Pool Party

On the last day of school,  Anna had a pool party.  After so much moving around in her early life, it is very nice to know that we've stayed in one place long enough for her to establish friendships. 

I drove our truck to school and stuffed 9 kids in for the ride to our house.   (In Idaho it's still legal to ride in the back of a pick up.  At least,  I'm pretty sure it is!)  A few additional kids came by other means.

There was a lot of splashing and screaming.

There was also a lot of food.  We had Coca-Cola in glass bottles.  After the party Anna told me not one of the kids knew how to use a bottle opener to open the Coke!

Quite a lot of time was spent on the trampoline.   It seems to have become a favorite spot to sit and talk.

Kids left at various times throughout the day.   Those who were left in the evening moved into "the movie room" and watched Grease - funny to me since I saw that when I was in high school. 

I drove the remaining kids home around 9 p.m.  Anna had done a good job of hostessing  and she was exhausted.   

It was a great day. 

Once again, I've answered the ocean's beckoning call.  I am certain if I lived by the ocean it would lose its appeal but, since I do not, it is still the most spectacular,  soothing place I know.

What's Happening in my Garden?

Honestly, it seems I am surprised by something new in my garden nearly every day. Spring began with these lovely, large yellow peonies.

Last year I planted 6 plants under a tree.  The rabbits promptly ate 3, including 2 Japanese Painted Fern.  The remaining 3 limped through last year but
I couldn't remember what they were.  Two are digitalis in a rather plain color.  The 3rd I'm still waiting to discover; it is barely clinging to life but I'm nursing it along in hopes of it flowering for me next year.  (It's in the cage behind the digitalis.   Eric has made all sorts of cages for me to try to keep the rabbits from decimating the entire garden.)

There is a lovely red rose bush.  I "inherited" this bush along with several others from a previous owner.   There are at least 4 roses in an area that is overgrown with ivy and gets virtually no sun.  Hopefully next year we will rework this particular area of the garden.   In the meantime,  I have had many lovely roses from 1 bush.

This is a peony I brought with me from the last house.  I can't remember what it's called,  but I like it.

This peony is named Sandra Bernhardt.   I have 2 of this variety.   One bush produced several pretty blossoms.  The other produced several buds but they all withered without ever opening!  I have no idea what causes that.

From our last house, I also transplanted an echinnachea or purple coneflower.   The greenery at the left of this picture is, I think,  that transplant.   I'm unsure because it has grown nearly as tall as me with, as yet, no flower.  I wouldn't expect echinnachea to bloom yet but I also wouldn't expect it to be this tall.  I'm waiting to see if it's actually weeds!

I have several Gerbera Daisies which I haven't killed yet.  I love their vibrant colors!  Mine are pink and orange.

The property came with many day lillies. Most are what I call the ordinary,  boring colors.  This one is better.  I know from last year there will be one plant producing beautiful pink blossoms.   I'll try to remember to photograph them when they bloom.

Next, 2 mystery plants.  The first came in a pack of several colors which was simply labeled "dwarf flowers".  I have no idea what they are.

The 2nd was probably labeled, but I tossed the label.  The greenery looks like an asparagus fern, but it produces small flowers shaped like crab claws!  Rather fun, I think.

Finally, a red clematis.   I planted 2 clematis last year.  One put forth huge beautiful purple flowers several weeks ago.  The other is just now flowering.  It's leaves and blossoms are tiny.  I'm hoping they get larger as the plant matures.  Anyhow, I did not remember that one of the plants had red flowers.  I saw some red clematis at Joann's Iris Garden and said I must have one.  Who knew that I already did!

I have other fun, non-gardening things to share.  Just need to make time to write.

I hope everyone'should summer is off to a good start.  Mine is!

A Homegrown Bouquet

I apologize,  again, for the brevity of this.  I simply must share this picture of flowers from my garden.  Peonies  (my current favorite) and roses.  Aren't they lovely?

A Gift from Across the Pond

For several years I've been reading a blog written by a lovely English woman. From time to time she has written about participating in swaps with other blog readers. I've always thought that sounded like a fun thing to participate in. Sometimes she arranges the swaps. I threw my name in once when she arranged pen pals; sadly, I never received a letter from my partner. (Perhaps what she received from me was too boring.) Anyhow, she recently organized another swap: stationary. I decided to try again.

