Joy in Flowers

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul." ~ Luther Burbank

Everyone has little things that make them happy: Their children, favorite team winning a game, seeing something new, spending time with loved ones, a beautiful sunset, a good book, etc, etc, etc.  It's always nice to find joy in the little things and in little moments.

Flowers hold such joy with their beautiful colors and wonderful scents.  Spring just wouldn't be Spring without buds on the trees and flowers dancing up from the ground.

I'm so ready for Spring.  It's technology here, starting over a week ago, and the weather is in that confused state where it doesn't know if it should be cold or warm, and so tries both, sometimes on the same day.

The trees a starting to color, dead branches coming to life in greens, pinks, and white.  This time of year is always so beautiful.

PS. The vase is from the Worthington Gallery in Springdale Utah.  Their shop is quite nice, but you can purchase items online.  Mad Art Studios made the actual vase, a husband and wife team living in San Diego.  I fell in love with it immediately, and even though my funds are tight this vase seemed to beg to come home with me.  Doesn't it look so beautiful with the tulips?  A piece of art I'll always treasure.

"I must have flowers, always, and always." ~ Claude Monet

 

A Mysterious Flower

Have you ever had a memory you recall like a dream?  A memory so deep and vivid that it's become apart of your mythos?  A memory that has always been apart of you, yet you question if it's even real?

I have such a memory.

As a kid the home I lived in had a modest backyard.  It was part grass play area and part wildness.  About the midpoint of our backyard there was a white fence, and behind that there were three or four fruit tress, peaches and apricots, the ground untamed with rocks, wild grass, and sticks that poke.  My brothers and I weren't allowed back there, and when we did go we had to wear shoes.

Often we snuck in, sneaking through the small gate to grab a piece of fruit or explore.  One such time, while I was still in elementary school, I remember coming upon a flower close to the gate.  It was beautiful.  Unique.  It stuck up with colorful petals like a water fountain, tear drops in rows.  I plucked it and brought it into the house to show my Mom, who has no memory of this, keeping it in my room.  From there I don't know what happened to it.

The next day I went into the backyard, opened the gate, and in the same spot as before there was another flower, the same as the first.  I repeated my actions from the day before and brought it into the house, amazed at there being a second.

On the third day I opened the gate again, hoping to see a third flower, but it wasn't there.  I searched the whole area, hoping for another flower that never came.  I remember for weeks I would check to see if there would be any more colorful flowers, but there never was, and then I gave up the search.

In school I would draw pictures of the flower, trying to remember what it looked like.  I did that for years.  Once I was searching through a book in the library and thought I might have found a picture similar to the one of my childhood, listed under flower mutations, but even now I question this memory of a book with proof.

It's interesting looking back on my youth.  This memory feels real.  I swear that odd, colorful, beautiful flower I found really exists, but I truly question this reality.  I want the memory to be real, but I honestly don't know if it was.  Maybe it was all a dream.

So now it's this little thing that may or may not have happened.  I use to think those two flowers were gifts.  From whom I don't know.  But it felt like they were meant for me to find.  Maybe that in itself discredits this memory.  But still, a little mystery is fun, wondering if it was simply fanciful or real.  Honestly, who's not to say it wasn't?

Enjoying Thanksgiving Point Tulips from the Tulip Festival at Home, 2020

 A few years ago I visited the Tulip Festival in Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point.  The flowers were absolutely beautiful.  This year, due to the virus, the festival went virtual with Facebook Live showings and an opportunity to buy Tulips to enjoy at home.  My sister-in-law Krista bought a bunch of tulips and then had fun delivering them to family and friends over the last couple days.

On the website I can't find where to buy the tulips, but it looks like you can donate tulips to a healthcare worker, which is a really cool idea.

Also, it looks like the gardens will be opening up May 1st with limited availability, social distancing roles in place.

Thank you Krista!! :D

 This cute little wooden pin commemorating the festival was attached to the info sheet.  I love collecting pins, and this will be a nice reminder for this year.  A reminder to not take things for granted, and to enjoy the beauty that's around us everyday.

Be The Miracle

(Updated comment, October 13, 2019.  I was so tired when I wrote the original blog post, below this add on.  A couple days ago I got back from Disneyland, the Autumn trip I hinted at a few times in previous posts.  It was supposed to be a much longer trip.  Fly into Vancouver, explore, Disney Cruise down to San Diego, explore, than Disneyland.  A huge part of the trip had to be scrapped, and what was left was Disneyland, as we had non-refundable airline tickets, so Disneyland was kept.

