FRIDAY THIS AND THAT-BITTERSWEET IN SO MANY WAYS~

 I LOVE BITTERSWEET!

For my 50th birthday

(don't ask when THAT was

it was a LONG time ago)

my family and friends

threw a huge bash.

My brother, Charlie, came from

out East, friends from Florida,

and from around the area showed up

to surprise me.

One of the things that

surprised me most was

this watercolor that

my friend, Carol Ball, asked

an artist friend of ours

to paint.

When Carol said she wanted

a painting of Bittersweet,

Lois Christensen, the artist,

about fell over her easel laughing.

WHO would want a picture of

BITTERSWEET? Lois asked.

When Carol said it was for me..

she "got it".

Hmmm...guess SHE knew I

am a tad "off-kilter", too!

Here it is! It hangs in my

foyer/hallway.

Sorry for the poor photo..sigh...

I see it several times a day

and always smile to myself.

A close up

So, when I dug out an old

Better Homes & Gardens

magazine for October

I was tickled to see an

article called

Bittersweet Romance.

I think every Fall decorating

should have a bit of

BITTERSWEET in it,

don't you?

I love this table with a

bit of bittersweet color on it.

And look at these pumpkins,

wrapped with bittersweet.

How cute are these for

place markers?

Aren't these votives sweet?

I also found a bit of

BITTERSWEET

color in the shot of this room.

Maybe just a tad

TOO MUCH

of saturated color for me!

And, where is the

BITTERSWEET here,

you ask~

Well~ It is

BITTERSWEET

that my own backyard

looks

NOTHING like that!

It is also BITTERSWEET 

that so many things have changed

over the years.

My dear brother is gone-

never to experience another

Earthly fall.

Lois Christenson is gone and has

 her easel set up somewhere

beyond this realm.

My friend, Carol, has moved away

and I miss her.

My friends, Stan & Mary, that flew in from FL

have passed over.

Life is surely

BITTERSWEET, isn't it?

And, yet, we solider on, don't we?

In a perfect world,

all the people we love would stay

safe and sound and forever young.

In this world,

we accept the reality of life and

move forward as best we can.

Just so you know that I don't mean

to make this post a downer 

(because I don't feel "down")

I will leave you with this.

Unfortunately,

I DID NOT have the

WINNING LOTTERY TICKET

in the last drawing-

so, to all those I promised to

"share the wealth with" if I won,

I apologize.

Hmmm...maybe this IS a 

BITTERSWEET DOWNER POST

after all.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

BITTERSWEET -THE HUNT IS ON!

I have been looking for 

REAL BITTERSWEET 

for the last 2 or 3 years.

I have scoured every country road

for miles with no success.

I have even hunted along 

Interstate 43!

My Hero wonders who in their 

RIGHT MIND

looks for BITTERSWEET along a

major highway.

I do. I do. I do.

I do because I want a wreath like this one!

source
Sadly my own wreath looks
NOTHING LIKE THE ONE above.
They, apparently,  found the
MOTHER LODE of bittersweet plants!

A while ago MyHero and I took a drive

along country roads North of where we live.
After driving aimlessly for 
about an hour and a half
Suddenly MyHero said:

 I think we need to head back to

THE MAIN ROAD, Diana!

I said- Just one more road?(pleadingly)

He said- NO- LET'S HEAD HOME!

sigh

So...I turned up the next side road and

headed to the main highway....

searching fence and field for 

BITTERSWEET.

The next day while he was at work

I retraced my steps route.

When I got to the place I had turned off

I kept going straight.

Yep!

You guessed it!

About a MILE down the road I found it!

I found
BITTERSWEET!

Let me tell you- 

It is a mess in the wild...and invasive..

BUT  I love it.

Sadly, American bittersweet is becoming scare

because they have sprayed 
and rooted it out almost to 

extinction in a lot of areas.

But I found enough to use a few sprigs of it
here and there.

I made 2 wreaths from the bit I found.
It's a devil to work with-
wiry and not very pliable.

I also tied a few small branches together
to tie onto the trellis beside our garage
that supports clematis in the warm months.

I love BITTERSWEET so much
that my good friend, Carol, had a
watercolor of
BITTERSWEET
commissioned for me by local artist-
Lois Christenson of Door County.
She painted it for my 50th birthday.
When Carol called her Lois asked
WHAT KIND OF PERSON
wants a painting of BITTERSWEET?
Carol said- Diana does!
Lois said- Well, I should have KNOWN!
It'll be a gift from BOTH OF US then.
And it was.
Sadly, Lois died almost 4 years ago.
Not only was she talented she had a 
wicked sense of humor.

RIP, Lolo...

This hangs in our lower hallway
year round because
I LOVE IT!

You know what ELSE I love?
Ingenious ideas!
Remember in the past I showed you
MyHero in his suspenders
that he wears to keep his pants up?

Well, I found some GREAT suspender ideas at 
WALMART of all places.
LOOK!

And here, my friend,
is a close up for your viewing pleasure.

And....as they say at WALMART
"Have a nice day".

BITTERSWEET - A Poem About A Different Kind Of Bittersweet

~Bittersweet~

Sometimes things just come to me 

and I jot them down

in poem form.

I never agonize over the words-

they just flow out in a matter of minutes.

(kind of like the way I blog)

I rarely go back and change a word or phrase.

Such is this piece.

It took me about 10 minutes to jot it down.

I wrote this the year I turned 50.

That was really odd because it was the same year

I was presented with this painting

that I showed you the other day.

 But this is not about the kind of bittersweet 

you see pictured here.

It is about another kind of bittersweet.

I went down and dug this out 

of a box in the basement

and typed it into my Word program 

on my computer

so I could share it with you.

Bittersweet

Life is just a journey

Down an unknown lane,

Sometimes touched by laughter,

Often tinged with pain.

How often in my wanderings

I have met a kindred soul,

Who by their very presence,

Has made my spirit whole.

I have been so very blessed

Though the path’s gone up and down,

I entered the Arch of Motherhood

And found four jewels for my crown.

The road has had some twists and turns

Some days were full of strife.

But always in the distance

I could see the Star of Life.

Some friends walked with me but a mile

And left me richer still,

And there are those that bolster me

When the road seems all uphill.

Yes!  I have had my sorrows,

But my joy is full, complete.

For life is but a journey

And it’s often bittersweet.

copyrighted by D. Diana Kosmoski/2000

You know what ELSE is bittersweet?

Losing your hair!

I think I am going to send MyHero

in for a tattoo like this one.

And here you thought you'd never

see any nice hairstyles at Walmart!

Thanks for reading.

Hope you have a day that is full of love and joy!