When pumpkin vines start to grow and grow, longer and longer, crawling over anything and everything, I can't help but wonder what it would truly be like to become teeny tiny. And, to have a teeny tiny perception of what the garden looks like, quite Thumbelina like.
Is that a funny thought?
Often people say to me, Vanessa you remind me of my kooky aunt that everyone thought was nutzz. Or, you remind me of some family member that was thought to be out of her gourd, but that was beloved for her wackiness.
First, I quite politely thank them for their, umm, compliment?
And then I get real staunch and talk out loud to myself or Lovee or Miles or Matty, or my mom or dad, about how the only thing kooky and insane is being so rigid in your thoughts, that you don't have an ounce of space for whimsy, and light-heartedness.
It annoys me that someone could be so serious to think that, a person who talks to flowers, and madly loves cats and dogs and all the little things, and not only exists, but lives, is a kook.
Is something wrong with this picture?
My whole family, especially on my mom's side, is rather kooky in that case. And I am thankful for that, because in my family, I have never felt off my rocker. My dad and mom have taught both sides, being serious and organized in some things, while being free and whimsical too. So, I think both can create a nice balance. I am floored when some people think that if you are whimsical, then you can't be stable, and logical. Tish tosh!
I think whimsical, fanciful, dreaming, life-loving, silly at times people are the sane ones, what do you think?
And so, in a whimsical rush of wonderment, I am wondering what being Thumbelina might feel like?
Come on, come down her with me…
A bit smaller if you will?
Yes yes, there you go….
Oh yes, yes, you made it.
This is exactly what I meant.
Right here, like Thumbelina.
You and me.
See?
It's nice isn't it?
Watching pumpkins grow.
It's cool, and peaceful.
I can feel the earth, I can feel it humming under my toes.
I can hear the trees, whispering, talking.
I can feel love, unlike any other love.
I am free, free to be me.
You are free, free to be you.
We are free.
As long as we want to be.
It's a choice, a choice.
Because no one, not anyone, can take away what we carry inside.
And that's that.
Anyone have a problem with that, see Lovee in the fairytale forest damage control office.
😉
I can hear Stella Maris…
Bliss.
And, thoughts on a Sunday.
Love, V
ps: Stella Maris, the song above, comes from Moby's CD called Destroyed. I am really loving it, it let's you crawl into the songs, and feel the notes. Journeys I tell ya, journeys through those sonic waves. It's on repeat while I paint. Pretty wonderful sounds. I especially love the tune called The Broken Places. Did you catch him on NPR yesterday?
pss: Guess what? I found a place in my garden where I can actually feel like Thumbelina. I changed my perception, and there I was, on a bench…
I totally agree with your sentiments! My husband calls me the Queen of Whimsy!
Oh how absolutely wonderful!!! Let me be just like you! Well, be me while being like you…huh? That is exactly why I am joining in on the fun for our, err, your cyber Mad Hatter Tea Party! Whimsy,whimsy and more whimsy…let the party begin 😀
Thanks bunches for this post my new found friend…
Beth P
I am so jealous of your garden!! I am still trying to get a sunflower to grow in a pot… you have always had a brighter green thumb than I have. Or maybe my thumb is black?
Eeee! I’m right there with you under the giant, giant tree!
Aww, you aren’t kooky. I don’t know why its so neccessary for some people to put others in a “catagory” can’t we all just BE what we are.
Truthfully I’ve always been fascinated with being smaller than everything else and have always loved movies like the Incredible Shrinking Man, Honey I shrunk the Kids, even A Bugs Life. I love the way they “used” our items. My granddaughter watches the Tinkerbelle movies with me. I love “small” worlds.
So if you are kooky I must be too, lets just enjoy the heck out of it.
I love, love, love those views of the garden. A little hiding spot for a fairy or two I think
Helloo my kooky, whacky blog friend… Well if you are all of that then you are in good company with the likes of Walt Disney, Tolkien, Rowlings, Lewis Carol, C S Lewis, (all of them gazilloineirs I might add). There are other people that were considered crazy or too artsy or eccentric or madd like Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Michangelo, Mozart, Bach, Galieleo, Copurnicus and so on and so on. I think I would rather live in a world filled with these visionary geniuses than in a world populated with rows upon rows of cookie cutter suburban houses where having flair is to paint your house a different shade of white after agonizing over it for days and days (can you tell you have touched a sensitive subject!). I have made my choice to be whacky too and I drive around in a purple Morris Minor, take care of 80 cats, create faerie weddings, live on an old ranch in a funky house with a man that thinks I am wonderful and is equally kooky and… I make a very nice living creating whimsical weddings and events for people who live in those suburban homes… funny huh 😉 Keep on being kooky, the world need more people like you!
