HI THERE! I'M BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI, FREELANCE WRITER, HISTORICAL RESEARCHER, & PERPETUAL SEEKER OF THE HUMAN CONDITION. WELCOME TO MY SPACE WHERE I SHARE THE BOOKS I'M READING, MY SPIRITUAL FINDINGS, FLOWERS IN MY GARDEN, AND LOST STORIES. ALL ARE WELCOME HERE.
Can I talk about my sweet woodruff? I only grow it because Vita Sackville-West suggested it in her many garden books. It is one of my favorite flowers in my garden now. Not only can it be used in tea & scented sachets, I also use it to make simple syrup for cocktails. Today I … Continue reading Can I talk about my flowers? Feature: Sweet Woodruff
The Living Forest: Two young boys in the Canadian Woods is a book I enjoyed very much. Written initially for children, it is the story of two boys and a man who has lived with the indigenous tribes of Canada his whole life. Together they take a trip through the wilderness in 1891 and along … Continue reading The Living Forest by Arthur Heming
Lost Garden Story: I love morning glories. This heavenly blue variety was a favorite of Vita Sackville-West. After five years I am still trying to find the perfect spot for them and the time to plant them. It seems I keep planting them too late; they never bloom until the frost comes in the fall, … Continue reading Heavenly Blue Morning Glories, a favorite of Vita Sackville-West
Another book my daughter read to me during quarantine. A very relatable tale these days, and but classic forever.
I think I have read just about everything Vita Sackville-West wrote about gardening, I also own many of her garden books. She continues to be the place I go for advice and also cute little anecdotes about additional uses for flowers most gardeners never think to mention. . . . Been fidgeting in the garden … Continue reading In Your Garden by Vita Sackville-West
I like to follow the breadcrumbs of authors I admire. If an author quotes another or happens to really like a certain book or person then I investigate whomever they suggest. St. John of the Cross is one of those breadcrumbs. I’m so excited to read his work. This book is 800 pages, not exactly … Continue reading The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross
I thought time in quarantine would allow me moments of quiet reflection, new creative projects, and the ability to find myself, but instead I seem to be lost. The anxious energy of the world is such that it has penetrated not only my home but my peaceful mind and spirit. The darkness has sought out … Continue reading The Book of Ezra
A SONG OF FREEDOM by Alice Mulligan . . . In Cavan of little lakes / As I was walking with the wind / And no one seen beside me there / There came a song into my mind / It came as if the whispered voice / of one, but none of human kind … Continue reading Irish Poem…
More on my journey back to the neighborhood of Poletown razed for the GM plant in 1981. Found Father Joseph Karasiewicz’s grave today against terrible wind and bone-numbing chill in a deserted graveyard. Father Joe was known as the “iron priest of Poletown”, he fought to save the Immaculate Conception church with his life. He … Continue reading Lost Story about the Iron Priest of Poletown
Oh, the wit of Walpole!! I find myself reading his letters with a perpetual smile on my face. . . . To Richard West, Esq., "About two days ago, about four o'clock in the afternoon, and about an hour after dinner, —from all which you may conclude we dine at two o'clock,—as we were picking … Continue reading Select Letters of Horace Walpole
BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI 