I want to be a professional Rosarian.

I love roses.  Like, more than Coca-Cola, more than Parks & Rec, more than getting film developed and not having to forego meals for a week because it was so expensive - I LOVE ROSES.

Chris and I often go to the Old City Cemetery - a historic cemetery in Lynchburg, VA full of beautiful century-or-more-old headstones, antique roses to make you swoon, and birds upon birds upon birds for the avian enthusiast in both of us - to take a peaceful walk and just relax.  In all the years I've been going, I've about died of jealousy over their collection of (quite old) antique roses, but I never knew until last Sunday that they actually sell rooted cuttings of their roses!  I, my friends, am the proud new mother of a Mademoiselle Franziska Krüger - my first antique rose.

Yesterday I just sat on my porch staring at her and gently stroking her leaves.  I'm telling you, I'm nuts about roses.  And I want to be a professional Rosarian.  Now I'm wondering where I can take cuttings of roses here and there for rooting without getting run off...

Black and Roses

Lately I've been painting, and I've had a lot of ideas.  Well, I usually have a lot of ideas, but lately they've been a little more focused which is always nice, because sometimes I feel like they're so varied, it's what my marine dad would refer to as a cluster-eff-you-sea-kay.  I seem to have roses and flowers on the brain, and here's a little bit of what I've been working on...

They're all currently available as prints in my art shop, and I'm having a little sale as well because I've got way too many prints on my hands.  Just enter the code BLOGREADER20 during checkout for 20% off everything in my shop!

I haven't been working on mint, but don't you just love it?!  It's time to replant this mint that's been in my kitchen window, and unfortunately it's going to have to go in a pot that's to big to fit.  Aside from smelling it or adding it to tea, what do you use it in?  And can you juice mint?