"Purple puts us in touch with the part of ourselves that is regal. Purple is the queen in all women; it helps us keep our backs straight and heads held high." — Byllye Avery
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2024 in Pictures
"Purple puts us in touch with the part of ourselves that is regal. Purple is the queen in all women; it helps us keep our backs straight and heads held high." — Byllye Avery
“If all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wildflowers.” - Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Door County stretches a mere 40 miles from Sturgeon Bay north to Ellison Bay, yet each park features very different terrain and vegetation.
We enjoyed ferns, lilacs, columbine and wild strawberry blossoms in Potawatomie State Park in Sturgeon Bay
Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek and Ephraim was blooming with trillium, columbine, and forget-me-nots.
Ellison Bay Bluff County Park had a lovely variety of forget-me-nots, yellow violets, star flowers, and merrybells.
We were a little early for lady slippers. We spotted lots of their distinctive foliage, but I only found one brave blossom starting to emerge.
Cherry blossoms were in peak season throughout the peninsula.
I can never decide whether I prefer spring or fall in Door County. I’m so luck that I never have to choose.
“And all the world is glad with May.” — John Burroughs
READING:
The French Ingredient: A Memoir by Jane Bertch — “The French Ingredient is the story of a young female entrepreneur building a life in a city and culture she grew to love. As she built La Cuisine, Bertch learned how to flirt, how to project confidence, and how to give it right back to rude waiters. Having finally made peace with the city she swore never to revisit, she now offers a love letter to France, and a master class in Parisian cooking—and living” (Goodreads).
Flâneur: The Art of Wandering the Streets of Paris by Federico Castigliano — “A man walks the streets of Paris, alone and without a destination. He travels long avenues of great buildings, loses himself in the crowds at the Grands Magasins. Wrapped up in a black overcoat, he wanders the city restlessly. But what is he looking for? Where is he going? This book teaches you how lose yourself in the it contains stories of promenades and urban adventures, stories of dandies and flâneurs… It contains information regarding characters, authors and artists who have wandered the streets of Paris. By reading these pages you will discover the secrets of flânerie, the noble art of wandering without a destination” (Goodreads)
Hemingway's Paris by John Baxter — “John Baxter evokes the French capital as it was between 1921 and 1926, when Hemingway lived there, and provides a unique insider's guide to the city he knew and loved” (Goodreads).
The Paris Effect and Paris Ever After by K.S.R. Burns — “Through her adventures, laced with luscious descriptions of food and Paris, Amy learns that often in life, love and friendship, nothing is exactly as it seems. Grab a croissant and settle in for a decidedly non-touristy trip to the City of Light” (Goodreads). I really didn’t like the first book (Amy and everyone around her are rather unlikable), yet it ended with a cliff-hanger that compelled me to read the sequel. I have a trial of Kindle Unlimited, so pourquoi pas?
WATCHING: A family of sand hill cranes who moved into our neighborhood — Mom, dad, and two babies have been strolling and grazing in our yard and around the block. Every once and a while, the babies spread their wings and jump around a bit. Are these beginner flying lessons?
LISTENING TO:
A lot of ABBA — What can I say? I just love it.
May Instapuzzle Mini Playlist:
Purple Irises (Gwen Stefani + Blake Shelton)
Macarons (Charlène)
Lavender Fields (James Quinn)
Lovely Day (Bill Withers)
The Lusty Month of May (Julie Andrews)
My Girl (The Temptations)
Purple Rain (Prince and the Revolution)
What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
Bistro Fada (Midnight in Paris Soundtrack)
ENJOYING: Beautiful spring blossoms in Door County and in my garden.
LOOKING FORWARD TO: The end of the 2023-2024 school year, but June 14th seems so far away.
“Happiness? The color of it must be spring green.” - Frances Mayes
Springtime in my garden features some of my favorite perenniels and wildflowers.
The white trillium are my favorite.
More native Wisconsin wildflowers: May apples, hepatica, ferns, and red trillium (above) blood root and violets below
Virginia blue bells
White bleeding hearts (abore) and lilies of the valley (below)
The first bearded iris of the season
“Bertine” (Tina crab apple tree) in bloom - IYKYK
Windflowers, candy tuft, white hostas (above) and pink peonies (below)
"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. April is a promise that May is bound to keep.” – Hal Borland
“april is a reminder that life is a beautiful, ever-renewing cycle.” — e.e. cummings
READING:
Books:
Girls They Write Songs About by Carlene Bauer — “New York, 1997. As the city's gritty edges are being smoothed into something safer and shinier, two girls meet at a music magazine. Rose--brash and self-possessed--is a staff writer. Charlotte--hesitant, bookish-- is an editor. First wary, then slowly admiring, they recognize in each other an insatiable and previously unmatched ambition. Soon they're inseparable, falling into the kind of friendship that makes you better, makes every day an adventure, and makes you believe that you will be extraordinary” (Goodreads).
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl — “When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual a one-way plane ticket and a note reading ‘Go to Paris.’ But Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a childhood trauma has kept her confined to the strict routines of her comfort zone…A feast for the senses, this novel is a testament to living deliciously, taking chances, and finding your true home.” (Goodreads). A Dior dress, lunch at Les Deux Magots, Shakespeare and Company, a Manet painting — these are details that make Paris magical for Stella…and for me.
Link:
9 Rules for Eating and Drinking Like the French (Food & Wine)
5 Charming Villages in the South of France (Afar) - Having visted them all, I completely agree.
WATCHING:
Top Chef Wisconsin - It’s fun to watch contestants create dishes with Wisconsin ingredients (cheese, hops, cranberries, cherries, etc.), inspired by Wisconsin culture (brewing, Frank Lloyd Wright, supper clubs, fish boils, farmers’ markets, etc.) in Wisconsin towns (Milwaukee, Spring Green, Madison, Oconomowoc, Door County). Everything is wonderfully familiar.
Clips from Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett — Nostaglic, kind of naughty, definitely fun, I hope they will release the show on video and/or music streaming.
LISTENING TO:
April Mini-Playlist:
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Dominic Lewis)
Spring Flower (Hey Joon)
Cherry Blossoms (Narpy)
French Café (Mark Le Vang)
April Come She Will (Simon & Garfunkel)
Tulips in Spring (Janina Kowalski)
Cerf volant (Bruno Coulais)
L’autre valse d’Amélie (Yann Tiersen)
Good Day Sunshine (The Beatles)
ENJOYING:
Editing photos taken in Europe last month and sharing my Spring Break 2024 story on the blog.
Spring clean-up — We have been working hard re-edging garden beds, pruning shrubs and perennials, raking, mulching, power-washing, touching up paint, and moving out deck funiture. This week, we’ll mulch and I’ll start looking for flowers to plant in pots on the porch and the deck. I’m eager to sit on the deck and savor coffee in the morning, a good book, music, a glass of wine in the evening.
PLANNING: A weekend in Door County in May with cherry blossoms, trillium, forget-me-nots, and lady slippers.