Wild in Oklahoma

After I told the cats to quit fighting and find something to do, outloud I might add, I decided it might be time to get out of the house for a bit.

Out my front door

A storm in the distance.Holly Hocks blooming by the dining room windows.

Away from the dust, dirt, and debris

DH came in and asked me if I knew the bush was blooming. Which bush? It's not like we only have one. So, I had to get out of here for a little bit today and see what was going on outside. He was talking about the magnolia. It has one lone bloom on it right now.The lilac bushes are blooming too and the snowball bush is beginning to put out leaves. I have paperwhites by the front door and they're beginning to bloom. This is the first time I've tried those and I love them.

How about some flower pictures? Red tulips in the front bed.Orange tulips in the same bed.The Redbud tree is just about to pop.Housewise, here's where we're at. This is the dining room window. The lathe is gone. Well, for the most part. If I can talk Mom into pulling nails tomorrow while I take down the rest of the living room lathe maybe we can go get insulation on Tuesday and get it put up on Wednesday. This has been the fast part of the process. It's a whole lot easier to tear stuff up than it is to put it back together.

Stuff

A pretty yellow canna in my backyard. I've been working on the Seeing Stars quilt-along. I've got three rows put together and am about to start on the fourth row. I can't wait to get it done and see how it looks.

Out and about in the yard

I decided to walk off my beans and cornbread by visiting the yard.

The miniature crepe myrtle is blooming. It looks like I need to do some grass removal.
This tree is growing around the Bristol hook that holds one of the bird feeders. Considering the hook has only been there a couple of years, that tree is growing pretty fast.
In the garden I have purple bell peppers. Aren't they pretty?
My oldest grape vines have black spot. I haven't been able to find the fungicide around here that is supposed to take care of it.
One end of an old metal baby bed. The other end is behind my yellow climbing rose.
This is the orphan grape. The dog chewed it and I neglected it. Finally, I planted the poor thing and it's doing well. I put a baby bed side behind it for climbing.
Future home of a greenhouse. I hope. I have another place to put the swing.
I wonder how many 2 x 4's are up there? I should check on that.

I have a lily

A new bloomer this year.

It was planted at the same time as the orange and yellow ditch lilies. The orange and yellow have bloomed for three summers now. This beauty is blooming for the first time.

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig

I hope everyone had a happy, safe, and enjoyable Memorial Day.

This little fellow was a frequent visitor at our campsite.Heading out to do some fishing.Just look at the concentration on his face.Lookie there! A walleye.Back at camp a flowering weed growing in the brush. We had a good time for the most part. It was too hot, too windy, and too crowded. We would have had a much better time if Sir Pukes Alot and his band of Foul-mouthed Fellows hadn't been parked next to us. At one point DH went and told them to get quiet. Oh well.

Mom and I got a bunch of bird watching done and lots of visiting. We both read until we ran out of books. Tragic!

We're glad to be home.

Enjoying my time off

This morning the boy and I finished up his math for the year and then spent the rest of the morning outside. We filled bird feeders, talked, and admired flowers.

The daylilys are starting to bloom. Those two white buckets contain baby trees started from seed. One is an Oak of some sort and the other is a Black Walnut genetically modified to grow fast at some college up North. My memory is bad today and I couldn't tell you which college if my life depended on it.

I have onions, squash, cucumbers, peppers, and radishes up from seed. My little tomato plant has tons of grape tomatoes on it right now.

After lunch we went down and did a few honey-do's for my mom and then ran around for a bit.

Right now I'm listening to DH work on the boat. It appears to involve a bunch of hammering, stapling, and swearing. I don't think I'm going to see what's up. I'll just stay right here.

Enjoy the day. It's been a beauty.

Amazing Monday

Monday's towel. I just love the little duck doing her thing, rain or shine.

I woke up this morning with an "Ick! Monday" attitude. Shame on me.
I ventured out to the laundry room to gather the last load and saw a flock of birds land in the tree. I grabbed the binoculars and was dumb-struck to see approximately 50 Cedar Waxwings. The light wasn't picture friendly so you'll have to take my word for it. I was nearly late to class because I couldn't tear myself away from the backyard.

Then, as I'm walking to the car I spy something that wasn't there yesterday.
I've bemoaned my poor irises and how they haven't bloomed since I transplanted them off the side of the road. This morning I have a pretty white iris which I would swear wasn't anywhere near ready to bloom yesterday. I've got either a purple or blue that's showing color and will bloom soon. Another, color not yet know, has also sprouted up seemingly overnight. Again, I'm amazed.
I snapped this little fellow on the way to school. I never see these in town. I imagine there are too many cats for them to hang around in town.

