Sigh

You heard it...my sigh of relief. My last post explained how this was one of those weeks when things were so busy that I just wanted to get through it. Well, I am finally through it. After one of the busiest days I can ever remember, I am sitting on the sofa wondering how I ever got it all done.

With my piano recital scheduled for tonight, most of this week was spent readying the house and yard. Today there was so much to do that I didn't think I would get it all done. I spent the morning at Catie's awards ceremony, sang in a funeral this afternoon, and hosted a recital tonight. How's that for a busy day!

I couldn't have accomplished all of this without my wonderful family helping out. John worked super hard this week to finish putting out all of the mulch in the back yard. The girls pitched in on all of the house preparations, and my mom and dad came over to lend a hand. What would I do without all of them?


Mom and Dad stopped to pose for a quick picture after all of the work was done.


I rearranged the sunroom with all of the furniture facing the piano room for the recital.


With the sofa out of the way, it was easier to get a picture of the table along the back wall.



As you can see from this picture, it rained this evening so the reception had to be moved from the patio to the great room.



Thanks to mom's huge hydrangea, I had plenty of blooms to use throughout the house.




I only have several students this year, so the recital was very informal.


When I say informal, I really mean it. I just happened to look down at my own daughter's feet and noticed that she wasn't even wearing shoes!! I didn't mean for it to be that informal.


After all of John and Dad's work on the landscaping, we couldn't even use the patio for the refreshments.

Everything turned out perfect anyway. My students did a wonderful job and all of the guests really enjoyed themselves. I couldn't have asked for a better evening. Now, I think I will crawl into my soft bed and thank the Lord for blessing me with my wonderful family who helped me get through this busy week.

Stop and Smell the Roses...or Tomatoes

This week has already proven to be a busy one. I took Carson to Durham for her year end test yesterday. Catie finished her last exam, and will be out of school on Thursday. And we are busy getting the house ready for my piano recital that will be held on Thursday evening. Do you ever have weeks like this one? Weeks when you just want to get to the end so that you can breath a sigh of relief?

Even though the week has been busy, I have tried to take a little time to stop and smell the roses...or in my case, look at the tomatoes.

We have several little tomatoes turning that beautiful color of red. I can't wait to taste them.



I have also enjoyed the blooms of some lilies that were given to me last fall.



I'm not sure of the varieties. Does anyone know?



Some of you may remember my last post of my mom's huge hydrangea. This is one of my little ones rooted from hers.



I have also made pesto for the second time this season. I just love the combination of fresh basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, and olive oil. I know it is summer when its time for pesto. (I think I was meant to be Italian.)



These are some of the simple things that help me get through a busy week. How do you cope when you have too much to do?

Rhapsody In Blue

Long before George Gershwin composed his Rhapsody in Blue in 1924, God had created one of his own. The hydrangea is one of the most beautiful of all of the summertime flowers. The variations of the blooms from the lightest greens to the deepest blues always make me appreciate the sense of beauty that God must have.



This huge hydrangea is at my mom and dad's house. It was rooted years ago from another hydrangea on their property.



I now have five small ones rooted from this bush. I hope mine grow to be this big one day.



I don't think I have ever seen it so full of blooms.



Some of my earliest memories of flowers are in the form of the puffy blue hydrangea blooms.



Although my mom is not a gardener, she always had hydrangeas for simple arrangements in the summer.



Upon closer inspection, one realizes that there are actually many tiny flowers in one flowerhead.



This is one of the easiest bushes to root. I usually cut several of the soft stems and put them in a vase of water. After a couple of weeks, roots develop on the stems and then I plant them right in the ground in the garden. Some people use a rooting hormone and place them directly in soil. Both methods work fairly well.



After taking my pictures this morning, I decided that the six hydrangeas that I have in my garden are not enough. I think I need to root some more this summer.



I could never have too many of these beautiful blue blooms.



Although this particular bush is directly in the sun most of the day, they do prefer morning sun and afternoon shade. They also require a lot of water. This one is located at a downspout for a gutter and gets dish water thrown out at its base often. The color can be changed by changing the acidity of the soil, although I don't think I would ever want anything besides blue.

Nothing says summertime to me like a hydrangea bush full of blooms. What says summertime to you?

Signs of Summer

It seems like just yesterday I was posting pictures of the signs of spring. Although we lived through the longest winter I can remember, It seems that we have just skipped most of spring. The weather has been summer-like for the last week or so with temperatures reaching the low nineties. I am not sure that I want to go straight into summer, but it sure beats the cold winter we have had.

Lately, when I take my morning stroll through the yard, I have been noticing more and more signs of summer. Of course, I can't show the summer pictures without at least showing one last sign of spring. Or maybe this is a sign of the ending of spring around here---POLLEN! It is everywhere -on the porch, on the cars, on the plants, and on the pond. I even noticed it in the water reservoir of my rainbow vacuum cleaner yesterday!! At times it has been blowing through the air like clouds of dust. Hopefully, some fore casted rain will wash a bit of it away tomorrow.

Pollen on the lilly pads in the pond.



Hydrangeas- one of my favorite parts of summer. I rooted five from my mom's bush that she rooted from a bush that was on another part of her property when they bought it over forty years ago. Four of my five survived. They are fairly easy to root. I hope to root many more this summer.



Hostas- I have a lot of shade in my front yard and can't live without my hostas. They are the most dependable plant that I have. I plant more every year!



Astillbes- I love them, but they never seem to get very big. Maybe our heavy clay soil hinders the growth, I don't know.




Creeping Jenny- This was planted years ago. I have read that it can be very invasive, but not in my poor soil. I love the color, but it never gets much bigger than this.



We deal with very dry shade in the front of our house. The oak trees soak up most of the moisture. Any ideas of what I can plant that will tolerate shade, poor soil, and dry conditions?