Lavender On The Brain

Julia Cameron introduced the concept of the Artist's Day in her seminal book on creativity and tapping into our creative sides called The Artist's Way. I read her book over 20 years ago when I lived in Brussels, Belgium and have now read it three times. I highly recommend Cameron's awesome book over and over again to friends and family who feel stuck in a rut and want to find and pursue their passions in life.

An Artist's Day to me back when I lived in Brussels could have meant an afternoon with Magritte, marveling at the Grand Place and trips to Provence, Ghent or Brugges. I live in West Virginia now and these days, my Artist's Days look more like a trip to a farmer's market, a picnic at a Virginia winery, a visit to a Civil War area, and year-round, myriad festivals in my neck of the woods which I love. But, an Artist's Day could also mean baking a cake, picking wildflowers, making a collage of favorite photographs. Anything to fill your emotional well is an Artist's Day.

This past Saturday, two friends and my sister joined me for a road trip to Willow Pond Farm Herbs & Everlastings in Fairfield, Pennsylvania. This was our third time at the Annual Lavender Festival and we were excited. We were coming from Northern Virginia and West Virginia and met in Frederick, Maryland to carpool in one car which is always fun. Willow Pond's lavender festival had actually been held the weekend before, but with all the rain in our area, the lavender hadn't bloomed. So, when the farm offered another weekend to pick lavender, we jumped at the chance!

Sadly, the lavender at Willow Pond Farm was not in full bloom and our dreams of colorful photographs were dashed. We still had a great time, enjoyed lavender ice cream and watched a young woman making lavender wands, but we were a bit bummed. I felt sad for the elderly owners of the lavender farm and the festival organizers, but what can you do? Lavender needs hot sun and dry weather which we have not had much of this summer.

Oh, well. C'est la vie. We'd still had a nice outing together and it was a beautiful day. We left Fairfield and headed south on 15 toward Frederick, MD and my sister spotted a small lavender sign that read: Lavender Festival. I saw the sign, but thought it was an old sign for the Fairfield festival the week before. Lo and behold, we spotted a larger sign on the side of the highway. A different lavender festival and it was that day! I laughed at how a male driver might not agree to turn the car around and we were almost giddy as we made the U-turn and drove up the gravel driveway.

LAVENDER! Rows and rows of lavender at Springfield Manor! What a feast for the eyes, nose and soul. We jumped out of the car and began taking photographs as if the lavender would disappear into thin air. There were also rows and rows of grape vines dotting the hill. We bought bouquets of freshly cut lavender, my sister and I bought lavender plants (Munstead and Provence variety), and we discovered from the owner's children that the old stone house on the hill is soon to open as an Inn and their newly renovated barn and patio are to open as a winery/future distillery in September. Wine, lavender, and B&Bs, three of my favorite things in one spot. Awesome! We'll be visiting soon!

After the festival, three of us headed to the river for a fun evening and relaxing Sunday. The weather was perfect and the river was beautiful. Artist's Day well done!

I'm heading outside with my lavender plants to select the sunniest part of my garden with thoughts of France, friendship and future road trips.

Peace and love,
Ellie

Mental Health Monday!

I woke up to a rainy, muggy Monday and I'm relieved the sun isn't out this morning. The sun would have made it a hot and humid mess. I'm debating whether or not to put the air conditioning on and leaning toward yes. This house needs some deep cleaning and it's going to require some elbow grease, better to work in a cool house.

Mondays are my mental health days. I don't work on my novels on Monday. I usually enjoy playing hooky from life at the beginning of the week, but the inside of my house needs some major attention, cleaning that I've put off while I was busy querying agents and writing for the last month. I write better when my house is clean and as organized as it's going to get this week. A cluttered, a cluttered mind!

I could have stayed home cleaning this past weekend, but I opted for a nice weekend at the river with my co-owner. I saw rain for the entire week, so I knew it was a good weekend to go. Saturday was my first time back this season since the park opened in April and my first reaction when I pulled up was, "This looks like a version of Sanford & Son's junkyard!" Our wood dock lay in the yard along with the 12 blue plastic barrels that are usually strapped to the underside to allow it to float. The john boat given to me by a friend last summer was in the front yard, as well. My friend assured me that the boat was waterproof and seaworthy, but when it sank three times last summer, we put it in the side yard. The aluminum boat will either be scrapped for money or turned into a huge planter for annual flowers. Pinterest would be proud.

The inside of the trailer didn't look half bad as we'd cleaned before closing it up last fall, but it smelled stale after being closed up for the winter. I saw cobwebs here and there and it was dusty, but the water was running and the lights and outlets worked, so I was happy. We aired the trailer out for a couple of hours and then, put on the air conditioning which worked like a charm. 

D and I spent the evening at the farm table and benches that my uncle and I built two seasons ago, catching up until the sun went down. I'm glad we moved the farm table to the riverfront patio side, it was just beautiful. Boats and pontoons sailed by and people enjoyed the river on their jet skis. When the outside light wouldn't turn on, we moved inside and it wasn't long before my eyes were tired. I went to be early (early for us at the river!) and woke up around 9. I always sleep well at the river, especially when I get the back bedroom which is nice and dark. I made coffee and grabbed the broom. I swept the patio, the carpet on the pontoon boat and the side patio. By then, I was a sweaty mess and was relieved to have hot and cold running water in the shower.

D slept in and by 1230, I'd had two cups of coffee, a banana and had cleaned the entire trailer to include windows. Once I get started, I can't stop. I'll leave the next deep cleaning to D, we take turns. She busied herself outside in the yard which also needed lots of tending and weeding. Do I usually get that much done at home? Not so much. I've never been  exactly sure why that is other other than our trailer has the bare necessities and there's no clutter. It's much easier to clean. I have too much stuff at home and usually, my cleaning involves throwing stuff away which makes it a huge production. It's tough to have moved from a four bedroom townhouse with a completed basement to a three bedroom duplex with no basement. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

We were able to rent out two boat slips for the season and we're looking for one more renter. Our newest boat slip renter and his wife came by on Sunday and I think we'll all enjoy the season. The husband stacked the blue barrels into a pyramid and moved the john boat out of sight. The front looked so much better and we're excited to have a guy around for stuff like that. He's a very handy guy according to his wife and he laughed when he saw our 'tools'--a crooked screwdriver and a tiny hammer. His grin told me that he's secretly happy to have more things to do. We can definitely keep him busy :)

D and I don't own a boat (except for the sinking wonder), but we enjoy watching our mini marina and the activities from the river patio, and the money helps us with the yearly dues. All good. It was a fun, productive Sunday and I felt great leaving a clean house.

Now back home, I'm looking around now and everything needs attention. I think I'll start in the living room and work my way back to the kitchen. I need some cleaning music to motivate me! My brain is pushing me to clean and my body is reminding me that it's Mental Health Monday. So, the tug-of-war begins :) I wonder who'll win?

Happy Monday to you.

Ellie