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The Snow Crocus

Friends, I haven't been going out to the greenhouse much for the past few months. It's been rainy and cold, and while last year I had a working heater in there, it's a no go this year -- electrical issues. Almost everything in there was dead or dying, just like the rest of the plants in the yard, and boo hoo, it just wasn't the same.

But this morning I went out there, and what did I find? Pot after pot with bulbs popping up (yes!), and yep, still a huge mess to clean up. I needed a pair of scissors to start chopping away and clearing out the dead plants, and I started heading out the door when I spotted something orange blooming. I stepped closer, looked down, and the orange snow crocus introduced itself. Crouching down, I felt the most wonderful promise of spring coming, and blessed those delicate blooms from my deepest heart. 



I've never had a snow crocus before, but I've got more that should bloom soon in the kitchen, along with my beautiful red and pink tulips and amaryllis, baby elephant ears, lemon trees, and more -- we've made the kitchen a temporary greenhouse church underneath the hanging pots and pans. 



As I walked around the yard today, I noticed the cabbage still looking fabulous (we won't go hungry), and around the corner of the greenhouse, tulips coming up by the dozens. We'll have irises again, and gladiolus, and the peach and apple trees and crepe myrtles will bloom. "Pretty soon," David tells me often to keep my spirits up.

My kitchen is really a wonderful, messy place. David loves to cook, and it seems like the house always smells delicious as a result. Today, I ran across a blog post by Karen Bemmes called How to Fall in Love with the Heart of Your Home, which is about making the most of your kitchen as a homey, happy place of wonder. I think you'd enjoy it.

So... even though I haven't been out in the Church in the Greenhouse much, I've been having services elsewhere. In the mornings, I've been painting upstairs in the makeshift art studio. I'm doing the 100 Day Project, which involves doing something creative every day for 100 days. I decided to paint. It's day 20, and frankly I'm amazed by what I've been able to do. Some of the paintings have been disasters, but several have actually been much better than anything I thought I could do. I'm going to enjoy doing 80 more of these 16 x 20 seascapes, barns, cabins, lakes, ponds, marshes, mountains, and many, many trees. That's how we learn: by doing, failing, succeeding, growing, changing.

You can see a Valentine's Day painting I did in this photo ...


There goes the neighbor doing her daily walk. I watch her from the bedroom window. I've settled in to do some schoolwork and dream some more of spring and summer. It has stopped raining, and when I need a touch of sunshine, I can go look at the marvelous orange snow crocus.

Something else that lifts my pandemic spirits is an app called Fabulous. Here are some invitations I found there:





Hope you try one of these today... I challenge you. Now I'm joining a friend (virtually) for yoga.

Pretty soon, my friends, pretty soon.

Love,

Tamara

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