Raindrops on Peonies

Raindrops on... Peonies

...and whiskers on kittens

sing along with me, my interwebbery friends

…how I’ve missed you!

Bright copper kettles

...and warm woolen...

Okay, it’s May… in Maryland… and almost 70 gorgeous degrees F outside (21 C for most of you outside the U.S.) on this sunny Sunday morning, but I do love that song… especially sung by the ever-so-talented Julie Andrews from Nanny-Nun to the quick-witted Poppins… oh, how I dreamt as a child how exceedingly exciting my days could become if only she would float down from the sky onto our doorstep… I digress.

Peonies! I LOVE them!!! They are short-lived when you wait ever-so-patiently for them to unfurl their tightly formed delicate petals into magnificent beauty, but they are SO worth the wait! I just planted these beauties last year, so they are just beginning to fill in this season.

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My most recent bloom, the lovely Sarah Bernhardt makes her entrance!

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This Karl Rosenfield was my first brilliant peony bloom of the season.

Ahhh, yes… there are few things in life better than garden therapy… except maybe cheesecake therapy. I haven’t tried cheesecake-in-the-garden therapy yet… I think I may have struck gold there… Mmmm. And speaking of Yum!… if you want to try a fabulous french toast favorite, you can find the recipe by clicking here. I even photographed it on my peony painted plates! (See what I did there? Sometimes the tangents can lead to wonderful places… wait ’til you try it!) ❤

Heavenly French Toast Casserole

It has been a wild couple of weeks, to say the least. I finally passed my 500 face mask goal and joyfully donated 480 so far! (Insert Happy Dance here! 🙂 ) I’m now working on getting some face masks into my Etsy shop in the upcoming week, so I can earn money for supplies to donate more – the need out there is incredible! So I took a brief break to work on a few other projects and immerse myself in all things Algebra 2 to help my daughter get through her last 3 weeks of high school. All of that, along with a whole lot of Covid-stress in the midst of her ridiculously long 48-day horrific migraine, has been a one-sunrise-at-a-time process. Today we start her on a new round of meds with overflowing prayers that the migraine will finally break. So thank you, Cee, for providing this Flower of the Day topic to give me a bit of a much needed brain-break. Yeah, did I mention the Algebra 2? …it’s been a few years, let’s just say.

To all of you getting back to real life as much as you can… Be safe, stay healthy and say a little prayer for my ‘baby’ girl.

Michelle xo ❤

By the way, to join in the Photo Challenge fun, go to Cee’s Flower of the Day page to get more of the details!

Let Hope Rise

I wanted to share a beautiful shot of the NYC skyline that I took en route to the Hudson Valley on March 22nd. I spent the afternoon moving my oldest daughter out of her dorm when her college closed their residence halls at the prompting of Governor Cuomo’s directives. We are on Day 10 of our self-quarantine which later became mandated by our state of Maryland, and thankfully all is well with our family of six. While we hear more each day about the progression of COVID-19 in our world, we hold on to our faith and lift prayers for all of the incredible men and women putting their lives on the line each day in the hospitals and clinics, those who are working in so many essential roles and the friends and families who are fearful for their loved ones – those who are working on the front lines or those who have begun to show symptoms. We pour out our deepest sympathies for those who are grieving the sudden loss of someone dear to them in the midst of this pandemic, who have succumbed to the virus or have suffered other illnesses or injuries. We pray for the millions staying at home to help get our country through this season as safely and quickly as possible, for the countless businesses and people who are out of work and suffering through the uncertainties that lie ahead and for peaceful resolutions to domestic disturbances that erupt in the midst of so many social and personal anxieties. You are in our minds and hearts, and we pray that the hardships we experience will ultimately make us stronger as individuals, bring us closer as a community and more united as a country. May you be abundantly blessed, protected and grow in Spirit and health. Lord, flood the earth with Your Amazing Grace & Miraculous Healing Power, in Jesus’ Precious Name. God Bless America. God Bless Canada, the UK, Europe… God give us Peace between the many cultures in our World! Amen!