reading – Deanna Greens and Garden Art

The Sand, Stones, Shells, and Lighthouses

Every season asks us to let go of something, and every season asks us to love something new. I think especially during a vacation season. A little book I read a couple of times over the years, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh has come to mind over this summer. The wife of famous Charles Lindbergh wrote this while staying on a small island for several days, a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of her busy public and private life. Mrs. Lindbergh writes what the island and shells taught her. “Island-precepts … signposts toward another way of living … Simplicity…balance …work… space…time…closeness…life of the spirit, creative life and life of human relationships. A few shells. Island living has been a lens … I must remember to see with island eyes. The shells … must be my island eyes.” I hope to capture these precepts in the days to come after the relaxing during lake views a few days away from my hustle and bustle.

Just a few days away to Lake Michigan presented much needed, new scenery. Dean and I visited several sandy beaches from the northern tip of Indiana into southern Michigan. Beautiful stones of varied colors, some marbled or dotted with granite or other minerals were at one of the beaches. The persistent powerful waves of the lake, its ebb and flow over many seasons make these stones smooth. One particular white one is now my stress release stone for my fingers. I also brought back only two shells as they are rare to find on these well walked beaches. These shells are tiny with one having moss or seaweed attached to it. They have made their new home in our bathroom inside a dish with other shells we collected during previous vacations.

“Everybody needs a seashell in her bathroom to remind her the ocean is her home.” ~ Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

Dean and I visited the old lighthouse museum in Michigan City, Indiana. We learned about a woman by the name of Harriet Colfax who was the lighthouse keeper in that town for 43 years. She was commissioned by Abraham Lincoln to serve there. What adventures and sleepless nights she endured. It was such a rough life for lighthouse keepers. Miss Colfax remained a single woman all your life, gave her whole life to this commissioned position. Admirable, to say the least. The Big Red Lighthouse in Holland Michigan was a photographic beauty to admire. We spent a good part of a day on the beach nearby and captured a gorgeous sunset. A city park in Holland was beckoning us to bring our lunch to one of its benches. The butterflies fluttered about everywhere. Dean and I relished the beauty of the flowers and foliage along the “yellow brick road” sidewalk. This park is dedicated to L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz, whose family had a vacation cottage in this area many years ago. Dean and I want to come back to this area when we have more time to explore and discover. What a lovely five days we had together.

Dean and I have been living in this WWII era small home in historic St. Charles, Missouri for just under 2 years. It is Dean’s dream home, and becoming mine. Deanna’s Cottage is the name we give this home. In 2019 the cottage had been rented out via Airbnb for 7 festival weekends. It has such an ideal location, just 6 blocks from Historic Main Street. Each of our cottage guests have rated our little place 5-stars. Thus far this year, the pandemic has kept us from renting Deanna’s Cottage. It will be the second half of 2020 before we will accept reservations again on Airbnb, provided the threat of COVID-19 has subsided significantly. Those weekends when the guests come stay at Deanna’s Cottage, we stay at our previous residence. Our old house is rented to my daughter and son-in-law, a family of four. There is our old bedroom we invade for 2 nights at a time with our feline friend, Celine who has taken permanent residence there.

With the social distancing for 6 weeks now in the state of Missouri, we have more time on our hands. We would rather be visiting with our kids, grandkids, parents, siblings, and friends on the weekends. Sure understand why, and respect the rules set in order for this invasive virus to die down, but it is hard not to be with everyone. Our two youngest grandkids have April birthdays. We left the fixings for a birthday party on the porch and did a drive-by birthday greeting for the 10-year grandson earlier this month. But our 4-year granddaughter will not understand why Grandpa and Grandma cannot stop to visit. So birthday presents were sent in the mail to the other side of Missouri for our granddaughter to open on her birthday this Sunday. May be able a Facetime event.

So what else to do with all this time, especially on the weekends? We gained 2 hours every weekday with telecommuting, and little prep for work. So one project after another runs in Dean and I’s heads separately and collectively with conversations and plans to follow. We have plans to take out the carpeting in the living room, hallway, and master bedroom to get to the bare wooden floors. We are not sure what we will find, so we have put that off for awhile. We think it will take old-fashion time and elbow-grease with refinishing the floors. And what to do with the furniture while we work on it? With the lovely spring weather, outdoor projects have taken priority. Off and on since last autumn Dean has worked on the windows, scrapping, glazing, priming, and painting. That project is weather dependent. The awning over the front porch needs repainting. The back awnings just need to be removed. The back porch/deck needs to be replaced. Fencing replaced, too. And then there is the landscaping. This includes a huge tree removal, resetting a small retention wall on one side of the house, and putting in a pebble patio in the front with a small fountain. I love this project as it means a lawn chair to sit in at the end of a long day to relax under the dogwood tree sipping on iced tea or a cup of hot tea. The weather temperature tells me which.

I have many longer-term plans in my mind for Deanna’s Cottage. Did you ever hear of the book A Place Of My Own: The Architecture Of Daydreams by healthy food activist and author, Michael Pollan? He dreams of a small structure, then he builds it himself, and uses as his writing studio. A quiet space, purposeful place. I found this cute place online used as a small venue for parties, showers, rehearsal dinner, and luncheons. I could see Deanna’s Cottage used as a small gathering place such as this. I can also see a quainter dwelling, maybe about 500 square-foot to be built in the big back yard within the next 5 years used as an atelier for reading, writing and art projects, but also for periodic guests and gatherings. My flower, herb, and vegetable gardens surrounding the dwelling. But what does God purpose for Dean and I at Deanna’s Cottage, and this smaller structure I dream about?