Muguet de mai

« Un joli brin de muguet pour le bonheur toute l'année! » - Proverbe français

May • Color of the Month

“Be different. Be original. Nobody will remember a specific flower in a garden filled with thousands of the same yellow flower, BUT they will remember the one that managed to change its color to purple.” - Suzy Kassem

You may have noticed that each month this year, I have featured hues of a particular color — blue in January, red in February, green in March, yellow in April, and now purple in May. It seems the logical choice as violets are popping up in the back yard, lilacs will soon be blooming, and sunsets become more and more vibrant. I spied these purple hepatica on a hike with Piper in Lapham Peak on Sunday.

April 2019 in Pictures

“April is a promise that May is bound to keep.” - Hal Borland 💛

Spring Bucket List

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” ― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

I took this photo last April. Isn’t it amazing how different our weather and growing seasons can be from year to year?

This year, it kind of feels like spring will never arrive since we went from snow on April 14th immediately into summer on Easter Sunday then back to winter with another snow storm last weekend.

Yet, May is only two days away and everyday, when I go home, I notice something new. Spring is such a lovely time and, however short it seems, I plan to make the most of it. Just as I did last fall and during the holidays, I love the idea of intentionally planning in order to fully experience the unique beauty of the season. So to that end, here is my short-but-sweet Spring 2019 Bucket List:

• Open all the windows and enjoy the fresh air (✓)

• Smell the lilacs (✓)

• Enjoy Art in Bloom at the Milwaukee Art Museum (✓April 12)

• Sip rosé on the deck

• Visit my favorite garden centers (✓)

• Plant new flowers in my pots at home (✓)

• Find new outdoor furniture for the front patio (✓)

• Restore Eric’s Grandpa’s glider and swing on it with my morning coffee

• Dine al fresco (at home and downtown) (✓)

• Enjoy the first bonfire of the season listening to music, sipping wine, and roasting marshmallows

• Hike in the park with Piper (✓)

• Road trip to Door County for the cherry blossoms (✓)

• Hunt for trillium, forget-me-nots, and lady slippers in Potawatomi or Peninsula State Park (✓)

• Organize my closets and drawers. (✓-)

• Go to Delafield’s Spring Art Walk on May 31st (missed it because was hunting for trillium, forget-me-nots, lady slippers — no luck, and cherry blossoms in Door County, but I’ll catch the Fall Art Walk)

Encore...

“The snow was too light to stay, the ground too warm to keep it. And the strange spring snow fell only in that golden moment of dawn, the turning of the page…” - Shannon Hale, Palace of Stone

Yep, it snowed. Again.

Currently • April 2019

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.” — John Muir

READING:

• Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know - It’s a bit technical, but it certainly explains a lot about how dogs sense, think, and react.

• The Unexpected Evolution of Language - Organized like a dictionary, this book reveals the origins of 208 everyday terms and the interesting stories behind their shift in meaning.

• A Year in Paris: Season by Season in the City of Light - You didn’t think a month would go by without this francophile reading something about Paris, did you?

WATCHING:

• Mrs. Wilson on Masterpiece - Ruth Wilson stars in this drama inspired by her own grandmother's memoir. When her husband dies, and another woman claims his wife, Mrs. Wilson is determined to prove the validity of her own marriage – but is instead led into a world of disturbing secrets. I wish there were more than three episodes. This mini series hooked me right away, but ended rather abruptly.

• Les Misérables on PBS - I was a bit apprehensive about yet another interpretation of this classic French novel, but I was very pleasantly surprised. This mini-series is much truer to the novel than other versions. Since we have PBS Passport, we have been able to binge instead of waiting for Sunday nights. I must admit though that I have been singing the Les Mis sound track in my head the whole time (in both English and French)!

• Huge in France on Netflix - I was not familiar with Gad, “the Jerry Seinfeld of France,” but this is pretty funny (if you can get past the inappropriate stuff).

• “Chick Flicks” - In my version of the popular 2012 Things I’m Afraid to Tell You post that was viral in the blogosphere, I admitted that “I read magazines while drying my hair (Sailing, InStyle, Real Simple, Milwaukee Magazine).” Six years later, I also stream videos. I have rewatched the entire series of Friends, Gilmore Girls, The Wonder Years, and Sex and the City (for the fashion, of course). I have also discovered The Great British Bake Off which is curious because I don’t bake at all. I’m currently between series and have been rewatching chick flicks that wouldn’t be popular evening viewing chez Larson-Horne, including Mamma mia I + II, The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, all of the Bridget Jones movies, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants I + II, Becoming Jane, and The Jane Austen Book Club. I am no longer into click lit, and I think I’ve now OD’d on chick flicks — well, except Mamma mia; you can never have too much ABBA!

• We’re still looking for bingeable series if you have any suggestions.

PLANNING:

• My garden: Everything is starting to come up. It’s time to spread fresh mulch, plant new flowers, update outdoor spaces…Isn’t spring exciting?

• Another trip to Paris in October: The flights and the flat are booked (Want a sneak peak? Click here). This time, it’s a couples’ trip. Eric hasn’t been to Paris for eight years, and it’s been a long time since I was there in the fall. I love planning for different dynamics. Stay tuned for more photos and plans.

LOOKING FORWARD TO:

• Flowers blooming in my garden

• That first glass of chilled rosé on the deck (I mentioned that in March, but it still hasn’t happened!)

• The Kentucky Derby (We’ve been invited to a party at Arlington Racetrack. I mean the hats alone…)

• Seeing the tulips blooming in front of St. Joan of Arc chapel (I’m chaperoning a field trip to Marquette next week. Fingers crossed!)