A Rose By Any Other Name

Last February my sweetheart surprised me with a miniature rose. With a great deal of effort, I muffled my sigh. I'm not known for my ability to keep any plant of any kind even remotely alive. Consequently, I couldn't imagine this tiny rose plant having a long life in my possession. Regardless, I made a valiant effort at watering but within just a few days it was obvious I should be writing its obituary. Ken was visibly disappointed so in an attempt to appear determined to save it, I planted it out front in the flowerbed near the house. It was late February and still snowing occasionally so I held out little hope for its survival.

To my utter astonishment, the little bush began to thrive! Over the course of the last few months, it has had countless blooms! When one group dies, another is already taking its place! They have been the only thing in the flowerbed that did thrive! Often I've had some of its tiny blooms in a small vase inside, their beauty reminding me of the sweet thoughtfulness of my husband as well as the beauty of this earth upon which we dwell. So just for fun, I wanted to share my roses with each of you! Lots of love to you all!

My Valentine Roses

An Evening at the Theater

With a definite fondness for live theater, it should come as no surprise that I look for any opportunity to attend a play anywhere within driving distance. :-) In the last several weeks I've had three great evenings at the theater.

Annie
The girls and I had a night at the theater together. Our local Heritage Theater was putting on Annie which seemed like a great choice for a Girls Night Out!

Tammy, Emma, Alicia, Me & Kimberly

The Fantasticks
Ken and I had a great time at the Jackson Hole Dinner Theater. The meal was wonderful and The Fantasticks was a play I'd never seen before so it was an exciting new theater experience. (More on Jackson Hole later!)

110 in the Shade
As one last night out before Kevin left, we headed to Orem where 110 in the Shade was playing at a small theater in the round. I have wanted to see this particular musical since high school and was thrilled to finally have the opportunity. They did a fabulous job, even managing to make it rain on stage! Kevin, Tammy and I loved every minute of it!

Wonderful company and great entertainment. Who could ask for more! :-)

Solitude

Life has been different these last couple of weeks. Ken and I are now officially empty-nesters -- something that I've always known was lurking in the background but always seemed very far away. Since we became parents more than 36 years ago, our lives have been very busy so this is a strange and new phenomenon for the two of us. The days are very quiet and actually, so are the evenings. I find myself filling my notebooks with plans for the next day and then struggling to accomplish things in the quiet of my new environment.

Something I've already discovered, however, is this new time is capable of new joys and I'm looking forward to exploring this new stage of my life! Wish me luck!

The happiest of all lives is a busy solitude.
~Voltaire