There are pleasant surprises in life if we pay attention to them. One lovely pink blossom unfolds on the houseplant in the foreground of this photo. My daughter sent the plant to me as a cheer-up gift nearly two years ago. It has gladdened my heart that it has survived let alone that it is blossoming again, because I'm not much of an indoor green thumb and it reminds me of her love. There is a small bunch of garlic sending up green shoots just behind this pot of flowers. I smiled when I found the garlic sprouting in my cupboard. Next to the garlic is the remainder of a hyacinth that needs to find a new home in a flower bed outdoors. Further back in the photo is a geranium that I rescued from our backyard last fall before the squirrels could finish feasting on it. It looks a bit spare right now, like a bit of bonsai. This little collage of greenery inspires my sense of hope.

Learning to build a website also makes me feel hopeful. Although new skills are frustrating to attain, they are so pleasing when they begin to fall into place.