Dear Reader:

I spent most of yesterday outside…and it is the best cure-all for everything. It was still pretty warm but there was a nice breeze…the blue, blue skies against that special “new green” on oak trees is simply breathtaking.

Michael, my firefighter/lawn maintenance worker/ extraordinaire texted to let me know he was on his way. Besides cutting the grass, he did weed-eating...(Bye bye dandelions for a few days) in the garden, blew all the last of the oak tree remnants off the driveways and then cleaned the fountain and got it ready to provide the soothing sounds of clear, clean gurgling water. It is not spring until the fountain is cleaned of all the oak tree debris above it and flowing again.

In the title picture my orange trumpet vines collided with the purple wisteria and look like a Clemson piece of landscape beauty  smiling down on me! All the right colors 🙂

As I looked up and around the tops of tall shrubbery and trees lining my property perimeter…the orange trumpets were blaring loudly and clearly (“Look up at me, look at me!:)…These vines can climb as high as 40 feet  and extend several feet in groups laterally….just gorgeous now while blooming.

But as beautiful as the shades of orange are in the orange trumpet vine…the purples (Aurora Delphinium) in the garden this year are equally exquisite.

When Mandy and I talked last evening I told her that I was having to stop occasionally and think what day of the week it was. She started laughing and said that same topic was now popping up on Facebook…it is being called the “Groundhog Day” effect (like the movie. Every day feels exactly like the one before and/or after…

That is why it helps staying outside a lot in my garden so I am seeing new things to break the routine…and having people stop by so I can remember who stopped by which day and identify time by friends.

The nicest thing is that (to date) everyone who has stopped by or sent me texts, emails, etc. are upbeat, optimistic, humorous, taking things in stride and for many relaxing, really relaxing for the first time in a long time.

My handsome nephew Lee and his beautiful wife Vikki  are up- beat even though Lee is a professional musician and Vikki runs a hostel under tourism (both sectors hit hard, of course, with the effects of the coronavirus.)

Like my post title says: “Hope and Love Aren’t Closed or Cancelled” even though Lee’s gigs and their hostel reservations might be. No gloom and doom here…hope and love abound.

On the Charleston free radio (ohmradio963)  Vikki created and they both help anchor…  they discussed recently on air some newly discovered realizations of life in altercation. (This in response to the “Shelter in Place” vote for Charleston.”)

“We talk about how time is the only thing we truly have. Money, market, and borders are all human constructs that only have power because we believe in them. Who are we without those things?” (They are both using this time to find out…great idea for everyone!)

So until tomorrow: *Henry Dyke shared his philosophy on time and prioritizing it.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

A knock at the door yesterday brought Luke and Chelsey back…they had biked over bringing me….fresh chicken breasts they found at Harris Teeter…who knew a month ago…that such a gift would be such a prize from such an amazing couple. Love you Luke and Chelsey from the bottom of my heart.

I finished up the Publix mac and cheese you brought last week and baked one medium portion of the chicken breast, froze the rest for a rainy day…how good it was with a can of baked beans I found way back on a shelf. 🙂  You put a smile in supper! How blessed I am! Hope and love…hope and love!