The hydrangeas are here.  Full blown, bountiful heads of blooms are everywhere.

Pink heads, blue heads, fuchsia heads, celadon heads and heads dripping with colors beyond imagination are swaying all over our garden.

Each morning a new shade comes out from hiding and slowly spreads itself across the expansive heads of blooms. These evolving color hues bring a fresh kind of osmosis inspiration into our studio each day.  Oh, we will so be using these colors in new artwork!

These hydrangeas just pour themselves out for us.  They give and give and give, becoming better as their gracious and generous nature unfolds.

They’re a bit like people.

 When we pour ourselves out for others or refresh others, a surprising result occurs …we’re refreshed ourselves! 


Refreshers are refreshed. 


St. Francis of Assisi recognized this phenomenon clearly and captured it in the lovely expression, “it is in giving that we receive.”

So, for those of you who’ve been pouring yourselves out for others lately, or giving when you just didn’t think you could give anymore, take a look at these hydrangea blossoms.  They just become more beautiful in their giving.  And so will you.  You’ll be enriched, refreshed and renewed.  Don’t be surprised if you see some new hues of joy and strength spreading across the landscape of your life.

The Velvet Lime Girls

“If you are generous… and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.”  Isaiah 58:10

View from our studio

Squash Blossoms

Each morning in my summer garden a series of squash blossoms unfurl and show off their bright little faces. They are a fleeting show and by late morning they pull their shades down and close up … the show is over until tomorrow morning when a fresh new group arrives. I’ve learned to respect their timing if I want to catch a glimpse of them in their full glory.

Timing is even more important if they are to be enjoyed as a divine culinary experience … known here in the South as, fried squash blossoms. Umm, just the thought of these lightly crisped, creamy morsels makes me swoon. These beautiful airy blossoms wrap their delicate petals around a savory cream cheese filling, swan dive into an egg batter and then frolic around in a dusting of flour & bread crumbs before they are glorified with a quick olive oil flash fry. Whoa … just brace yourself for the first bite and the explosion of creamy flavor that fills your mouth. There’s just nothing like it … and it’s only found in a rare commodity…fresh squash blossoms.

Timing is everything with squash blossoms. Picked too early, they can’t contain the filling … picked too late, they shrivel and lose the filling.

Squash blossoms are a little like the opportunities God gives us each day… and timing is important here too. Opportunities of giving time, giving a smile, giving an encouragement will present themselves each day and we can fill them if we are looking and don’t let them pass us by. The explosion of flavor from these filled opportunities doesn’t even compare to the fried squash blossoms.

Laura

P.S. Recipes for fried squash blossoms abound on the internet, but if you’d like mine, just send us an email @ info@velvetlimedesigns.com