A Busy Day

Yesterday morning I headed out for a Perennial Fest hoping to capture some gorgeous images of their displays.  But as I drove the clouds began to thicken and the possibility of rain was definitely on the horizon.  I met with my gal pals and as we scurried through the displays the clouds continued to gather and become darker.  I was definitely looking forward to the possibility of much needed rain, but because of the dark clouds the pics were not as light as I had envisioned.  We barely made it through all the displays before the winds began to blow more intensely and the "feel" of rain coming was imminent.  We ran for our cars just as the first BIG drops began falling and that was the end of the Perennial Fest outing.  To compensate for our disappointment we headed for the nearest eating place and drowned our sorrows in some eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and pancakes.  As we sat and stuffed our faces with food the rain continued on.  We were truly hoping that it might be a passing shower and we could go back for more of a look-see, but NOT...it continued to rain (which we really needed) so I headed home.  I may try and return later because I do so enjoy meandering through their lovely displays with water features, pathways, fencing and ofcourse the wonderful floral & plant arrangements.

Fairy gardening is BIG right now....I haven't even considered beginning this new trend.  I have enough trouble keeping the regular garden alive.  But I have to admit it is quite charming.

The clouds were really strange....it was like waves rolling in...

Later I drove to meet with my daughter and granddaughter to attend the Family Fun Night at my sweetie's residence.  The staff always present such a lovely event when they plan these evenings to join the residence with their families.  Hot dogs and hamburgers were served then we all gathered in the "town square" to enjoy some great blue grass music.

It was a busy day and a good day.  We even danced a little....(we used to dance a lot and we loved having fun)  I can still make him smile.

Have good days ahead.

Until next time.....

Looking for a Rainbow

It is blazing hot and I am heading out for a Perennial Garden Fest...I'm I nuts??  I didn't even go to our weekly band concert last night because of the heat.  We received a little rain (and I do mean little), just enough to really steam things up so I opted to stay at home in the AC.  But before I settled in for a cool night at home, I went out with my camera and took a few after the rain photos.  Hopefully later I will have bunches of new pics of gorgeous floral displays.  This garden center really does things up beautifully for this Fest.  Keeping fingers crossed everything is still nicely displayed after this awful heat and winds we have had.

I actually went outside looking for a rainbow because the sun began to peek out before the rain stopped.  I didn't find a rainbow, but I sure found lots of pretty raindrop bokeh.  This is the driveway that was just sparkling...

And the cone flower, I could photograph these beauties over and over and over again, especially when they are surrounded by rain bokeh...!!  Linking up to LeAnne's Flower Art Friday and Shoot Edit Submit.

And finally a little hydrangea bush that has the absolute whitest blooms, I think they are supposed to be pink, but they are truly pristine white.

Enjoy the end of the week, 4th of July celebrations start this weekend around here.  And I am off this evening to enjoy a Family Fest with my sweetie along with my daughter and one granddaughter joining us.

And....please hop on over to my collaborative blog, Focusing On Life where I am getting creative.

And in honor of a very talented lady, Nora Ephron, I end this post with one of her quotes....
“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.”    —I Feel Bad About My Neck


Until next time....

We Eat

Before we begin the serious game of Bunco every month we break bread together, in other-words we feast and dine & wine together.  The table is covered with salads or pastas or tri-colored casseroles, muffins and breads in many flavors, homemade soups, wonderful vegetables prepared brilliantly, watermelon, grapes, strawberries, oranges and ice cream, yogurts & sorbets.  Chocolate cakes, chocolate mousse, or anything at all drizzled with chocolate.  We taste everything together and say Mmmmm and Aaaaahhh and Ohhhh and lick our fingers.  We eat as much as we want, or as little and know that there will always be somebody who really, truly, more than anything else, wants to do the dishes after we leave.  That is why we send up an amen and a thanks for whoever discovered and brought forth  paper plates.

Linking to Deb Duty's This or That Thursdays....

And for you that remember the Smother's Brothers, here is a quote that really made me giggle....

"Red meat is not bad for you.  Now blue-green meat, that's bad for you."  ~ Tommy Smothers

Until next time.....

A Peachy Kinda Day

This morning I joined my fellow B&N ladies for a good morning chat.  Realized that one of them is a great seamstress and will altar anything for a reasonable price.  Hot diggity dog...I can sew, but it has been so many years that by the time I found my sewing machine, dragged it out, had it serviced because I know it would need it after many years of non-use, Carol could have whatever I needed done.  So no more slacks dragging the floor for me, Carol to the rescue.  I am also thinking of taking the cabinet doors off of the bathroom vanity and adding a curtain, which she could also do for me.  I know it is just straight seams, but I mentioned the dragging out of the machine...yadda yadda yadda.  Still pondering on that one.

We are still focusing this summer on the Fruits of the Spirit.  Joy was the first one which we all handled with underscored aplomb.  Then our second challenge was self-control.  As good as we all did with joy, think totally opposite for self-control.  We all failed miserably, and we even stretched it an extra week with no luck.  So now our third is Faith.  Worry kinda goes along with faith, and we all tend to be somewhat worrisome.  Our lovely senior most lady among our group quoted what her husband would say to her when she became too worrisome...."Worry is the price you pay on a debt that may never come due."  And I have also noticed that it causes a lot of grey hairs too.

