I love it here

There's no place quite like this place.
Every room has
a) someone precious in it
b)something lovely in it
c) something wonderful cooking in it
d) at least one vase of flowers in it
e)all of the above, and then some.

There is a big glass vase of tulips and daisies in my room. The foyer, stairwell, and upstairs hallways have all been painted yellow--can you believe it, yellow! It looks like a new house. It is beautiful. The statue of St. Jude in the foyer (it sits on the cabinet) offers the perfect contrast to the buttery yellow walls--he's a mixture of green, beige, and vibrant red.

The sky has been overcast all weekend and today, but I don't mind. It smells wonderful outside...sort of organic and hopeful, you know... I woke up to the birds singing through the drops of rain this morning. You should have heard them--they were singing as if their hearts were ready to burst. I could have flung open the windows, stepped on to the sill, and started singing with them (I didn't- instead I simply smiled and then went downstairs for a cup of coffee).

Today is the birthday of one of the loveliest woman to walk on this earth: my sweet grammy, Annie. Such a lovely, lovely woman. Such a big heart in such a tiny body; so much compassion evident in those ageless blue eyes; so many years of toil written into her bent little hands, with her paper-thin skin and red fingertips. Of all the people I have ever known, Grammy has loved me (and all of her grandchildren) the most consistently and unwaveringly. 96 years old, with the soul of a chaste and little child.