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Bloomin’ lovely inspiration

Posted by on Thursday 24 March 2011 in meta | 8 comments

I’ve just been catching up with some blogs in my feed reader and read this wonderful (short) article on Simple Green Frugal by Notes from the Frugal Trenches.

Titled “Bloom where you’re planted”, FT explains she hears a lot of “if only”s (for example, “if only we had a bigger kitchen, we would make jam”) but she’s realised:

in almost any circumstance, you can choose to bloom where you are planted, or choose to stay underground. Listing all the reasons you can’t simplify, or make frugal, green choices, will never let you break through the barrier to a purposeful life.

A great sentiment, very nicely put – especially at this time of year when we’re thinking about stuff sprouting & blooming and starting anew.

By nature, I’m a pessimistic procrastinator but I’ve been trying optimism on for size recently – I’ve become the silver lining girl at drama (two weeks until the first performance and the prompt still has by far the biggest part…) and I’m trying to be a bit more go-getting too – getting on with stuff rather than leave it until the world is perfect and stars are aligned or whatever. I’m going to keep the “bloom where you’re planted” sentiment in mind next time I find myself saying “if only” or “I can’t do x“.

(Speaking of blooms, our across-the-road neighbours bought us a lovely Spring-flowers bouquet for keeping an eye on their house while they were away – tulips, narcissus & daffodils, hyacinth and two types of purple flowers I can’t identify. We have flowers in the house so rarely that we don’t actually own any vases any more: these are in an old nutella jar on the office window sill, with an old pickle jar holding the overflow daffodils on my desk. I’m enjoying the novelty of having them but glad it’s warm enough to have the office door open – those hyacinths are rather aromatic!)

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8 Comments

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  1. sara
    24 March, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    Hi louisa..i too read that article..its true what she says..you don’t have to have everything perfect to do things..my kitchen is medium size yet its sufficient for me to bake,pickle etc in..i love my home and i think thats the thing..you have to love where you are to appreciate the things that you can do with it..lots of folks would love my house..its biggish,big garden..pond,trees..greenhouse..but its what we have made of it..took us 16 yrs to get it how we want it to be..as for the flowers..well my bunches of daffs are in small vases and 3 jam jars dotted around the house..doesn’t matter what you put them in..the beauty of them always shines through..

    sara

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  2. Debbie
    24 March, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    My friends have always called me Eeyore… and then I went and met a lovely Tigger-type (getting married in April) and because I feel guilty about bringing him down, I try to be more positive and it seems to be working!

    Reply
  3. Rachel
    24 March, 2011 at 9:20 pm

    Inspiring indeed!

    Those purple flowers – irises, not yet open, I’m fairly sure of, and anemones, I think, probably.

    Reply
  4. Su
    25 March, 2011 at 12:19 pm

    I could not agree more! I have been getting increasingly more irritated at reading articles by people who have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds building their massive, ‘eco-houses’. Usually on green belt, virgin land, where they have to drive everywhere. They then try to make the rest of us feel ‘less than’. In reality there are thousands of perfectly good empty houses that are ripe for living the ‘green, frugal life’. No house/situation is ever perfect for everything, you have to make to the best of what you’ve got.
    In fact I think I’m going to do an embroidery of ‘grow where you’re planted’ just to remind myself.

    Reply
  5. Su
    25 March, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    Make that ‘bloom’ where you’re planted…

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  6. sara
    25 March, 2011 at 6:13 pm

    Sorry to take over louisa..but su i couldn’t agree more with you..i get very angry with folks who want it perfect..perfection is not attainable as you always want more and i have been protesting this wk..get me..they have dug up 20 allotments to build flats on,when the town is crying out for the allotments,if the council got off its bum and spent a little money on the empty houses then the lotties could have gone to folks who desperately want them(rant over)…i going to join you in that sign..but i will print off a poster can’t embroider but would love to learn..just have to find the bits and bobs cheapish..
    sara

    Reply
  7. Jill Croydon
    25 March, 2011 at 7:48 pm

    Hi Louisa,
    Love your comments and articles. Sometimes it takes more courage to “play the hand you are dealt with” – so go with the flow – why struggle to go upstream when what you need is down. The picture of the bouquet was beautiful – I particularly love the irises – don’t know if I could grow them on our stony soil – any tips? Or do I just tell them to “bloom”?
    JC

    Reply
  8. louisa
    29 March, 2011 at 4:59 pm

    Hi guys,

    Irises – yes, that’s what they are, silly me! thanks for your help identifying them, Rachel & Jill. I didn’t grow them Jill, they were a (shop-bought) gift from a neighbour.

    Su & sara: I’m tempted to make/embroider a “bloom where you’re planted” banner too – I’ll put the pattern/design online if I do it. I’d love to see yours if you do it as well :)

    Debbie: that’s like me and my chap too – while he’s as subject the odd bout of anger and frustrations as anyone, he doesn’t let things consume him and doesn’t take things anywhere near as personally as I do. I’m learning from him. Hurrah for Tigger types :)

    Reply

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