A Birthday Lunch!

My pal Barb had a birthday this week, so friend Kate and I decided to throw her a birthday lunch! After all, we need a good reason to celebrate something and what could be better that honoring the day that a special friend was born?

 

I got the table set the night before, using a vintage tablecloth as a base and a smaller cloth over that as a topper. (Rita -- do you recognize the smaller cloth topper? You should!) As the salad was the main course, we dispensed with salad plates or bowls. Mom's silver came out, along with the some Depression glass tumblers. My Mikasa "Just Flowers" pattern seemed to be the right one for spring.

Let the Sun Shine!

Let the sun shine! It's been a lovely week here, warmish (not hot, which is perfect) and sunny. It's awfully nice to see the rain take a little break! Rick's flowering bush is out, so I know spring is really here!

 

By now, the Ditch is more "filled in" but when I took these photos a few days ago, it looked just as I love it -- that symphony of chartreuse and yellow-green, hanging like a soft scrim over branches and bushes. 

 

This beautiful state of affairs only lasts a few days and I was grateful that those days were lovely ones, good for a walk!

Missing Mom

April 21 is always a tough day for me. My mom died on that date, in 1977. You'd think I'd be over it by now. I am. And I'm not. I don't think we ever are.

I was one of the weird, lucky kids who had a great childhood. Two parents who loved each other and who loved me all the more. Financial security -- not wealthy, but comfortable. I was never spoiled but I was aware that we had all we needed and much of what we wanted. 

Thank You

I just wanted to thank you all for such heartfelt comments on my recent post. You can't imagine what that support means to me right now. I wish I could reply to each of you individually (those for whom I have email info, at least), but that lack of response has no connection to how grateful I am for wise words and understanding. 

 

So many of you have had similar experiences or periods in life when things aren't going well, whether it is physical or emotional stress or just an overload. You shared much encouragement, many positive thoughts and ideas, and perhaps most of all, helped validate the mix of feelings and frustration I'm experiencing. For those of you who periodically or still are in the "dark zone," I encourage you to read the comments on that post. And, I extend my own hopes that should you be in that spot now, your shadows soon lift.

 

I will be back soon with a new post. Meanwhile, visiting when I can and enjoying seeing spring come to life in your worlds.  

 

Thank you.

Thinking About Spring, Thinking About Things

Spring certainly seems to be dragging its feet here in mid-Michigan. Or, maybe it just feels like it was so long ago that we had our last spring that I've just forgotten the frustration and the fact that maybe this is the way it always feels. Still-bare branches with barely a touch of budding, fierce winds (and I don't remember winds nearly so strong as they are this year, and actually have been ever since last summer), and lots of rain. 

 

But there are buds. And even a bit of green is beginning to show. And a surprising high-60s, sunny day.

The Books of March

March ended up being a surprisingly good -- and diverse -- reading month. How i managed eight books last month is a mystery to me! There were, of course, mysteries, but I also read two fiction novels, a biography and a delightful humor book. Or, was it political satire? Or an animal behavior book? I'll let you decide! 

(And thank you all for lovely comments and support! Surgery went well, and not as miserable as the previous two times! YAY!) Now, onward to books!

Happy Easter

I was going to my last post stand for Easter, and it does for the sacred side -- but I couldn't resist adding a vintage element or two! 

Sacred Art for the Season

 Last Christmas Eve, Rick and I enjoyed a remarkable art experience when we visited St. John the Evangelist Church in Jackson, Michigan, a small city about 30 miles away from Lansing. It was a temptation to write about it immediately, but the art itself was better fitted to explain during Holy Week, so I held off on this post till now.

 

Christmas Eve was the official "opening" of a magnificent mural at the church's altar. It's enormous -- 32 feet tall and 21 feet wide and was created by local artist Joseph Macklin. Father Chas Canoy told us that it took a year to complete. Jackson is part of Lansing's Archdiocese and its St. John the Evangelist is its oldest church, built in the 1850s and Gothic in style. The mural is a perfect addition, with the style of art and the painting's subject matter fitting the setting.