With What You Have | 81

Not an after-thought, or a never-thought, but a before-thought. A planned intention. That's what I decided once about having flowers in our house. Simple as that, the notion plinked down, like a drop of rain, into existence. Fully there, deliberate and beautiful.

And then, more recently: How about blooms all over our house?

Certainly beautiful.

But also extravagant? I wondered. And maybe expensive?

I pondered for a moment, then swept those bossy assumptions aside.

For, if you let an idea unfold, unobstructed by pre-conceived notions and distracting parameters, you may find that the idea leads to a thought, which connects to the next thought, and the next, and soon the sketch of a new solution appears, entirely different, but equally as beautiful as the original. And it may be a revelation: Fresh floral bouquets can be all over the house, and they don't have to come from a florist's shop.

Even in the middle of chilly winter.

On a recent wintery afternoon, I gathered an assortment of glass bottles and glazed clay pots, filled them with water, and set about designing mini bouquets for all over the house. Two potted cyclamen provided the blooms, and my collection of other houseplants provided the greenery.

Ivy, angel vine, cyclamen leaves, creeping fig, and maiden hair fern were snipped from the plants randomly, so they wouldn't look shorn, and set as accents to the pink and white cyclamen blooms.

And now? Blooms everywhere! (Just in time for Valentine's Day!)

Do what you can with what you have.

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Words about contentment inspired this series that celebrates ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness. Join me in the comments and share what you've done with what you have!