IT HAS BEEN SIX MONTHS SINCE my book about packing up my city life and heading north to the garden was published, and to celebrate I’m offering the chance to win one of two signed copies–and dear Andre’s offering his latest doodled version of my Great Escape, above. (Truth be told, it didn’t all fit in a wheelbarrow, and I just unpacked the last boxes yesterday!) Want to win “And I Shall Have Some Peace There” for yourself, or to give as a gift?
I don’t have to tell you all how glad I am that I made the move to a much-pared-down life in a rural spot…many of you have been witnesses from the start of the adventure. But I do have a progress report on my next book, which I am finally making some headway on. This one will be very garden-centric and derives from the way I’ve always viewed gardening as a combination of “horticultural how-to and woo-woo” (the motto of this website as stated up top). One part skill, one (big) part heart and soul.
Back to the drawing: It seems appropriate to give away the book about my exit from corporate life as a Labor Day “event” here. Of course, the joke is that I now work more than I ever did–welcome to the new economy!–and also have unpaid side jobs mowing, snow shoveling and the like. (Is the grass ever going to stop needing twice-weekly attention this year?). But for me these days, it’s all a labor of love, because it all allows me to finally be here, where I truly belong.
How to Enter to Win
TO WIN ONE OF TWO SIGNED, gift-wrapped copies of “And I Shall Have Some Peace There,” a book about life transitions and making time to be still and reconnect with nature, simply answer this question in the comments below:
Where do you find that little bit of peace you crave?
I know, some of you hate to say much more than “Count me in,” or “I want to win the book,” and that’s fine, too. Be shy; go ahead–your entry will be officially registered for the drawing, even if you say little or nothing. But of course an answer is much more fun, if you feel so inclined.
So let’s make this our Labor Day giveaway–I’ll draw two random winners, using the tool at random [dot] org, after entries close at midnight Monday, September 5. Good luck–and have a wonderful weekend, hopefully to include some moments of peace and time in the garden.
Extras
- The book has its own website, if you haven’t visited before.
- Gift-wrapped, inscribed copies are always available in my little shop.
- And P.S. — If you have read it, writing a quick review on Amazon helps the cause. Thank you!
One of my best bets for that “bit of peace” is laying in my yard with a good book in hand, and my dear sweet dog at my side.
Walking around my small yard every morning with my first mug of tea of the day in my hand, seeing how the garden has changed over the course of the last day. Also: reading a good book :)
I find my peace in the early morning at my house. When I step outside with my coffee in hand, look at the garden and listen to the chickens, I feel rested.
I thoroughly enjoy looking through your slide shows.
My home and my yard are my peaceful place. I am also a quilter in the winter time.
Each time I think that I will “downsize” my yard, I find another beautiful plant. I am mostly a perenniel gardner.
I find peace in my small enclosed courtyard deck, complete with lily pond and potted plants. Not quite garden, not quite house, away from beckoning chores and ‘reminders’ of what needs to be accomplished — a place apart for thinking, reading, renewal.
I find peace on my parent’s deck when we visit. They live on a wooded hill, and my mom has tons of gorgeous potted plants all over the deck. The wraparound deck is on the second floor of their house, so you feel like you’re in the treetops.
Morning begins as I step onto our porch and look our garden and the
woods beyond. The first birdsongs, the sun’s rays, and the peaceful garden scene is a daily gift that I treasure. Beside me chair is a stack of books from a departed gardener friend. I’ll read and remember conversations and cherish the peace a garden can bring.
Since I tend others’ yards for a living, I’m afraid my own garden isn’t very peaceful right now. I strive to find balance, so that I can make others’ yards look beautiful, but also have a spot of my own that I can enjoy without seeing all the blackberry brambles overgrowing everything in sight. For now, I’m starting on the back yard (we live in the woods), where the “cat run” is. I’m making a small deck, and have planted some perennials and a coral bark maple. Eventually, I would like to take enough time to attack our 1.25 acre garden and orchard, but I’ll need to be working less than 50 hrs a week to make that happen. :)
Home
I find my peace working in a Garden, not just my own. Touching the plants and smelling the soil, sometimes crawling on my knees because I just can not bend anymore after so many hours. I know that’s what I was meant to do.
