Make Lemonade TToT

Life has been crazy lately.  Too many things to get done in too little time.  Spring refused to spring for far too long. A couple weekends ago though we didn't really have the time or energy, we slipped away to view Tulips at Twilight at the local botanical gardens.  Many of the tulips had refused to bloom due to unseasonably cold weather, so the parks people sprinkled light displays throughout the garden instead--a visible example of the philosophy that when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade.  The result soothed my soul.

Ten Things of Thankful

Beauty

People willing to work to improve life for us all

Truth

Community

Gardens

Actual spring finally arriving

Respite

Light

Vision

Love

Tulip Time & Thanks

The past couple weeks has been Tulip Time in Topeka.  The gardens in our old neighborhood at Ward-Meade Park have been filled with color.  Walking the paths puts a person in such a positive frame of mind it's the perfect place to make a list of things for which I am thankful.

The gift of sight and the riot of colors in the garden.  

The rain that has softened the dry, inhospitable ground of a month ago.

The final quarter of the school year and the push towards the summer break.

The joy of anticipation as I begin to fill the calendar with events coming up this summer.

Good news...a dental position for my daughter, and a separate thankful that the position is in Topeka and she will soon be home.  In other good news...acceptance to a summer study program at Oxford for my son.  

There is so much goodness in my life right now, it required an explosion of color to convey how thankful I feel.  

TToT

TToT: Tulip Time

It is Tulip Time in Topeka.  Years ago a man who lived out in the county came up with a unique idea for a fundraiser.  He would plant hundreds--thousands maybe--of tulip bulbs, charge people to stroll across his pretty property in the spring, and use the proceeds for beautification projects throughout Topeka.  A few years ago the man was no longer able to keep up with the physical labor such an undertaking entails.  The city, recognizing how popular the event had grown, took up the spirit of the event filling public spaces around town with an abundance of tulip bulbs. Now is the time the city is in full bloom--Tulip Time.

I am thankful that Gerald Binkley had this vision years ago.

For all the people who plant gardens for others to share.

For my friend Terry who happens to be the Parks Director of Topeka who helps provide serene spots for Topekans to linger.

For the smell of blossoms in my yard right now.  The apple blossoms smell especially sweet this year;I'm hoping that sweetness translates to the apples.

I am thankful that my husband has embraced the idea of fly fishing whole heartedly. I gave him equipment for Christmas hoping he would enjoy it. After a winter of practicing his casting in the school gym and the driveway,we are now trying out some nearby fishing spots for more realistic practice.  I take my camera and while he fishes I wander around snapping photos.  The experience helps us both relax, get some exercise and soak up some Vitamin D. A bonus of the empty nest lifestyle.

In a strange way, I am glad that Picmonkey photo editor has been on the fritz.  It caused me to try BeFunky to edit the photos for this post, and I had fun experimenting.

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