To Every Thing There is a Season

Ecclesiastes 3 King James Version 

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

A time to bid adieu to the Linden Grove Blog:
A time to say thank you, a time to be grateful;
A time to be bound, and a time to be free;
A time to be seen, and a time to hide;
A time for hellos, and a time for goodbye.

Thank you for reading over the last ten years.  I hope that the blog contributed in a positive way to your life and perhaps provided some food for thought?

Cheerio!

Edited 6 May 2018: I have re-activated my gardening blog Sybil's Plot.  I am getting back out in the garden again after the protracted winter and looking forward to growing a whole new range of plants and sowing some tropical seeds too!  I would be delighted if you could join me over there.😉🌱🌴🌺🌿🍓

Staying Positive Under a Cloud

I have been embracing positive thinking for a while now.  I do find it difficult but I try to look for the positive in every situation.  It is hard.  Some days I find it almost impossible.  The odds seem stacked against me in all that I do.  I know that the weather hasn't helped my mood this year as the grey skies seem unrelenting.  This spring holiday I managed to get into the garden for one day to cut the grass and it has rained ever since.

Yesterday I had a chance meeting with an old friend.  I was so glad to see her.  She is one of those people who make you feel good about yourself.  She is quietly confidant and encouraging and a supporter of chasing dreams.  Our time together was brief but enough to fan the flame of my hopes and ambitions for a while longer..........

In the garden the soil is cold and even the weeds are struggling to thrive.  Looking at the positive - the snakes head fritillaries are doing nicely and have increased in population since last year.

Art Tags

I have been watching art videos and creating intensely this week.  I am trying to cram each day with learning and making.  Most of the time I hate what I produce but I think that most 'arty' people know they have an inner critic - the trick is to pay no attention.  I long for the day when I am proud of a painting or drawing that I have done rather than finding all its faults.  I am hoping that experimenting and going through the motion of 'doing' rather than passively watching tutorials will eventually pay off.

The watercolour tags above where fun to make but straight after I made them, I disliked them! They are loud and colourful and I am not!  Maybe I was expressing a side of my personality yet to emerge? 

Anyway, as I said, I did enjoy the process of making them even if I am not in love with the end result.  I will make them again but in a toned down colour palette.  After all, practice makes progress.

A Fish Out of Water

I quit my job.  After a year working as a General Kitchen Assistant in a school kitchen, I realised that my 'good enough' job was not quite good enough.  A giant leap of faith will take me where I want to go.  I cannot wait for new (and creative) adventures.

* Fish painted by following Anne Butera's Skillshare class 'Learn to Paint Watercolor Goldfish.'

Vintage Gardening Book

 I have just rediscovered an old gardening book given to me by my step-granddad many years ago.

There is no date of publication in the book but a price of 17/6 is pencil marked inside the front cover.  This equates to 17 shillings and six pence in 'old money' which is about 88 pence today!

It is a big hardcover bound book and full of interesting information.

 It is certainly of its time!

The illustrations are sometimes garish and old fashioned.  So old fashioned that they have come full circle and look almost contemporary!

Clear illustrations and diagrams make the book easy to understand.

I love this picture of climbing nasturtiums covering the base of a tree stump.  I have an old tree stump and can't wait to replicate this idea myself!

Quote Of The Day

I'm in a pensive mood.  There is much to say but for today I will keep my thoughts to myself.  I just won't serve them tea.

Where I'm At

I am quiet
But I'm not a fool
I watch you
Bumbling red faced man
As you rant and shout expletives

I am quiet
But I am still valid
Shouty people
Do not have the sole right to rule
Even though they think they do

I am quiet
And I watch the circus
from the sidelines
Even when they
Want to draw me in

I am quiet
I wish to stay quiet
And be quietly dignified
As I exit the door
To the quietness outside

Simone Whipp 11/3/2018