From The Mouths Of Babes

I asked The Kid tonight what he wants to be when he grows up. He's eight.  His answer was, a gardener. Not a big surprise by any means.  He could recognize, and knew more names of flowers as a 3-year-old, than most adults.  But the best part was when I asked what his second choice would be.  He thought about it silently for a solid two minutes.  His answer:  A stay-at-home-dad.  It melted my heart a little bit.  And then he followed it up with:  Because I don't want to pay bills.

Life has been super busy the last couple of weeks, hence the reasoning behind fewer posts.  Life in general, non-typical obligations, and it seems like someone in our family has been sick for the past month and half.  To top it all off, The Girl was diagnosed with Strep Throat last week, which was a little worrisome because she already has enlarged tonsils.  She and Baby both.  Baby even has some sleep apnea (is that how you spell it?) goin' on.  Anyway, they prescribed Amoxocillin (again, too lazy to Google the spelling), which she took problem-free for 7 days.  And then it wasn't problem-free. She had a major drug reaction that ended up with us racing to Urgent Care on Tuesday. A swollen face and head to toe "rash", for lack of a better word. I spoke to the doctor's office three times in less than two hours, answered dozens of questions, and was told to watch for swelling on the inside of her mouth.  It was bad. When her speech became muffled, like she had cotton in her mouth, I checked and found the inside of her cheeks completely puffy, swollen, and red.  I called the doctor back and was told to go to Urgent Care, NOW. A wee bit frightening.  But after two days, the antibiotics are out of her system, and she's back to normal.  With a drug allergy that will follow her the rest of her life.

Oh, and how could I forget the drug and weapon bust down the street?!  Concussion bombs woke us up at 4:30 in the morning.  Not sure how many of you have been lucky enough to experience such excitement, but let me just say, I was certain it was the Apocalypse for a solid five minutes.  That is the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life.  And then the police over the speakers for two hours, telling people to, "Come out with your hands up."  It was horrifying.  There were neighbors outside trying to see what was going on and I was sending everyone to the back of the house in case of gun fire.  Good times in the hood, good times.  If you're in Oregon, I'm sure you heard about it on the news.  The helicopters were flying over our house for hours. Like I said, Apocalypse, Armageddon, End Of Days.  Not looking forward to any of that now, thankyouverymuch.

We leave for Arizona in exactly a week from today.  Last night I started freaking out a little bit over my to-do list.  Only because it's in my nature to stress over making everything perfect.  My goal for the weekend is to get a meal plan set in stone and things pre-made and put in the freezer, so my mom won't have to worry about dinners while we're gone.  Plus a little bit of baking to have easy breakfast items on hand.  Feeding three kids, three meals a day, is a lot of work if you're not used to it.

What else, I have six-kagillion photos for posts and haven't made time to sit down at the computer all week. It may or may not get done before we leave.  There's a pile of clean laundry on my bed the size of Mt. Everest.  The Dad asked if they (the clothes) are sleeping with us tonight.  Ahem.

Oh yeah, I completely rearranged my living room again yesterday - and today.  It was one of those snowball things.  I did a tiny little something in the dining room that led to a complete two-room overhaul.  As if I don't have better things to do with my time.

And that's where I'm at.  After making a run to my mom's house to water tomorrow morning (it's supposed to be Mimosa Friday with the Mom Club, but I may have to skip this week - even though it's always at my house),  I REALLY need to figure out what in the hell I'm gonna pack for five days in 111 degree weather.  I suck at dressing myself under normal circumstances, so this is a major stupid stress for me.  I don't own a single pair of shorts, and generally only wear a dress if I'm forced to, if that tells you anything, so this oughtta (again, is this not spelled right?!) be interesting.

Okay, thanks for letting me ramble.  Even though, I should have used the time to make my grocery list.

By the way, I'm purposely not taking my camera on vacation. What happens in Vegas/Lake Havasu, stays in Vegas/Lake Havasu.  Seriously, though, taking a break from taking photos will be good for me.  Plus, there's no flowers in the desert.

