We've suddenly gotten a nice little heat wave here in Seattle. We went from the mid-sixties to the mid-eighties in less than 48 hours. And here in the Pacific Northwest when the sun pops out after a long wet winter, everything starts to sing and bloom. I mean everything - people are kinder, small children cease their crying, cats and dogs befriend one another - it's a veritable sunny love fest. Best of all, trees, bushes, flowers, at the first feeling of the beating sun, open their sleepy winter eyes, give a big stretch, and burst open their beautiful buds.
The other day we saw signs of pale buds on our lilac trees, then literally overnight we are blessed with a purple forest so dense and fragrant it bowls me over. I just stand amongst them and deeply inhale.
We love to entertain, and I strongly feel that presentation is a huge part of the meal: from taking a little care in how you plate the food, to how your table looks. That certainly doesn't mean that you have to break out Grandma's china for every meal, even a handful of fresh flowers in jelly jar can spark up your table quite nicely. Even better if they're clipped from your own garden.
