A Garden and A Library

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

-- Marcus Tullius Cicero

This week, I had both!

The Philadelphia Flower Show and the Free Library of Philadelphia -- a perfect combination to kick-off the season.

Here in Philly, the Flower Show curtails the end of winter.  

(Even if disco lives on!)

Stepping from the blustery March sidewalk into the warmth of the Convention Center is a sure sign of greener days to come.

It's a rainbow of scent,

and color,

and inspiration!

But a library -- isn't that for all-seasons?

Technically yes.  But our local branch is only open limited hours these days.  So when I step out of a doctor's appointment which happens to be across the street... 

...I hit the "open-hours' jackpot!

I wander through the library stacks the same way I wandered through the Flower Show just days earlier -- awed by the creativity, the variety, and the pure potential in so many volumes (and so many stems!) all in one place.  

I check out a French documentary called Louvre City.  Anything about France, like reading in general, transports me to a place of hope and renewal!

Winter into spring is always a tough transition. 

I recently began working with a specialized PT to help with digestive issues.  And just today, I started the long process of breaking in a new prosthetic liner.  

I'm trying to walk more.  
Improve my stamina.  
Get back into shape.

It's like pushing up through the frozen soil or -- if you're more of a reader than a gardener -- it's like trying to write a novel, one keystroke at a time.

I finish off the week with a quiche of spring flavors.  Fresh herbs?  A trip to France?

It's like a garden + library in one!

Happy Spring -- and Happy "St. Patti's" Day (as we say in our family)!

May your garden be healthy.
May your library be open and full.

May you have everything you need.

And may you walk safely -- even on the windiest of days!