As  I was setting the table for a dinner party, I noticed that my turquoise hutch could use a wipe. Perhaps you might not have noticed what I saw. I am a “noticer”. I often pour my wine from this place and in the midst of the dried up round droplets, there was a perfectly shaped heart one.  It struck me how in so many ways, the image depicts my life.

For one, I am always spilling things: my credit cards all over the counter, coffee onto my housecoat and red wine in many locales.

For two I am messy. I am not a good housekeeper and I am a very messy cook. When D is out of town on business, I don’t even make the bed.

I love turquoise. I have a dozen pair of turquoise earrings and a primarily turquoise wardrobe. I have decorated our home and beach house with turquoise accents. D recently gifted me with a turquoise stand mixer. I painted and distressed this hutch when Beep moved out and we converted her main floor bedroom into our dining room. She teases us that we did so the weekend after she made her move.

I love having turquoise around me because it reminds me of the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas and both Italy and Mexico.

The hutch is “distressed” because for one I am very frugal. For two I would rather repurpose something than purchase new. I feel that items like old wood furniture have more integrity than new. In addition, there is freedom and exhilaration in slapping on paint in a rustic fashion. Kind of like finger painting when I was a kid.

And yes, I love red wine. My absolute favourite is a fine Chilean Merlot. But because I am thrifty, I have found a reasonable substitute that comes in economical packaging (dare I say…boxed). This convenience allows me to pour a glass when we are watching “Suits” on Netflix, a Jets game or “Amazing Race”. It means that I have plenty to share with Jen and the Frenchman (my kids in law), when we assemble for mandatory Sunday suppers.

Hearts too are all around me. I collect heart shaped coral, stones and seafood when I vacation. My family give me pottery, baskets and jewellery in heart shaped. I photograph hearts every chance I get.

I see hearts everywhere: in the clouds at sunrise, in puddles after a rain shower and in the pucker of a newborn baby’s mouth.

Of course a heart is not just another shape like a triangle. Hearts mean love and in my life, love is what it is all about. Not the receiving of love, but the giving of it. When I am blessed by a heart, I am reminded anew that I was put on earth to be a love distributor.

Kath’s quote: “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

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