Hello, Dear Friends, can you believe it is the middle of August, already?
Where does the time go?
Since my last post, my old laptop gave up the ghost, so to speak!
It has taken me quite a while to get back up to speed
with a 'new' one (generously given to me by my son, Dustin).
So, here I am.
Unfortunately, I lost a bunch of my photos after I had just downloaded
them on the old laptop right before it gave out, so I had to start anew.
Yea...
Oh, and did I tell you that my daughter, Jennie, husband Steve,
and my little grandson, Jack, packed up and moved to Hawaii?
Steve retired from the Fire Dept. after 20 years,
and this has always been their dream.
Hawaii is so tiny and isolated and this Mama and Gramma's heart
can't help but worry about them so far from 'home'.
xx
It's taken me a while to dull the ache in my heart.
I knew they were moving for about a year, but I held out
hope that they might change their minds.
You know - magical thinking...
And don't get me wrong, I am so very happy for them.
They are living their dream, and I am all about
following dreams and living your best life.
It doesn't take away from the fact that we all miss them terribly.
Jack on his last visit here, making 'lawn mower' sounds.
xx
But on the bright side, we get to go to Hawaii with a nice
guest room to stay at, whenever we want.
xx
It's been a long, hot summer and I am already looking forward to fall.
Today is 90 degrees in the shade.
I'm inside with the air conditioning and Kai is lying in front of a fan
for extra measure. Poor baby has soooo much fur!
I just gave him a bath, so he is extra fluffy.
Here he is under the canopy on the deck, on his morning 'patrol'
looking for squirrels.
He's a 'chaser' not a catcher, which I absolutely adore
about him.
He is adjusting to not having his sweet little buddy, Ricky to join
him on all his adventures, but l know he really misses him.
He lost his other buddy, Whitey Bear a few years ago, too,
so the poor little guy has needed lots of extra attention.
I still get that awful pang in my heart every time I think of them.
Life is full of 'little griefs', isn't it? My summer has been full of them.
We all have those hidden stitches holding our hearts together, don't we?
It finally rained the other day.
We've had no measurable rain since the beginning of July.
I've spent most of my time watering to keep my flowers and plants alive.
I do love my flowers.
Would you like to meet them?
Thunbergia (Black-eyed Susan vine) in the birdcage.
Every year I grow a pretty vine here.
I think this is my favorite so far.
Usually they are yellow, but I found this orange one
and had to have it.
Under the hummingbird feeder.
The herb bed is ready for harvesting.
There's pineapple sage, chocolate mint, melon sage (yum - tastes just like
cantaloupe), ordinary sage, oregano, lemon balm, rosemary, chives and thyme.
I keep the primroses, pansies and other shade lovers on these racks.
They are done blooming for the most part,
but will rebloom again in fall when it is cooler.
Past their prime but still have some life in them, yet.
I can relate.
xx
There are wildflower seedlings, too.
The lacy plants with the colored leaves are wild Herb Robert
that seed themselves everywhere.
I enjoy them and their tiny pink flowers in spring.
More herbs on the little picnic table.
Lemon thyme, tarragon, rosemary, some lavender in front that
will go in the ground next spring, and a pineapple mint.
The various mints are for tea.
Marigolds and purple alyssum on the ladder rack.
Tall gaillardia putting on a show next door.
You can see my strawberry pots, too.
The birds seem to get to the strawberries before I do!
Oh, well, I enjoy the birds just as much as the strawberries.
I am loving this purple and gold combination this year.
The bees love it, too.
It's very hot right here, so I've planted some succulents.
These little red 'daisies' are called delosperma - Jewel of the Desert.
I've never seen them before, but they are perennials that bloom
from spring to fall and good for rock gardens.
(So says the tag.)
I've really enjoyed their sweet little blooms.
Curious pansy faces in the shade of the playhouse pergola.
The grandkids have long outgrown this little house, so now it is my tiny
pot shed.
xx
View from the living room.
My happy place.
Fuchsia and begonia.
Cool and shady.
The crate was on old lobster crate from New England that
we've had since our newlywed days.
It's always been used for storage, but I painted it and thought it would
be perfect here on the deck.
Double impatiens that look like roses in this shady hanging basket.
A gift from 'the girls'.
Impatiens and begonias.
Most of these flowers I bought in early spring in flats
and transplanted them into pots.
Right before and after Mother's Day, the flats all go on sale.
(A little tip)
Some of the more exotic herbs were bought as small transplants
at a local nursery that I went to with my daughters
for Mother's Day back in May.
