DS posted a few pics of the grands today. Here are several, just so you can see how cute the girlies are. 🙂
They will be here for a visit in July! ~~Grandma 🙂
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roof with a view
May 20, 2009 – 8:29 am
A few days ago, we noticed that the lightening rods on the back of the house had fallen over. DH went out on the roof last evening to see what was up. Or down…anyhoo, the big wind we had last week caught the edge of the roofing and lifted it and folded it back along the south side of the house. All three lightening rods on the south side were down, one completely off and tossed down to the roof of the enclosed back porch area.
After making repairs, DH took a few pictures from the roof. A new perspective on parts of the yard. 🙂 Here’s the east side of the front yard. The driveway along the right side is the neighbor’s drive which sits between their yard and ours. At the top of the picture is the street that runs in front of our house. The closer driveway is ours.
The roof is about 44 feet off the ground. You can get a good view from up there. This picture shows our driveway. We need to remove all the plants from the center, put in about 18″ of topsoil and replant. The center of the drive sits lower than the many-times-rocked-over-the-years driveway. When it rains several inches or more, we get a temporary lake there.
He laughed at me when I told him I could tell from this picture that the birdbath was not centered properly in the fenced garden. Guess we’ll be fixing that today… ;-D
~~Rhonda 🙂
bloomin’ tuesday
May 19, 2009 – 5:50 pm
The weather this week is beautiful. It’s a wonderful change from the rain we had last week. There are so many pretty things to see in the yard right now.
We were given this iris at a nursery after seeing it growing on their property in a bit of a slough. They didn’t know the name.
‘Alabaster Unicorn’ is one of my favorite irises.
An interesting thing about this iris is the horned beard. Most iris beards are rounded at the end. This one comes to a sharp point.
The irises hit their peak this last week. Still beautiful, but not the bountiful fullness of blossoms we had before.
Some of the early peonies are almost done, but there are plenty of the later ones still in full bloom.
I like this combo of the dark iris ‘Before the Storm’ and the light colored peony.
This rose was given to us by a friend. It’s a rambly brambly thing, but has a wonderful full rosy scent that fills the air.
The false indigo is so pretty right now. This is a plant native to the prairie. It needs no care and makes a beautiful addition to the garden. Later in the season, the seed pods will turn black and rattle when shaken. An interesting plant!
If DH gets home in time, you will find us “walking the yard,” taking pictures of new blooms, talking about what needs to be moved where, etc.
The garden is so pretty in the evening light.
I’m headed out there now…
You can check out more gardens at Bloomin’ Tuesday! Or stop by and see ours. 🙂
~~Rhonda
menu plan monday ~ may 18, 2009
May 18, 2009 – 12:48 pm
Yesterday we hosted our church’s annual spring picnic. We look forward to this each spring. We have the best church family. Lots of fun, lots of love, lots of good food!
The boys cranked homemade ice cream in a five-gallon freezer.
The gorgeous weather
(after a week of rain)
was appreciated by all!
Cool shades were a must. And naps were wanted by all! Some got them sooner than others. 🙂
The rest of the week looks rather quiet. I’m planning a low-key menu for the most part. We’re enjoying have our older daughter home and are looking forward to having DD#2 arrive for a visit later this week.
Monday
chicken salad / buns
Tuesday
tacos
Wednesday
hamburgers / homemade buns
veggies / dip
corn on the cob
Thursday
chicken and rice
garden salad
homemade rolls
asparagus
corn
sweet and sour cucumbers
Friday
Baked Spaghetti
rosemary focaccia
peas
corn on the cob
green salad
Saturday
fridge food
Sunday ~ my birthday
grilled chicken
BBQ pork steaks
garden salad w/ strawberries
corn on the cob
grilled veggie kabobs
birthday cake (triple chocolate from Wal-Mart…yummy cake!)
vanilla ice cream
You will find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday. Check it out! And I encourage you to plan a week’s menu. Planning ahead saves you time and frustration. Do it! You’ll be glad you did:)
~~Rhonda
happy birthday to you!
May 18, 2009 – 9:45 am
Today is DS#2’s 28th birthday. Here he is at Easter in 1984. He was a very cute little boy with a big personality. Not sure why we were having S’mores inside the house, in our good clothes, at Easter time…??
