"This Made Me Smile..."

I completely agree...

 

About once a year Husband will tell me he wants to go there which completely freaks me out; but after 15 years, I've learned to eat before we go so I don't get hangry

"The Views From Home..."

The Spring garden was at its peak last week...

The hundreds of tulips we planted last fall were very beautiful...

This tulip was one of my favorites...

The pansies and violas put on a lovely show as well...

The porch pots were resplendent in white...

The white pots offset the vivid pinks and purples in the rock garden...

I touched up the paint on all the yard furniture two weeks ago...

These pastel tulips along the arborvitae path were impressive...

The neighborhood robins who are raising their young kept us busy refilling the fountain as they bathed and splashed in it every day...

These peach and yellow tulips were especially pretty in the late day light...

The tulips in the perennial garden added a splash of color as the permanent residents get ready for their summer show

Now that we're finally at the 2nd week of May, we'll be going to the nursery for this year's summer annuals... I'll take a day off from work next week to get them all planted and mulched

"The Views From Home..."

The Spring Garden

As the Spring Garden approaches full bloom, husband can't wait to shop for summer annuals... Yesterday, he went on an 60 mile roundtrip to a suburban nursery only to return empty handed and complaining, "Lots of employees, but no stock!" I reminded him that it's still too early; we won't go for the annuals I plant until the second week of May which has been my rule for over 40 years. For now, we'll just enjoy the blooms of spring.

The Funny Truth About Marriage..."

Yep, this is a real married couples thing...

My husband rarely drives both of us anywhere; that's my job. But once a year during the second week of May he always drives us to the nursery in his pickup truck to shop for the summer annuals. The nursery is about 40 miles from home and over the years I've learned to just close my eyes and pray.

😕😕😕

"Just Because... Cats!"

Meet Oscar, formerly known as "The Count"

It's been an interesting couple of weeks at our house, we've added a new family member and this chap below was none too sure about him

This is Milo, he's been part of our family since he was just 8 weeks old; he's now 5. The arrival of his little brother on husband's birthday a couple of weeks ago was quite disconcerting to him. He's not been around another cat since he was with his mother and littermates. He went off his food for a few days and pretty much hid in the basement all day and night even though we kept the kitten separated from him and behind closed doors in my office the whole time.

Thankfully, after about a week Milo finally got curious enough to sit outside my office door listening to Oscar (he's a talker). On Friday, after a few days of looking at each other through the stained glass doors of the Florida Room, we let them meet and after a few cautious moments, they became fast friends.

About Oscar's shelter name, "The Count," he's a special needs kitty; he's got abnormally large canine teeth, in fact the one on the lower right was so large it was cutting his upper pallet so the vet removed it and the adjoining tooth. But with those big canines and those hairless ears, he does have a cute but ominous snaggle-toothed grin.

Strangely, the shelter told us he's 1 1/2 years old but he's clearly only about 6 months old. I'm guessing it was a typo in his birth year. He and 4 siblings were surrendered to the shelter by their mother's owner who reported their birthdate as 9/11. Oscar was the last of his litter to be adopted.

 

 

Husband and Oscar getting to know each other

As soon as Husband and I walked into the kitty room, Oscar lit up like a Christmas tree. Although we visited with all the kitties, Oscar had clearly chosen us and continued to meow to us the whole time we were in the room. So we opted to meet him in the playroom and he warmed right up to husband and the rest as they say is history.

"Thoughts To Ponder..."

 

A couple of weeks ago, Husband I were in Orlando so I could attend a work conference. While I worked, Husband spent his days at the resort's pool enjoying the Florida sunshine. We stayed a couple of extra days because Husband wanted to visit the Magic Kingdom, and this was without a doubt my favorite part of the visit:

It's a Small World

 

It might sound silly, but riding through this magical hymn to peace and unity moved me to tears... It reminded me that we all want the same thing:

   

The freedom to be happy

"The Views From Home..."

Yep, we're those people...

Our winter pots typically stay illuminated until just after Valentine's Day

A couple of weeks ago, before the current blast of winter weather, husband reworked all of the winter pots to change the color scheme from Christmas red, green and gold to winter whites

"The Views From Home..."

Merry Christmas from our home in the woods...

"The Views From Home..."

Our Holiday Home

  It doesn't look like we're going to have a white Christmas this year despite all the snow we've had since early November, but that doesn't stop Husband's holiday home decorating

All of the pots are beautifully illuminated...

I'll post some night photos as soon as we get some fresh snow as a backdrop

If the weatherman is to be believed, next week there might be a day or two warm enough to sit in the garden for a few minutes and enjoy the crisp winter air

I couldn't grab my camera fast enough, but one of the feral kitties in the neighborhood was on this bench reaching up to check out the berries on the wreath

Of course it's just as festive inside... a few snaps of the indoor decor tomorrow

Until then, Merry Christmas from our home in the woods