Friday Morning - Five on Friday

Hello, Dear Friends, it's time for Five on Friday

once again! Time does fly and the weeks

seem to go by fast, 

although the days can seem 

to drag on slowly sometimes. 

Especially on days like this! 

First to discuss on Friday is 

the change in the weather.

Yes, we have lost our sunny, balmy

weather and now it is cold and rainy

with a biting little wind. 

The clouds are racing by

and every so often there is 

a little break in which the 

sunbeams stream down through 

the skylights as I sit here. 

It lasts but a few moments

and then it is back to dark and dreary

once again. 

The weather is fickle here in the mountains....

Just the day before yesterday, it was clear

and sunny and warm. 

But we are reminded that it is still

Old Man Winter who rules the kingdom. 

Yesterday morning, as this weather system started 

coming in, the sunshine turned to dark clouds

and then we lost our electricity! 

I couldn't figure out why, until a few 

moments later, a strong wind came 

barreling through the valley, 

which gave me my answer. 

I was without power most of the day. 

But while the weather held out for a couple of days 

beforehand, I was able to get some work done outside.

Which brings me to the second subject

for Friday morning - the gardens. 

I trimmed the roses along the arbor, 

tidied up the hydrangea bush, 

and did a bit of weeding in the 

forget-me-not patch. 

This is my parent's commemorative garden. 

I started it for my Mother, and then when my 

father passed a year later, a white rose that I had planted

along the arbor bloomed for the first time that very day. 

The forget-me-not garden has bugle-weed, wild geranium, 

birds-foot trefoil and deciduous lady fern all

mixed in with forget-me-not, which makes for delicate 

weeding sessions. 

I am forever battling the wild buttercup that always 

invades the gardens, but have not been able to eradicate

 it completely, so I have learned to embrace it reluctantly. 

The hellebore are budding and some early narcissus, too. 

These narcissus are many years old - 

planted when my children were young! 

They are fragrant and lovely, but I have to remember

to slug bait next time I go outside,

as they are tasty, too. 

I use non-toxic bait - 'Sluggo' - 

safe for pets and wildlife. 

You can see by the moss, that we have 

very wet winters here, 50 miles south of Seattle. 

I have a few benches sprinkled throughout the property, 

which are too wet to sit on this time of year, 

but provide handy spots to rest my gloves, clippers

and thermos of coffee. 

As you can see, I am behind on my winter clean-up. 

I need another dry spell so I can trim these hydrangeas. 

I will fill my large baskets

 with these bleached-out beauties to 

display on my tall cupboards. 

I'll be very careful to only trim the flower heads

so as not to interfere with this year's blooms. 

As I sit here at my computer, I can look out the window 

over my garden, and the deep forest beyond,

 while enjoying the hummingbirds that 

stop by to visit. Can you see him? He is hovering, just over

the left side of the bench. 

I know that at any time, the winds could change

and instead of moderate temperatures

from the south, we could get hit with a late 

winter blizzard from Alaska or Canada. 

Such is life.....

Which brings me to my third subject; 

Banana Bread. Is there anything more delicious

than a nice, thick slice slathered with butter

on a cold, rainy day? 

I think I over-did it on the butter......

A light lunch is on the menu to balance

this equation! 

I baked it in my newly purchased, vintage, 'Fire-King' 

milk-glass baker from Nana's Things. 

The 'Country Vase' was a gift 

from my sweet Sis-in-law, 

all the way from New Hampshire. 

I have plenty of company this morning, too,

which is my fourth subject - dogs. 

Whitey Bear, Kai, and who is this at the food dish? 

Why, it is Miss Peanut! Or Queen 'P', 

as she is better known as. 

She rules the roost when she is here! 

All 8 inches of her! 

I am pet-sitting her this weekend. 

Along with this sweet girl, Weenie Baby, 

who loves her comfort. 

Here they are together, snuggling on their blankets. 

It's a peaceable kingdom. 

As long as there are no cats around:) 

So the cats stay in the bedroom and loft area

while our visitors are here. 

These are my daughter, Jennie's two mini-dachshunds. 

Here she is on the left with big sister, Heather. 

She not only brought me her two precious pups

to watch for the weekend, 

but she also bought me a present for

'being there for her'....

A new iPhone! 

Yes, I have joined the 21st century! 

My old Blackberry finally kicked the bucket. 

I think it was about 10 years old! 

Very 'state of the art' when it was new! 

She spent the evening downloading all my apps

and showing me how to use it. 

Luckily, Ramblin' Man has one, too, 

so he can help me when I need it. 

Now I can check my 'important messages'

(Pinterest :) whenever and wherever I am! 

Seriously, though, I am very grateful 

and blessed. I even have GPS mapping so that 

I can find my way home whenever I get lost. 

I've been lost a few times :)........

Thank you, Dear Daughter! 

xxoo

So that is my Friday Five. 

I hope you are having a good TGIF

and that your weekend is full 

of happy blessings. 

xoxo

Today I am joining;

Love Made My Home - Five on Friday


Won't you join the fun?