Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

Ummmmmmmmmm Goooooooooooooooooooood!

Cherries are one of natures candies.

Goodwill Makeover

I recently found this small shelf/drawer at Goodwill. I paid 5.99 for it. With a little help from some black paint and some scrapbook paper I was able to give it some life. I think it would look cute with some cookbooks on the top or maybe a cute plate on an easle. What do you think?

PHEWEEEEEE! IT'S HOT

It is just plain blisterin' outside. The temperature doesn't lie. The temperature on the right is the temperature in my house (80 degrees F.) as of 5:00 p.m. and the temperature on the left is the outside temperature. Yes, don't rub your eyes, it is 111 degrees F. outside. (that is the temp in the shade by the way). Now I know you folks in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas etc. are probably not so shocked but here in the Pacific Northwest we just don't get that hot that often.

BLOSSOMS...I'M SO EXCITED

I planted a small twig of a tree in my backyard about 8 years ago with hopes for a tree that would offer some shade in the late afternoon and a little more privacy from the neighbors. This particular tree caught my attention because of the soft feel and shape of the leaves. This poor little tree has taken it's time in the growth department, growing only about 6-8 inches a year. For some reason it decided to shoot up this year by about 2-3 feet and along with the growth spurt it decided it was time to bloom. It has taken so long to bloom that I forgot what the blossoms were supposed to look like. To my surprise one evening I looked in its direction and couldn't believe my eyes. There in all of it's glory were these soft pink blossoms that stole the show. They feel like the fur on a kitten or bunny.

Mimosa Tree

This picture was taken at dusk so it is hard to see how beautiful it is.

Here is a close up shot of some of the blooms.

I apologize for my lack of photographic skill but hopefully you can see just how pretty they are.

Here is a shot of a mimosa tree I found on Flickr that gives a better idea of what it looks like.

Vacation Fun On the Oregon Coast

Here is 8 year old Matthew getting fancy on his quad.

Our annual trip to the Oregon coast was pretty fun this year. The weather was a little drippy for the first day and a half but then got better for us the rest of the week. Riding on the dunes, making smores around the campfire, a one day trip to the aquarium at Newport and a little shopping in Florence was some of the fun things we did. We didn't have to rough it too much because we all had generators for the trailers and a satellite dish hooked up to two televisions. It is so nice to go to sleep at night listening to the ocean, very soothing until you started thinking about tsunami's and earthquakes, then not so much.

>The only casualty for the week was Matthew's wreck on his four-wheeler when he rear-ended Grandpa and was thrown off his bike. He got a pretty fat lip and a bruise on his leg but other than that everyone faired pretty well.

Our camping spot was a little smaller than we are used to but it still wasn't so bad, other than not having running water or a fire pit. It is definately primitive camping. You have to go to a nearby campground to fill water jugs for the trailers.

Matthew is sitting inside a tube where you can see the fish all around you. It kind of felt like you were on display for the fish to watch you instead of the other way around.

Now this was an interesting fellow.

Spencer is fascinated with the sea horses, just look at his eyes.

Here is a friendly sea horse. The blue glass looking sculptures were really beautiful additions to the aquariums.

This fish looks almost like a painting. He had a really flat face. Another fish is swimming just behind it so it makes it look like a funnel on the fishes face.

What's Happening Today Around the House?

The final project is being finished on our bathroom addition and remodel. Hopefully I can post all about the finished project in a couple of week. This is my youngest son Dustin, the all around handy guy. He can do it all: tiling, framing, sheetrock, installs doors and trim, full blown additions, building a house from the ground up, intalls carpet...well you get the picture. He is awesome.Another angle of the "handy guy" at work.
And here are some pictures I took of some of the flowers that are in bloom around the yard. I haven't done as much in my yard this year as in the past. Hopefully this fall I can get some of the flower beds better prepped for next year.
Here is a begonia that seems happy in the shade of the front porch.
My happy geraniums and allysm, all too happy to be next to the water faucet
This is one of my favorite daylilies. It is so hardy. I just stuck it in the ground where we removed some diseased raspberries a couple of years ago and without many ammendments it is thriving. I just water occasionally and put miracle grow on it a couple of times during the summer. If you are a reluctant gardener you might give daylilies a try, they are hard to kill.

A sweet yellow rosebud.This bed is below a flowering plum tree. I planted some dianthus two years ago and it still keeps coming back. I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. They thrive here so they will stay here.
I love impatiens and allysum combined. Look to the back left and I have nestled in a robin's nest into this basket that sits on a table on my front porch

Hope you have a happy and safe Fourth of July. Celebrate freedom, appreciated nature, and love and nurture those you love.