My Easter Holiday

I had a wonderful long weekend, and now I'm actually looking forward to being back at work. On Friday, I went with a group of women from church to the Dallas Arboretum. This is a big garden that's what used to be a couple of estates on the shores of White Rock Lake, and in springtime they have a lot of tulips, wisteria and cherry blossoms. Tulips are very hard to grow here because we don't get the kind of cold you need during the winter (to get tulips to bloom here, you have to refrigerate the bulbs before planting), so this is one good place to see lots of tulips. This trip made me want a garden, and there were some great ideas with color schemes that I might be able to pull off with different flowers.

For instance, the combo of yellow and blue here is very cheery (I like this color scheme for a kitchen, too):


And the pink and purple here looks like a box of candy:


I can't believe I haven't been to this place before (other than once in the evening for a party) because it's the kind of place that makes my soul sing. It's rather expensive to go for a single visit, but a membership would pay for itself in three trips, so I'm contemplating doing that. I could even bring a notebook and work all day in that kind of setting. It would be very inspiring. The only down side is that getting there involves a tricky drive all the way across the city. Would I really drag myself out there more than three times a year?

Then there was a service Friday night with some wonderful music, and then a Saturday of mostly rest. I did replace some of the burnt-out lightbulbs in the bathroom vanity, and then I promptly remembered why I'd let them stay burnt-out because it's now really bright in there, and that required me to clean the mirror. Otherwise, I took a short walk and spent a lot of time sitting on the patio -- morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea. I may have a new favorite indulgence. A few years ago, my parents gave me one of those foot spa tubs for Christmas, but I haven't used it often because the only uncarpeted spot in my house is the kitchen. But I got the bright idea of bringing it to the patio, and it was rather blissful sitting outside with a book and a glass of wine while my feet soaked and were massaged. I will have to do that more often.

Then there were three services on Sunday morning, after which I pretty much collapsed.

I may have to get back on track with the getting the house clean enough to show project, as well as finishing my taxes so I can apply for a mortgage, because there's currently a house for sale on a street I really like. The one big concern is that it's a bit smaller than I would like -- only about 600 square feet bigger than my current house and with an additional bedroom and bathroom, plus a dining room. That means the rooms are probably really, really small. The online photos made the back yard look huge, and it wasn't that big when I walked by. That makes me wonder how big the rooms are, since the photos make them look small. I don't necessarily want a massive house, but I would rather not have tiny rooms. On the other hand, the yard configuration is exactly what I would want, very shaded from the west with almost no front yard, eastern exposure and lots of light in back, so I could have flowers.

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look at it, since it's very much in my price range.