BR>With the damper put on travel, what new endeavours have captured your interest? With what do you look forward to grow? <BR> <BR>

Thanks for asking, Dr. Betty, my answer has to be <BR> <BR>C H R I S T M A S ! <BR> <BR>I know, I know, but I have to have SOMETHING to look forward to . . . . <BR> <BR>It's my favorite time of year and I've always looked forward to it, every year of my life. <BR> <BR>I'm already buying up ingredients, mixing and freezing dough for the ten varieties of cookies I always make. Don't bother to call me crazy, that's already been done, but I NEVER make ANY cookies the rest of the year. <BR> <BR>Already browsing magazines and cookbooks for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menu ideas, jotting down ideas for the gift list, and burning CDs of Christmas music I picked up off Napster (remember Napster?). <BR> <BR>I'm hoping that by the time we're into the new year, my "travel spirit" will have returned to help me plan a trip to London next summer. <BR> <BR>Please allow me to be the first to wish all of you <BR> A Very Merry Christmas! <BR>and/or <BR> A Magical Holiday Season!

BoomerBabe-thanks! Your post got me excited too! I'd love to do some baking this Christmas-I usually don't have the time but I hope to make the time this year! <BR>Shadow

Thanks Dr. B -- for me it's not just re-evaluating travel -- it's re-evaluating what is important in life. And right now it is family and friends and hoping for the future of humankind. <BR> <BR>Your post reminds me of the last line in Voltaire's Candide. Candide has explored the world, suffered, seen suffering, all in search of the beautiful Cunegonde -- and in the end life turns out to be different than he thought. He says "We must cultivate our garden." That is -- value the simple things close to home.

Funny you should mention gardening...I just signed up for a 6-week Home Landscaping class at SMU in Dallas. I'm so excited.

I am glad to see that someone else is thinking of the garden. I have looked forward to another trip to Paris this spring but in the meantime I have put all my heart and soul into my garden and perhaps adding more comfort to my life there for next spring if Paris has to wait. A garden is really a healing place. Weeding is a good stress reliever! <BR>

I think this tragedy has made us aware that happiness isn't always "there", we have to make it "here" too. <BR>And our garden and our homes and family can be just as satisfying as traveling to foreign places. <BR>I always think of my friend who says I am happy right where I am, and she is. <BR>Of course travel is fun and enlightening, but I don't think it should be our first priority.

The garden is such a source for healing, inspiration, and the perfect place for gathering one's self. We look at our garden as an extension of our living space and have sought ways to incorporate our travels into our garden, just as we have in our home. We have deliberately looked to the English gardens for the wonderfully unstructured use of perennials. Every spring transports me back to England. Each cluster of delphiniums, daisies, digitalis, hollyhocks reminds me of all the lovely English gardens we toured. <BR>We built a wonderful pagoda, much like the structure at Hampton Court. Now, several years later, our grapevines spill up and over the pagoda. A recent addition to the garden is a metal lion fountain. We are working on a brick patio to surround it, adding some shrubs and iron furniture with an Italian courtyard in mind. I will add some cracked, aged concrete and some old urns to help create my new, little breakfast area. <BR>My "travel" room is still a work in progess. The pictures and artifacts suffer a little closer scrutiny now. Who knows if we will be taking that March trip? It is rather poignant to revisit these precious things. Afterall, it does represent a much more lighthearted approach that we took with our travels. One wonders if we shall ever have that attitude again. <BR>I agree, Dr. Betty, the garden, the home is a wonderful place to be. <BR>Thank you for a lovely thread.

Like minds...two weekends ago we tore out three large overgrown shrubs in front of our house. Last weekend we bought some replacements -- dark shiny holly, some azaleas for Spring, mums for Fall, and lots of new bulbs. Physical work has lifted our spirits (Especially since the Redskins are so depressingly bad. They can't offer us any entertaining diversion from the headlines!)

I'm glad (I think) that three weeks after "9-11" and with no overseas travel in sight on your agenda for the next year, this site still holds your attraction, Anne. <BR> <BR>The site is no doubt going to lose some old friends over the next year, and I hope it is as few as possible. I am crossing my fingers that a few well-timed e-mails to the "missing in action" will bring a few back who disappear to attrition. <BR> <BR>What will be harder to get back will be the wonderful and onward rush of newcomers visiting this site as they plan their first - - or twenty-first trip to Europe. <BR> <BR>Life among the wanderlust-ers will not come back to normal quickly. I will sow seeds, too - - of the desire to see other worlds, taste different foods, learn new languages - - and believe that a new spring and summer will bring out the itch, that we love to scratch so much. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>