Tulips

Today I got home from a loooooooooooooong day at work and started my long list of housework that needed to be done.  Generally, I like to clean and tidy, but today I was dreading it.  Luckily the stereo blasting made the laundry, ironing, dishes, vacuuming, and other general tidying up go by a lot quicker than I thought it would.  I finished off my hardwork with a small glass of white wine before heading out the door to take Sheila, the dog, for her evening walk.

As luck would have it, right as I stepped out of the front door, I saw Zak pull into the car park from work.  I was excited to tell him that I'd ironed his work shirts (something I hate doing) as a nice little surprise for him.  However, when he got out of the car he had a surprise for me - a beautiful bunch of tulips.

Tulips have always been one of my favourite flowers.  I love the elegance of their shape, the clean lines of both petals and stems, and I love the fact that their emergence signifies the coming of spring.  Also after spending two months as an intern in the Netherlands, I fell in love with the flower even more.  My time over there also helped me choose my favourite colour of tulip:  orange (or oranje as the Dutch say).

So as a Tuesday treat, I was given a bunch of 10 of the prettiest orange tulips that have a yellow ombre effect on the tips.  I've put them on our hall table next to our wedding champagne flutes and a framed wedding photo.  And for the next few days I'm guaranteed not only an excited dog when I walk through the door, but a sunny bunch of my favourite flowers.