"A bosom friend—an intimate friend, you know—a really kindred spirit
to whom I can confide my innermost soul.
I've dreamed of meeting her all my life."
-- Anne of Green Gables
God has blessed me with wonderful friends through the years. I've lived in six different states, and have lost count of the number of moves I've made within each of those states. I know, though, that's all totaled it's pretty close to 30 times, give or take 5 moves. I always wondered as I said good-bye to one home and set out for another if I'd again find that one woman who would become my "bosom friend." I wondered who she would be, but I never doubted that she would come into my life. God always has been faithful to bring her.
After this last move, to a little mountain town in NE Oregon, God brought Mary. Mary with the crystal blue eyes and beautiful white hair. Mary with the deep throaty laugh that lights up her face. The woman of faith who has grieved the loss of two beloved husbands and has now come to a place in her life where she most likely will remain single. She's five years older than me. I call her "Big Sister". She is my bosom friend, my kindred spirit. We built our small cottages at the same time, we both love to garden and decorate, and we both love Jesus. It's a friendship made in Heaven, for sure.
Spending time with Mary is the best kind of therapy, and yesterday I had the pleasure of enjoying her company for most of the day. She picked me up at 10:30 in the morning and we headed east through the countryside to Enterprise -- a 30 minute drive. Just enough time to catch-up on the latest news.
I pulled out my smart phone and took a photo
while she drove.
"Are you going to blog this?" Mary asked.
I laughed. "Why, of course."
She knows me well.
I didn't take photos of everything we did. Just the really pretty parts. You'll see what I mean as the day unfolds.
We ate an early lunch at Cloud 9 Bakery and Cafe in Enterprise, then stopped in at our favorite thrift store Soroptomist where I scored -- a gardening hat, tote and some vintage dry goods.
After that we drove 5 minutes out of town to Alder Slope Nursery. In this photo I took at the entrance you can see a bit of the mountains rising up behind it.
Randy and Pam the owners of Alder Slope Nursery are really nice. We have two excellent nurseries in the county, both family-run businesses. In case you're wondering, this is not the nursery where I worked last summer. I'll have to do a post on that one another day.
Mary and I spent a lot of time exploring and managed to fill up her trunk with flowers and veggies.
By the time we finished it was time to drive 10 minutes to the town of Joseph for a kick-off meeting of The Garden Group. Here's where this post gets photo heavy, and you'll soon see why.
The woman who hosted the meeting has a beautiful view of the mountains from her backyard.
But it was her garden shed that won my heart.
In addition to being an accomplished gardener, she's an artist. Can you tell from her door?
I really haven't seen a garden shed this charming in person.
It's a hard-working shed, you can see that by her tools and supplies.
At the same time she's created a sweet sanctuary.
Even her storage containers are a delight for the eyes.
Did you notice the broom?
Such a cute garden shed.
Speaking of cute, how darling are the bunnies peaking out of this flower box on the shed's exterior.
I'd like to add flower boxes to my garden shed.
Soon it was time to leave The Garden Group and accept the invitation of one of the members to drive over to her home. She's in the process of dividing her Grape Hyacinth and offered to give us some. How could we say "no" to that?
D's vintage home is delightful. I'm crazy about her brick walk.
I took a photo of her garden bed for you.
You can see she has a lot of Grape Hyacinth. GH pairs so well with Daffodils.
D dug up and gave each of us a bag of Grape Hyacinth. Then it was time to return home. But not before D took a photo of Mary and me with the spectacular mountain view in the background.
I thank God for my friend Mary. The older I get, the more precious friendships mean to me. Thanks, Mary, for a fabulous day. Love you, Sis.
And now I'm off to clean up my garden shed, plant Grape Hyacinths and some Snapdragons and other things I picked up at the nursery, and dream some cottage garden dreams.
Have a great day wherever you are.