Everything's Coming Up Roses

 

Life is good.

My kids are all home safe from their adventures. (See previous post) We will all be getting together for brunch here on Sunday to share stories.

Everyone was well and happy at breakfast this morning. We shared impressions of the Olympics and vaccination resisters. 

I recorded the US Women's quarterfinal and watched part of it when we got home, and saw our soccer women win in a shootout over the Netherlands. Now I have beach volleyball and diving going on on the TV next to my desktop computer, where I have just edited the photos I took this morning.

It's going to be another hot day, but I don't have to go outside during the heat of the day. My task day is light. 

After breakfast, while Tom helped our 94 year old friend Dede with some small tasks, I took advantage of the beauty of the grounds of her retirement compound to stroll through the rose garden. Now I share the beauty with you.

Enjoy.

 

Entertaining

 I promised myself that I would do this, and I have fulfilled that promise.

With the Covid restrictions lifted I wanted to host some summer lunches for my two teacher groups. We did.

Two weeks ago we hosted the retired teachers from Des Moines Elementary who make up our Friday morning breakfast group. Tom is very much a part of that group since he was the one who actually worked with these ladies. I was adopted.

We had a lovely afternoon together in the shade on the patio. It felt great to be able to treat our dear friends. 

Yesterday we hosted some of the people I worked with at my long time school, our neighborhood school, McMicken Heights. 

This was a larger group and more of a potluck. I enjoy setting up for an event and using things we save for special occasions.

These colorful Vera placemats and napkins and Heller Ware dishes were all gifts from my mother-in-law years ago, when we first moved into this house. She envisioned just such a setting, and we used this table ware often in the summers. 

The buffet table is ready for the food. 

Tom was my staff for this gathering, and our photographer. He was a great help and much appreciated by all of the ladies. 

There was a lot of hugging and joy expressed at our being able to be together after a long hiatus from our once monthly gatherings.  My efforts in bringing us together were much appreciated and that filled my heart with joy. 

As we were visiting after lunch. and the sun was beginning to creep onto the patio, my delayed Amazon order arrived just in time. It was my new patio umbrella, replacing an old one that we discovered last week was broken. Tom set it up for us and we continued sitting in its  shade well into the afternoon. 

It's orange!

I like color! I had breakfast under the new umbrella this morning.

Next up, I need to get my kids here for a gathering. They are all just returning from adventures, Jake from an extended hike in the mountains in one direction, Jill and Irene from a three day mountain hike on another trail, and Isaac from his graduation trip to Hawaii. They all have stories we need to hear. 

But right now I am inside. It is heating up again, up to 92 outside, too hot for the patio even in shade.

We'll be watching more Olympics. They have also been very entertaining. 

Beautiful Things

 It's a slow Sunday afternoon. The temperature is just about to reach 85 degrees. 

We slept in a little, or at least lingered in bed, sleep not always achievable, but resting anyway. 

With my hour plus of physical therapy completed, I needed to move a bit more so I went out in the garden to see what I could see.

This stone sits on my patio table and it reminds me that laughter, like flowers, is a beautiful thing. We need more laughter.

Beautiful flowers I have.

Black eyed Susan vine on a patio trellis. 

A rack of little sedums attached to the trellis. They bloom too, but you have to get close to appreciate them. 

A rose is a rose is a rose. 

The first buds are opening on the lilies. Stargazer is my favorite. 

Clematis blooms linger.

Hydrangeas and butterfly bush - Buddleia - bloom at the bottom of the garden. I'll have to keep an eye out for the Western Swallowtail butterflies now, another thing of beauty.

And sometimes we just have to laugh AT flowers, or with them. The succulent Life Saver plant has started to bloom and has been moved to the patio table where we can appreciate it up close and enjoy nature with a sense of humor. 

More are coming, and hopefully more laughter too.

Charlie came for lunch, another thing of beauty.

Soon we will gear up to take the light rail in to the stadium for a Sounders match. We hope to find those seats in the shade that are unoccupied, since we were unable to get the shady ADA seats. Cooking in the sun is no laughing matter.

Oh, and we have our VCR set to record everything we will be missing, USA Soccer, Masterpiece Theater, and of course, the Olympics! We'll have lots of catching up to do.

Life itself is a thing of beauty. At least it is for us who have many blessings to count. 

I hope you are enjoying beauty and laughter in your life. 

Rebooting

 

Corcosmia Lucifer

My birthday pageant is over. Now I'm just older.

Sunflowers for the party tables and sunflowers in the garden. 

We toured some lovely gardens on Saturday. I have photos if I ever get around to editing and posting them. These photos are from our garden. 

Then we got together with son Jake for take-out BBQ in his Ballard yard and a great visit. He is in a good place now and it warmed my heart to see him doing well. 

Daylilies, clematis, and hydrangeas blooming

Sunday we slowed down a bit and watched two soccer games, the US Men's National team and the Sounders. USA won, Sounders suffered their first loss of the season.

On Monday we did usual Monday chores and then prepped for a grilled dinner for Jill, Isaac, Irene, and SIL Jan, and a chance to catch up with all of our comings and goings. They will all be dispersing on summer adventures by the end of the week. 

Over the four days I heard from my three remaining siblings and we shared the sad feeling of not buying a birthday card for our departed sister Ilene.

The first Cana flower opened today

Today I am prepping for hosting a lunch tomorrow for our breakfast group. The shopping is done, the brownies are baked, the food is planned and the logistics have been decided. 

Simultaneously I am contacting school friends from my former school, the McMicken group, and have confirmations from eight for lunch here next Wednesday. We haven't gathered for almost two years, so I took the initiative to make it happen. I am limiting how many are invited though. I am old now and there is a limit to what I can handle. The lunch will be partly potluck.

Our summer weather is lovely, cool mornings, sunny afternoons, and marine air cool downs at night. After this flurry of activity I look forward to a lazy August. 

The sweet peas are blooming. There will be a fresh bouquet of fragrance to scent the air in the kitchen tomorrow.