The Simple Things

Every year I wait eagerly for it to be warm enough to set up my expandable laundry line. There is something about the smell of damp cotton, the crispness of fresh line dried sheets, and the satisfaction that comes with not using any energy to perform this necessary task that just makes me feel good!

I once saw an incredibly beautiful handmade laundry line in a Martha Stewart magazine. Made of solid wood posts, with a retractable tented cover for fine linens, it was a work of art. It even had the option for hanging a hammock below the line when it was not in use. I still have the article somewhere.

After lobbing several hints at Steve, I finally gave in and bought this fold up spider web one. It is hidden amongst trees so its less than stellar looks don't bother me, and I have in fact come to love it. It weirdly makes summer laundry a true pleasure.

One day, I vow to have the Martha one built, and when I do I will site it right in the middle of a giant lavender patch!

The Impermanent Beauty

Every year I eagerly await the chance to cut my first bouquet of peonies from my garden. I missed the majority of my very early 'Pink Hawaiian Coral' and 'Coral Sunset' ones this year as I was in Mexico when they bloomed. However, the 'Raspberry Sundae',  'Sarah Bernhardt', and mystery white (given by a friend) are coming on strong, and I still managed to catch two of the secondary Coral Sunset buds for my vase. The later varieties have buds that are just beginning to fatten.

Hawaiian Coral Peony

The flowers in my garden, and particularly the tulips and peonies are a yearly reminder for me to take notice daily and to not take beauty for granted.

My first bouquet

Peonies are a popular symbol of love, femininity, wealth and honour in Chinese culture. They are often portrayed in Chinese paintings, hung in the home to symbolize good luck and strong relationship.

For me, they are most strongly a symbol of beautiful impermanence. Even if I manage to temporarily capture their beauty and fragrance for my own enjoyment, I know that it will only last for a short time. So it is with all things.

108 Chi Changing Things

While in Puerto Vallarta this week on a little girls getaway I met a fascinating young woman named Marci Nault. Marci has an interesting life and appears to live it to the fullest. In 2008, while her brother was near death, she wrote a list of 101 dreams she wanted to fulfill. 4 years later, she is about three quarters of the way through the list. Her dreams included riding in a race car, getting a book published with a major publisher (due out this May with Simon and Schuster), and learning to figure skate competitively. She blogs about her adventures here.

It seems that Marci kinda got under my skin. She is an ordinary person who has chosen to live her life fearlessly, and I am a bit jealous. Fearlessness seems foreign to me. I know it does to a lot of other people too.

She has me really thinking here and I am going to try to come up with my own list. I am having a hard time even contemplating 100 things but I am going to really give it a go. In fact, I'm gonna try for 108, an auspicious number!

Lots of us talk about 'bucket lists', but how many of us actually take the time to write them down? What about do them? I know I haven't. Have you?