Fruits of My Labor

I don't think there is anything more satisfying than creating something that is beautiful.

The most fulfilling, of course, is a child. Well more so in the nurturing of that child. Pregnancy is an incredible gift, of course; however it is in the raising of that child, watching it grow and develop and become: that is the greatest joy and fulfillment.

But today I'm talking more of the creation of lesser, but still very gratifying things.

Madeline and I "made flowers", as she says, last fall by planting tulip bulbs. It has been so fun watching them out our window growing. We cut some last week and brought them in. They light up the room with their bloom...ahh, rhyming...

Tulips are one of my favorite flowers.

(My all time favorite is the peony with it's soft luscious petals and full romantic bloom.)

One of the great things about tulips is they seem all innocent when you look at them from the side, but wham! Look at their sexy insides:

Striking, isn't it?

This weekend continued it's sale of strawberries at Costco for $1.25 a pound, so I had to make jam.

It is so pleasing to me to feed my family goods that I made. It will be even more gratifying, I am sure, to grow the food myself.

I grew up a city girl. Well, that's a stretch a bit: I grew up a suburb girl. I had a wonderful back yard to play in all day long. I had a warm neighborhood where in if I didn't know all the names of those on the streets, my parents did. It was safe. I long to raise my girls in that same environment. All in good time...

There is an ever growing (and perhaps naive) side of me that dreams of rural life. To have an orchard of trees of various fruits, a fantastic vegetable, fruit and herb garden, all organic, with a rich compost bin and a chicken coop...well it would be dandy.

The city, er suburb girl that is so very strong snubs, "ewh, what does coop rhyme with? yes, that coop is going to smell!" The unborn rural woman in me cries, "yes! but fresh eggs!"

I realize that it would be hard work. I would forever be outside taking care of the land. It is that hard work that draws me a little to that, though. Sometimes I think I would be happier (though I am pretty happy) if the technology was taken away, I was given land and a home, some animals and some seeds...okay, so maybe keep the indoor plumbing, granite counter tops and convection oven, and a full day spa nearby...but simplifying life, while adding some old fashioned physical labor seems a very wonderful option to me.

Of course, this suburb girl still just wants to go to massage therapy tomorrow...and maybe order take out for dinner tomorrow night...