The First of Spring

There is far too much to say in this post, so I'll start with these pictures and put the thoughts and quotes from books and wonderful conversations and sermons into another post this week. 

Scrumptious homemade biscuits and jam on a sunny morning

The first azaleas in bloom

All ready for a five part Sunday adventure! Each envelope held an address to the next location and the middle parcel held refreshment in the form of chocolate covered espresso beans. My letter opener, christened Dragon's Tooth, served us well on our adventure and may come to our aid again in days to come :) 

This morning's service was really wonderful - a sweet time of worship and an excellent sermon!!

New Sunday School terms began today as well and I thoroughly enjoyed the first class of the one I've joined, titled "Taste and See" - a class engaging food as a way to delight in and celebrate the glory and beauty of Christ. One of the main texts is a book I've been very excited to read for some time: Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon.

The Bacon Master for Sunday lunch

The first mysterious address in the GPS and off we go!

Botanical Gardens

We found a bench beneath two great trees from which to take in the spring splendor of a field of daffodils bursting into bloom.

Then we found a sprawling old tree in a riot of pink blossoms. The low hanging branches begged for a climb so up we went! Lulled by the sweet fragrance of the flowers around us and the warm afternoon sun filtering down through them, we settled in for a long happy conversation about many things, including the stunning ending to G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday.

A stroll around Ghent and past Christ and St. Lukes brought us to Cafe Stella

Gleefully crafting delectable combinations of flavors from Stella's top notch cheese plate.

Conversations with this man are pretty great :) 

The last card from the box brought us home to a fire under the bright southern stars where the whole family sat around for an hour or so telling stories and laughing and, of course, playing a few tunes.