Saturday, March 28, 2015

Life in the Slow Lane and a Birthday


It was a rainy and cool week and Ramblin' Man 
was doing his thing - in Salt Lake City, so I had 
a few days to myself. 

What did I do? I hunkered down and did some
spring cleaning. I know, boring! 


That's exactly what Princess Peanut thought as she 
found the most comfortable spot to nap the day away. 


Weenie Baby was also blissfully cozy. 


Whitey Bear prefers the rug.

So while they dreamed of chasing squirrels, 
I stayed busy dusting and organizing and washing 
and vacuuming. 


We are finally getting a bit of snow in the mountains, 
and that cold mountain air forced me to keep a fire going
while I worked. 

I still haven't decorated for Easter......
I am always trying to catch up with life, it seems. 


The clouds finally cleared and I was able to 
get outside for some gardening. 

Since our coyote sighting, I have been a little wary
about going out with the little dogs, 
but I have not seen him again and 
Whitey is very good at alerting me
to any 'intruders', so I put on my gardening
gloves.



Spring is showing its beauty and pink currant is 
one of my favorite native blooms. 
The hummingbirds would agree - it is theirs, too.


You can see it growing to the right of the bench.
This is a busy place with hummingbirds darting back and forth.

You can also see the lawn needs mowing.....
That is Ramblin' Man's job,
only because I can't start the mower!

But it has been raining and he has been away.


The viburnum and sweet box are still blooming
and fill the back yard with intoxicating fragrance. 


Star magnolia really does look like floating stars
with a backdrop of evergreens. 


Delicate violets - a gift from a friend's garden- 
bloom by the rose arbor. 


A little friend......a Douglas squirrel. 


I sit here and enjoy the fresh air and bird song. 


This is the view and where I saw the coyote
 from my kitchen window last week.
My giant holly tree is straight ahead. 
It is still loaded with berries until 
the cedar waxwings arrive.  

The fragrant Narcissus that I planted last fall
in the wildflower garden are starting to bloom. 


A closer look. These make me smile.


The first forget-me-not in the same garden.


A hawk flies over. 


Weenie Baby helps me plant a new rose - 'Blaze', 
a red climber. 


It will look beautiful on my arbor.

I fertilized all the roses and
put out 'Worry Free' slug bait,
which is safe for pets and wildlife.  

I also planted a sumac, which 
Weenie Baby promptly dug back up
when I wasn't looking :-)

She's a digger.....


These are blooming by the arbor. 

It's getting late and my Ramblin' Man 
is due home after his long trip. 


It's his birthday and I baked his favorite 
 crumb cake to enjoy after his favorite meal. 
(Broccoli beef stir fry)

I cut some pansies from my potted garden on the deck
to display in my Mum's blue glass.

My Dad bought her the tiny hand blown pitcher
from her favorite Ethan Allen store
in the small Massachusetts town where I grew up.

It has traveled 3000 miles and many years.
She kept it on her kitchen window sill
along with a small collection of blue glass bottles.

The bottle says 'Bromo Seltzer.'



A simple celebration.....


Just the two of us. 
(We'll celebrate with the family at Easter)


I've celebrated birthdays with him 
since he turned 16! 

My sweet 'Blue Eyes' and me - High School Sweethearts

We are so blessed to share these many years 
of celebrations together.

xoxo

Wishing you lovely spring days, Dear Friends!
A celebration in itself!

xoxo


36 comments:

  1. Things are looking beautiful around your cottage. The native currents are exceptional this year, I think. I hope you have a lovely celebration!

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  2. Wonderful images! Happy Birthday to your hubby! Beautiful flowers, we are still having snow. I love your puppy dogs, they are cuties. Have a happy weekend!

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  3. Hi Karen,
    Two things made me laugh.
    1, Weenie Baby's stealth digging. We put out the last of the corn for the deer yesterday morning. Josephine had dug herself a little pee-pee spot and used it before we finished yelling out her name. The deer did't seem to mind.
    2. Your Ultimate Slug Solution. I feed my slugs and name them all Wallace - a nice, gender-neutral name since they are hermaphrodites.
    We may be moving to a real house with land we can really garden on. Then I can post nice pictures, too!
    Hope you and BE are having a wonderful BD w/e. xo, m & jb
    Sorry I don't comment more. The fall shook a lot of wires loose. Still reconnecting them. Thank the Lord for Spellcheck! (even had to use it in that last sentence!)

