Spring Bouquet

My good friend, Lori, sent me this lovely vase from Wisconsin.  The vase has been here for several weeks and I have been wanting to paint the dainty vase, but didn't have the right flowers to fill it.  Today I discovered wildflowers growing beside our road and knew they belonged in the peach glass vase.
Wisconsin has had a long winter so I painted a 'Spring Bouquet' for Lori and all who are still waiting for spring to arrive.  

Good News

What could possibly be good news after the Marathon Bombing in Boston and the Fertilizer Plant explosion in Texas this week?  I wondered that myself as I painted in my studio.  Then I heard this quote from "Mr. Rogers" (a children's television host and Presbyterian Pastor), "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say,"Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping."  To this day, especially in times of 'disaster', I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helping - so many caring people in the world."   It is always good news to remember that there are many more good people in our world that evil ones.