My first baby …


… watermelon!

See it? Over there, on the right?

It’s about 4 inches long. So cool! Like all proud moms, I’ll keep you updated on its progress. There are two more of them, but they’re not as big yet. One is only about as long as my little finger.

Squash update!

I’ve picked about a dozen so far and there are at least that many more on the vine. I just love squash.

Gardening is such a joy. If you haven’t given it a try then you’re just missing out on a rewarding experience.

This is my garden. It is very small.

Oh heck, who am I kidding, it’s tiny! But, it’s all mine and I like it.

Actually, I have another flower bed on the opposite side of the patio, next to my townhouse, that had Impatiens in it. But, the gutters are stopped up and I’m having a bit of trouble getting the condo board to send someone over to clean them out.

I keep getting the run-around about hail damage insurance claims and not enough units need their gutters cleaned out to make it worth it to hire someone to clean mine. In the meantime, my little flower bed of Impatiens that, in May, looked like this, →

now looks like this.  ↓

So sad. (Yes, I know my landscape lighting needs an update. In time, folks, In time.) Anyhoo, back to my gardening epistle.

I grew up on a farm where gardening was a requirement. I hated it! There really aren’t words for how much I hated working in a garden back then.

In all fairness, let’s put that in context. I was 10 through 17 years old, stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a quarter-acre garden and only my mom, my brother, and my sister and I to manage it. Do you have any idea what a quarter-acre garden looks like? It’s huge and way too much work for one grown up and three kids.

What were they (my parents) thinking? Okay, so my father would plow it in the spring, but then, it was up to us to plant and weed, and hoe, and water, and hoe some more. Exhausting work and for what? Okra? Lima beans? Spinach? Yuck. It was all food that I mostly couldn’t stand to eat back then. (Yep, I was an idiot but I still don’t like spinach, if it’s cooked. There’s a whole other story about me and spinach but let’s save that for another time.)

The point …

Gardening is an acquired taste. Not everyone likes to spend time digging in the dirt but, for those of us who do, it is a very rewarding experience.

A few more pics of my tiny garden …

Until next time, happy summer everybody!

Psst, one of these days, I’ll learn how to crop pictures evenly, but don’t hold your breath waiting for me to get around to it. 🙂

A week full of blessings!


I started the week on Sunday with my lovely daughter who took me to a birthday brunch then to a movie. She is the sweetest girl on the planet!

Monday brought me a milestone birthday (not tellin’ which one) and lunch with my baby sister. She gave me the coolest gift! Then, it was a quick trip to the Apple store where I gave myself an iPad, followed by a wonderful evening making art with my sister.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday — back to work for this old girl.

Then, Friday comes around and the lovely jensinewall and the effervescent as long as I’m singing each sent me a One Lovely Blog Award.

Gotta’ tell you folks, life just doesn’t get much better. All I need now is about a pound of chocolate and a really good foot massage and I’m all set.

Okay, enough about me, on to the award rules!

This award(s) requires sharing 7 facts about yourself and nominating 15 co-bloggers you love and want to make happy with a well deserved token of gratitude. Here goes …

The facts …

  • I see a turkey neck in my future and I don’t like it!
  • I’ve never been to Spain but I think I’d like it there if, of course, it rains mainly on the plain.
  • I like squash, just about any way you want to cook it.
  • Lightning bugs make me smile.
  • I think that, for many of us, family is a love hate relationship.
  • I’m pretty sure that all the world’s problems could be solved if thinking about them involved a rocking chair or a porch swing.
  • I’m tickled pink that Dallas is back on TV and I already miss Mad Men.

The blogs I nominate for the One Lovely Blog Award …

Whew!

All of the above are lovely blogs and I hope you’ll visit each and every one of them and will enjoy them as much as I do.

Every Picture Tells a Story


Just when you least expect it, someone reaches in and grabs your heart and just won’t let go.

That happened to me a few decades ago when my baby sister was born. It happened again a few days ago when she gave me this birthday gift.

I’m not sure when she first started making collages, maybe in her teens, but she has for as long as I can remember. She creates them for loved ones and puts much of herself into every one she creates.

Making collages, when done well, is a painstaking process that takes hours of time and requires an artistic eye, as well as a spirit of adventure. Rosie is a talented artist with a husband and children and just starting her own business so just knowing that she took all the time needed to create the collage shown above — just for me– means more to me than I can ever adequately express.

And, then there is the content of this collage, I am amazed! In fact, it warms the cockles of this old girl’s heart and will for many years to come.

Thank you, sweet Rosie!