BITTERSWEET ROMANCE

I LOVE BITTERSWEET!

For my 50th birthday

(don't ask when THAT was)

my family and friends

threw a huge bash.

My brother came from

out East and friends from Florida

and around the area showed up

to surprise me.

One of the things that

surprised me most was

this watercolor that

my friend, Carol, asked

an artist friend of ours

to paint.

When Carol said she wanted

a painting of Bittersweet,

Lois Christensen, the artist,

about fell over her easel laughing.

WHO would want a picture of

BITTERSWEET? Lois asked.

When Carol said it was for me..

she "got it".

Hmmm...guess SHE knows I

am a tad "off-kilter", too!

Here it is! It hangs in my

foyer/hallway in our

temporary digs.

I see it several times a day

and always smile to myself.

A close up

So, when I dug out an old

Better Homes & Gardens

magazine for October

I was tickled to see an

article called

Bittersweet Romance.

I think every Fall decorating

should have a bit of

BITTERSWEET in it,

don't you?

I love this table with a

bit of bittersweet color on it.

And look at these pumpkins,

wrapped with bittersweet.

How cute are these for

place markers?

Aren't these votives sweet?

I also found a bit of

BITTERSWEET

color in the shot of this room.

Maybe just a tad

TOO MUCH

of saturated color for me!

And, where is the

BITTERSWEET here,

you ask~

Well~ It is

BITTERSWEET

that my own backyard

looks

NOTHING like that!

It is also BITTERSWEET 

that so many things have changed

over the years.

My dear brother is gone-

never to experience another

Earthy fall.

Lois Christenson is gone and has

 her easel set up somewhere

beyond this realm.

My friend, Carol, has moved away

and I miss her.

My friend, Stan, that flew in from FL

has passed over and his wife

is in an assisted living situation.

Life is surely

BITTERSWEET, isn't it?

And, yet, we solider on, don't we?

In a perfect world,

all the people we love would stay

safe and sound and forever young.

In this world,

we accept the reality of life and

move forward as best we can.

Just so you know that I don't mean

to make this post a downer 

(because I don't feel "down")

I will leave you with this.

Unfortunately,

I DON'T live in South Carolina

and I DID NOT have

WINNING LOTTERY TICKET

in last night's drawing-

so, to all those I promised to

"share the wealth with" if I won,

I apologize.

Hmmm...maybe this IS a 

BITTERSWEET DOWNER POST

after all.

Have a GREAT Wednesday!