I find peace wherever I can make it. Curled up on the Sofa or in my backyard with a good book usually does the trick.
It’s in your book–”And I Shall Have Some Peace There”, which I asked for my boyfriend as birthday gift. I find the kind of life i always dream of and that kind of peace I crave in your letters. I reread every chapter I finished because I wanted to remember everything you say in that book, and I don’t want to finish the book too soon. Your book is my best birthday present and it is now my most favorite book of all time.
Your BIG fan from Bangkok:)
I find snatches of peace in recognizing myself in the words of others who express the same feelings — and fears as mine. It takes the aloneness out of living solo. In the thirteen months of being “back on the farm” after decades away, I feel ready now to aspire to the richness of your garden. Wish me luck!
I find peace reading a book. In the sun, if posible!
Like others who have posted comments, I find peace in the morning. Walking the garden, usually in my jammies, first cup of coffee in hand, day dreaming, admiring…it’s a calm like no other.
Sitting on the deck with my first cup of coffee watching the fog lift over the city.
Read it, loved it, love to have a copy!!!
I find time for myself when I work in the yard/garden. I usually can achieve freely associating random thoughts that make me feel very quiet inside (this is good). Also, late at night, when the family is in bed, I do a lot of my reading – I like to get lost in the books.
All too little of it, lately. When I do find it, it is in nature, unplugged. Or the loving arms of my family. Yesterday, it ws a day at the lake, watching my daughter Run in and out of the water with her best friend. Closing my eyes and feeling the warm sun on my face.
in the kitchen of all places.
i live that sort of hectic city life that requires a bit of peace in order for me to keep my sanity, and kitchen projects seem to be one way i can always relax or just get my mind off things while still not feeling as if I’ve come to a halt.
Your blog lifts my spirit…I get tingles when I see it’s here!
I find my peace when I am watering my garden. I can imagine the plants saying, “Thank you for that drink.” I stop and smell the roses as I’m watering, enjoying the solitude this chore brings.
I find peace with a good session on the piano. Also in my garden in the afternoons where I am growing organic veggies in raised beds. We have 6 fruit trees that my parents planted that are still bearing (had to take out the diseased cherry) and I also find peace thinking that they passed on this space for me and my husband to enjoy.
I find peace tending my vegetable and flower gardens– whether it’s planting, weeding, harvesting, or digging.
I believe that I am where I will find that little bit of peace that I crave…on the side of a mountain in Virginia. It’s lovely here…but I’m afraid I have not found peace here. We planned to retire here and the economy sped up our timeline a bit, but I find that I am only “here” with no real purpose (other than looking after my cats). I dabbled with a tiny vegetable garden this summer and learned some things not to do and hope gardening and the beauty of nature will provide some peace down the line…but right now, I’m just struggling. I hope that reading your book will help me as I search for a new identity/purpose so I can find peace where I am; if I don’t win it, I will certainly buy it. I love reading your blog and am in awe at the stunning photos. I am glad you found your peace and are willing to share it with the rest of us.
I have to agree with Lizzie. I find peace reading in my hammock the garden with my Siberian Husky, Eywa, laying beneath me. Extra bonus if it’s a sunny day with a nice breeze.
I’m a novice gardener and for the past 2 months I’ve found myself being drawn out into my little patio to tend to my plants… something I have never done. I find peace as I learn to connect with nature and I am completely fascinated by the way my plants respond to my care.
Far away, in Romania, I am a gardener without a garden: having designed and now taking care of 2 other’s gardens – but not “owing” one.
But, being a plant-addicted, I find my peace anywhere there’s a living plant, sometimes even a beautiful weed, some mist and the magical, quiet hours of the morning.
(Did you notice that in almost every comment here peace is something to experience in the morning?)
