A Busy Weekend, a Daughter's Cottage, and The Garden

Hello, Friends, we finally had some sunshine

over the weekend and Monday, 

but this is the view this morning.  

They call it a 'marine layer'- low, misty clouds

that have come in from the Pacific ocean. 

They say it will burn off......

I had a busy weekend.

 Friday evening, Ramblin' Man and I attended 

a charming wedding of a friend's daughter. 

No photos, because, well, brides generally don't

take kindly to someone posting photos 

before they do! 

Farmland near wedding 

The setting was pure country bliss - a beautiful 

and rustic hall (think 'Fixer Upper' - prairie style)

in the middle of farmland. 

The bride and groom were such a sweet couple. 

They did something I have not seen before - 

each had a jar of different colored sand and they 

poured a little at a time, taking turns, into

a glass sided frame, forming a lovely pattern 

of their spoken hopes and dreams, 

through the sands of time. 

Love that. 

The ceremony was outside and skies were threatening

but there was no rain and it all turned out lovely. 

On Saturday I traveled to my daughter Jennie's little cottage

to plan a very special party. It is a surprise - so I can't tell 

you more, but I will be explaining soon......

On the way, I traveled this back road alongside 

the railroad tracks, where thousands of poppies 

were blooming the whole length of the road. 

The skies had cleared and we had a lovely day for party planning. 

Arriving at her sweet little cottage, 

you can see her hydrangeas are blooming. 

It has been a year since she bought her 

little 'doll house'- all on her own. 

Some front porch scenes :) 

Two pretty chairs on either side of the front door. 

Let's go inside, shall we? 

Her living room. 

She has a soft, beachy theme. 

She loves white, soft blues and greens, with silver accents. 

Some cute vignettes.

Setting the table for lunch....

There were four of us, 

daughter Jennie, daughter's in law, 

Erica and Jen, and me. 

Fettuccine, salad and mimosas. 

Yum!

After our delicious lunch, we retreated to the patio

for some serious party planning. 

Erica looks on. 

A sweet sitting area.

The Burlap and Ticking Pillow
I made for her birthday is on the right. 

Erica has discovered the most wonderful bakery

and has treated us to some delicious desserts

lately. This was the cake she brought for Father's Day.

She brought miniature ones for our brunch. 

Weenie Baby patrols the back yard. 

Peanut stays by the food - in case of crumbs.....:)

If you have followed my blog for a while, 

you know that Peanut and Weenie Baby 

are frequent house-guests for sleep-overs 

when Jennie travels. 

Here they are all being 'good' while waiting for a treat. 

With party-planning over for now, I head for home

under blue skies. 

The daisies are blooming and Mt. Rainier 

emerges from the clouds as I leave the valley

and travel back to my foothills home. 

Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day, so Ramblin' Man

and I spent the day tidying up the gardens. 

He took a photo of me tending to the tool-shed garden. 

Sweet William is blooming, with Tansy starting to set buds. 

A few stray buttercup are involved, and some yellow

birds-foot trefoil. 

And the hydrangeas are blooming, too.....

The recent rains have caused them to flop, 

so Ramblin' Man cut arched fence sections to 

prop them up. You can see them if you look 

closely. I still need to set them in place. 

They really like where they are planted. There is a 

picket fence in behind that has been smothered by them. 

The blossoms emerge greenish blue, then turn pure blue

as time goes on.
These are mop-head hydrangeas - Nikko Blue

I will cut some for bouquets on the next sunny day.

The St. John's Wort is blooming, too. 

This is 'out back' along the edge of the woodlands.
You can see the end of the deck with the canopy peeking above. 

I like large drifts of singular species.

Individual flowers get lost in a large landscape. 

The bumblebees love these. 

On Sunday evening we watched these two crows 

snuggling as the sun set on the mountain. 

They eventually flew away to roost for the night

in the quiet hills. 

After all that, Monday was house-cleaning day. 

I washed linens, rugs, the floors, caught up with laundry, 

and scrubbed bathrooms. 

I also did some fairy gardening, which I will show you

later in the week, but today is reserved for visiting

all of you, Dear Friends. 

What did you do over the weekend? 

xoxo