Red Roses. White Tulips. And chocolate.

 

I love roses. The way they smell: spicy, earth, sweet. The colors: pink, white, red, yellow and even purple. The variety: long stemmed, miniature, bushy or tall. I’ve grown Peace Roses, Queen Elizabeth, even one named after Audrey Hepburn. They are all beautiful. 

My sweet husband knows this and always makes sure I have some for Valentine’s Day. I’m a very lucky woman, I know. 

Lily Vases and roses. 

I am so happy I get to play with clay. While I’m so grateful to all the people who buy my work, I’m also happy to be able to use it myself. On Valentine’s Day, I got to fill my Lily vases and many other vases with beautiful red roses and white tulips. 

Again, thanks to my love. 

Cookies and brownies.

Last year, without a good kitchen, we didn’t and couldn’t bake. And we both love cooking and baking. So this Valentine’s Day, we spent part of the day doing what we love to do together: baking. 

My husband made his favorite and famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. And I made my favorite recipe, Katherine Hepburn’s Brownies. 

We had our challenges with a new mircowave settings, uneven oven temperatures, and a pan spray that didn’t work well. But eating the mistakes was delicious. Best of all, we have more than enough to bring sweet surprises to both of our ‘kids’ as a surprise Valentine’s gift. 

All of this definitely fits this years word: Enjoy! 

I hope you found ways to enjoy the day, too. 

Love comes in many forms. 

Hoping yours was sweet. 

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.