This 'n That

First Sweet Pea bloom of 2013

I had been so excited earlier this spring thinking that I was going to end up with a big beautiful pot of Sweet Peas this year because I started early and my starts were off to well, a good start (pardon the pun).

Then it was such a cold spring again that just when it finally started to warm up and get pretty, I discovered that the squirrels had been digging in the pot. Well, I still didn't give up, and I kept watering them and today was finally rewarded with my first bloom ♥

I saw a feature article on the chalk artist Peter Han on the (new to me) website Colossal, and his work is beautiful, this Vimeo short was embedded with the article. Enjoy!

                               

Busy Bee

The busy season is upon us at work, and I have had some long days. My cold is gone thankfully, but I'm still burning the candle at both ends during the week and sleeping extra on the weekend.

I just uploaded over a week's worth of meme's to the slideshows, but am still two weeks behind on catching up to The Daily Show, ah well. The weather is still so back and forth that it doesn't feel like summer at all. I don't miss the really cold snowy winters of Michigan, but I do miss the consistent warmth of the summers.

I was bummed earlier this week when I found that something had been digging in the pot that I have my Sweet Peas in, and I suspect the squirrels. I was so excited earlier this spring, they were off to such a good start. Enough of my complaining. The white rose out back has just started to bloom and that will make up for it ♥

I was having a brief conversation with my teammates Terry and Amber at the end of the day, that I saw/experienced some interesting things on the bus this weekend. Amber said I should blog about that. I want a catchy title for those posts, and I don't have it formed in my head yet.

The story I was going to recount to them was about waiting for the bus to go shopping on Sunday morning and watching this Japanese woman coming around the corner on the opposite side of the street, and she was walking backwards the whole way. I kid you not. The bus stop on the opposite side of Alabama has a bench, and she walked backward all the way around the corner and sat straight down on the bench. Then I could hear some music (coming from her phone presumably). Then after several minutes she walked across to the stop where myself and another woman were standing, not walking backwards by the way.

Then she starts signing to herself. Finally the bus arrives, it was crowded and she sat in the aisle side of the seat with a guy who was already on the bus. By the time we reached the Cordata bus station, she was leaning forward onto the seat in front of her like she was passed out, even though she showed no previous signs of being under the influence of anything.

It has now been a year of riding the bus since my car went kaput, and I know I can't say that I've seen it all because there will always be tomorrow....

Spring Flowers

Lilacs

Sweet Peas

I clipped one of the lilacs from the bush out front, and oh man, I love the aroma! I am so nostalgic every spring about lilacs, because of the one we had outside our front door back home in Kazoo. Smelling it every morning on
the way to school, and coming home. Ahh...







I finally got my Sweet Pea starts potted yesterday. It was interesting, the roots were actually poking through the bottom of the little peat pots I started them in, I don't remember seeing that last spring. I am hoping these do really well again this year, they are certainly off to a good start.

This 'n That

Sweet Peas

Sweet Peas

I am so ready to plant my sweet peas, I just have to get some more potting soil. Our typical spring weather is so back and forth between cold/wet and sunny/warm; this weekend, wet of course.
I'm ready for it to be nice and work outside.







I have gotten a lot of my spring cleaning done and was doing more inside today. In between I took a power nap and Boo And Woody joined me. They were so sweet together, curled up and cozy ☺

Woody and Boo

This n' That

Sweet Peas - three weeks in

I'm excited that the Sweet Peas I started from last year's seeds are coming up and looking good!
At first only half of the little peat pots were sprouting after a week, and I was bummed, but I just had to be patient it turns out.

I have to get out this afternoon and mow the lawn. I'm hoping that it has dried enough since this morning that it will be okay. It has rained almost every day since my first mowing two weeks ago and it is back to being a jungle again, ugh.

Things are picking up for the season at work again, but no overtime yet, so I have to get as much done at home as I can before I don't have the time. I have been in a spring cleaning mode, organizing and getting rid of stuff I don't need and use. Trying to curb any tendencies to collect as much as possible.

Spring

Mt. Baker from the Cordata Bus Station

Another sunny day today after a beautiful weekend! I'm still a bit sore from working out in the yard all afternoon Saturday. I got the first lawn mowing of the season under my belt, as well as some tree trimming.

Sweet Peas 2013 - Day Two

I also started my sweet peas inside from seeds from last year, mixed in with some seeds from my coworker Peggy's plant. Her sweet peas were very colorful and mine were very fragrant. I'm hoping that they blend....

