Worker Bee

If I were a bee, I'd be a worker bee. Monday night I headed to East Memphis to work on Phase 1 of Stacey's office overhaul. Last summer the plan to clean up, paint, and repurpose the extra room was created, then put on a shelf. To sit. For months. We'd talk about the project but life got in the way. Now, with an upcoming wedding, we decided there was no time like the present to get started. Between 7:00 and 11:00 Monday night, we successfully emptied the room of it's junk and reclaimed it as an office space. Stay tuned for Phase 2: Paint and Phase 3: Decorating.

Before: A dumping ground During: A barren wasteland After: A clean, functional office

Keeping it honest: We were able to store and discard most of the items in the room. The items left are either borrowed, and need to be returned, in need of a storage space, or functional pieces that need to be used (unopened blinds, for example).

20,000 Tulips

20,000 Tulips are now in bloom at the Dixon (and will be through mid-April). Last Saturday, Peter and I took advantage of the free admission from 10-12. The gardens were ablaze with every color tulip imaginable. Of course I had to take loads of pictures!

Easter

We are family people. Homebodies, if you will. And we live in Memphis while our families live in Georgia and Maryland. {Indeed, we also have relatives in CT, CA, DE, UT, VA, FL, and SC}. But, all told we live quite a distance from any one of our family members.

Alas, we have been blessed. We are fortunate to have dear friends here who welcome us into their homes with open arms. Sunday my kind friend Minx and her husband A. hosted an Easter lunch. She brought out the nice china and fine linens. We are so thankful for our Memphis friends!

The sweet S&P shakers. Don't you love this painting? Minx created it herself! The cordial hostess hard at work. Yum! Chicken & rice, salad, asparagus, lima beans, rolls, and sangria. Oh my word, let me tell you about the sangria... I found a recipe for a white sangria on Allrecipes.com that received rave reviews. In order to control the sweetness of the drink, I tweaked the recipe a bit by halving the ginger ale, using a mix of white and sparkling blush wine, increasing the variety of fruit, and doubling the liquor. It was delicious!