Tim is on his way back to Nashville as I type this. We had a wonderful weekend together. It amazes me that we are headed into our 30th year of marriage and we still enjoy each other’s company so thoroughly. It was hard to say goodbye, but we know these next four weeks will fly by. And absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

Tim and I did a little brainstorming about the condo this week. We have one half-bath and one enormous full bath. We have what is considered a garden shower and a HUGE garden tub. While there are walls, neither of them has a roof overhead. We have never used that tub. It just isn’t practical. It was suggested that we could turn the space into an atrium and fill it with plants. I obviously love this idea, but the reality is that these plants would not be properly cared for during the 10 months I’m not here. Tim and I have seen some beautiful murals in the area. We are considering one for the walls that surround the tub. We haven’t done a lot of research for artists, we have no clue what something like this would cost, and we don’t have a solid idea of what we’d actually want to have painted there. We both agreed we’d like to see something garden themed rather than a seascape.  

I only have 30 days left here in paradise. I’m starting to feel some pressure to use these days to my full advantage. There are books I still want to read, a garden that still needs to be planned, and words that still yearn to be written. A task I don’t relish is thinking about and strategizing for what lies ahead this spring in the greenhouse. There is a possibility for something new and fun this year, but making it a reality will take a lot of thought, intention, time, and confidence. This is in addition to prepping and managing the greenhouse. I might be able to sell some bouquets at Bates Nursery this year. I have no idea how this is going to work, but I know at least a couple of coworkers share my enthusiasm for this venture, so I think we can pull it off. I also don’t know how well I can do both; greenhouse management and floristry. Regardless of whether or not this comes to fruition, I have decided to put myself out there a little more as a legit floral designer. I plan to offer my services to those in search of flowers for special occasions. I can’t do this on a large scale; I don’t think I’m ready to handle weddings or events. In fact, I don’t know that I’ll ever want to be the florist for stressful situations like these. But this year, I hope to provide flowers for birthdays and anniversaries with 48 hours advance notice. I also still want to give flowers to people that need them. I will be growing more flowers this year than ever before. Whether I have enough flowers both to sell and give away remains to be seen. I’m embarrassed to say that I threw several buckets of flowers on the compost pile last year. Which isn’t a total waste, but I’d rather see these flowers in the hands of people that need some joy in their lives.   

I will do a final review of the manuscript this week before returning it to the publisher. Then I’ll be one step closer to publication. I regret that I didn’t get a picture of Tim and me together this weekend. Here are a few other shots from this past week.