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  4. sweet, sweet! happy birthday, ramblin' man! and many more!

    glad you're getting into your yard stuff and your cute little dachsies are 'helping'. :)

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  5. Happy birthday to your spouse. What gorgeous outdoor photos and the ones of your pets enjoying their leisure as well. I love Ethan Allen furniture. I have some pieces that I bought new, and I've some that I've been lucky enough to find in second hand stores. Did they start in Massachusetts? My mother was a big fan of them when I was growing up, and she has pieces from them as well, but hers are quite old now.

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  6. Awwww, happy birthday to your honey! How awesome that you've been together for so long! Your garden is amazing, it must be so much fun to be out there planting and growing your beautiful flowers.

    I have some Ethan Allen chairs that my ex-husband and I had as part of a dining set. Although they're put away in a closet right now, I'll never part with them, they're such great quality!

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  7. Happy birthday to your husband! I love that picture of the two of you. You look so young:) Don't you think the time has gone by fast?
    Your garden is looking good. I can't wait for our spring flowers to bloom. (I hope you can keep that tree planted:)

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  8. Hi dear friend!! Happy Birthday to you !!
    Y que bonitas imágenes !! Que tengas un bendecido fin de semana
    Cariños

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  9. I can relate dear Karen - as spring cleaning is the ongoing fun here as well. It's always nice, though, when it feels like every little nook and cranny gets some attention.

    I love your little paradise there. I swear if I look closely enough under a tree or other woodland area I can see some fairies having a tea party or little gnome gathering goodies. I'm so happy you haven't seen the coyote again.

    Happy Birthday to your Mr.! Sounds like a perfect celebration and yummy meal ahead. I love that you still have some lovely items from your Mom with the memories attached. And I really love that photo of you 2!! So sweet. It's such an extra special blessing to find our soul mates at such a young age, don't ya think?

    Happy weekend. xoxo

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  10. Hi Karen, wow I enjoyed looking at all of your pretty photos of nature. The yard looks pretty and I love the daffodils. Happy Birthday to your husband. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
    Julie xo

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  11. Happy Birthday to the Ramblin' Man!

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  12. Hi Karen,

    Lovely post you have shared here today - always great to do some Spring cleaning - I have been doing cleaning here too. I love all your beautiful photos - your garden and yard looks wonderful. Happy birthday to your husband and enjoy the weekend
    hugs
    Carolyn

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  13. Happy Happy birthday to him Karen! Such a special treat for him to come home to after his long trip!!! And how beautiful is that magnolia and all of the life just bursting in your garden! I happen to be in the spring cleaning mode as well! And that photo of the two of you is adorable!!!! Wishing you a lovely weekend!! Nicole xoxo

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  14. Dearest Karen,
    Lovely photo of the beginning of your sweet romance together. Looks quite familiar such photos and hair style. For sure, that very same smile will be shown whenever he comes home to your delicious baking for his special Birthday. Yes, we treasure each and every one of them as they make memories for old age and we can cherish them.
    Cute helpers you got in the garden! My Mauzie was exactly such a ferocious digger; guess all dachshunds are good at it.
    We just got back from 6 days Arizona together and now catching up on life in the East Coast...
    Sending you hugs and enjoy the weekend.
    Mariette

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  15. What a sweet post, Karen, and I'm writing through my tears. The photos are beautiful and seeing the one of you and your sweetheart made me miss my beloved, who was my high school sweetheart, also. Enjoy those birthdays together, sweet friend.

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  16. Spring cleaning can be a little boring, but boy, does it feel good afterwards! Happy birthday to Ramblin' Man - and I love love love your old photo!

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  17. Your yard is smplily gorgeous, so many little gems blooming away. I love seeing the mountains in the background. What a sweet celebration...he must have been very pleased. Fabulous photo of you two!

