Holiday Thursday: April 18, 2019

Good morning and holiday greetings!

My neighbor has decorated the forsythia bush and it makes me smile every time I see it!

In the garden, the bleeding heart are blooming and everything is awakening.  Every time I step out, it is greener and greener.

I just love this lovely arrangement we found when we were walking.  

The flowers were growing between the cracks of the pavement!  Isn't it lovely?

 

We had storms this past week and many of the daffodils are fading now.  The doubles are just blooming now!

And now for news on Scout.  She is getting groomed the last day of this month.  She makes me laugh at this point because she is so hyper that she keeps missing bunny sightings.  One day this past week there was a bunny not one feet from her and standing so still with fear.  Scout didn't notice her at all/ She was convinced that the tree stump on the other side of the alley was an animal she missed the whole show.

It's a quiet holiday for us.  So many family members have health problems and we are just focusing on them instead of big togethers.  

Wishing you a happy and blessed holiday!

I like Thursday: April 11, 2019

Happy Spring Thursday!

Where are you finding happiness this week?  Join LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for more positive posts!

This week we love dog friends!  Scout knows where every one of her friends lives and drags me by each one's house.  Luca is one of her favorite friends!

Willis came by to visit Scout at home and decided that all our plants needed some (ahem) watering.  Scout didn't care she was so enthralled to have a friend over!

Scout also loves her people friends and insist she visits our neighbors each day.  They spoil the heck out of her too :)

It's gardening season which means a lot of clean-up and pruning.  I like the work so much and find it peaceful and happy.  It's like visiting an old friend and I like the discoveries I find, like last season's bird nest:

For over two decades I've lived in this neighborhood and always wondered about these pretty blue flowers that emerge this time of year.  FINALLY I thought to ask one of my neighbors if he knew the name of them--and he did!

They are called "siberian squill" and in some areas just fill the lawns with blue.

I was at the garden center and saw this funny poodle watering can.  It's for a child and my grandkids are too old but I thought it was a hoot!

I hope you have a pleasant week and am praying for those in the midwest who are enduring snow and blizzards!  Stay safe and warm!

I like Thursdays, April 4, 2019

It's hard for me to imagine it's already April!  Happy Thursday and another day of positive posts.

I love spring!  The daffodils and lungwort are blooming!

It's my favorite time of year and that means more physical work in the garden but it is always worthwhile.  We've had a lot of sunny days lately and even when it's brisk out, I enjoy strolling through the garden to assess the leaves budding on bushes and the plants surfacing in the garden!

It was fun to see this pair of mallards enjoying the sun at my neighbor's pond!

I like alstromeria and picked up this bunch at the grocery store.  These soft colors of pink and white really appeal to me right now.

I'm fortunate that I live in an area where I can get three different PBS channels.  This week I'm really enjoying "Call the Midwives" and "Mrs. Wilson."  I'm reading Monty Don's book "Down To Earth" and enjoying that too.

These days Scout is so overgrown!  She had an ear infection a few weeks ago and because of the medicine she was given, we have to wait to get her spring grooming.  Her top hair is so long, she has a middle part and with the few locks standing on end, she looks like Alfalfa from Little Rascals.  

It's going to be a beautiful day today and I'm going to get a move on so that we can garden early!

Have a great week!

I like Thursdays, March 28, 2019

Welcome to "I like Thursdays" hosted by LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color!  What did I like this past week?  It got warmer out and the crocuses are blooming.  We are expecting even warmer temps this weekend and I can't wait to work in the garden!

I'm really enjoying changing up the garden this year.  It's a lot of fun to take the time to reimagine it.  I wouldn't say that it is a simpler layout but a more cohesive color scheme.  It's a lot of fun and gardening is one of the few hobbies that provides instant gratification; no matter what you do it always looks better when you are finished!

Speaking of flowers, two of my neighbors are antique dealers and they recently gave me this early McCoy vase that I love!  They thought I would like it because it is yellow and from the early twentieth century.  I've been writing about women's suffrage lately and they hoped it would keep my inspired--it does!

I like these appliques from my newest addition to my quilt collection.  It is a crazy quilt and I love the pony and the Great White Pyraneese dog!

Well I hope you are enjoying the springtime (or the autumn if you are from down under)!  Have a wonderful week!

Welcome Spring! I like Thursdays: March 21, 2019

Happy Spring!

My daffodils aren't blooming yet but I'm excited that soon they will be!

I bought a new quilt old quilt in February and it reminds me of spring too!

I also found this wonderful runner that is embroidered and crocheted!

Yesterday I worked in the garden.  I've got two overgrown rose bushes that I'm removing a little at a time.  Despite their rigourous growth, they have a virus and have to be completely be removed from the garden out front.  I'm more fortunate than the Rose Garden in our park.  The city has had to remove hundreds of bushes with the virus.  If you ever see this on your roses, it isn't good:

I was going to change the garden out front anyway so it isn't a big deal.  I'm just glad I figured it out!

Spring makes me want to clean out things besides the garden.  This week I cleaned and reorganized a number of cupboards and it feels much better!  

This is my junk cupboard.  I cleared about two boxes of things out of here.  

Gardens grow and change like everything else.  If you enjoy gardening, check out Monty Don (books, netflix, etc.).  I love how he writes and the thoughts he shared in March which you can find here:

https://montydon.com/tips-and-advice/

Visit LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for more fun positive posts!

Wishing you a happy and peaceful week!  Hugs!

I like Thursdays, March 14, 2019

"I grad-u-cated from obedience school!

Everyone says I am so cute and even when mom and I messed up we got lots of applause!  I didn't like the hat though."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I almost forgot it's Thursday! March 7, 2019

Things that I almost forgot to share with you today!

I love fastnachts!

 Fastnachts are donuts the Pennsylvania Dutch make to celebrate Fat Tuesday.  On Tuesday,  I walked Scout early in the morning.  It was 23 degrees with a windchill of 5.  I was surprised to see an elderly lady we know carrying a basket.  I asked her if she needed help,  but she declined my offer.  She was delivering fastnachts she had  made at dawn to the neighbors.  That counts for reason #472 as to why I love my neighborhood!

I like the snowglobe effect.

It doesn't happen often but sometimes when it is snowing, the boughs of the cedar and the aborvitae  bend with the weight of the snow and the patio doesn't get snowed on much at all.  Scout and I went out the night it snowed and it was like watching the storm from the inside of a snowglobe!

 I liked the pretty sky the next day!

Last week, Scout's graduation from obedience school was postponed due to storms.  Hopefully we will be able to celebrate with all her dog friends on Saturday!

Speaking of dog friends, she had a wonderful romp on Sunday with Eddie a dog a few streets away!  He is one of the few dogs we know who is about her age and they had a blast together!

Have a wonderful week!