A Few Things I’m Loving

Here are a few things I’ve been loving lately:

• It is the season for zinnias, and I’m loving them more and more each year. This year I ordered some special zinnia seed from Floret Flowers, and I planted the seeds in containers by the front door. Since we lost two big juniper bushes in a winter storm last year, the front door looks barren, but the zinnias are helping, and we planted rhododendron bushes that are going to be gorgeous in a few years. I also have some containers of zinnias on the back deck as well, planted from seeds I’ve been collecting each year for several years.
• I’ve been listening to some terrific composer biographies on audio. They are the perfect length, and I love that they incorporate musical excerpts along with the narrative, so you can hear the pieces the author is writing about at different points in the composer’s life. I love the back and forth between the music and the narration. It really keeps my attention, and I’ve learned so much! I just finished a biography on Dvorak.
• I bought a big stack of used classical music CD’s at the annual library sale last June, and I’ve been enjoying them so much these past few months. I am slowly downloading them onto my computer library, but I’ve also been enjoying listening in the car.
• We recently painted Mr. TOF’s room after the Devious Snail moved out, and I am loving the deep, rich blue that he picked for the wall color. We did a major cleanout. It took days. But now it is so nice!
• I am loving all the problem solving I see my toddler in residence doing, even though it usually involves some kind of major mess, and it is exhausting. It is so fun to see the wheels turning in his little brain.
• I love that after weeks of it being much, much too dry in the late summer, we got three major rainstorms in one week this week (and like 7 inches of rain. maybe more!) Now everything is lovely and green again.