This little greenhouse was a special Mother's Day gift from the Mr.!
He actually gave it to me last Mother's Day,
but it was in kit form and had to be assembled.
He worked on preparing the site last year
and he and my son, Dustin put it together this year.
Notice the shirts. My son developed an App, called 'Ride Loud' that
can be downloaded on Apple.
The App allows you to invite and organize groups
of friends, co-workers, sports teams, etc.
to meet up for dirt-biking (ride loud!), mountain biking,
hiking, etc., with features like maps, sign-ins, and even
an equipment exchange.
xx
Love my hard-working guys.
xx
I can't tell you how excited I am to have this space!
The former grandkid's playhouse is now my potting shed,
(He built them a new fort in the woods :)
and I have a garden area all fenced in for my wildflower garden next spring,
but right now, this area is a weedy mess.
It's solid cedar and smells so good.
It has an automatic roof vent and lots of shelves.
We still need to stain it before winter. I chose a dark walnut stain
to go with the potting shed, the house, and the rest of the outbuildings.
So, a work in progress.
I will use this area for my dream herb garden.
I've wanted one forever.
xx
We had our old friends over for dinner recently and I made a delicious
pasta dish that is so easy.
Take a large baking dish and put a block of cream cheese in the middle.
I use low-fat.
Add a large container (or two small ones) of cherry or grape tomatoes
all around. Then sprinkle some chopped green onions over all. About 1/2 cup.
Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes
or until the tomatoes start to shrivel and burst.
Meanwhile, cook up some pasta. I used penne pasta, and since this recipe
makes enough for four servings, I used the whole box.
Once the tomato mixture is done, keep the foil on top and smash
the tomatoes with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon through the foil
to keep the tomatoes from bursting all over the place.
Hot tomatoes in the face is no fun!
Remove the foil and stir the melted cream cheese into the juice of the
tomatoes to make a sauce. Add the drained pasta and stir it all together.
Serve with grated parmesan.
It is so delicious!
You can also use Boursin Cheese or other flavored cream cheese.
(I try to limit my salt, so I used plain cream cheese)
Also, you could use garlic instead of green onions,
and add spinach or fresh basil (or both) in the last few minutes
of baking.
For dessert I made my usual banana bread, but gussied it up with
a cup of blueberries in the batter, plus a few more
sprinkled on top.
When it cooled a bit, I drizzled on a powdered sugar and milk glaze.
Yum!
We had a red Italian wine with dinner, and a nice cup of herbal tea with dessert.
Old friends, good wine, delicious food and a full moon.
What could be better?
We've been having sleepovers at 'Grammie and Papa's house'
regularly, too.
These are my eldest daughter, Heather's three little rascals.
Declan
xx
We had a picnic at 'the fort' and made 'warrior bracelets'
out of duct tape and forest findings.
This was Declan's.
Liam
xx
Gavin
xx
Liam looking out the fort windows.
Enjoying our picnic.
They all wanted to teach Kai some tricks,
but I think it was Kai that tricked them
into giving him treats.
xx
Later, after dinner we had ice cream sundaes.
We always have movie night before bed with popcorn
and milk shakes, too.
I love to spoil them.
They are such good little guys.
Papa enjoys being spoiled, too.
xx
Here they are playing checkers together.
Of course there's always the accusations of cheating,
which may or may not be true :)
Declan wrote a little story.
He's going into 2nd grade in a couple of weeks.
He and Liam are twins
and Gavin is the oldest by 1 year.
A very busy little family.
xx
I remember those days. I had 4 children in 5 years.
They are all very close in age and in heart.
xx
Fallen fuchsia blossoms.
My favorite magazine.
Ripe peaches.
Morning light.
Impatiens on the window ledge.
Watering hole for the little garden creatures.
Dragon Fly
Summer is winding down, children will be going back to school, the gardens
giving up their harvest, and soon we will be thinking of pumpkins,
hot chocolate, woolen sweaters and falling leaves.
Already the sun is setting lower in the sky, sending golden rays
through the trees earlier each day.
There's a certain melancholy atmosphere, this time between seasons.
I think it matches the current mood of uncertainty
we are all feeling right now.
Melancholy forms the backdrop to life and tries to steal the light
from our lives as we feel the confusion and sorrow
of so many.
I can't help but think of my grandparents and great grandparents
living through similar dark times and wish I could
talk to them and ask them how they managed to
keep the faith.
I know they would say, 'Keep calm and carry on'.
But I want to know how.
Sending you love and light, dear friends.
Together, we will keep the faith.
xx
