My American Idol: Tasha Tudor!!!!

There are some books in my collection that I know well. One of them is The Private World of Tasha Tudor.

Sometimes my mind is determined to worry and to get myself grounded again I usually turn to books. What was I worried about? Well, the war, the economy and the upsurge in crime to name a few. It all seems so gigantic that I wonder if I will be able to continue taking care of what is under my charge until I die.

Whoa, I know that thought means I'm going off the deep end!

So how does Tasha Tudor help? She lives in a rural area in Vermont in a house her son Seth built for her and her life is quiet, simple and earthy. She has an ornery attitude towards modern times and ideas.

About New England weather she quotes Mark Twain, "it's nine months of winter and 3 months of bad sledding." That sort of thing reminds me to stop taking everything so dramatically serious, to lighten up and try a little humor.

I love how she never wears shoes. She can tell when a frost is coming because her feet are able to detect a certain type of chill on the ground. Wow, her feet wouldn't be chosen to model sandals for Bebe Shoes, but to me they are sagacious.

She talks about how when she sees her plants coming up again in the spring it's like seeing an old friend. I know what she means, I get excited to see my peppermint, horehound, bee balm and peonies among many others. I'm out in my garden saying out loud, "Hi you guys!!!!!"

And, Tasha Tudor was a fabulous illustrator of children's books and I admire and respect her for making a gigantic addition to children's imaginations all over the world and all she had was a box of watercolors and some paper, a few brushes and a corner in her living room. She did it as a way to make a living, to survive.

So, we can look around and feel helpless and defeated by the economy and evening news, or look we could look around and find what God is trying to show us. Today He showed me my old Tasha Tudor book and instead of my worries getting worse I felt encouraged.