Since it's May 1 today, I'll reveal my second favorite flower. It's the Lily of the Valley! Did any of you guess that? Mine are almost ready to bloom. I love their tiny little bell-like flowers and their incredible scent! I think May's flower is the Lily of the Valley as well.
It was a busy day here. Emma came over to stay awhile this morning. I had already gotten my walk in by the time she got here. Rhiannon and I played with her, read to her, and fed her some snacks. She was so much fun to have around. Very energetic this morning. She and I took a little walk upstairs. She went ahead of me and I followed to be sure she wouldn't fall. She is enthralled with Granny's second floor because we rarely go up there. There are two dormers in the main area and each is filled with different types of things. One is like a little living room, the other is filled with antique toys. She and I decided to sit on the floor of that area and read some of the books that belonged to my dad and his mother. They are so old that they are brittle. One I had never read and discovered that it was so enjoyable. The illustrations are much more detailed than what we see nowadays in children's books.
After Emma left, we all got ready to make a little trip to Coldwater for a bit of shopping. Right before we left, the postman knocked at the door. He was delivering a package. Rhiannon took it and seemed to be acting very secretive. She refused to let me see it. A few moments later she called for me and asked if I wanted my Mother's Day present early. Of course, I said, 'yes.' She then presented me with a book--"The Englishwoman's Garden"--one of my favorites of all time, by Alvilde Lees-Milne and Rosemary Verey. I screeched my delight at receiving this. Then she pulled a second volume out from behind her back, "The New Englishwoman's Garden." I shrieked again! She had found both of them for me on the internet even though they are very hard to locate. I was just thrilled. What a lot of enjoyment awaits me. I had some portions of the first one nearly memorized and could name some of the places that were featured. I check it out of our library every year. I'll not have to now! What a lovely gift. Rhiannon has been so good to me. She is such a giver. These two books, the mulch, and 3 perennials. What a great daughter!
While we were in town, we went out to lunch with our guest that's here from Iowa. I went to the second hand store only to come out with no items. I don't like it when that happens! A quick trip to buy a couple other items and on home. I spent the afternoon sewing on the 70's dress It's gone together so well. I finally got enough done tonight to put it on the dressmaker's dummy and pin the bodice to the skirt to get a sense of the final look. I am a little disappointed with a couple of the features. I think I'll redo the cuffs. They are long and fitted and I had them in a yellow-green lace. But they had to be lined and/or interfaced. The white of the interfacing shows through and throws off the whole look. I hate to rip, but they really need to appear to be green since I used the same lace on the flounce and it has a different color cast to it. It is actually an old lace curtain I picked up that happened to complement the fabric of this dress. I am cutting my lace trims from it. Otherwise, it's gone together so nicely.
I couldn't stand it to sew all afternoon without a break. Rhiannon came into the sewing room and said we ought to go outside. I told her I'd been rehearsing a line from "The Englishwoman's Garden" in which one of the garden owners describes a certain flower and its overall effect on the look of the garden. I pondered all afternoon about going out and moving my starts of this very plant to get it into a more harmonious grouping. It happens that I have quite a bit of this variety--I can't remember the name--but it's always popping up here and there and I've never "corralled" it. It's a fuzzy, gray-leaved plant that shoots up tall velvety-looking flowers in a very deep hot pink. I decided to try to group it a bit to get a fuller effect when it blooms instead of the disconnected, straggly effect it gives when it is left to live where it seeded. We did a little of that transplanting and then decided it was too cold to stay out there. It was overcast and chilly today.
I noticed that the strawberries are beginning to bloom and it certainly seems early for that. I guess they responded to the warm days. I hope they don't get frost-nipped on one of these cold nights.
Well, alot of my day was spent again in appreciating the glories of God's creation. In Genesis 1:1 the Bible declares that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." I am so glad our God is creative and has a sense of beauty. It's a wondeful thing to be included in His great creation. In fact, he sees man as the crowning achievement of all He did. It is so lovely this time of year with all the flowering trees in bloom. What a wonderful sight after that long, cold winter. Enjoy God's creation this weekend. Blessings, LORI
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