Backyard Tour

Fayetteville is enjoying the most beautiful spring weather ever. The mornings are crisp and clear with a bright blue sky. It is cool and the bugs have not discovered my arms, legs, neck and anything not covered . I love spring mornings. This morning I was out taking pictures again. A bird was singing the most beautiful song. I looked above me at the a charming male red bird. By the time I had my camera focused he was gone. I missed him by a heart beat.

Yesterday I took photos of my Bearded Iris but this morning I toured the whole yard. Please do not misunderstand. Some of these bushes are just blooming and some are new with only a few blooms. This is the first year ever that my iris have bloomed like this. This morning a yellow one was waiting for me. I also enjoyed my snowball bushes, encore azaleas, Camilla, knock-out roses, day lillies, clematis, a small white ground cover and my rhodium's. It was wonderful walking around my back yard. Please click here to enjoy the trip with me.

I am still trying to present this as a slide show. The click here should work. I could not get it to but try and let me know. If not you can still go to Photo Collections and click on Backyard Tour and slide show. I think I need lessons from my scrap book buddy. Hope you enjoy the tour.

Tuesday Morning

Yesterday was such a fabulous morning. The weather we are having is perfect. If only we could have this year round. I have been really excited about the landscaping in our yard. I is finished and the painters are painting away. For the past 10 years I have had two patches of Beard Iris's planted in a flower bed. They have not done well. I will get one or two blooms a seasons. When we re-landscaped they took out several big bushes, giving my Iris's more sun light. You should see them know. They are beautiful. I have at least 20-30 blooms. My ferns and hosta are also waking up from a long winters nap. I am going to try to direct you to my Flicker account. You will find a link at the top of my blog under Photo Collections. Please try to have a look. I also had my assistant gardener with me. That is a leaf in her mouth. Katie is such a sweetheart that I can't get on to her. Happy Spring

Finally

I can not believe that we are on our way to Nashville and Scrap Etc.'s big Event. Debra, Jamie, Judy and I have been planning this since last Oct. 07. We have faithfully read all the home work e-mails and worked on some of it. We have talk about it, planned, scheduled vacation time and it is here. Happy! Happy! This picture was taken by Jamie on our way to Nashville. We had beautiful weather for the trip. Need eye glasses, got sun glasses. Hey, it works and who cares. We have jeans and scrap book t-shirts and ready for a fun week-end of girl time. We all live very different lives but we looked forward and cherish our girl time. This car load of scrap book divas made the trip in Debra's Ford Expedition. If you could see the very back you would see that it is packed not to the top yet. We have mapped and planned several stops along the way. On our trip home it was packed to the top. We did have access to the cooler and snacks. Hey girl friends travel prepared. This trip was perfect. Yes that is a content smile on my face while reading a scrap book magazine. I just love my scrap Divas. Looking forward to our camera trip in October. I will post more pictures.

I have finally up loaded CS3 to my lap top. This is a Photoshop software for modifying pictures. I have no idea what I am doing. The picture on the left is the original. The photo on the right is I added filters. Do not ask who, what when or how? I do not know but it was fun and I love the picture. I can't wait to really learn what I am doing.

We are in Chicago for the Kitchen and Bath show. It is rainy and cold but I love this city. We are off to have a drink and dinner. Let me know what you think of the picture.

This is the new installment of "Lay-out of the week". I know I am behind. I was going to go back and do a count on lay-outs. I am sure it would only add stress to my life so we will just skip that part. Maybe I should have set the goal for Lay-out of the month.

These pictures were taken in Yosemite Park in December. Marlee want to do toe touches. Yes, she is forever the cheerleader. There is something about the sport of cheerleading that gets in the blood of cheerleaders. Ballerinas gone retarded. It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. We always enjoy Yosemite National forest. This is the second December that we have spent there.

You can surly see where my kids get all there talent.

Rainy Day and Saturday

It has been a fabulous day. It has rained all day. A slow steady rain. We are in the process of having our yard re-landscaped and the rain is a blessing. We have had a sprinkler system installed but it is not up and running yet. Our house is almost finished on the outside. The new windows and siding are almost complete. The landscaping is almost done. The painters will be here in a week. Everything should be finished by Mothers Day. I can't wait. I always love to have lunch outside for Mothers Day. Last year I was miserable because of our yard. We had just started the renovation on the pool. It looked like a war in our back yard. We are now seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Our house is getting a total face lift. It is going from a country style house to a craftsman style house. We have put in all new concrete. New side walk, new driveway that now goes out on the side street. It's been a lot of work but worth it.

Sorry I wandered off the subject. It has been a great day to stay home in sweat pants and just be. I have managed to do several loads of laundry, work in my scrap room and watch a couple of movies. I have enjoyed the day.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

As our country stops today and remembers Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I have to stop and think about that day. I was in the 4th grade. My school was only 3 blocks from interstate 85. We all walked up to the bridge that his body would pass under when it was brought back from Tenn. I was only 10 and did not understand what was happening or what it meant. I grew up in an all white neighborhood, went to an all white school. The only black person I ever came in contact with was our beloved maid "Ida". She was as much a part of my life as my parents. She was there when I came home from school. As a child, I did not understand MLK's message. As an adult today I looked at it with different eyes. I believe that MLK's message was for all people of all color. He believed one nation under God. I think he believed that everyone should work to achieve respectability. He was a peaceful man and wanted people to live in peace. His views were God driven. I feel that he would be disappointed in the interruption of his dreams today. Is any one person owned anything? Should things be handed to you because of your race. As a women I do not believe that. This day makes me think of God's simple commandment. "Love thy neighbor as you would love yourself." I do believe that was Martin Luther Kings, Jr message.
It gives me chills to hear his speech the night before he was murdered. He had seen the promise land. MLK was not afraid. He knew his destiny. Did he know? Had God given him a message? One day in heaven we may have a chance to ask him. He had a "Dream". We all have dreams.

As you meet people today smile, say hello. Wave to your neighbor. Tell the cashier in the store to have a good week-end. To me as an adult that was Dr. Martin Luther Kings message and dream. "LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS YOU WOULD LOVE THYSELF."