Style Journal: In Praise of Gauze Everything

Last week - the last week of the school year - we had some blazing hot afternoons.  I have recess duty every day after lunch and the kids play and hang out on the school’s turf field.  The temperature of a turf field in the full sun of a hot day approximates what I imagine the surface of the sun feels like.  Thank the heavens for my gauze skirt, a recent acquisition that has become my go-everywhere; do-everything favorite piece of clothing.  It’s lightweight, it’s slightly textured but still a single color, it’s navy blue, and it has pockets. *Hallelujah! *I wear my gauze skirt nearly every week and my mind has already packed it for all of my Summer travel plans.  I see gauze clothes everywhere these days and I find myself wondering how we ever lived without this warm-weather essential.  While the days are hot, bring me all the gauze clothes.

Cooking Journal: Snack Tray Supper

May brings all the gloriousness of Spring in full bloom, usually with with enough warm weather to reliably plan suppers on the back deck.  At Sassafras House, that often means firing up the charcoal grill for burgers or chicken.  Just as often, back deck supper is a plate of cheeses, salted meats, crackers, nuts, grapes, carrots or marinated veg, some kind of jam (three cheers for fig jam, by the way)….whatever I have on hand, set on a plate or wooden board and enjoyed with a chilled glass of wine.  I know that the Internet calls this kind of thing a charcuterie board but for me it’s snack tray supper and it’s delicious. 

I’ve been known to enjoy a snack tray year round but somehow May’s arrival makes it so much better.  A snack tray on the back deck is not just good supper, it’s a meal that’s meant to be savored while we sit outside with laughter and the ease of a warm evening.   

Gratitude Journal: Pot of Impatiens

I know someone who calls daily gratitude the “glimmers” in her world.  I like that way of thinking about gratitude.  For me, moments of gratitude are often a glimmer….a moment or more that feels good and happy; when the stars feel aligned and I experience a sense of contentment and peace.  I start this week with much to be grateful for.  Chief among them is the Mother’s Day celebration that JT organized for me.  I felt loved and cared for; understood and appreciated.  It was a day I will remember and reflect upon for many years to come.  

As of this week, my houseplants have been moved outdoors to soak up the warm weather and on the front deck, impatiens and geraniums keep the plants company.  That is such a happy thing in my world.

I can spy this terra cotta pot of impatiens from the rocking chair on the porch; from my cozy reading chair in the living room, and outside when I pass by the front door.   I see it when I leave home in the morning and when I come home in the evening.  The pot is just the right amount of aged; the flowers are verdant and bright and every thing about it fills me with gratitude.  That’s happy!