Birthday Lily

Happy birthday to my sister, Beth. Talk about quick & dirty. The second photo doesn't do her justice, certainly. But I can easily change that when I ask her for permission to use something more, uh, recent. [Update a year later: she likes this photograph.] Her favorite flower is the iris. However, lilies are blooming, I like this photograph by George Brett (see below), & Beth has a pair of twins, among six children (!), & one is named Lily. So there you go. Now, I better go call Beth. She's off to Japan in August to visit another (grown) child in Tokyo & I don't have the dates. Oh, wow, I wish I could go with her. But very glad she's able to make the trip.

Happy Birthday, Beth! xoxoxoxo

[Lily by George Brett, wonderful Washington, DC-area photographer via flickr. Here's the link. Shots from all over the metropolitan area]

Virginia bluebells

It's Virginia bluebell time & I'm running behind, as usual. I just saw a WashingtonGardener bluebell peeping post & thought: if George Brett has even one bluebell shot, I'll have to bust up the Jeanne Moreau mini-series.There's one shot, it's lovely, & here it is. (We allow them in DC & Maryland, as well. If they behave. Virginia is a purple-blue state now, you know. Heh heh.) It's raining a bit hard but perhaps later today or tomorrow I'll remember to look down (instead of up at all our blooming trees) at bunches on the way to the market. Last night or early a.m., I thought, must get back to writing-picture-word-collage collection. This fits one of the projects & so bluebells it is...

Sunday in the park with George...

George Brett, that is. The local-to-DC photographer who has been taking marvellous cherry blossom pix. Here are some more about-to-bloom-lovelies ( from GG's site last week) while I search for computer time for next week. Please visit Giulia Geranium to listen to Jean Wyclef sing his Million Voices from Hotel Rwanda's soundtrack. Tomorrow is the 15th anniversary of the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. Yes, worlds collide. That's just the way it is. ciao belle!

Update: I nearly posted a bride's photograph but checked George's site (for other reasons). I see that she asked for the photograph to be deleted. (I love his explanation, pictured, center.) So one goes to a very public place in Washington, DC during our largest annual event, the National Cherry Blossom Festival (a million visitors), & you make people take down the photograph? OK, whatever. But then you ask for copies for personal use?! I'm so glad that he declined the "honor." Here's the conversation on George's flickr site. He is calm & collected; I am steamed. (About the bridal behavior--not because I can't use the photograph; I like the replacement so much better:)