friday five: a few of my favorite things

At RevGals this morning Jan invites us to share some of our favorites: food, drink, animal, color, and time of day.

1) Food: nothing jumps immediately to mind! I used to go directly to pepperoni pizza, but these days I limit my pizza intake, so it's not a current fave.  On our top list of "let's make this again soon" recipes is homemade baked beans (my husband can't have sugar, so making our own is our best solution when we want beans); crock pot chicken masala; casserole dill bread. Homemade soup is a stalwart favorite--I make a mean Curry Chicken Corn Chowder.

2) Drink: I'm surprising myself here by claiming water. With ice. Even when temperatures are frigid it is refreshing no matter the time of day, and a welcome gulp of renewal in the midst of demanding activity (mental or physical).

3) Animal: dogs are my passion, but I also simply adore sheep. They captured my attention when I was in college on a foreign study program in Scotland, and they continue to own a piece of my heart. 

4) Color: my default favorite is blue, although depending on the use of color, I will lean in different directions: clothing, decorating, an accent... 

5) Time of day: first thing in the morning upon rising. I love the quiet of the house, the pale, early light outside my window, that coveted first cup of coffee, and the promise that a blank canvas offers as the day stretches before me waiting for me to make my mark. 

friday five: spring is getting ready to be sprung!

Snowdrops making an appearance at the Royal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh, Scotland

Here in Nashville the annual Antiques and Garden Show is getting underway.  The temperatures are more cold and windy than is typical, and the garden displays with colorful spring blooms are going to be tonic for many of the souls that visit the show this weekend. Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted another six weeks of winter when he saw his shadow, but spring is on the minds of many!

With that in mind,

1) What do you anticipate with the coming of spring?

Spring is a favorite season, in part because I have a spring birthday. I also welcome the return of color and beauty to the world following the grays and browns of winter.  I love the parade of blooming things that begin with snow drops and croci, and leads us into the greening of the world and the enduring blooms of summer.  On a more intimate and spiritual level spring also heralds the promise of hope, whether that means fanning the flames of dreams or experiencing the transforming redemption that is part of healing and new life.

2) Is there anything you will miss about winter?

Call me crazy, but I love sweaters and cold-weather food. Soups and casseroles, and the comfort of cool fingers wrapped around my morning coffee mug are sweet companions to my introverted nature. 

3) Is there an occasion on the horizon to which you’re looking forward?

In May I will serve again as chaplain to a week-long icon-writing workshop. That week of holy and creative community enriches my soul, and the icon that results from it feeds me continually afterward.

 4) Do you have a favorite spring memory?

Where I grew up spring vacations took place in April. Each year my family journeyed from Connecticut to my family's tree farm in South Carolina where my grandmother spent a couple of months each spring. The highlight of that time was always being there at Melrose, but we often combined the trip with sightseeing detours to historic places along the way. I'm thankful for those visits to Gettysburg, Monticello, Williamsburg, Valley Forge, and other sites that helped instill in me a love for our country's history.

 
5) Do you have a favorite spring flower/bloom, and if so, what makes it special to you?

Tulips and dogwood top the list. Tulips were a favorite of my grandfather, so that created a bond for us, and dogwoods bloomed around my birthday. I also adore daffodils, and when they grew in my yard I loved to cut a huge bunch of them to display in the house.