After that I headed out shopping again...oh my, the savings account keeps getting smaller and smaller, getting these bathrooms finished is getting rather costly.  Today I bought a new shower door, a new drop-in sink for the cabinet that I will be painting, and a new lighting fixture.  But I think I found something that out tops all of those purchases and that is somebody to do all the work of installing.  Met a couple that does "everything", man & wife team, been in business for 28 years, local, reasonable...sounds like a dream come true.  That seems to be the hardest part about the re-doing is finding someone that can do the stuff you can't.  I can shop all day and buy anything, but I sure can't install a new sink top or a shower door.  I am feeling pretty peachy keen about this....so in honor of peachy, here a just a few peachy images.  

I wish I could say this was rain on the petals, but alas, only the water from sprinkling...

A little light on the subject....taken just as the sun was setting this evening.

And finally, my cup of the day for Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers Class...I think those are cherries on the cup, but I am pretending they are peaches, just for today.  

Hope you had a peach of a day....


"Life needs to be lived in a constant state of discovery."  ~  Kobi Yamada


Until next time....

Small Joys

As I sit here typing this post I have great music playing in the background on my computer...I think I may have mentioned before that I have Sirius XM in my car, which I absolutely love, makes my driving to see my sweetie so much nicer to hear the great oldies that I play while driving.  Last week I received an email from the friendly folk at Sirius offering a deal to add Sirius to your home computer or IPHONE for only $3.50 a month.  Well, I jumped at the chance for that deal.  So right now not only can I enjoy the sounds in my car, but at home as well, oh the small joys of life.  Right now "In the Mood" is playing....I am definitely in the mood for some swing and sway.  Love those "40's on 4".  

OK these images have absolutely nothing to do with Sirius or the 40's but fall into the category of small joys in my life.  The front porch at evening time, with the clematis vine on the front fence growing like a weed.  This will be covered with white blooms around Labor Day, sweet smelling and nectar for the bees.

 

This Friday I have a date with some girlfriends to attend "The Perennial Fest" at another favorite garden center locally.  It is supposed to be HOT, HOT, HOT so we are planning on heading out early. These next 3 pics are actually from last year's perennial fest that never got posted.

I am joining Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday...using her "Yesteryear" texture.  I think it gives a real old fashioned look to these images.

And finally, Kim's challenge to us this week in Beyond Layers is cups....and I do love cups.  This one is pretty special, it belonged to my Mom.  It was part of a full set of cups, saucers, small dishes, tea pot and sugar & creamer.  I just wish she was still with me so I could join her in a cup of tea and talk about happy things.  

I hope you find many small joys today.

"I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with enjoying ourselves."  ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein

Until next time.....

Monday Morning

Sometime in the middle of the night the winds shifted and I woke up this morning to coolness.  Wow, after it has been so hot, it was a refreshing feel.  So cool in fact, that I didn't drink coffee on the back-porch this morning....but by Wednesday it is going to be back in the 90's YURK!!  And still no rain.  I think I could tolerate the heat a little better if rain would accompany these stretches of 90 + degree days.  Looks like not much rain ahead, so thank goodness for hoses.  I can water my grass and gardens, but there is nothing like rain to really perk up nature.  The neighborhood pool has certainly seen an increase in visitors this summer due to the heat.   I can't see the pool from my house, but I can hear the screams & laughter, and it is definitely more rambunctious this year than last. It's a good sound filled with joy.

Every evening my little neighbor, Gabby flies by my house on her bike, sometimes using my driveway as her turnaround point.  When she was little she would run in the opposite direction when she saw me with my camera, but now she tolerates my snaps.

I even get her to pose occasionally....

And Toby posed too, isn't he handsome with his new summer cut!!

This week over at Kim Klassen's Beyond Layer's class she is encouraging us to hunt down and take pictures of cups....well, that is absolutely no problem for me...I love cups in all sizes, shapes, colors.  By the time this week is over, you will probably see every cup I own....well, probably not, since there are only 5 days to this challenge and I definitely have more than 5.   So to start the week, here is my cheery, cherry mug....I am also joining Rosie at Leaves in Bloom for her Color Me Weekly.

Have a great week ahead.  And have a cup on me!!

"Sleep is the symptom of caffeine deprivation"   ~   Anonymous 

Until next time.....

Come Take a Walk With Me

Yesterday our local Garden Center held their annual Art in the Garden celebration with gardening talks, artists selling wares, a jazz trio playing beautiful music, and ofcourse beautiful garden flowers.  I took my camera (no surprise there) and snapped away.  So walk with me as I strolled soaking in all the beauty of summer that surrounded me.

Cone Flower in pretty pinks & greens.....

Fields of Daisies...

Hibiscus....

Lovely dahlias....

A Japanese Maple in front of a water feature...

Roses....oh glorious roses...

Not sure what this is, growing in the water so must be some kind of pond flower....

And one more cone flower...love this one with it's orange droopy petals.  

Linking to





and

"Gardening and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes."

                                                                                                               ~ Clare Ansberry

Until next time......