Sunday Letter Time…
Dear Sunday Letter friends,
I can’t believe we are into May already. What a strange year so far. Yesterday was our #StayHome day 50! It has been 50 days since we ate at a restaurant or went anywhere that didn’t involve (essential to us) errands.
I read an article yesterday that explained why time feels so warped right now. For me, time is flying by. Because my world has narrowed and every day looks and feels the same, there is nothing all that significant happening to mark time. In this case, with nothing notable to distinguish one day from another, the weeks disappear quickly.
Those who are busy juggling the tasks of teaching kids at home while working remotely may feel the opposite, like time is dragging.
Anyway, I thought it provided good insight into the perception of time. How has time been passing for you?
Birthday Girl
Today is Annabelle’s birthday! She’s the sweetest girl, so loving and expressive and kind. She came to us in 2011 from my friend and customer, Don. He brought her to the bank in a little wicker basket and she slept underneath my desk all day.
And for a few weeks, I bottle fed her. (Her mother’s milk had dried up early, before she was weaned.)
Have you ever seen anything cuter?
One of the reasons Annabelle came to live with us was because Lucy was so lost after Gene left. (If you’ve read my new book Gene, Everywhere, you’ll understand.) We thought she needed a playmate. Lucy immediately went into little mother mode and has taken care of Annabelle from day one. (Annabelle’s mother is Lucy’s sister. So Lucy is technically her aunt.)
Indulge me during this Sunday Letter, please. I think we need puppy pictures right now.
I know everyone thinks their dogs are the most adorable, but seriously, I mean,💗💗💗.
Life is sweet and good but lately things have been a bit hard. Lucy is sick. Lucy is dying. Our hearts break a little more each day.
Change of Perspective
Every morning I walk through the backyard garden to see what’s changed during the night. And I take lots and lots of pictures. John and I love to garden, and right now, especially, our garden is a large part of our world.
Our peony (which we planted five years ago) hasn’t bloomed yet this spring, but it has lots of buds. Peony buds are such fun. They look like giant gumballs to me.
I took a quick picture, as one does.
Then, when I went back inside and enlarged it, really looked at it, I noticed all the ants crawling around the bud. Ants love the sweet nectar (but they don’t hurt the peony).
See? I think there’s a lesson here. One person’s blossom is the whole world to an ant?
Or something like that.
Skink in the Garden
We have a skink in the garden! (Not to be confused with skank, which I sometimes look like, especially lately.)
I’ve seen him on three different occasions in the past two weeks, so I think technically I can call him a pet now. And until two weeks ago, I had never seen one, even though this is a common variety in Arkansas.
For those of you who freak out at the sight of reptiles (you know who you are), skinks are not snakes. They are lizards. This one is a five-lined skink. The blue tail indicates he is a juvenile. Seeing him makes me very happy. If a skink wants to live here, we must have a healthy garden. Skinks bask in the sun and eat lots of bad insects like grasshoppers and slugs. So yay for that.
Check out this skink sculpture in Wilson Park!
Roses Galore
If your roses bloom and no one sees them, did they bloom at all?
Of course!
But I’ll put them in this Sunday Letter, just to be on the safe side.
Ours are blooming like crazy just in time for the Kentucky Derby, which would have been yesterday but has been rescheduled for September. And these climbers have such a sweet scent, as roses should. I am especially grateful for nature’s beauty during this time of staying home.
I might wear my Derby hat today. Just for fun.
Things Momma Says:
When texting with the online grocery shopper:
Shopper: We are sold out of Clorox products.
Momma: Can I substitute chocolate pudding?
***
Thanks for reading another Sunday Letter, friends. Celebrate the little things, smell the roses, eat the birthday cake, be safe and happy and healthy!
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