I've been working on Shutterfly projects for Christmas gifts, and there was one particular project I wanted to do which would required all 111 pages.  That's expensive.  And I was waiting for a 40%-50% discount+free pages+free shipping sale.  It was the only way the book would be affordable.  And low and behold!!!  The Wednesday before I left this very sale was posted, and I stared at the screen debating if such a feat was possible as I had to catch a flight Saturday morning.  And I hadn't even started on the book, besides downloading the pictures.  So I went with it.  I had to choose between really cool Christmas gifts vs. pre-written (low stress) blog posts.  I chose the gifts.  

Leading up to the project I wasn't getting good sleep.  In 3 days I only had 15 hours of sleep.  Insomnia.  And I was groggy, my mind already cloudy before this crazy task.  I did it.  All 111 pages with heavy writing.  Many times looking down to see what I was writing, my fingers moving, not looking up at the screen.  And around 4 am that Saturday morning I finished, sending it off digitally to be made without any proof reading.  It was my little miracle.  And this crazy marathon made it possible to order 7 books, because the original price per book would have been $240.18, but the sale price brought each book down to about $30.  No kidding!!!

That's why I had to go for it.  And 3 of the books arrived in the mail the day I got back, and there's surprisingly very little mistakes!  I did leave one of my brothers off the cover, and I asked him in a round about way if he's okay with this, but he was totally chill about it.  I flipped through the book, reading bits here and there, and it's truly amazing it came together in 2 1/2 days.  I still hold to the fact that angels helped me.  I felt my Grandma Stufflebeam off and on throughout while I put this special family book together.

And to add to the below quote, Dieter F. Uchtdorf recently said, "It is your choices that show what you truly are, far more than your abilities."  I think this is also a Harry Potter quote.

Now on to what I originally wrote!!)

"My dear sisters, do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle."

~ Thomas S. Monson

I've been dealing with insomnia, and when I'm occasionally awake in the early morning hours I turn on the Mormon Channel app and select the talk radio live stream.  One morning there was a program playing different clips.  I heard the above quote and started crying.  Not being able to remember it correctly I scribbled on a note, "Pray for abilities equal to your tasks, you will be the miracle. Monson."

For a couple weeks I thought about this quote, the paraphrase, wondering about the complete context.  I recently found it, and it's from Monson's talk, "Three Goals to Guide You."

I'm actually writing this after being awake for nearly 23 hours straight while working on a project.  I'm shaking.  My mind is numb.  And yet, even in my fatigue I know I was being helped by angels.  When you pray in sincerity, willing to accept God's will, whatever that may be, miracles will happen.  No doubt.

Is it that time of year again!!?? Don't Wish Away Summer

While at the supermarket a couple days ago I was looking at flowers.  Didn't buy any, but when I saw the above pictured flower bouquet I did a double take.  "Happy Fall Y'all"!!  Wait, when's Fall?  Aren't we still in the middle of Summer?  No, no, no, time can't be moving that fast.  Ah, man. (And so many other thoughts flooded my mind.)

Nope, we still have a month.  September 23rd.  We still have time to enjoy the Summer heat!  I'm enjoying the dry Summer heat in Utah.  (Ever since experiencing the fluke-ish humid heat at Disneyland last month, I'm like, "Dry heat, bring it on!!"  But then I'm not a snow fan, sorry childhood wishes, and have learned how nice warmth can be.)

Honestly, Autumn is my favorite season.  Pumpkin cookies.  An excuse to warm up hot cocoa.  Sweaters and scarves.  Nippy, yet pleasant air.  Color changing leaves.  Autumn is nice.

For now I'm going to enjoy the rest of Summer.

I don't want to wish away time!!

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

Last week I finally went into Trader Joe's here in Utah.  I did a quick peek out of curiosity last year, but nothing more.  There aren't many locations, but this store seems to have a cult following of sorts.  

It's not that I haven't been to Trader Joe's as my Grandpa was always going into the Ventura location.  He loved getting the dark chocolate.  (Just realized we're coming up to his one year passing, a little sad, but it's good remembering the good times.)

For my birthday one of my friends gave me a gift card, so last week I went to see what I could buy for fun.  I'm not buying groceries with birthday money.  That sounds lame.  But flowers!  And chocolate!  That is birthday money worthy.  So today I made another stop, getting groceries, just to see what they're like, and to buy more flowers.

Flowers are good for the soul.

They're happy little things.

And I've decided that once a week I'm going to buy fresh flowers.

Below is the little bouquet I bought today for $4.  Tiny and wild.

Simple little pleasure, but simple small things make life grand.

Sometimes You Need To Get Yourself Flowers

“The earth laughs in flowers.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

2 things:

1: I watched a Hallmark movie last night.  Yeah, I'm on a Hallmark movie kick. #SorryNotSorry, seriously. :P  But I had taped this one about a girl who's an interior decorator, but her family's tulip farm is in danger, so now she must choose between two careers, and two guys, because it's a Hallmark movie.  That's how it is.