Your whacky whimsical blogfriend Tricia
Oh, pish posh. Who gives a rat’s patootie what someone else thinks? As for being like someone’s crazy aunt, unless you are whacking at invisible flying aliens and dodging tiny flying saucers…you’re FINE! (actually, I think that was a movie from waaaaay back) Anyway, we love you and love reading your blog. My favorite quotes – ahem —-
My grandmother used to say, “Everyone is crazy but me and thee. And I’m not so sure about thee.” OR – Cheshire cat, “I’m mad, you’re mad, we’re ALL mad!!”
Keep being mad. WE LOVE IT!!
Cheers, Kathy
Vanessa, You uplift people, you make us smile, you make us happy. magical!!! we love you just the way you Are.
I love the under the pumpkin world view-and how straight their stems are. I have plante a chamomile lawn today-a bit of a grand term for how it looks at the moment. I carefully watered in all the plants, and then it proceeded to rain all day!
i love love love this. thank you for bringing some magic into my day. :))
I agree with Lisa- you are wonderful just the way you are!!!
I did catch him on NPR yesterday and it was great. And I love that song. I will have to get this CD if this is any representation of the music on it. Lovely.
Just to balance out the “you remind me of my kooky ‘whatever'” allow me to tell you with all sincerity that you remind me of Anne of Green Gables. The Anne that walks around quoting poetry out loud and revels in the last of the Queen Anne’s lace and names common outdoor areas with magical names and lives not just one life, but two lives intertwined: the life of day to day activity coupled with the life of the imagination. And instead of retreating into the quiet and alone hours to live her life of imagination she superimposes it upon her ‘real’ world and lives a much richer and more rewarding existence because of it.
Couple that way of viewing the world with a good dose of common sense and ability to make sure bills are paid, etc. and you have the ingredients of a life very well lived.
Yours is the kind of “kookiness” I strive for in my own life. Live on!
Honestly I don’t understand how people without a certain amount of whimsy/wackiness cope. I could probably use a little more of the organized serious side but….oh well.
Thank you Vanessa for being who you are and bringing sunshine to our days.
…….. “My darling girl, when are you going to learn that being normal simply denotes a lack of courage.” From Practical Magic
I would love to be walking under those pumpkin leaf umbrellas, its sooo cosy, garden is looking good alright! and I seem to have had the word “weirdo” attached to me since I was a teenager, in my twenties it bothered me so much, and its not a word I throw around lightly at all, but I prefer the weird to the just plain “boring”, give me a weirdo anyday, I say!!
Im pretty sure we are all perfect just the way we are
xxx
sheree
What a perfectly blissful and happy post! Magical pumpkins – hurray! And Moby – I just adore him. He is so fantastically talented. We are growing gourds, did I tell you that prior? Bottleneck gourds and “egg” gourds for decor and crafting. I’m so excited. I get giddy about all sorts of little things. People may look strangely upon me, but I don’t care! I shall revel in sweet and happy things that make my heart sing. And I’m so happy that you do, too. xoxo
I love your garden photos. Especially the ones with pumpkin vines. Very enchanting for sure!
Simon says he can see the pumpkins growing………
A 101 year old lady looked right into my soul (RIGHT INTO IT) and smiled the brightest smile at me with her eyes & I smiled back at her…….this post makes me realize we are all bare souls trying to get back to God…….we’re supposed to be childlike in certain ways…….
don’t change, we love you or we wouldn’t be here………
Thank you for inviting us to be Thumbelina with you! It’s good to get a different perspective on things, isn’t it? We mustn’t forget the teeny tiny wonders of life.
Being fun-loving, goofy, silly, and whimsical is what keeps me young at heart. I love it. My hubby also loves this about me. : ) And that is one of the things I really love about you.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this post! So very magical and enchanting…..felt like I was a faerie…..I love faeries….and magic and whimsy…..I guess that’s why I LOVE coming here and visiting with you under the pumpkin vines!
I think you are perfection and nothing need be said beyond that!! PERFECTION, says I!!!!!!!
Much love from your weird, wacky, wonky friend ;-).
P.S.
I’ve been called eccentric by many that know me and I just chuckle to myself ;-O.
Vanessa, I have been following your blog for over 2 years now and I just want to tell you how wonderful it is. Everytime I visit, I am inspired by your whimsy, compassion and joie de vivre. Thank you so much for this, all the way from Sydney, Australia 🙂
ahem, as the official crazy aunt in my family, I am also the FAVORITE aunt in the family. Even the Marine and the Police officer nephews enjoy having this Auntie in their lives because i remind them there is life beyond the mundane, wonders to be found just about anywhere and on especially long walks with me they could meet anyone from the white rbbit to talking dolphins. I am very proud of my place of honor in my family and hope that at least one of my nieces or nephews will take my crown at some point and lead the next generation to all the wonder and love in this world that eists right in front of our noses if we will just take the time to look.
