The rains came. And they came. And they came.

Three feet of water later, our lives were changed. Quite a lot.


But once the floodwaters receded and we were able to go in and see the damage, I had a marvelous surprise.

The roses were just fine! A little mud on the lower foliage, but OK, a symbol of resilience.


None of my books made it — from my French textbooks to my vast collection of books about dollmaking, embroidery, children’s sewing and costuming, many of them older than even me. I’m sad about that.

The first night, I was sure all my vintage baby knitting books and yarns were destroyed. But when I got into the house, I found the books in a box with my French design magazines from the ’30s and ’40s — all safe and sound, where I moved them in the hasty minutes before we left for safety.
And the plastic bag holding the yarn actually had floated and kept it dry!

In those first few days of cleaning up and throwing out soaked belongings, there was great comfort and joy everytime I found something undamaged.

Another silver lining to this disaster that has challenged the soul of Middle Tennessee: the jobs that the recovery and repair are already creating. Once again: Hope we can believe in.

We’ll be away from home for awhile as the pieces are slowly dried out and put back together. But I won’t stop finding pretty things to share with you, and I won’t stop creating, either.

Stay in touch to see what the spirit of resilience brings forth.

á bientôt, from my iPhone…Tatie