God gently showed me that this is not at all an icky Monday. Today is a blessing, just like every day. We only need to open our hearts and minds to see the amazing things and appreciate them.

What a week!

Boy, this week has been busy. I finally changed my header. I need to try again I think. LOL.

DH started his new job and loves it. I was so glad to see him excited Monday morning instead of grumping around about going to work. We're on day five and he still loves it. He went from working in a 34 degree room to being outside, working with his hands, and using his brain. It was big change and so worth the cut in pay to do it.

I found a new place to play and make friends. Go check it out. I haven't had a chance to do much over there yet, but hope to soon.

My new glasses came. When I picked out these frames I didn't realize that the hump from a broken nose a hundred years ago made the frames sit crooked. If I put them on and balance them just right they're straight. Oh well. Nobody ever sees me in my glasses anyway.

There hasn't been any time to craft lately. I started going through my scrap bag last night, sorting and decided to make up a few yo-yo's.

I've been to the post office and Danetta should be getting her box-o-junk soon.

A swing by the thrift store netted me another old apron and two McCoy planters.

I have been out bonding with my dirt and I'm still amazed at how digging in dirt lifts my spirits and can banish a bad mood.

Mom took me anniversary shopping this afternoon and I came home with three crepe myrtle (pink, red, and white), two regular and a dwarf.

I also came home with this beauty.

Every year, Mom buys me a rose for either our anniversary or my birthday. Every year she thinks she's getting a yellow rose and it ends up being something else. This year by golly, she knows it's yellow. It's a climing rose and I have the perfect place for it.

In other garden news, the grape vines are putting out leaves, the lilac is beginning to bloom, tulips are blooming, and the red bud is in full bloom.

I sometimes wonder what I've done since we bought this house. All I really have to do is walk around the yard and my question in answered. Part of the appeal of this house was the yard, but it didn't have any flowers, ornamental trees, or charm. I'm slowly getting there.

I'm wishing a happy, safe, and blessed weekend to each and every one of my dear readers.

Flower Power

I'm baaaack! I managed to work myself into a complete state of overwhelmed tizzyness, but I'm better now.

Mom brought me a bunch of flowers that she'd overbought and didn't have a place for them. We drug out the pots and cleaned them up and got busy planting.
Who can be grumpy with a daisy that looks like this?

So, now that I'm no longer having a 'moment' thanks to the help of my mother and copious amounts of paper and ink, let's get back to having fun. Shall we?

I have the drawing participants updated and plan to draw the winner Tuesday morning right after I get back from the plant sale at school.

Now to answer some questions since I'm too lazy to go back to the original posts.

Lea asked where I got the pear pin keep pattern. I found it at Sassafras Hill Primitives. I also snagged the trio of crows. Too cute!

Lea wanted to know how Horton Hears A Who was. I loved it! DH laughed so hard I almost made him get up and leave. It was really funny to see this 50 year old man belly laughing at a kid's movie.

Sue asked about chalk board paint. It's kind of like painting with pudding. It's really thick and smells to high heaven. I did two coats, one up and down, and one side to side. Otherwise, I really like it. We do math in the laundry room a lot. :)

Country Girl wanted to know if that was a bottle of beer on the table. Nope. That's his old DP bottle that he's spitting in. Yuck! The head behind him is an elk. Not my idea of decorating, but it's the man-den and I just turned him loose. I haven't seen Enchanted, but want too.

Suzanne of At Home with the Farmer's Wife, I received the cards you made and I love them! I'm in awe of your talent. I stink at stuff like that.

Well, I think that's all. I can't seem to concentrate with the weather radio screaming at me.

Have a blessed and happy week!

Enjoying my morning

Today is a glorious day! It smells so good outside. I took a quick trip around the yard to see what's happening.

The Bradford pear is now in full bloom compared to just the other day.

The rest of the daffodils are blooming and the hyacinth are beginning to open.

The forsythia has also filled out compared to the other day. Poor thing looks so scraggly. Considering he was just a little twig when I first planted him, he's doing well. We're up to three twigs now. LOL.

It's a great day to be alive.

Headed east

I sent two packages out this morning. Both heading east of me.

I bought a pot of tulips today. Mine are coming up, but I needed a little color today. Let's share.

Amaryllis