Southern Home & Garden Show

Isn't spring delightful? I love all the beautiful flowers that bloom in NC this time of year... tulips, azaleas, and dogwoods. On our street, just about every house has 3 or 4 dogwood trees so that when you drive down the street, you feel like you've been transported to another world.

This past week, I went to the Southern Home & Garden Show with my mom, my aunt and my mother-in-law. What fun we had finding great deals on decorative items, marveling over stained glass Tiffany lamps, collecting information on interesting home features and delighting in the breathtaking garden displays. We tasted scrumptious breads and dips, nibbled on candies and chocolates and took frequent coffee breaks in the concessions area.

We wandered through the more industrial part of the show where big companies focusing on major home repairs, pools, decks, playgrounds and tools were housed. As we passed by the booths, the salesmen tried to reel us into a spiel about the benefits of solar panels, the importance of leaf-catching gutters and comparisons on pest control services. We avoided making eye contact and said many "no, thank you's". (Although I did enter a raffle for free house cleaning!) But as I watched the company representatives try to entice people with free gifts, I had to laugh having been in the same position just a few years ago!

I worked for an agricultural chemical internet company and we had a rigorous trade show schedule every spring. I was lucky to attend only one a year but others in the office (salesmen, mostly) went to 2 or 3 farms shows in the rural areas of North Dakota, Illinios and Georgia. The worst one I can recall was in the flatlands of Nebraska. It was a 3-day outdoor show in the middle of acres and acres of fields. It was late spring, chilly in the morning and blazing in the afternoon. There was dust everywhere that would accumulate on the table, settle in your hair and cake in the creases of your perma-smile. Our hotel was an hour away, the closest we could find, requiring us to leave before sunrise to get to the show on-time.

But, despite the long hours, aching feet, and anxiety of setting up and breaking down the displays and computers, I really enjoyed the travel, talking with the other exhibitors and the luxury of my own hotel room. I could see all of my own emotions in the exhibitors of the garden show and was thankful to be one the other side on the table!

We had such fun at this show and afterwards went to a gorgeous Italian restaurant downtown and chatted over wine and heaps of pasta. Fabulous day!

See more photos from the show at Sunniviews (also a few from Easter!) Here are some things that I found interesting:

Beautiful Tiffany Lamps from Carolina Tiffany
Eco-friendly home improvement products from Common Ground Center and SafeCoat low-toxic paints
My husband's favorite, Central Vacuums (what a dream!) from Central Vacuum Experts
Landscape lighting from NiteLites, Inc.
Wines for Humanity home wine-tasting parties benefiting local charities

A Very Good Friday

Last Friday, Good Friday, we decide to go to the park to get out into the delightfully fresh, spring air. We went to a park near our home that we don't often visit. I forget how much fun this park is... cherry trees lining the entrance, two fun playgrounds, lots of open space for dogs to run, a hiking trail... and all situated beside a big beautiful lake.

I was amazed by how much we discovered in the few hours we were there. The hiking trail has little wooden signs attached to a few trees along the way. It shows the shape of the leaf and a few other clues to indicate the type of tree such as a pinecone or a flower. When you flip the sign up, you find your answer. The kids had fun running along the trail finding all the tree signs.

We stopped to gaze at a swampy little inlet and discovered mama and baby turtles sunning themselves on logs protruding from the water. Around the bend we found a tiny little island through the trees. The kids declared it their territory and staked a flag. The island was so small and cute it reminded me of the pictures I drew as a kid. In all of them I always included a big lake with a bridge leading to an island in the center. Sometimes there would be a gazebo or a tree on the little island - a special getaway spot to read books or dream.

Down the trail further, we found a group of kids standing on an embankment swinging from the longest "tarzan" vine I'd ever seen! I swear the thing was at least 30 feet long and was so perfectly situated beside the embankment. I would have guessed it was built specifically for that purpose! We spend the next 20 minutes watching the kids laughing and shrieking from the pure pleasure of swinging in large lazy circles on the long vine. (See video below!)

On our way out, my daughter peeked in the dumpster by the parking lot. What did she find but a little raccoon curled up asleep at the bottom. We couldn't believe our eyes! He peeked up at us with an anxious gaze but didn't move so I snapped some quick photos of him.

Sometimes a park can reveal so many little surprises, it's a joy. Check out Sunniviews for all the photos under the post titles: Spring Has Sprung, Naming Trees and Discerning Raccoon.

What a very Good Friday indeed!