January, where do I start….January felt like it lasted for about 10 months. I always try to be up beat and chipper in my emails as really there is enough doom and gloom in the world at the moment without me banging on about negative stuff but I also want to be honest with you when everything is not all sunshine and roses.
The day after I sent out my last Monthly Musings I received a FaceTime call from my son. He was standing on the rooftop deck of his Pacific Palisades apartment. The Santa Ana winds were blowing so hard and behind him was the biggest, black cloud of smoke billowing towards his apartment. I could barely hear his voice above the wind and the sirens. He just said to me “mum this looks really bad, we are getting out of here”. My two boys and Sam (my soon to be daughter-in- law) live together is the Pacific Palisades. They grabbed their passports, laptops and dog and got in the car and left. I won’t go into all the details here, but they stayed in an air bnb for a week, after a seeing how bad the fires were they knew they would not be moving back to their apartment (they rented) so they moved fast and found another apartment. Dressed by Costco - because they literally had nothing except for the clothes on their back, they moved into their new apartment. They are now rebuilding their lives. By some miracle their apartment did not burn down but as of yesterday it has been condemned as inhabitable by the Health Department. They are now trying to decide what they can salvage. Lots of smoke damage, and the carcinogenic ash everywhere. They are young, they rented their apartment and they can rebuild so really they are some of the lucky ones. Whilst the news has now turned its attention to other headlines there are so many people in California navigating a very difficult journey.
Scenes from near my sons apartment
Adding to our heavy month was the passing of my dear, sweet mother-in-law. Thankfully my husband and son were able to make it to her side in England and now she has been released from the cruel disease of dementia. Known fondly as Mi Mi for all those who knew her when she visited us in America. She taught me how to be the best grandma and mother-in-law and “darling don’t fly economy if at all possible” - Mi Mi liked the nicer things in life. I shall miss her terribly. As a family we were so lucky to spend so much time with her even thought she lived in a different country, Mi Mi & Grandad would come out each summer and most Christmas’s to stay with us. She adored her grandchildren and the feeling was mutual from them. Mi Mi we love you.
Oh and the icing on the cake for January - Jury Duty - for a murder trial…I was thinking that it would be a parking ticket kind of offense, but no, a murder trial. The trial was going to last for over a month - I managed to get dismissed because to be honest with you, my season would have ended before it had begun if I had to spend a month in a jury room.
The small vase I made at my Farm House Pottery Class this was definitely a “glimmer” when I received this in the mail.
With this heavy month I have been have been looking for “Glimmers” each day. A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger. Glimmers are the moments in your day that make you feel joy, happiness, peace or gratitude. It can be something as small as my dog resting her head on my foot as I sit here writing to you. All the small glimmers start to add up and bring joy into your life.
January on the farm was also a month of planning for me. Planning what I wanted to grow in my annuals field and ordering all of the seeds. Putting together my sweet pea field plan. This year I will be planting 2,200 sweet pea plants - it is going to be so gorgeous out there.
My calendar is filling up with weddings, I met with several brides and their families. We talked about creating their vision and the beautiful thing about meeting with brides at this time of year is that I can plant and grow the flowers that they want in their wedding. This time of year also brings the joy of receiving photographs back from photographers that worked on weddings with you. I always try and take photos of the wedding flowers that I create florals for, but there is nothing better than seeing a bride with her bouquet.
Photography by JJ Wilkins
Another glimmer has been the weather in the Pacific Northwest this month. Crisp, clear, cold days with blue skies and very heavy frosts in the mornings that makes everything look like it has been dusted with icing sugar. It has certainly made a nice change from slopping around in the mud when feeding the animals first thing in the morning.
Frosty early morning walks
I mentioned last month that I wanted a couple of days spent in front of the fire reading. I did manage one! I have realized that something I need to work on is relaxing. Honestly, I get a little twitchy sitting down. Whilst we still have dark evenings I am going to just learn to “be” - put electronic devices away and just read and enjoy the quiet and the dogs snoring by my feet. I thought that I might also start sharing some of the books I read - these will be flower related books not any good murder mysteries. It might not be every month but I have some beautiful books that I would like to share with you.
The last few days in January everything has started to speed up. All the sweet pea seeds have been planted and are now in the greenhouse. We had our first day dividing dahlia tubers. I compare this project to running up a steep hill - well back in the day when I used to run up hills - don’t look at how far you have to go, just concentrate on what is in directly in front of you. Most of my time in February will be spent down in the basement dividing tubers preparing for my dahlia tuber sale.
We will be making a very, very quick trip back to England to celebrate the life of our sweet Mi Mi - I have done some quick trips to Europe in my time, but this one in going to be for two days….hopefully short enough that we won’t get jet lag.
By the time I write next month there will be signs of spring appearing outside which is something wonderful to look forward to. Don’t forget to look out for some “glimmers” around you, because I assure you they do make the world a better place when you see them.
Much love,