Dear Reader:

I don’t know how many of you have seen old re-runs of the Alfred Hitchcock (1954) movie Rear Window? It is about a professional photographer (James Stewart) who accidentally breaks his leg and is confined to a wheelchair looking outside his apartment window in NYC. Out of sheer boredom, he gets a pair of binoculars and becomes involved in his neighbors’ lives. His life suddenly revolves around the world he can see from his binoculars in the wheelchair outside his window.

His girlfriend, Grace Kelly, at first, teases him about his curiosity until he convinces her that a murder has taken place and he knows who did it. A typical Hitchcock thriller, with a twist.

The world outside my window isn’t that dramatic, but it is just as special. When I got home late Monday afternoon and went to my computer (idly gazing out the window)….all my azalea bushes were in full bloom. Varying shades of pink mixed with purple greeted me back home.

Once again the ally (driveway) has retained its original name…“Azalea Ally.” (You might remember I had to re-name it “Cat Ally” when my neighbors, across the street, had two cats who spent most of their time walking up and down the ally and making themselves at home on the back deck.) Now that the neighbors have moved…it is just “Azalea Ally” again.

But it is breath-taking…with the window up…all I can hear are birds, squirrels scampering around looking for nuts, the laughter of children in the distance, and young people grilling up the fire most evenings…the sights, smells, and sounds are the most melodious…because they represent life at its best. Peace and normalcy…too often forgotten…the life thread of our lives’ tapestry.

And speaking of Peace…I kept waiting to plant my camellia bush that I got from Hollow Tree Nursery until it rained and the ground was soft but, unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet. Yet when I walked past it in its container on the deck yesterday…there it was blooming radiantly…pure white…and the name of the camellia is “Peace.”

Honey has the memory of an elephant….do you remember when I mentioned that I was looking for a t-shirt or souvenir that mentioned how it only took a second to become a hero…a champion..sometimes our lives are turned upside down, for better or worse, in a fraction of a second. We all remember that one precious second Clemson had to come back and win the National Championship.

So when I looked in my goodie bag from Honey…what had she made me but a clay plaque with this inscription…which now hangs by my Clemson orange bottle tree.

I told you yesterday that I wanted to share something special that happened with Rutledge and Lachlan while they were visiting Mollie’s parents…Nana and PaPa. Mollie wasn’t sure if it would work so it was kept a secret until the last minute. It did! Bedtime stories come to life.

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They went to see the real Sweet Pea and friends at the Vermont farm where the stories originate. (*Last time I kept the boys I read one of the stories to them, before bedtime, and they loved Sweet Pea….can hardly imagine what they felt holding a story character in real life!)

Happy First Day of March! Remember to say “Rabbit” so you will have the good mojo all month. For me…this means I want March to stay cool in order to  avoid trying on bathing suits at all costs…it is much too early to start that annual agony. Our Irish roots look forward to St. Paddy’s Day which is also Lachlan’s birthday….his second! A fun month!