Yard Crasher #6

I'm back with photos from my mom's backyard.  If you missed the front yard yesterday, you can find it here:  Yard Crasher #5

The side of the house, leading to the backyard, has just a small strip of dirt and it's all in full shade.

Her white Astilbe was blooming.

A Hosta, Toad Lily and Baby Tears surround a mossy pagoda.

Here's a photo pulled back a bit.

More Hostas, a potted tree, the Astilbe, Bleeding Heart, Wild Bleeding Heart, Ferns, and Saxafraga.

A fun bird house on a post.

She generally would have a ton of pots along the walkway by now, but like I said yesterday, none of them are planted yet.

The first plant you come to upon entering the back is a yellow Jasmine.

Right next to that is a rose she started from a cutting from The Rose Garden across the street.

It's beyond beautiful.

I'll update the post with the name of it when I talk to her again.

I need a piece of it.

Not a single speck of black spot or rust and the smell is amazing.

All of these next plants are in the same bed.

Clematis.

Lilies, Loosestrife, Lungwort, and Geranium.

Solidaster, Geranium, and a little white Rose.

More Astilbe.

At the end of the bed is a Korean Lilac, that was done blooming, and a planted chair.

Fence goodies.

Through an arbor at the end is another bed of mixed perennials, and potted trees, of course.

Spiderwort.

Campanula.

 A pot of mixed lettuce surrounded by Anemone.

I'm thinkin' this is a Phlox, and if it is, I'm thinkin' he and I have a date with a trowel.

More Lilies.

 A waning Columbine.

 A metal boot filled with sedum.

Wild Bleeding Heart - they're like Spiderwort, they'll grow ANYwhere.

Okay, I'm headin' back toward the house.

The deck is lookin' pretty barren without the furniture and 900 pots, but here's a shot, looking from in front of the yellow Jasmine.

And some closeups.

Campanula and Geraniums.

The other side of the house is where she has her potting station, compost bins, etc, but before you get there, there's a bench with a fountain.

Somehow I missed getting any fountain pictures, but here's the bench area.

Her insulators are along that side of the fence, as well.

Ferns and Lady's Mantle.

Behind the big deck planter is a seating area they created when they took out a GIANT spruce a couple years ago.

It's also where the grill is.

My step-dad's hot pepper planter.

He dries them and grinds them up every year for table seasoning.  For the brave souls who can eat it.

The only other veggies they have goin' so far are a couple potted tomatoes and an artichoke.

Running alongside the deck is a path that separates it from the main garden, and there are pots all along it.

Naughty Bishop's Weed that she dug up from my house.

I have no idea what this is.

Mixed colors of Calibrochoa.

A super pretty Penstemon.

This looks like some sort of non-vining Clematis.

A giant pot of Pinks.

And here are some main garden shots, watering helper and all.

The lavender Phlox was just starting to bloom.

I don't know why I can't grow Foxglove.

She had them coming up everywhere.

A table of fun sedum, succulents, and cactus.

More Spiderwort.

I need to get a piece of that white one.

More Foxglove.

It's so pretty.

I'm pretty sure this is the rose that was in my yard when I bought the house.

It was garbage-bound because of the excessive black spot, and she rescued it.

A lavender perennial Bachelor Button.

Another fun succulent.

More roses.

I think this one was started from my sister's old house.

And I believe this is the one my mom calls Grandma's Rose, meaning my grandma, her mom.

It was in solid bloom.

This is it again, looking from the opposite side.

The Fairy Rose was solid buds, but no color showing yet.

And these are just a couple more shots from around the yard.

Spirea.

Another type of Campanula.

And I'll leave you with another resident cat photo.

Isn't he purdy?

Shameless plug alert:  

Just a little reminder that you can purchase my floral photographs in my Etsy shop.

If you see one in a post that isn't in the shop, shoot me an email and I'll list it for ya.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RindyMae

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