Hello Miss Valencia! What a sweet post! You always make me smile! I think we all have a little something like this inside, or a lot of it, but there are so many people that are afraid to express it or show it. I completely understand about the way others may think..For example, my beloved and I have been together for 10 years (10 in August) yet many people look at me like I am out of my mind because he and I haven’t married or have children, but I much rather have pups and animals surround me and we are happy the way we are. Yet so many people think that the only way to be happy is if you live a certain way, act a certain way, do things a certain way, but I am so very happy with my art, my love, my life! And I am happy you are happy living your own way! And I admire that about you!!!
Take care and be welL!!
Kim
Thumbelina, one of my favorite stories growing up as well as James and the Giant Peach. Vanessa and her magical garden in the desert is the story I enjoy reading presently. I wish it to never end. Thank you, Miss V, for bringing us such delight and whimsy to brighten our days. You always see more to our world that which most people would miss. You have become a dear inspirational friend!
Your sister is very talented too with her needle work. She made some adorable strawberries; she need not worry about a black thumb. 😉 Enjoy your day<3
Beautiful garden! Things are springing along so well:):)
Your whimsy & heart are sunshine to everyone you reach with your words:) I think everyone should spend an afternoon among the residents of a garden, get lost in a fantasy storybook, dance barefoot, and nuzzle a puppy—it would make for a much happier world 😉
Vanessa, you stay just the way you are. I loved this post…it would be fun to be tiny for a little while. But not too much fun if a bird spots us and thinks we’re a tasty bug or worm. lol
Nutzz??? You say??? Then I must be nutzz all of the time!!! I would love to have all of the creative time in the world to do everything my mind imagines on a daily basis…but alas…I do have to come back down to reality to maintain my household…but I still get to make bubbles from my Palmolive liquid dish soap whilst washing dishes!!!
Yes!! Yes!! My cousin and I used to play that we were tiny, and have all kinds of adventures riding on the plastic toy horses we played with. Our family too, had a balance for nonsense, and creativity, along with responsibilities. We laughed a lot and had wonderful family times together. We just never argued…my mother’s friends told her that she had remarkable children as the five of us were all so well behaved.
We believed in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’. My youngest sister said she was a hobbit, and believed it.
Actually, I feel that the creative people in the world, the actors, the movie producers, the song writers, the poets, the artists, the sculptors, are way more relaxed then the type A personalities. Otherwise…there is no fun in life. I refuse to let go of whimsy, it is just way too much fun!!!
So, here! here! to whimsy and to people who are nuttz!!! It’s what makes the world go round.
I’m just pumping myself up to be ‘Mad’ you know…for the ‘Mad Tea Party’.
Ta! Ta! my whimsical friend…
Vanessa, I love that you are whimsical and share it with all of us! It makes me and my kooky self feel right at home 🙂
I’ve never been accused of being the sane one, and I hope to forever avoid it! =D
So you & I & the rest of us, in all our kooky glory, will dance amoungst the pumpkin vines, take tea with the faeries & fill ourselves with magic & wonderment the Earth herself shares with us.
We are truly free to do anything & everything. So… lets party on! ^-^
XOXO
You tell them sista girl!!!
Xoxo!
Michelle
(long time no see!)
There’s nothing crazy about imagining what it would be like to be tiny like Thumbelina – or if it is then I’ve been crazy right along with you. I loved stories like Thumbelina and The Borrowers, the cartoon The Littles, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, etc. as a child…and well, I still do. I LOVE the idea of little tiny people – be they fairies or otherwise – and that may be why I love miniatures so much. Anyway, just wanted to stop by and say ‘you are NOT alone.’ 😉
Also – crazy jealous of your garden. I have rabid killer crazy frickin squirrels that eat anything I try to grow. They ate EVERY single one of my peaches LOOOONG before they were anywhere near ripe. My tomatoes are locked up in a high security prison right now. (Spent a ridiculous amount of time, effort and money to make a secure cage for them.) I doubt I’ll get a single blackberry from my vines. I haven’t the last five years. So crazy jealous of your pumpkins. I know better than to try to grow my own. I’ll have to buy them at the store in the fall if I can afford them.
Let me know if you DO find any fairies in your garden. If anyone can find them you would as you are open minded enough and you definitely already have a magical garden. LOL
🖤
You are not a Kook. You are awesome, and I feel inspired and refreshed every time I read your lovely blog!!! Love it and Love you!
Take Care,
Tracy M.
Tree do whisper….and sometimes they even sing! All the forest is alive with their songs these June days….I can hear them now, all around me singing!!! Thank You for your beautiful world!!!!!
Lovely post! I have often imagined the same. Being tiny what would I use as a bed? A decorated matchbox.. a nutshell or thimble as a basin to wash or cup depending on my size? Have you ever read the childrens book ‘The Borrowers By Mary Norton’ about a teeny sized family?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borrowers
I also sometimes imagine an upside down world too! 😀 x
I believe you are an artist. You are not whacky. The world needs more people in it who follow their whimsy. My sister, Mrs. Staggs is also an artist and writer. Sometimes she doubts herself and thinks she is wacky. She is also the favorite Aunt. You need to follow your bliss and create.The imagination that you share lifts my spirit.