Friday, June 20, 2008

Pumpkin Moonshine was a Friend of Mine

I just found out one of my literary heroines died on Wednesday. Tasha Tudor, in case you were living in a cave that predates 1830, was a children’s book author and illustrator. She lived this fantastical life, spinning her own yard and wearing (homemade) clothes straight out of the early 1800s, creating magical gardens, and drawing beautiful, delicate illustrations as a means of supporting herself on her farm in Vermont.

I wanted to BE Tasha Tudor. Or, at the very least, one of the characters in her books. A Tale for Easter was, and still is, one of my all-time favorite books. I wanted to use the adjective “magical” again, because it’s so applicable, but I couldn’t figure out a way to do that without sounding repetitive.

I feel like Tasha Tudor would have approved of Dress Thursdays. I did wear a sundress yesterday. In fact, that was the first sentence in my blog entry, yesterday. But since I couldn’t come up with any further sentences, I didn’t bother posting it. But I hope the spirit of Dress Thursdays was with you all the same.

I busted out my worn copy of The Private World of Tasha Tudor this morning, in kind of a still-in-my-pajamas homage, and fell in love with her gardens all over again. I would like to celebrate midsummer’s and sit on a porch in a rocking chair, enjoying the late spring evenings! I would like to go back to the east coast, where the mountains are not as high but the land is twice as green.

And I wonder why I just can’t compel myself to process another spreadsheet this morning. I think I may go buy a rose bush, instead.

“Life is too short not to be enjoyed thoroughly.” –Tasha Tudor

3 comments:

Holly said...

"I would like to go back to the east coast, where the mountains are not as high but the land is twice as green."
... and the summer nights ten times as sticky....

I swear sometimes you remember a totally different east coast than the one I just came from! :-)

Diane said...

I hate to admit it, but I'm not familiar at all with this author. Time to dig in!

Pauline said...

I have a marvelous book about Tasha Tudor illustrated with pictures by photographer Richard Brown (who was a neighbor in Vermont when I lived there). Her gardens were marvelous!