Simplicity at Home — Donna Hopkins

The only thing I can reliably grow is herbs. And I love them all. I cook with them and take great pleasure in cutting them to arrange into bouquets as though they were dahlias or zinnias. What they lack in colorful range, they make up for in texture, fragrance, usefulness, and reliability.
I checked a book out from the library, Simplicity at Home: Japanese Rituals, Recipes, and Arrangements for Thoughtful Living. I don’t read the words but I study the pictures because I love design. I know I am not going to fold my clothes into perfect little stacks, grow food from vegetable scraps, make my own soap, or dye old clothes. I might consider a bath with with herb scented salts. But because I am easily influenced and love the thrill of the hunt, I’ve been searching for little pottery dishes and bowls at thrift shops. With great success.
I’m skim reading The Secret Lives of Color and stopping to linger over the shades of green. Verdigris, absinthe, emerald, kelly green, scheele’s green, terre verte, avocado, and celadon. My bathroom is painted a color called Chilean Sea Bass and I feel as though I am in a spa every time I step into that little 6 foot by 6 foot space. It’s amazing how that change in paint color affected my entire day in such a positive way.
I felt restless this afternoon and knew I needed to make something or write something. So here I am again. And the impulse behind the energy feels expansive and creative and kind.