More Spring goodness!

TGIF- Thank goodness it's Friday (and my day off) and thank goodness it's flower season!!

Spring is really here!

We've been taking a lot of photos of the garden lately to make sure Tom doesn't miss any of the bulbs or blooms while he's still in the Czech Republic. The second and fourth pictures are of the Magnolia tree that has been nicknamed "The Honey Tree." Honey was our first family dog and she passed away two years ago, we were all absolutely heartbroken since for some reason we were under the impression she would live forever. In memory of her we planted the tree in her favorite spot in the yard. My Mom came rushing in the other morning as I was getting ready for work and pulled me outside saying "you have to see the Honey tree!" Once I was in front of the tree she had me reach out my hand and pet the buds on the tree, they were just as fuzzy as Honey ever was. It turns out the tree was the perfect pick as a memorial to Honey the Wonder Dog.

Painting

Untitled: 2006

I said a while ago I would post a picture of the one painting I've ever done. I have since realized that this is a lie since I have actually done three paintings, this just happens to be the largest and my favorite and the only one I have deemed worthy of framing (and you can see just a bit of the frame on the left hand side since my hands aren't the steadiest in the world). Done in watercolor and ink, the painting was an assignment for a Gender studies class (she wanted us to get creative) and illustrates a passage from Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye.

A promise made

My last night in the Czech Republic was a bit of a stressful one. I was staying in the hotel in Prague with Tom, and had been pretty sick for two days. Tom had a meeting in the Old Town, and originally I was going to go with him, but given how ill I was, we decided it was best I stay in bed. Falling in and out of sleep, I finally woke up enough to look at the clock and realize that Tom should have been back already. In a foreign country, already feeling sick and delirious, it was not a great time to start panicking about the whereabouts of the only other person Iknew within 3,000 miles. However, panic I did, after emailing my Mom and sister and getting the number of the hotel owner who could help me call the police I started to pray (while I was a religious studies major I am not religious myself and I save praying for dire situations). In a feverish state I promised God that if he helped Tom get home safely, I would donate $100 to charity. Twenty minutes later Tom knocked on my hotel room, found me in tears and explained that his meeting had started late and then he had gotten lost. I thanked the Lord and considered it a job well done on his part.

The next day was our flight back to the U.S. and we had a 30 minute connection in Paris (an airport Tom already despised for how difficult it is to navigate). Our connection time got whittled away first as the plane was late to board, then again as the flight was late to depart, then we managed to lose even more time in the air. Since Tom only had a week at home before having to return to the Czech Republic, it was really important that he not loose out on another day because we got stranded in Paris (although on another trip I think I'd rejoice at this opportunity). In the middle of shoving our way onto a shuttle bus, sprinting through the airport, and yelling for people to move out of the way (I was not on my best behavior at this point) I thought it was time to see if God could help us out again. "Hey God, remember me? Well I just wanted to let you know you did a great job last night, and if you help us get home safely, I'll donate another $50 to charity, sound like a plan?" He (or she, I'm not really particular) must have found the terms agreeable, because we showed up at the gate right as they were about to finish boarding, and we squeaked our way in and made it home to our own beds that night.

So why is this all relevant now? I finally made good on my promise to God and found a cause I was very happy to donate too (I tacked on a little extra to make up for it's lateness). Through The Literacy Site you can either purchase goods where a proceed goes to charity, make donations to important causes like illiteracy, hunger, and animal welfare, or even simpler you can just click on the toggle and sponsor money will go to charity. There's so much good that you can do on just this one site so please check it out!

A late rabbit rabbit and belated birthday?

Do you know the superstition where on the first day of the month you're supposed to say "rabbit rabbit" before you say anything else and this will bring you good luck? Well I always forget to do that, but driving home from work yesterday I had the great idea that I could do a post that had "rabbit rabbit" and that would be a similar good luck granting experience. Once I got home though the dog needed attention and plants needed to be put outside and I forgot. Guess I'm not destined to accumulate any extra luck!

While I'm on the subject of things I forget to do... here's a picture of dessert from my wonderful birthday meal a couple days ago. We went to Fore Street in Portland for an amazing dinner and even though I was stuffed I finished with a trio of creme brulees (pink peppercorn, malted chocolate espresso, and vanilla cinnamon) it was fantastic!