Catching up...

I am finally seeming to catch my breath after all the hubbub at the store and things are settling down again. I spent a couple of days working on other things such as catching up to my laundry, which as Deb and I were discussing yesterday, seems to to elude me like someone you're chasing that keeps disappearing around a corner just as you catch sight of them...another day, another load.

As you can see from the picture above, the jacarandas are in bloom and showering us with their beautiful lavender blooms, which at the peak of their bloom can be heard falling at night, and hit the pavement with a soft plop. In the morning, the sound you hear in the quiet is the soft buzz of bees hovering above the drifts of blossoms for their nectar...

And look at these lovely things! We so seldom get to see peonies down here is the south, but Theresa showed up one Thursday for open studio with these in hand. They were completely closed when she brought them, and it was something to see them unfurl a little each day, culminating in this display of the most heavenly pink...

There are, of course, other pinks that I adore as well, like these little antique millinery flowers from an estate, flanked by some equally delicious ostrich plumes. Is there ever enough pink?

These are a few pics I snapped of Dede's last Marie Journal class, where fun was had by all. We sipped on mimosas, and nibbled the fabulous tuxedo cake and homemade muffins brought by Erin, along with fresh strawberries. Here Dede demos some paper stitching while Diane McKillip and Joan Whitmore look on....

I love to take a good 'mess' photo, and you can see there was a table full of creative crazy going on here. Tina Capriotti is tucked back there in a corner, and Jackie McTeer is working away at right... Here are some of the results...

C'est tres jolie, non?


Here's our 'class photo', which Dede wanted to take on the steps, just like we did for her first class at Lily. From left are Tina, Dede, Joan, Diane, Jackie, Erin and Margie with their beautiful creations.