Luscious lilacs are with us once more. Hooray! I can never get enough of their heavenly scent.

Since we lost our ancient lilac bush a year ago, I’ve had to content myself with the relatively meagre offerings from the bushes planted to replace it. They’ll come along in time, but they’re struggling to provide enough blooms to make a bountiful display. So off I went to Trader Joe’s to get some English roses to fill the gaps. There! Job done.

Besides wanting an excuse to gather all the lilacs, the table was inspired by these tea towels from Pomegranate. I love the lightheartedness of a pink truck filled with blooms. What a spectacular Mother’s Day bouquet that would be!

I often use tea towels in place of napkins if the pattern is right. 

They worked beautifully with Kew Pink dinner and salad plates by English Ironstone. (Kew also came in brown, blue and green).

Here is the dinner plate on its own. Kew Pink sometimes comes available on eBay; it’s my go-to pattern for a feminine, casual-chic table.

Oh, those lilacs…

Vintage Amethyst American Lady iced tea glasses brought balance to the colour palette, so it didn’t get too sickly sweet. Fostoria produced the pattern between 1948 and 1964; the fine transparent glass has a lovely depth of colour.

All set for a casual lunch on a beautiful sunny day.

The French lilacs, in their deeper purple shade, are particularly fragrant.

That shrub is in its infancy, so the still-sparse blooms get special attention, their delicate stems supported by the tall necks of the clear vases.

Is there a better way to spend Mother’s Day than in the garden, surrounded by blooms?

Speaking of mothering, the pups are growing like weeds—I think they doubled in size this past week. They will be thirteen weeks tomorrow. Yesterday, I prepared enough puppy meals for two weeks. Twenty-four pounds of ground chicken, three pounds of beef liver and the same of brown rice; when cooked, it produces thirty pounds of food, which we divide into meal-sized portions and freeze. I chop enough apples, carrots and broccoli to last a few days, and we add that fresh at mealtime. Finally, we add Omega tablets and some vitamin powder to ensure they’ve got all the elements for a balanced diet. As the saying goes, they’re flourishing like green bay trees.

Spencer has claimed the lower shelf of one of the end tables as his preferred napping spot. We call it his canopy bed. He fit quite nicely when he arrived.

But that is changing rapidly. Oh my!

He’s spilling over the edges now, and I wonder if he will insist on continuing with this spot. 

I sense this might be our future. (photo courtesy of cheezburger.com):

Marigold prefers more space and favours a spot on the floor.

In keeping with their growth spurt, we bought new collars from an online shop in New York. I wasn’t thrilled about the store’s name, but they had a lovely selection. 

Marigold has flip flops.

Spencer got lighthouses.

And Churchill received a Sailboats collar. (Can’t have the senior dog getting jealous).

Taylor is still sporting her snazzy gingham collar acquired last year on her “spa and ice cream day”, so she declined a new one. Besides, hers has a matching leash, with which she is taken for a short, stately walk each morning, as befits the dignity of a sixteen-year-old matron. We joke that she’s 300 years old in human terms, but she can still quell the pups with one baleful look.

 

The new collars are easily adjustable and seem to be comfortable. The pups took to them with no fuss at all. 

We leave you with a message from Marigold: Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there, fur person or human  !! May your bowl be full and your outing jolly.

One more look at the table. 

Have a wonderful day, all.