We spent Saturday mulching our gardens. All day Saturday. My body is so so sore and tired that I’m glad Sunday is a day of rest! Today we will be visiting with friends and having a BBQ; Monday a BBQ with our family. We hope everyone is enjoying their time this holiday weekend with those they love.
Whenever we travel, we usually do a bit of hiking at local nature parks and a bit of bird watching. My husband is an avid (and I do mean AVID) bird watcher. When we vacation he takes his small set of binoculars everywhere. I always hope people don’t think he is a peeping Tom. He really is only looking at birds, not through people’s windows, I promise. There are either in his hands or his pants pocket at all times. This vacation was no exception.
At one point he was hurriedly trying to get them out of his jeans pocket so he could see a bird he’d never seen before. His pants were just tight enough that he was having a bit of trouble getting them out (ok, a lot of trouble but I’m trying to be kind) and getting more frustrated by the moment. Mind you, I like bird watching but it’s not like it is the end all, be all to me. So seeing him struggle and hurry, and the more he hurries the more he struggles, has me laughing so hard that I had to turn my back to him to keep him from seeing how hilarious I thought he was. He finally gets the binoculars free only to have the “rare bird” fly away. Men, they are so strange some times. (PS: I had 15 photos of this hummingbird on my camera when I uploaded photos….15! The brown thrasher below, only 5 
I had to laugh at Mom’s post the other day about being boring. If you were a little mouse listening in on our many phone conversations through the day, you would think we were quite entertaining, perhaps even a tad bit crazy and eccentric too.
School just got out last week so my youngest is now underfoot; although you can hardly be underfoot when you are approaching 6′ tall. He can eat me out of house and home and leaves a trail of dirty dishes everywhere he goes. Welcome summertime!
Then there is my 24 year old who is struggling to become a real grown up. She causes me angst, stomach aches, temper tantrums, and a very sore tongue from biting it so much. She moved back about a year ago…with her 1 year old Boxer dog named Dexter. She is in countdown mode to move out (Mom’s deadline) and I hope I make it to the finish line without hurting anyone.
My oldest boy is doing great in life. A single dad who loves to hang out with his younger brother and totes along his 5 year old daughter Aria. That means they all hang out at my house hoping for Mom’s home cooked meals….a lot. I love it, but it also means a lot of unexpected company at my house.
Our oldest daughter and her husband have just moved across town and now live about 3 miles from us. They are still getting settled in although we were at their house several times this weekend fixing lawn mowers and training her on how to actually use one!
So Mom is right, our life is busy, chaotic, always interrupted for the “more important things” like family. It provides great material for lots of stories and lots of laughs. Boring, never around here. Some days I dream of boring. Seriously I do! (PS: I thought these photos of the cactus and agapanthus were good metaphors for my family life, prickly but beautiful and going in all directions yet still part of one flower.)
I find when Deb is gone I too often struggle with finding something to talk about on our blog that I think you would find interesting.
Unlike Deb, my life is pretty routine, no pets to manage or clean up after or tell stories about.
Kids all grown and the mess in the kitchen is my own.
Laundry only requires a couple of loads a week.
I spend well over 50% of my non-sleeping hours sewing or shopping for fabric.
Me, I am quite content with this new lifestyle as when I wake in the morning I have no schedule, no deadlines, no boss to report to, I eat when I get hungry and too often in between hunger, nap when I am tired.
So I think you could sum me up as saying, “I live a good life” but to most people it would be boring, boring, boring.
Pictures of my accomplishments while Deb was away.
Beautiful napkins that portray Martha’s Vineyard.
Napkins from fabric named for Bar Harbor Maine.
Now in case I have really bored you…Deb is back with lots of pictures from her garden, probably a few stories, and maybe surprises to share …I just know I am glad she is back ….so please drop by again soon and check what she is sharing!!!
Somewhere in time, perhaps even as a very young child, our eye’s begin to see the beauty of nature all around us. As adults we often get to busy to pause for the refreshment that can be seen in every flower, sunset, little critter or a child. This Sunday let’s commit once again to “stop and smell the roses.”
Deb’s vacation pictures remind us how beautiful nature is that surrounds us each day if take time to really see. She is sensitive to what her eyes see and beautifully captures for all to enjoy.
Today pictures I have received from Deb as her and Robert vacation in California celebrating their wedding anniversary. Enjoy
Wishing you many, many more.
Thank you to Doris Strum in Atlanta, one of our most devoted readers, who gave me a link to the history of our ladybug.
The following information was taken from the following link:
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/ladybugs/history.html
Here is some of the information I obtained, it is very well worth the read.
The main question that comes up when speaking about the history of Ladybugs is how they got their name.
In the middle ages, farmers were having great difficulty controlling the pests that kept plaguing their crops, mainly aphids and other such plant chewing critters.
In an attempt to fix this problem, they resorted to praying to the Virgin Mother Mary to help them with this terrible aphid problem. Shortly after, their prayers were seemingly answered with the arrival of these new new red polka dotted beetles.
From then on these bugs became known as “beetles of Our Lady.” Over time the name has become Ladybug, Ladybird, Lady Beetle, Ladybug Beetle, etc.
So as you can see throughout history, Ladybugs have been viewed as a gift from heaven.
Thanks again Doris for enlightening me and I hope others!!!
Yummy, quick fix for the cool evenings we have been having in the Midwest.
I found this really cool idea for Mom’s at Busy Bees blogspot. The idea is to reward a child with ice cream treats. You can pick the occasion and let it work for you and your children.
Check it out by clicking on the Busy Bees link above and you will find a free ice cream treat coupon you can download.
I asked Deb if she had taken any recent garden pictures she would share with me while she was on vacation so I could have something pretty to post. Look what she sent me.
She said she stalked it quite some time to get all of these beautiful shots.
I think this is an awesome shot!
I am bragging again but what the heck, she takes fantastic pictures!
I am sure this shot scared that little ladybug to no end.
Now I started wondering why are lady bugs called ladybugs? Are they all females? How did they get the name ladybug anyway? Help me out if you have an answer.