Breakfast and coffee each morning in my gazebo, surrounded by my garden. It’s where I find my center before starting the day.
My peace greets me in the morning when the rescued kitties come to wake me for their treats. To see their calm demeanor and elegance starts my day off such that I draw strength and gain comfort in knowing I am not alone.
Walking in the garden as the sun rises or sets, with a cup of coffee (morning) or a beer (evening) in hand, and always with the silly dog by my side.
I want to win one
In the Garden. Period. I know it’s a lame answer but it is the total truth. I can go to my gardens and be transported to another universe. One with peace and happiness and no phones or whining. I love my love of nature and gardening. Thank you Grandma for bequeathing this to me. It is your greatest legacy.
I find peace picking raspberries in my back yard.
I find my little bit of peace laying in the backyard in the recliner and playing with the dogs. Its very peaceful outside with the forest of trees we get alot of wildlife. simple pleasures!! Lisa M.
Surround with me a rainy day, a quiet house, and a good book – peace ensues. Thanks for the chance to win your book.
Barbara
I find my “bit of peace” daily in my community garden plot and my patio garden.
I find peace in many places, but mostly outside. One of my favorite spots to relax and unwind, is on my chaise lounge under my very mature dogwood tree. It’s the perfect place…
I have the luxury of watching the gentle rain falling onto my gardens this morning. It has been so very dry in central Kentucky – - – - an inch of gentle wonderfulness has fallen since last night. A good cup of coffee, my cats. . . .and catching up on reading the Sunday paper! My wonderful life!!!
I find peace in sitting on a lawn chair and watching my two Cavaliers explore the yard and watch the birds.
Swimming in Lake Wononscopomuc (Lakeville, CT) or walking on the beaches of Cape Cod near Provincetown.
Sitting by th pool,while looking at the flowers and reading a good book
A little over two years ago I bought my first home. The backyard – if one could even call it that, was an absolute mess of overgrown and out of control. I spent my first winter with my eyes gazing out the window waiting patiently for the snow to melt and the ground to give way to the first signs of spring.
And so my garden dream began, with nothing more than my shovel, my rake and my own two hands to pull leaves, move rocks, mulch beds, and convince the plants I had purchased to do nothing more than grow, grow, grow…
Every morning I wake up to my garden view and to the sound of a small rushing creek bed that sits down the bank and out of sight at the back of my yard. And it makes me happy. Every new plant, every new bud, every new day when I add something new or build a bed out a little bigger than it was before.
This is my peace. This small amount of space that grows wild under the summer sun, soaks up every single ounce of rain and keeps me grounded with my hands happily digging away in the dirt.
Sitting at my desk looking out into the backyard that I’ve been trying to revitalize since last year…I am either sketching (or at least learning to..hahaha) or reading a book to take my mind of work .
By the water….even if it’s just my little farm pond!!
I find the most peaceful time of the day is when all the daylilies are in bloom. The part of that day that is most peaceful is when I am walking through them with a bucket and a cup of coffee deadheading as I admire the many beautiful colors
Early morning, outside watching the sun come up – before the collective energy explodes on the day. It is all mine! And I do my best to carry those moments with me through the day. That is also when I walk around my property and admire my garden – pulling weeds along the way! ‘Peaceful, easy feeling …’ :)
I find the most peace just before dusk, sitting in a rocker on my back patio facing west, feet propped up on another chair, sometimes with a glass of wine or a good book. The cicadas begin their sunset racket, first, and then I love that moment when the last cicadas fade and the night bugs take over–katydids, crickets, etc. Just then, I look up at the sky and the bats are beginning to come out and fly. The stars begin to come out a bit later, and if I look straight up, over my house, the Big Dipper is pouring stars right onto my house. Bliss.
My favorite ways of finding peace are puttering in my garden, reading, and playing classical piano. If I can do all three in one day, I’m in heaven!
I find peace in the morning having a cup of coffee on my porch. I love to watch the birds and butterflies among my flowers.