Woody

Around The Corner Picnic

So last Sunday Mother Nature co-operated and we did not get rained out for a second year in a row for our annual picnic at Hovander Park in Ferndale. We had a fairly decent sized group attend. And Denise made us all happy with double frosting on the Hershey's Chocolate Cake....

The gardens around the house are something I look forward to seeing, and this year did not disappoint.
I don't know the names of everything I took a picture of, I just snapped away...

I thought the color of these was pretty cheerful.

I loved these two next to each other. I think it's Lavender next to those intense pink roses. The roses look like the one I have in the back yard, except for mine is white, and HUGE.

I love this Arbor that they built in front of the house. I think it has Grapevine growing on it, I'm not sure. I would like an English style garden that had one just like it with Wisteria growing on it.

This is the family they put together in the children's Storybook garden. I still don't know exactly why they call it that, but it's still a nice addition to the park.

Usually the Lace Cap Hydrangea is in full bloom by this time of year. When it is, it is so beautiful.

My Sweet Pea's are finally up to the full height of the spiral trellis I planted them on. And I'm finally getting more than just one bloom at a time too.

I hope that since it took so long to finally get nice, that we at least have nice weather all the way through September to make up for it!

Flowers

Front Porch Hanging Baskets

Ivy Geranium from Denise

It seemed like it was going to take forever for these to start blooming, until it finally warmed up this last week and a half, and then they just took off.

I bought the cedar planter last summer from the farmer's co-op and it was jam packed with a light coral ivy geranium, it was just huge!









I got the coral Ivy Geranium from Denise two summers ago, and I have wintered it inside in the kitchen. I love the color of these, it's so cheerful.

I've had good luck wintering Geraniums in my kitchen; they get plenty of light and it's a little on the cooler side in that part of the house.

Memorial Day Weekend

Munchkin, stalking a bird as usual....

Another beautiful Saturday with sunshine and warm temperatures. Yesterday when I got home from work we had a deer visiting. I sat out on the deck with the cats enjoying it, but did not grab my camera. I wish I had, Munchkin was pretty cute; he was definitely curious, but still too cautious to get too close.

Sweet Peas

My sweet pea is slowly getting more established, just not very tall yet. The basil I planted is sprouting; there are these teeny little leaves at the surface, but they are there! It's the first time I've planted any herbs, so I hope I'm able to make some pesto by the end of the summer...


Last Sunday was the last episode of Series 2 of Sherlock on Masterpiece on PBS, and it was really bittersweet, because I don't know if they will bring it back or not with the way it ended. And then Thursday night was the last episode of Doc Martin Series 5. Same situation, I don't know if there will be any future seasons, but if not, I have to say it was a really sweet ending if that ends up being the last one ever. I absolutely love that show and wish it could go on forever, but of course it can't.

Snowball Bush

I was originally going to put this planter on the front porch until the incident last month - so instead I'm really enjoying the color inside. It's a dwarf snapdragon and blue Lobelia. They seem to be doing just fine in the south window, I just need to make sure I water them every few days, just like the Nemesia.

Bits & Pieces

Sweet Peas & Obelisk

I got this obelisk at Fred Meyer this week for my sweet peas, I think this is going to work much better than the small trellis I got last year. I really hope that it ends up covered in blooms!
Boy what a nice weekend it turned out to be. I broke out the shorts and worked in the yard most of the day Saturday after Boo and I got back from her vet visit. It was time for her annual exam, and she actually was really relaxed with Dr. Feringer to the point that he was waiting for her to stop purring so he could listen to her heart. She just didn't like the car ride...

I planted some ivy geraniums in the recycled wood hanging planter I got from the Farmer's Co-op last summer. I planted 3 coral colored and one red together. I got a small purple/fuchsia colored geranium and a deep purple snapdragon and a few blue lobelia, but didn't get those planted yet. They are in a tub in the kitchen; I'm enjoying the color inside!
Pauline just finished her last dose of antibiotics today, and the cold seems to be gone. I made a batch of vanilla bean ice cream yesterday to take to work tomorrow. And today I baked Raisin Cake to take to my mechanic, and raspberry cobbler for my coffee break at work. I wanted to treat Rob and the guys at Hi-Tech, they are always so nice to me. They took my old lawnmower, so that I didn't have to deal with getting the gas out before taking it to get recycled; they did all of that for me.
It's been busy at work still, but no overtime this past week. I've been there a year now as of last Thursday, and it's been interesting being there for when the new seasonal folks start and seeing how it impacts the workload (and parking lot).
I played around last night with a new background for the blog, I wanted something different, at least for now. They just updated the blogs, and I like the matting around the pictures, it helps bring them in to focus. I better sign off now so I can watch the latest episode of Awake online before the news...