Hello Sunday Letter friends,
Signs of spring are everywhere, and I am grateful for every blooming thing. But man alive, this weather is something else. Tornadoes ripped through Arkansas Friday, leaving a trail of destruction in Little Rock and flattening Wynne. My mother is safe at home on the farm, having dodged yet another weather bullet.
I hope you are safe too.
Speaking of Little Rock…
Feast Your Eyes on these Bernice Cookies!
These cookies were served at the book club I attended in North Little Rock last week. Aren’t they fabulous?
Michelle Rickard of My Bake Shack in Little Rock is responsible for these masterpieces. Goodness, Michelle has mad cookie decorating skills. The detail captured from the cover of Bernice Runs Away and transferred to icing was incredible!
There was a book title cookie, Miss Fiona (car), Dolly Parton (kitty), the ukulele, and a suitcase.
Believe it or not, her cookies are as tasty as they are cute.
Follow My Bake Shack on Facebook and/or Instagram, and for your next central Arkansas shindig, please consider ordering.
Thank you Beverly Paff and ladies of N. Little Rock for a fabulous discussion and amazing hospitality. (Also, I’m relieved to know you weren’t harmed by the tornado.)
The Pink Moon
The next full moon will shine down on us on April 6. Like the Worm Moon of March, April’s full moon has many descriptive nicknames too.
Photo by uomo libero on Unsplash
Flower Moon—Cherokee
New Spring Moon—Comanche
Little Leaves Moon—Navajo
Budding Time Moon—Mohawk
Moon of the Red Grass Appearing—Dakotas
Blackberry Moon—Choctaw
Different cultures and religious groups have used other names for the April full moon such as Passover Moon, Fish Moon, Egg Moon, Peony Moon and on and on (which you can read about in detail HERE). A popular name among gardeners is the Pink Moon named for April’s abundance of pink blossoms, especially phlox.
Even though our phlox is purple, we have plenty of pink to match the season including this glorious Bleeding Heart.
NWA Book Fest
Yesterday marked the first ever NWA Book Fest in Rogers, Arkansas, and I would like to offer a spirited THANK YOU to those who made it happen. What a fun event!
It often takes several years to build buzz enough to draw attendance at inaugural events, but that was not the case yesterday. NWA Book Fest was well organized, with a variety of literary vendors, and representation from all the area local bookstores (we have several!). It was so well attended it was often difficult to walk between the booths.
I did a reading at 10:30, signed a few books, and enjoyed other authors’ readings, including my friend Laurie Marshall. Her collection of flash fiction, Proof of Life, just launched from ELJ Editions.
The absolute best part? I spent the entire sunny day among readers.
Things Momma Said:
Stay in the gym every day until you can hit every free throw!
***
Apologies for a short letter this week. I spent last night watching the Final Four games when I should have been working on this Sunday Letter.
Last week certainly wasn’t all rainbows and pink blossoms, but I was able to scratch my gardening itch and that’s huge for me. I worked at the Headquarters House with my master gardener friends, John and I weeded at Momma’s house and our own, and I transplanted a couple of houseplants into larger containers. It’s amazing how quickly our corner of the world is growing and greening up right now. Our hostas are growing about two inches a day, and I am NOT exaggerating.
I hope you find some time to enjoy the great outdoors in the week ahead.
If you are interested in helping those affected by the Arkansas tornados, click HERE for links to several area nonprofits.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Loved those cookies! They were works of art. I remember when you came to our town, with your Mom, for the Pie festival and had to shelter in place at your Airbnb while a tornado passed around! Tornadoes are so devastating.
The winds here actually took down quite a few Redbud branches around our street so my vases are filled with their beautiful purple/pink blooms. Making use of Mother Nature’s severe pruning.
Lots of limbs down around here too. Some redbud limbs too. I saw a pile of them on the curb and may have to go snag some for a vase. Oh, that storm in Heber last spring? My car is sporting lots of hail damage from it.
I was praying for all of you in Arkansas when I heard about the tornadoes. Glad y’all are ok!