flower power and prom

green spider chrysanthemum left over from last weekends prom, keeping me company by my kitchen sink

sometimes i really think there is power in flowers. just having them near, to contemplate their glorious existence, the subtleties of their creation, their life cycle, what they represent. and right now, they are pretty much just saving me from the despair of waking up to 8 inches of white fluffy stuff. gorgeous tulips from my backyard, bless whomever planted them, and foliage from the prom and laura

winter is back, like a desperate ex-lover trying to sink their claws in one last time in an attempt to remind us of what we'll miss when she's gone, but really only making us more grateful she's going. don't get me wrong, i love winter, but in her proper season and time. right now i just want to plant my garden and watch my flowers grow. good thing i have all these beauties in my house right now.these darling tea roses were a gift from my friend laura, and the funky vase is a recent acquisition from my local thrift store

oh, p.s. last weekend was the jr prom and since i'm a jr class sponsor, and was the admin on call, i got to go chaperone. my friend christopher came as my date (and totally outshone me in his dapper 1930's vintage tux) and we had a great time cutting the rug and wondering at how the teens only know one dance move . . . and it ain't pretty.

april acquisitions

this month i bought a book and movie that i've wanted for a long time. in the film department i got 'the sound of music'. a classic. a must have. watching this is one of my earliest memories. i love it. i love the goat song, and the curtain dresses, and that babe julie andrews.the book i got is 'material world' and is a photographic essay of families and their homes and all their belongings all over the world. i used images from this a lot when i taught at byu, and will love sharing this book with students and friends alike as i feel it is a powerful message about belongings.
ps i may or may not have also bought a first edition hard back copy of 'pilgrim at tinker creek' by annie dillard at a used book shop in lander, wy . . . and maybe a few more hardback editions of some of my favorite reads.

amen brother roosevelt

"In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it."

- Theodore Roosevelt (and quoted by President Barack Obama in remarks at the White House Conference on the Great Outdoors)

weekend wanderings

my job is pretty sweet. this weekend was a good reminder of that. i love being outdoors. and i love taking these kids. we had a great trip to the san rafael swell, buckhorn was and the wedge overlook. mellow. star watching. campfire. lots of laughing. sleeping out. pancake breakfast. sun soaking. hiking. perfect.

in my sister's kitchen

i know i'm forever starting new blogs that never really get off the ground, but i'm making yet another attempt. this time the idea is this, a food blog by my sisters and i, just to share with each other what we are eating, trying to stay in touch while thousands of miles apart. because lets me honest, food dominates our conversations when we are together . .. might as well have it now! so HERE it is. bon appetit!

sometimes you just have to

buy yourself flowers. especially since no one else does. and especially when they are half off sale. normally i don't go for roses. but i saw these roses one day in franceand so i bought these beauties to brighten my home, especially with all this snow. siiiiiighhhhhh.

today its light

i woke up this morning to about 5 inches on the ground and just groaned and rolled over to snooze for a half an hour. ugh. so today i will share with you something i loved in france, and love everywhere LIGHT! we need it in all shades and intensities. i was transfixed in the old buildings the way the hand poured glass let it light, the patterns it made on the cold floors, the way it shown on the sea. . . i hope this brightens the gray outside!