Here he is with his lovely wife during a visit to the Botanical Gardens last year. Not sure how they grow up so fast…
Happy Birthday, dear son!! Lots of love, ~~Mom 🙂
DS shares his birthday with his grandfather, my dad.
Happy Birthday, Dad! Lots of love, ~~Rhonda 🙂
a few hosta pictures
May 14, 2009 – 9:43 pm
At the front of the house…the hosta is ‘Blue Cadet.’
Left to right: ‘Royal Standard,’ ‘Frances Williams,’ and ‘Spritzer.’
On the opposite side of that same bed, this newly placed bench is a nice resting spot.
Back yard
The large hosta in the picture above is ‘Samurai.’
‘Squash Casserole’
‘June’
‘Fried Bananas’
Hostas under the big oak in the back yard.
~~Rhonda
more flowers from the garden
May 12, 2009 – 4:04 pm
It’s a busy time in the garden right now. Lots of flowers, lots to see, lots to do!
This old fashioned yellow iris is a great performer in the garden. It will bloom continuously for a long time, filling the iris beds with large areas of color.
This large white iris was given to us by our friend Liz, many years ago. We call it “Liz’s Big White.” 🙂
!['Liz's Big White' [GN]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3320/3496591765_a31e67993b.jpg)
The first daylily to bloom this season is ‘Bitsy,’ a small yellow one.
The hosta ‘Candy Hearts’ is sprinkled with the last of the dogwood petals.
The peonies have started to bloom. This is ‘Honey Gold.’
‘Shirley Temple’ is a very pale pink peony.
Peony ‘Krinkled White’ is one of my favorites. The petals look like crepe paper.
We don’t have many rabbits in the yard, thankfully. The cats keep the population down. But this one has taken up residence in the front yard.
We are preparing for a church picnic at our house on Sunday. Lots of yard work to do. We shall see if the weather permits us to get it done or not! DH and our nephew did get the fenced garden mulched, inside and out. It looks so nice!
That’s one of my favorite places to sit in the yard.
You can enjoy more gardens at Bloomin’ Tuesday at Jean’s place.
~~Rhonda
menu plan monday ~ may 11, 2009
May 11, 2009 – 1:27 pm
We had a great weekend, with company that came Friday evening and stayed until Sunday afternoon. DH’s sister, her DH, their son and his wife and two children were here. Sunday we added DH’s mother, our son and his wife, and a niece. It was fun to have company and we were thankful the weather was good! It was the first time DS and DDIL were introduced to the baby raccoons.
Buster is the larger of the two raccoons and he always gives a few big yawns right after waking from a nap.
They both have a soft heart for baby animals, so I was glad we could keep the raccoons long enough for them to see the babies.
Next Sunday, we are hosting the annual spring picnic for our church family, so it will be a busy week of getting ready for that. The menu is fairly easy and we are able to enjoy greens from the garden now, so lots of fresh salad will be enjoyed.
Monday
pulled pork
homemade buns
veggies / dip / chips
Tuesday
salmon
baby baked potatoes
asparagus
corn
homegrown salad
Wednesday
pizza
Thursday
chicken in the crock pot
mashed potatoes
peas
corn on the cob
homegrown spinach salad
Friday
tortellini with chicken
homegrown green salad
focaccia
sugar snap peas
Saturday
fridge food
Sunday ~ Church picnic at our house
potato / sausage casserole
roast beef
steamed green beans
apple cake
You will find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday. It’s a good week to check it out, because Laura is hosting a giveaway. To participate, visit her site and post your menu for the week. You will be eligible to win a prize. See her site for details.
~~Rhonda
Mother’s Day bouquet
May 11, 2009 – 1:05 pm
The bouquet for church this week was full of ‘Miss Kim’ lilac and several kinds of peonies. It smelled SO good! I also tucked in a few sprigs of honesty. The green seedpods looked nice with the pinks and lilacs of the bouquet.
‘Miss Kim’ is a late blooming lilac (our latest) and it has petite blossom clusters. So pretty.
Our peonies are in full bloom and, along with the irises, are a beautiful sight. If you’re in the area, drive by. Better yet, stop in. 🙂
It amazes me how well they hold up under high wind and torrential rain such as we had Friday morning.
I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. I certainly did!
~~Rhonda