Satisfaction Saturday March ~ 20 ~ A melange of unrelated joys

I have experienced brilliance this week:

An early March rose in bloom right there in my own backyard. (It's above and from the looks of it, it's Russel's Cottage - a tall, old, floribunda).

A surprise lasagna dinner made my dear friend, Cyndie, complete with salad, dessert and the Abercrombie and Fitch bag with the 6 pack torso guy. (He made a nice centerpiece for the table.)  A tremedously thoughtful gift while I'm still without much use of my right arm.

A fabulous school production of set pieces from Broadway Shows. Both my teen man and chickadee participate. One is a technician and in it for the fun and friends. The other really should have just been born on stage instead of the hospital. He's more comfortable there than any where in the world. I just fill with joy when I watch 200 kids enjoying a professional theatre experience they're in and giving their all to an adoring audience.

And finally, a little realizing that, for someone so dedicated to noticing and searching for connection in things, I might move a lot faster through life than I thought I did, figuratively speaking of course. My prescribed down time has lead me to breathe a little more deeply, see things I hadn't noticed, wonder how certain things crept into my life and home. All a welcomed opportunity to recast the setting and vision.

In Search of Spring ~ A rose by any other name

Tomorrow will be the first day of spring. This year because of Mary @ the Yellow Door Paperie, I've noticed it advancing. For these last two weeks my eyes and ears have been open to the sights and sounds of spring. The Western Redbuds budding out front, The Forest Pansy Redbud in profuse budding in the backyard, outdoor music on the campus, dogs outside barking a greeting and a generally lighter tone in the neighborhood. Thank you Mary! I'm completely satisfied with this awakened adventure toward spring.

The big gift is this lovely rose. I live in Southern California and love the garden. I've learned lots of garden lessons - especially, "if you're not killing plants your not really gardening." I don't suppose I completely understand this idea, but I take it to mean that as a gardener I want to stretch and try new things. I've killed plenty on my road so, I guess I'm gardening. 
In the last few years I've fallen in love with Annie's Annuals, a catalog, a webstore, a nursery in Northern California. Almost everything I've purchased from Annie's has come in a 4" pot and has done really well in my garden. And by this I mean, better than things I've purchased from most local nurseries (except my VERY favorite, Brita's Old Town Garden in Seal Beach, but that's a whole other story). Annie's collections are varied and wild, beautiful and unexpected. 
This rose is one of two (I admit, I've forgotten which one) I bought mid-summer. It's either Rosa Russelina or Grandmother's Hat. I believe it to be the former. We'll see as it grows. In either case, these babies bloom early. Russel's Cottage Rose was found growing on Alcatraz. It's cold on Alcatraz. So my coastal weather and clay (though amended) soil didn't hamper this charmer a bit. And Grandmother's Hat is a noted February bloomer. I'll update when I have a better idea and when she blooms.
But there you are. A rose in winter, blooming into spring, by a name known today only as rose. 

In Search of Spring - Lavendar - Otto Quash

In spring, or any other time of blooming, I love the beginning of the frilly tips of lavender.

I can't wait until they beckon the bees and my garden begins the spring activity.

And, tomorrow: you won't believe it, but there's a rose that grew through winter and is just about to bloom.

A sign of spring? Crafty Coffee Jackets

My girlie and her friend sat at the dining room table with me making coffee jackets.

Ooohh, a theme. And felt and beads. 

 

What scrumptious fun.

And now for a trip to that coffee store!

In Search of Spring: Spring Fever?

To my Midwest pals, accept my apologies, but really? Nearly 90 degrees in March? This doesn't push the search for prettier weather, less gloom. It cries for summer's afternoon naps - air conditioning even.
Southern California can have strange weather and this would be it. In a few days we'll be back to the low 70's but for today, it is like summer. 

And me in my cable-knit.

Still searching, but only for spring.

In Search of Spring - Strawberries

The birds planted these in my garden a year or so ago. I'm quite grateful for the appearance. 

As winter clears, I'll need to tend to them. But I am fairly often surprised and delighted by what joins near the ground cover under the Forest Pansy tree.

Mmmm.

Quotable Sunday & In Search of Spring

The artist cannot do anything slovenly -- Jane Austen

There it is, the dipping art of the Western Redbud tree. Random beauty from the Artist who delights my eye and my soul.