I wouldn’t call myself an avid birdwatcher, but I do have a strong appreciation of all things nature, and birds are no exception.
Lee and I have a fairly large backyard, with lots of shrubs and trees, and over the years, our yard has been visited by countless birds, and home to many.
Although we don’t have a huge variety of avian wildlife here in our part of the suburbs, we do enjoy the sights and sounds of junkos, blue jays, house finches, quail, hummingbirds, mourning doves, flickers and magpies on a regular basis.
There have been many a morning that I have awakened to the cheerful chirping of robins and the melodic songs of the cute little house finches that frequent our yard. Lee and I love to hang feeders in various locations throughout our back and front yards, where we can watch bird activity year round from our deck and through our dining room and front windows.
In addition to providing real-life diversion and fun photo opportunities, birds also provide me with inspiration for my card creations. Sometimes I’ll be struck by a particular quote or play on words that lends itself well to a handmade card with a bird-related theme or paper piecing. Other times, I’ll discover some colorful and cute patterned paper at the crafts or scrapbook store that includes a bird image or theme, and I’ll be inspired to create a card around that. And yet other times, I may find an especially sweet or whimsical ready-made bird-themed embellishment that just begs to have a handmade card designed around it.
I never quite know when I first start working on a card, how the final design is going to turn out. . . so each new card design is a work in progress, until that final moment when my eye and my heart say to me, “That’s it! It’s done!” And indeed, this is the aspect of card design and cardmaking that I most enjoy. . . .this sort of free-floating aspect that allows one’s creativity to emerge and evolve.
Only recently have I realized just how many cards I’ve actually designed with a bird-related theme, and there have been quite a few! So, I thought it might be fun to share some of my previous and current card designs with you.
May I present to you, my collection of bird-themed handmade card designs, which I’m calling “ For the Birds.” I hope you like them!
But today I can.
I was getting married … to the great love of my life.
Yes, today is Lee’s and my twenty fifth wedding anniversary. A milestone indeed!
We were not youngsters when we took the plunge. We’d both been around the block, so to speak, and had been married once before. Given our previous experiences, we were by no means impulsive in our decision to get married. In fact, we’d been together in a committed relationship for over three years before we finally decided to make the final more “permanent” step. And even then, I think we were both more than a little nervous!
But look how well it all turned out. . .here we are, twenty five years later, as much in love and dare I say, even more committed to each other than we were in those early years of our relationship. I don’t know how many couples can say that, but I’m certainly glad that we are among those who can.
Today, as I recall that day twenty five years ago, there are certain memories that remain fresh in my mind, some poignant and some downright laughable (well, I should say they’re laughable now. . .maybe they weren’t at the time).
And as I take my little mental trip down memory lane today, I thought I’d share just a few of these memorable snippets with you. . . . . . .
Neither Lee nor I were regular churchgoers back then (nor now), so we didn’t have a church of our choice within which to get married. Yet, we didn’t just want a civil service, so his parents asked their pastor if he would perform our marriage ceremony in our back yard.
That summer preceding our October wedding, Lee and I worked long and hard in our back yard, planting a new perimeter garden of multi-colored annuals, weeding and watering it daily, adding new flowers as some of the old ones died out. By the end of the summer our little garden looked quite lovely, if I do say so myself!
But as early October approached here in northern
For our wedding music, we invited a friend to play the guitar and sing a couple of songs of our choice. The songs were, Evergreen, and Longer Than. . . . . even now, the lyrics and music of both these songs touch my heart.
Our ceremony included a favorite section from The Prophet by Kahil Gibran.
Love one another but make not a bondage of love;
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone;
Even as the strings of the lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
And stand together yet not too near together
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oat tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow
But let there be spaces in your togetherness
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
And Lee and I participated in the writing of our own simple but special vows:
I promise to love and respect you.
I promise not to take you for granted.
I promise to express my feelings openly, and to encourage you to do the same.
I promise to maintain my sense of humor.
I promise to remain committed to our growing relationship, and to make every effort to work through conflicts as they arise.
Like many couples, we’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but I think I can honestly say, as I re-read these vows that we made to each other twenty five years ago, that we’ve done pretty well at honoring them. And for that, I’m proud of us both.
I’m embarrassed to admit, as I write this blog entry, that I never finished putting our Wedding Album together! I bought a lovely photo/memories album way back then, and although I did put photos in it, I never completed my plans for making it into a memory album. I guess there’s still time!
On this, the twenty fifth year anniversary of Lee’s and my wedding, I do feel motivated once again to complete that album/memory book. And when I do, there are a few more special memories that I intend to include in it, like these:
The ensuing twenty five years have been filled with so very many more special moments and memories. We have worked, traveled, enjoyed the company of family and friends, nurtured long lasting friendships and developed new ones, loved (and lost) a number of very special canine companions, laughed, cried, and faced numerous challenges together.
Throughout all of this, I think we have grown and emerged stronger individually and have become even more committed as a couple.
Today, the commemoration of our twenty fifth year of marriage, is indeed a special day to us. Thank you for sharing in it.
Until we meet again. . .. . I (We) wish you love.
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