Good week continued...

Today, I went with friends to the CraftB, blueberries in hand, to participate in the best show and tell with food anyone could ask for. Creative people are the ones to be around as they feed your spirit and make you want to do your best creative work. No photos, just inspiration.

A Very Good Week

The past few days have been full of small yet wonderful observations and events. Monday was a day spent sewing with friends, some I hadn't seen in a while. I treasure my Mondays at BFCC and seem to get a lot done despite the chatting and laughing.
 Tuesday I broke down and went to the dentist (yikes, haven't been in forever--my bad) but I turned it around to a more positive aspect of meeting new people who are interested in my well being, as far as my mouth goes anyway. Details of that visit will not be discussed here, as there was much "tsking" while the interior of the giant hole in my head was being viewed and probed with sharp objects.
  Immediately after the dentist visit ( such a nice term--visit) I scooped up my dear little grandson for a couple of fun filled days with him. We had many happy hours on Wednesday, bike riding, going to the little neighborhood park, and playing at the fire pit in the backyard here. We looked in the water garden and found a frog--a REAL frog--not just one of those obnoxious toads. This is very exciting, for me anyway. A few years ago I saw a couple of tree frogs out in the flower beds and nearly hyperventilated over that. The frog in the pond generates the same feeling, and there are two of them. The toads are here all the time and in the spring they are noisy, intrusive critters who make an incredible racket while procreating for several weeks. The frogs seem almost regal in comparison.
   My grandson has decided to name them the Noodlemans, after my brother and his dear wife. I hope they are not offended. The Noodlemans, not the frogs.
Thursday, the Sewing Guild met and fun was had by all. The program was about pockets, a favorite of mine and many other people who share my love of sewing, it seems. I did not realize till Thursday how many ways a pocket could be interpreted. Of course, lunch with gal pals followed, then shoe shopping--an excellent day!
   Today, at an early hour, I gathered my hazmat clothing and headed off with the stalwart Marion to a day of adventure in the eastern part of west Tennessee. If we went much further we'd have been in middle Tennessee. We went to see our friend Nancy, who with very little effort could solve the problems of the world. Off to pick blueberries for $7 a gallon. The field/orchard was very big and has not been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides, so quite the bargain for nearly organic berries. There were some other aggressive vegetations growing there to contend with, but the wild blackberries were delicious and filled in for the lack of breakfast. About an hour and a half of picking blueberries yielded a scant gallon for me, but I am a fastidious picker it seems, going for quality not quantity. I would not be able to make a living harvesting food. Note, I am quite thin.

only the best berries for this girl

lovely sunflower and bumblebee

a REAL frog in my pond

  That is my story and I am sticking to it.
   Nancy had frozen wash cloths in the cooler for an apres berry picking pick me up--oh the shrieking of joy arising from the blueberry patch this day.
After a quick once over for ticks--ugh--we were heading to the truck stop at Parker's Crossroad for the yummy lunch buffet, which did not disappoint. Fried chicken wings, white beans, ham, greens, corn dodgers, yeast rolls and cornbread, and a wonderful chocolately dessert, washed down with half tea, half lemonade. Good day. Good week. Good life.
   Tomorrow promises to be an equally magnificent day, as the CraftB meets at Nysha's house in Somerville. Another road trip with gal pals for an afternoon of fun food and art discussion.

More yardening

Yesterday, I went with a couple of gal pals on a tour of gardens hosted by the local hydrangea society. They were all very beautiful and interesting, especially the last one. We got there a little late, but the gardener was a lovely and gracious woman who said we could stay as long as we wanted. Fortunately for her we did not have our camping gear, as we would still be there. These photos are from the four gardens we visited.

front yard water garden

I saw lots of interesting statuary

shapely tree

the reason for the tour

day lilies

garden with rooms

I was so inspired by all the gardens, I got up VERY early this morning and finished some clean up along the fence and in one of my unattended beds, then planted the area outside my sewing room. This is the garden spot that I had to dig up last fall for the siding repair that took all fall and part of the winter...ugh! It looks pretty good now and hopefully will fill in over the course of the next few seasons. Maybe I can get out for photos in the next day or two. I am so sore right now from 8 hours of weeding, digging, and watering, I can barely move.

Yardening

There has been a brief respite from the heat of this premature summer for a couple of days, so I took advantage and cleaned up some of this wreck of a yard. There is still lots to do though, so I hope the cooler weather stays a little while longer, so I can get more cleaning done.
   The weeds were horribly overgrown and I lost many nice plants, mostly lilies, boohoo. Once I have everything cleared out, I need to decide what to put back in or just give up and start mowing it all. I am not getting any younger and this is back breaking work.
On the bright side, some plants survived quite nicely. The lavender monarda is fairly happy, as is the lace top hydranga. My lovely Siberian irises are still growing, although they did not bloom this year because of the weeds covering them. Gardening and basketball are alike in some ways-there's always next season.

Whew!

needs planting

my idea of a patio

I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully the next week will be productive and I can have a moment to spare for some more artistic pursuits the following week. I really need to do something about the landscaping--or lack thereof--and the back of the yard needs attention desperately. I did take a half a day to replace the stones around the pond. I just couldn't look at that mess any longer. The sitting area on the driveway/patio (I'm going to call it patio from now on) looks pretty good and has been a great place for a break during these busy days. It's warming up quite a bit now and the mosquitoes are dreadful in the afternoon. But, hey--this is Memphis. It's like this EVERY year.

Downtown art show

The art show currently displayed in the windows of a building in downtown Memphis was scheduled to come down on Friday. The news today is that it will be up for another couple of weeks because the response has been so positive. YAY!!

Where have I been??

On the f***ing grindstone, that's where. I cannot wait for June to be here so I can think of something besides LABOR for a minute and a half.  I know everybody has to work to get by in this world, and I am willing to put in my fair share, but I will be so glad when I get a break from these deadlines. ugh!
Everything in my world is up for grabs right now and is only adding to the feeling of anxiety hanging over my head these days. But I will keep pushing forward to my goal and be happy when I can relax for a moment and enjoy the "free" time waiting for me.
  Summer has descended upon us in the midsouth. We had a mild winter and glorious spring. Mother Nature wants her price for all the balmy afternoons she has given us these past months. Fresh breezes, no mosquitoes, we knew we would have to settle up with her sooner or later.
   I dearly love having having the windows open and now I must decide when to close them and turn on this air conditioner. So costly in so many ways.
  There is a price to pay for everything it seems.