The Rest Of It...

What a weekend! Storms, lightening, wind...just incredible! Some areas close to us had 40 inches of rain in the past few days. I can't begin to imagine what they are dealing with as they try to save their personal possesions...

But...I left you standing at the backyard gate! Let's get this done, shall we???

The Hub is wild about color. Wants lots of it and all different. Now, I like color as much as the next person, but to have different flowers all the same color is a bit more to my liking. I would love to have all white...many different types of flowers, but all white. "Too boring" says The Hub...so we have a festival going on back here!!

Now...we do agree on one thing...we love vines and the way they look and just seem to have a mind of their own. We planted 2 different vines next to each other and allowed them to grow together...pretty pink Mandivilla....








And bright yellow Alamandan (is that right??)








Aren't they pretty together :)


















This is one of The Hub's all time faves...Red Geranium...just one big pot full!









We can't talk about The Hub's faves without mentioning his real passion..Plumeria!! Ever heard of it?? This little white flower started it all...given to us by some very sweet neighbors about 7 years ago...growing in an old coffee can!








These are the flowers that are used to make Hawaiin Lei's! They each have a different fragrance from lemon to peach and the colors/varieties are endless.









To say The Hub was a bit...ummmm...obsessed...is putting it mildly! After starting some from seed and buying cuttings online and visiting a special nursery on the other coast, we had a virtual Plumeria forest. Orchard. Farm. I don't know what to call it, but we had about 75 of these freakin' trees!!

He has finally made some tough decisions and thinned out the herd. We are down to about 30 now...but as they begin to bloom, and you get a whiff of those little sweeties it's tough not to see the beauty. I guess I just didn't need to see it 75 times. :)

I don't know what this is, but it is used in landscaping here in Central FL very often. The little white flowers wave in the breeze...they appear in the morning and close up in the afternoon sun. (notice that "pipe furniture" in the porch?? ick.)

And...what is that???

Yep...you can see it better now, can't you???

Is that Pest Control or what??

No garden or landscaping area is safe from The Hub. "It's the element of surprise" he says. What's the surprise...that he's crazy??? (love you, Hub)

I've kept you so long...here's the last of it! This is planted down near the sea wall...Love. It. The flowers really are that deep purple....so pretty...and blooms all year down here.

And, here's the view...you can't get much luckier than this! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!!!

Garden Walk

Other than everyone in this house being sick and then getting well and then getting sick again, there's not a whole lot of anything going on! I mean, we have been sick since the first part of March!! All recovered now and very happy about that! So...since we've been lucky enough to have some extra nice weather, I thought I'd just walk you around the house and let you see some of the beauty surrounding us....

This is the front of our house, taken from the driveway. I really like those cone shaped trees near the porch....

And...some of you may remember the all time favorite flower...the Agapanthas. We've got 2 colors (quite by accident ,really)...this very pretty bright white.....

And this soft, kind of periwinkle color. Not really purple and not really blue.....

Then, there is the wild bougainvillea...these are the prettiest shade of orange....

And a hot fuschia-pink! These are huge...growing on a lattice way past the roof line!

And, these are some little ones we planted just a week or so ago. Dwarf gardenias!! They are in a brick planter all around the oak tree out front and you can smell them as soon as you walk out the front door. Love that!

Yikes...I didn't realize how many pictures there were...so, here's the gate to the back and I'll share the back yard next time!

But...before I go...I do need to wish The Daughter a very Happy 25th Birthday!!! Seems impossible to me that I have been lucky enough to share this amount of time with such a precious treasure. I'm not really supposed to be talking about this, but here's a picture I just couldn't resist sharing...doesn't this look like pure bliss??

Happy Birthday, Boo! We Love You!!

Job Well Done...

We {heart} Danny Gokey

You Don't See This Too Often

This is a picture perfect Florida day...temps in the mid 80's, breezy, not too many clouds. We are so lucky to have this view from our upstairs bedroom....Hey...wait a sec...what the heck is that out on the boat house??

No...wait...what is that?? A big bird?? A duck?? I gotta get closer!

I'm pretty close and it's not moving...is it real??

You must be kidding...here, on an inland lake in the middle of Orlando??? (No..not the shark)

It's a pelican!! He took off and landed mid-lake right after this shot...we have no idea where he came from or what he is doing here.

Had to look him up and seems like he's a Brown Pelican, lives coastal and is usually a bit farther North, like Virginia or North Carolina...but, there are some on the West Coast of Florida. Now, the West Coast is a 90 minute drive from here...and the East Coast just about an hour...is he on vacation?? The only other thing we can think of is that he may have wandered in from Sea World, which isn't too far...

He's been here for several days...hope he's not lost, but he dives and gets what he needs to eat so we are just going to watch over him and enjoy his company. What a cutie!!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, MOM!!!

Mom & Me, June 1953

You were, you still are and you will always be

the BEST Mom Ever....

Love You To Bits!