 First off, finding stationary is no easy task! Almost no one writes letters so it makes sense that stationary stores are closing. I first looked for Papyrus. They used to be in our local mall and carried nice things. Turns out they are no longer in the mall. As far as I can tell, they are only online. I didn't have time to wait for an order to be mailed to me, so I drove to the nearest Hallmark store. Their sign was still up, but the space was vacant. A day or so later I drove to another Hallmark store. The clerk wouldn't admit they are going out of business, but they clearly are. Everything in the store was 50-75% off. I did find a cute set of note cards in a fun container; however, when I opened the container the cards and envelopes were all jumbled up. I straightened them and counted to be sure there were an equal number of cards and envelopes. There were 10 of each, but the label said there should be 12. Someone must have stolen 2 - strange! Eventually I did find more stationary at Barnes and Noble and managed to get my package off in the mail JUST at the deadline.

Like the organizer, my "swap mate" lives in England. She sent her package to me the same day I sent mine to her. I was slightly worried about one or the other of our packages not making it to the recipient, so was pleasantly surprised when both packages were delivered today. When I opened the mailing envelope I found two (or was it three?) gift wrapped packages. My first thought was "what fun! I wish I'd thought to gift wrap my packages!" I LOVE presents, which explains why I tore into mine and failed to register in my brain if there were 2 or 3 parcels.  In either case,  what I found was an abundance of lovely note cards,  a small address book and - bonus! - several pens.  I LOVE pens - particularly with different colored inks.  I received a 4 pack of pens with colorful inks plus a pen that seems to me to be a quintessentially British floral - love it!

Here is a picture of the entire gift:

A picture of (possibly) my favorite notecard:

Another lovely note card:

And finally, the pens and address book.

I immediately entered the address of my swap mate into the address book.  Along with the gifts, she wrote a very nice note.  I, on the other hand, wrote a short, hurried note as I rushed to get my package to the post office.  I shall have to write a better note along with a thank you for the lovely gifts.

What a fun day - presents!  And from England no less!

A Stroll Through JoAnn's Iris Garden

Yesterday Eric left work early in order to take me to lunch and to view some Parade Homes.  (For international readers, every spring and fall the Builder's Association sponsors a "Parade of Homes" in which builders open recently completed homes for the public to tour.)  It turned into an afternoon of pleasant detours, ending with a stroll through JoAnn's Iris Garden.

Many years ago I worked for Joann's partner and learned of her garden.  It is open to the public and she sells the rhizomes.  I visited the garden way back then and at the time they were way out in the country.  Today the most expensive suburb of Boise, Eagle, has grown around their property.  The iris garden is a pretty oasis in the midst of huge suburban homes.

There are 25 iris beds, each planted with many varieties of Iris.  Trying to choose which to buy gets a bit overwhelming!   JoAnn told me she actually has fewer varieties than in the past because customers were so overwhelmed that they left without making a purchase.

When we purchased our home there were many irises already in place, but I was deeply disappointed with the colors - white and something we call brown.  (The brown is probably some shade of orange. )  Shouldn't irises be purple?  Walking through Joann's garden we saw many colors,  including the dreaded orange, but we needed purple!

We chose 2 varieties,  Eric preferring one and I the other.  (Although now I can't remember who preferred what.)

Scattered throughout the Iris beds were lupine, which have never excited me, and around the perimeter of the garden were several clematis.   You probably know how I feel about clematis!  I have seen red clematis twice recently and I believe I "need" one for my garden.

Our day was supposed to end with a stop at a nursery to purchase flowers for my many pots.  However, due to all of our detours, the nursery was closed when we arrived.  That is a good thing, I think, because I will go alone today and my mind will not be overloaded from all of yesterday's beautiful sights.

Small Updates

I feel compelled to share this close-up of my clematis in full bloom. I love the purple flowers with the lime green leaves.

I also want to share this picture of my Dad and his friend.  It was taken yesterday while we celebrated Dad's 86th birthday.  I have one amazing Dad.  His Mom lived to 98; he has 2 sisters who are currently 94 and 97.  Loads of longevity in that family!   As of now my Dad seems incredibly healthy.   Of course, there is that nasty bit of cancer lurking, but for now we shall enjoy the good.