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  18. Hello Karen. This is such a lovely post you have written. Your garden is beautiful. I hope you have a wonderful weekend celebrating your husband's birthday. I love the pictures of you two.

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  19. So much like were I live. With parts of the garden left wild, with a little help of colour being planted here & there. How lovely to see you & Ramblin' Man together as young teenagers. I'm sure you enjoyed celebrating his birthday together.

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  20. Look at you two! So sweet! Happy Birthday to Ramblin' Man, I am so glad he came home in time to see the wonderful effort you put into the time spent apart and a delicious cake! Take care with the coyote. xx

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  21. I feel your love of the outdoors, your animal companions and for the sweetie in your life. It sounds like it can't get much better than that. Enjoy!

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  22. Dear Karen ~ What a sweet, happy, colorful, inspiring and romantic post. It blessed my heart.

    Happy Birthday to your DH. Your love for him glows brightly out of your post. A wonderful thing to see.

    Happy Easter week ~ FlowerLady

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  23. I forgot to make a comment about spring cleaning. It seems to me that, even though it's a chore, it's a way to connect with everyone I have and become reacquainted with it once again. It's a way to take inventory. It's also time to renegotiate my space, like moving, fluffing, paring down or filling in. Enjoy the process.

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  24. Beautiful photos of your garden. I must try to learn how to take better close-up photos with my camera. The best photo of all is of the two of you as high school sweethearts! How time flies - and some things stay the same. A belated Happy Birthday to your husband!

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  25. This was a lovely post. Your pups looks so sweet dozing. Love how they "help" you in the garden. Your spring looks like it is further along than ours is. You already have some pretty spring blooms. Winter isn't quite ready to turn us loose here. What a sweet photo of you and your ramblin' man as high school sweethearts!

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  26. it is good to slow down and even have time to clean a bit. Lovely flowers. My tulips are blooming and so is my lilac bush! Have a good week!

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  27. Happy Birthday Ramblin Man! Your garden is looking wonderful isn't it, so much coming up already! xx

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  28. Wow what a beautiful post and what a lovely garden!!
    Have a nice week

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  29. You're so lucky to have Weeny Baby helping you in the garden! Can you send him over here afterwards?
    I love the intoxicating smell of pink currant bushes. I can always tell when my cats nap under them. When thy come back home, they smell like honey!

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  30. Oh Karen, it brings joy to my heart when I see your high school picture of the two of you because I was also 16, turning 17 when I met my husband. I see your daughters in this picture of you. Happy Birthday to your dear husband, and what a great gift of his favorite meal and dessert. Your flowers are blooming beautifully, and I enjoyed seeing them all. I can't wait to see the red roses covering your arbor. What a sight that will be. My husband planted four different colored roses in the garden this last weekend, and now I'm watering them and giving them love......and they have already started to bloom! Roses are so sturdy.

    I bet your house looks so nice after you did some spring cleaning and all.

    Happy Easter, Karen.

    love, ~Sheri

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  31. Happy Birthday to your sweetheart. How wonderful to have the photo of the two of you when you were teens. Have a fabulous week! Sweet hugs, Diane

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  32. Don't you wish the pets could do the cleaning and we could do the cozy resting?

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  33. It looks like spring has arrived there already. I hope you had a nice celebration supper with your husband. The photo of you two in high school is great! I wish you a blessed Easter week. Pam

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  34. I LOVED the photo of you and your sweet Ramblin Man! You two high school sweethearts have had a beautiful, lasting love and have been through a lot together building your lives. I am glad to have been able to share in all that a little through your blog. Happy Birthday to him, if somewhat late! Loved all your gorgeous photos! Spring looks great in your lovely spot on this planet! Enjoy your time off, and I will look forward to visiting again soon.

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  35. love your captures of the early spring and how wonderful to get that spring cleaning done. I absolutely love that photo of you and your husband together in high school. What a beautiful and blessed story you have had together. Always love to see the warmth of your home. blessings to you Karen, and happy birthday to your husband

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  36. You live in a beautiful area and your garden is so lovely. Happy birthday to your hubby! I hope you had a wonderful celebration.
    Julia

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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