Yesterday I had a bee in my bonnet about tidying up and rearranging my bedroom space. I love colour and bits and pieces, especially if it has a bohemian feel. So I put together some things I already had in my room and this is what happened.
I made the collage of images years ago. I bought a big canvas and pinned some images I love from my many collection of magazines. The written content is a poem Genevieve wrote about six years ago titled "The Midsummer's Night that was Cold", and I love it. On the top of the tall boy is an ethnic scarf I bought a couple of years ago and had draped of the canvas elsewhere in the room. The jewellery stands/hangers are a recent purchase from K-Mart and are chrome mug holders. They were $4.00 each which I thought was an economical solution to a storage problem.
The little blue lidded jewellery chest I've had since I was a little girl and holds pieces I can't bear to part with.
I very proudly have on display a vase made by my Dad on his wood lathe from a Banksia spike.
A Banksia spike or more commonly called a cone, looks like this.
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| Image found here http://geographelandcarenursery.mysouthwest.com.au/Nursery%20List/Banksia%20grandis |
When I was very small, I remember a little night lamp that Mum used occasionally. A number of years ago I saw one just like it in an antique store. I decided not to spend the money on it although I was yearning for it. My lovely sister who was with me at the time bought it for me. It was so very sweet of her.
Mum recently gave her the one from home, so we now have one each. Childhood memories, so special.
This little owl coin purse was a gift and as I love owls, it has to be displayed.
I think he sits very well propped against Dad's Banksia vase and a bottle of perfume.
My lovely sister-in-law gave me this four leaf clover she found which she framed and gave me as a birthday gift nearly 11 years ago. It's so very special to me.
This is now a very special place in my bedroom with colour, memories and things that mean a lot to me. I also have a small photo of my best friend from when I was twelve years old. It was taken when we were in our early 20's. It's very sad that she is so very busy with her career and living in another state, so we don't share quite the same relationship we once had. Despite that, this photo is a reminder of those happy times we had, and perhaps if and when she is able, we can once again share happy times.
Friendship is one of the most valuable things we can have in life. So to the many friends I have made since starting this blog, thank you so much for making time for me. It means the world to me.
I'd like to share Genevieve's poem with you. Every time I read it, it gives me tingles. I hope you enjoy it.
Take care,
Anne xx
THE MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT THAT WAS COLD
Once a year when Midsummer’s night comes
And welcomes the moonlight to glow
When the frogs croak a rhythm to the dragonflies’ dance
To the oceans the rivers do flow.
And the pale white roses that sway in the breeze
Seem to close up and rise to the light
And to accompany the moon, the fire-flies sing
This is what happens on Midsummer’s night.
But once it was dark at midnight of midsummer
When the rays of the moonlight were cold
And the dances of the dragonflies just were not right
And the roses felt stiff and felt old
There came a time when the ripples just were, and
All happiness they seemed to smother
They were just there, just there, just there
With cold indifference they followed each other
That night, the fire-flies, instead of glowing
Retreated and did not come out
Those wee little candles were tucked away, and so
Their beautiful singing did not come about
On this night, the leaves that swathed the great flowers
Had to help; there was one thing to do:
They became dresses for the stems and they shielded
And curtained their flower from view
The owls that came swooping one night every year
Were usually forthcoming and cheery
This time they were silent, swooped once and were gone
And they left it so bleak and so dreary
The poison ivy that twined around the big trees
Desperately clung to and clutched the bark
To save it's own skin or the tree’s is not known
But it certainly left it’s own mark
The snowbells and Bluebells that usually chimed
Sat unmoving and silent all through
What would normally have been a time of celebrating
But never at all did they move
Then the call sounded loud to let every one know
That for another whole year it was over
That Midsummer’s night was once again gone
And the first to break the silence was the clover
She sang soft and sweetly and diminished the moon
And the first whispers of dawn came to
The ears of those who had long wished to hear it
In the sky came streaks of orange, then blue
But the dawn was well on its way
So the blackness relinquished its hold on the world
Into the west it slunk away
So once more at Midsummer when the dragonflies dance
The frogs must croak their rhythm before
Midnight, when the moonlight will blind them so brightly
It was once cold but is not any more.
By Genevieve M.
