mamma mia

happy mother's day!

may day bouquet

a few flowers from my home and garden ...  

daffy-down-dilly

"Daffy-down-dilly has come to town 

with a yellow petticoat and a green gown." 

from: http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=hes&p=1336

i love daffodils.  i love they way they pop up at the first sign of a warm day, after a long winter's hibernation.  their yellow, sunshiny faces glow even on gray, rainy days; their bright petals bring the sunshine inside.
for me, they will always be the first sign of spring.

september, lately

week one: the night streets came alive for the first fridays gallery hop downtown.  we wandered down trade and fourth, mesmerized sightseers in our own world, and ended the night with a drink at tate's.

weekend two: a quick jaunt to birmingham, filled with art and walks, family and friends.

and in between ... 

magic

"When they have no leaves and look gray and brown and dry, how can you tell whether they are dead or alive?" inquired Mary.

"Wait till th' spring gets at 'em--wait till th' sun shines on th' rain and th' rain falls on th' sunshine an' then tha'll find out."

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett 

spring is back!

and so am i ... back from three back-to-back weekends away, including a roadtrip down to oxford that was more than worth the 10+ hour car ride, which was great, by the way, excluding tornadic activity and the times we felt like this.

more on that later.

right now, i am extremely proud of my daffodils. 

i decided back in the fall to plant a few bulbs in these large planters, below my pansies.  feedback was skeptical at best.  i cleared out the top soil by mid-february, and voila! we have new life springing forth.  it was a great day when i spied those baby shoots first peeking up.  i'm so excited for these blooms. 

***

i'm back from a wonderful weekend and Easter celebration at home.

here's a sampling of the table decorations i made: 

and here are the inspiration and instructions for the bunny ear napkins. 

Happy Easter, everyone!  He is risen, indeed, alleluia. 

flowers and photography

my artwork is up at simplyummy!

stay tuned for news and pictures, 

and head over straightaway to see my photos!

distractions

i find it all too easy to forget about haiti in the midst of my unaffected, day-to-day life.  thankfully, there are reminders all around me: at the grocery store, on tv, on signs around town.

i am reminded to give, to grieve, to pray.

we read this passage in church on sunday, and i've been turning to it throughout the week:

all things quake with fear at your presence; they tremble because of your power

but your merciful promise is beyond all measure; it surpasses all that our minds can fathom 

***

in other news, our landlord has "fixed" our cracked/broken windows by covering them with cardboard, and we discovered a minor gas leak in our fireplace.

home sweet rental.

geaux tigers