Celebrate Health, Sunshine and Blooming

 

This week, I took my daughter to get her second covid shot at the convention center. I feel like a pro since I’ve been there 4 times now for myself and family members. And, really it’s amazing, so well organized from the parking to the waiting area. Everyone is friendly, helpful and supportive. I had to laugh though, when my daughter compared it to her many visits to Disneyland in California. 

I agree. There are bright color coded signs everywhere. Parking lot staff with lighted wands. Color coded roped off walkways, maze like waiting lines. Smiling, colorfully uniformed people directing you to your next stop to get your vaccine. Even after your shot, there are smiling people to give you bottles of water, a chair and a countdown clock to time your after-shot wait.

On Tuesday, we were there when cheers went up to celebrate the 500,000th covid vaccination. Wow, 1/2 million people are protected. Now something healthy to celebrate!

Sunshine in my heart and soul. 

Oregon isn’t known for its sunshine. So when I see it, my heart lifts and I get busy. It’s time to clean the patio. Scrub the furniture and grill. Empty out the old soil, fill the pots with plants and hang new flowering baskets. 

This weekend, it’s time to plant the veggies and replant some strawberry plants. Get out the bird netting to keep the jays from eating all the blueberries. And turn on the lily fountain to give the hummingbirds water to drink.  

Art, adhesives, butterflies and bubble wrap. 

This week in the studio, it was time to finish the butterflies. I made metal antennas for all of them and added copper tubes to the bigger ones. Glue is not my favorite ‘art’ medium but it is a necessary one. And there are so many different kinds of glues for so many different surface treatments. I’m lucky I have an in-house ‘glue guru’, my husband to help me figure out the best adhesive for the job. 

I have a new job: shipping clerk. Yup, never saw this coming, right? But with online site sales and virtual shows, I’m now a website builder, online marketer, virtual sales cashier and in-house shipping clerk. I never trained for any of these jobs, but thanks to other artists, friends and family, I’m learning it all. 

And I’m grateful. After a year of living under a covid cloud, finally, I feel the sun coming out. Just like butterflies bursting from their cocoons, it’s time to spread my wings. 

Inside and outside life is blooming. 

Beauty and Inspiration.

This time of year, I stumble over beauty.  Everywhere.

It pops up in my delicious peonies.  Each and everyone is a delight.  The smell is sweet and spicy and tangy.  I sniff and smile and melt into each fresh flower.  The double pinkness overflows onto the grass because the blossoms are so heavy, so heady and so abundant that they can not hold themselves up. Ah, I'm forced to trim them so they don't break and bring their sweetness inside where the fragrance fills my rooms.  

My favorite rose bush is blooming too.  It's a red and white swirl of softness with just a slight scent that's more peppery than sweet.  Quite a contrast to the peonies.  And if that's not enough deliciousness, the calla lilies are blooming, honeysuckle is out in full force marching across my fence and my small strawberry plants have delicate pink flowers.

And that's a surprise, because usually it's peonies, roses, calla lilies and then, honeysuckle.  But this year, it's all of them at the same time.   

It's abundance.  It's fragrant.  It's beauty.  It inspires me even when I don't realize it.

This week in the studio, I was playing with shapes that I realize, now,  came from my backyard.  The little figures were inspired by the lemon balm and the fern fronds bending upwards.   The vases furled and undulated like my beautiful calla lilies.

My hands worked away, my mind unaware of beauty's inspiration all around.  

Peony Heaven.

In my very first house, there were big, old peony bushes. I didn't know what they were but one spring morning, I woke up to these huge, gorgeous flowers blooming around the house. I was thrilled at their color and texture. The best part was the wonderful scent. Even today, I am amazed at how each one has its own unique scent. It was sad to move away from these beauties, but I made myself a promise: one day, I would have big, gorgeous peony bushes again.

That was 25 years ago. It took me a while. Motherhood and multiple moves got in the way of my peony plans.

Five years ago, I planted these bushes knowing it would take at least 3 years before I’d see any real blooms. I waited each spring to see if the bushes survived or had buds. Two years after planting the first blooms appeared on the dark pink bush in my front yard but nothing from any bushes in the back. The next year I got the double pink blooms in the back. Last year, the white bush had buds that shriveled up without ever blooming.

This year all my peony bushes bloomed.

One is peppery.

Another sweet.

Another is a mix of sweet and savory.



I can see why peonies inspire fragrances around the world. Peonies are well known for their fragrance and some are actually used in perfumes today.


Here’s a bit of peony trivia. It is the state flower of Indiana and a traditional symbol of riches and honor in China. In modern China, it’s a popular tattoo motif associated with a devil-may-care attitude. In ancient lore, mischievous nymphs hid Peony petals symbolizing shame or bashfulness,

According to Wikipedia, the peony plant is named after Paean, a student of the Greek god of medicine and healing. Over 262 compounds have been extracted from peonies including flavonoids, tannins, phenols and steroids. These are used as antioxidants, antitumors, antipathogenic, and help with immune, cardiovascular and central-nervous systems. The herb known as Paeonia and the root of Paeonia lactiflora has been used frequently in traditional medicines of Korea, China and Japan.

No wonder I was so captivated by this beautiful, fragrant and health-giving plant.