{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ June 26, 2016

Hi, all!  Last week Leila at Like Mother, Like Daughter suggested we share about our gardening efforts, but I was on the road and missed it, alas.  So I'm going to talk gardening this week and tell about our road trip (big happenings there!) next week.  Here goes . . .

{Pretty} and {Happy}

I'm going to share close-ups of some of my favorites from the flower garden because evidently I don't know the first thing about taking pictures of gardens.  All the photos are washed out and boring.  But lookee at these daisies!  It's a perennial I planted last year and got two blooms from.  This year the plant came back gangbusters and has produced dozens of blooms!

Another perennial from last year that has done wonderfully well this year are these dahlias.  So beautiful!

I planted three barrels of these gorgeous, delicately colored geraniums and they are stunning and they bloom profusely!

In addition, the zinnias have just started to bloom, the lavender from last year is doing very well, and the annuals I planted to fill in holes are also in good shape.  The gladiolus foliage looks good so far and hopefully will produce lots of flowers like last year.  I hope within three or four years to have this bed consist entirely of perennials with maybe an occasional annual where needed.

Aaaaaand even though I shared these in May and the allium is over for the year, I just have to show you again because they are make me so ridiculously happy.

Now for just a few quickies of the vegetable garden~

Tomatoes and, in the background, beans just getting started.  The tomato stakes
aren't at such a drunken angle in real life, despite how they look here . . .

We also have cucumbers, carrots, and a field pumpkin, though I didn't get any pictures, for some reason.  We are heavy on tomatoes and green beans this year.

{Funny}

My sweet little granddaughter Verity so proudly handed these "flowers" to me when she was visiting with her family.  That eager approach, happy grin, and chubby fist just melt my heart!  This gift is more precious to me than anything blooming in my garden.

{Real}

The pepper plants and about a third of the bean plants were ravaged by deer the very night before Dave and I planned to finish the fence around the garden.  Grrrrr!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ June 12, 2016

{Pretty} and {Happy}

It was a certain granddaughter's birthday this weekend.  She is four!

Present-opening takes a lot of concentration~

Lots of friends and family were there.

And of course, the little sister.

There were cake and ice cream, games, party hats, and balloons.  All necessary for a birthday celebration!

{Just Happy}

Arane and Verity spent the day with us on Friday.  The morning was dedicated to playing in the hose and painting the house with water.  Though very simple, giving each child a real paintbrush and water for "painting" with is endlessly entertaining!

{Real}

Dave and I took a mini staycation on Thursday and drove to historic Arrow Rock and Blackwater, MO, for a day of much needed R&R.  We poked around the interesting shops and ate lunch at the famous J. Huston Tavern in Arrow Rock, the oldest continually operating restaurant west of the Mississippi and said to be home of the best fried chicken west of the Mississippi.  It was pretty darned good!  

We looked in on the old jail in Blackwater, not a place I'd ever want to spend any time in.  Blackwater is a sleepy little town.  I stood in the middle of the road to take this picture, with nary a car nor truck in sight.

This tiny cage of a jail cell holds two inmates!

{Funny}

Some of the shops in Arrow Rock and Blackwater were closed with no indication when they'd be open again.  One shop's sign, of which I neglected to get a picture, read, "Open by chance or appointment."  Another said~

"Closed.  Will return eventually :) "

That's it for this week!  Thanks for stopping by!  Please join Like Mother, Like Daughter for more {phfr}.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ June 5, 2016

Whew! What a week!  Dave's brother and his wife were here from Washington state all week.  Lots of fun but also lots of activity, which left us all worn out (a good kind of worn out, though!).  I'll share some highlights.

{Pretty}

One morning, breakfast was soft-boiled eggs and leftover pound cake with apricot preserves.  (It's no worse than a doughnut, right??)  I was struck by how cheerful it all looked~

A couple close-ups of the flowers on the table, all of which came from the yard and the woods that border it.  Such a wide variety!  

The funny, umbrella, double- or triple-decker lavender blooms are the same as Rosie shared in her {phfr} post at Like Mother, Like Daughter.  I don't know what they are called.  Anyone have ideas?

{Happy}

Elizabeth and Justin hosted a big family party over Memorial Day weekend.  We had everything from an 80-year-old great-grandma

to the newest member of the family, a six-week-old darling baby boy

in addition to everything in between~

                            

Later in the week, we hosted a cook-out at our house~

Arane and Verity provided light entertainment~

{Funny}

Photo Credit: Arane

{Real}

Photo Credit: Arane