But really, the movie just made me want to get tulips.  So I did.  Not so subliminal messaging works.

2. It's essentially my Mom's birthday, and she wanted flowers and balloons.  So flower and balloons is what she got. :D  And I did order her a couple cute little things, too.   Our Costco has a really good flower selection, so we both got tulips, and she got many other varieties as well.

My Dad gave me extra money to get her a nice selection, so when I then went to the dollar store to get balloons, I felt obliged to get a lot.  A Lot!  I got 26 mylar birthday balloons, with some green and gold mixed in.  I totally felt like a carnival fair balloon worker as I exited the store!  Now I just need to clean and decorate the house.

It's been a pretty good morning.

Walking Around a French Garden

I'm continuing to blog about my trip to France in April/May of 2016.  After Paris we visited the Center of France where Patou lives, which is where the rest of these posts will be from: Berry and Limousin.  There are so many enchanting and fun places to visit in these regions, but first we spent a lot of time in Issoudun.  Here Patou has an Aunt who lives near her, and we visited her garden.

It's such a beautiful garden.  I heard recently that Patou's Aunt sold it, so these photos are really nostalgic and has me wishing for Spring.

A nice sunny afternoon in France, taking in nature.

Photos by Sarah and Robin Stufflebeam

The Last Rose of Summer & The Brilliant Bright Moon

I picked this rose from the yard on the last day of Summer.  The fragrance sweet.  Store bought roses never smell nice, which is a shame.  "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."  At least nature roses still smell nice.

The next day after picking this rose Utah nature took a crazy turn.  Rain, wind, and cold, the weather so crazy there was almost a tornado in Utah Valley when a funnel cloud appeared early morning, only to dissipate thanks to the valley mountains.  And between then and now the weather has been back and forth, taking turns between above and below normal temperatures.

This last weekend was heavenly.  The moon was brilliant, more beautiful then I've seen in a long time, passing through clouds, bright and clear.  I'm not the type to stare romantically at the moon, I prefer a night full of stars, but this last weekend the moon almost won me over.  The temperature that night as I stared at the moon was perfect.  Mid-seventies with low humidity, a slight breeze, the wind-chimes dancing in song.  I stayed outside long enough to enjoy natures thrill until the moon was finally engulfed.

The nice thing about living in north Utah during the Autumn is that we get to enjoy this season for quite awhile until snow hits.  Or maybe its lasted so long this year because I took advantage of the changing leaves when they first started to turn up in the mountains.  Every week since the beginning of September I've taken a trip into the mountains to take in the fresh, crisp air and admire the beauty of the trees.  They're captivating.  Now the trees in the valley have started turning.

This is my favorite time of year.

I'm going to enjoy each nice day we get.

I hope Winter minds its business and delays its welcome.

Hanging Flowers of Wonder

"Perfumes are the feelings of flowers, and as the human heart, imagining itself alone and unwatched, feels most deeply in the night-time, so seems it as if the flowers, in musing modesty, await the mantling eventide ere they give themselves up wholly to feeling, and breathe forth their sweetest odours. Flow forth, ye perfumes of my heart, and seek beyond these mountains the dear one of my dreams!"

~Heinrich Heine, "The Hartz Journey" (1824), Pictures of Travel, translated from German by Charles Godfrey Leland, 1855

Last week I went to a local nursery in search of flowers.  There's something about a nursery that gets my senses all a fire, rows upon rows of color, living plants awaiting the moment they'll be chosen and planted in their permanent homes.  Flowers I've never seen before, exotic or classic, sparking my wonder.

And while I was walking about I suddenly found myself in a room, flowers hanging from the ceiling and coming off the ground, all at different levels.

It was like walking in a dream.

Even now as a reminisce, going through the pictures I captured, deciding what I'll post here, I'm sitting at my desk, a familiar classical piece playing on the radio, wind chimes singing outside my window, the air cool and crisp:  I love Spring.

Tantalizing Spring

Spring!!!

So mischievous. So, so fickle.

You tease us with warmth, then quickly grow cold again, as if you want us to remember what Winter is like, instead of causally carrying us to Summer.

"Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!"

~ Thomas Blackburn 

We've had a few nice days, warm enough to cast off our sweaters, allowing trees to blossom and flowers to spring forth.  These last few days have been cold and windy, gusty breezy.

Though, despite this, I shouldn't complain.  Our "Spring" weather doesn't seem to last long, mainly because it can snow as late as May and June, going straight into hot heat.

It's overcast and nippy right now.

A 90% chance of rain this Saturday.

"April showers bring May flowers."

I do so love the rain :0)