When The Trees Are Bare

It was while I was taking a little walk through my weather beaten garden a couple months ago that I noticed the house across the street and took a photo.  And, thought I would like to share it with you .

Very seldom can I see my neighbor's lovely home across the street from me because of all the heavy foliage/growth on the many large and old trees that surround their two story plus basement house most of the year.
 
The house rests at the hilltop between two different streets.  The owners have been living in the foothills for many long years .  About 12 years ago they bought the lot which is atypical in shape and small in size . They designed and built the house with two different driveways, one on each side of the house leading to a different street on each side.  They are wonderful neighbors, always willing to help me if I need assistance.  I don't often ask, but it is nice to know that I can . And, I have the opportunity to visit them any time I desire.

It was very intriguing to watch from my viewpoint (across the street) as the land was prepared with the use of large dirt mover equipment, especially the driveway. 

The workers were a father - son team and they worked in tandem like a finely choreographed ballet. Very dangerous work but executed with perfection.

Their home is beautiful and was built with the utmost quality.  In particular, the woodwork throughout is fabulous, especially the stairway .  The ceilings are high and there are beautiful tall built-in bookshelves .  There are so many things about the house that I really like .  The stairway to the upstairs takes you to a large loft area that can be used in so many different ways.  And, the floor plan is very unique and very livable. The pantry is a favorite of mine .  And. the view of the area from up there is great.  You can almost see Main Street two short blocks away !

It is really nice having them as neighbors.  They are not the least bit pretentious in their manner which is something that one might expect.  And, the property value certainly can't hurt our neighborhood .

This is how the view from my house looks most of the time.  The trees are lovely.

A nicely secluded residence for them most of the year .  And, nice neighbors as a bonus for me !

It almost looks like a park from my house !  I am grateful for the nice view !

I hope your week is Going Well.

Mary

Good News

The new eye drops for Ivy  ARE WORKING.    And, I am thrilled.    NO More watery messy eyes for my precious Kitty Kat.  I am not sure what the long range plan will be.   These have only been ordered for one week.   I'll talk with the Vet tomorrow.

It is Sunday evening and I just like this picture and I thought I would share it with you.    It certainly reminds me of my precious Lily , my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  I will always miss her.  She gave me so much love and joy.  And, of course I will always miss my last cat,  Puff as well as my Yorkshire Terrier,  Pixie.  The love from my pets has been so wonderful and so very good for me.  I'm a Lucky Gal to have had the pleasure of giving all of them a home filled with lots of love.

Until next time.  Hope you have a good night's rest.

Mary

Perfect - - - Hard Boiled Eggs

It is not often that something new (to me) comes along that gets me excited in the kitchen gadget department.  But, for some reason, following many years of preparing beautifully cooked hard boiled eggs for Deviled Eggs or adding to other ingredients, I have been having difficulty getting the "perfect hard boiled " egg that I can easily peel without all kinds of problems with the shell not coming off smoothly.

Ta-daw!  New found success.

And, this is what helped me to succeed with quick preparation of perfect hard boiled eggs.

So simple and so fast.

I am at the age where I don't usually get tempted to order a new gadget but my frustration pushed me to try the Negg.  If you are looking for an easy way to shell hard boiled egg, you might like to give this a try .

Today, the most recent world news of another suicide is so disheartening.  I don't think that I ever thought that I would see the day when life would become so horrendously difficult for so many people that this action would become a not unusual chosen method of relief. It is such a tragedy !

And, on a personal level I have a long story I could tell of my own life long experience of depression since childhood.  The severity of my illness (suicidal ideation) is what preceded my admission to a Psychiatric Hospital for four weeks in 1973 at a time when issues of mental illness were spoken only in hushed tones . It was very difficult to be a patient with two small children involved in this disease entity .  Especially with a totally disengaged family.  It was my friends from work that provided me with support and meals for the first few weeks when I returned home .  It was 6 months before I could return to work as a registered nurse. I have lived my entire life with this challenge, working very hard with receiving various treatments (lots of therapy and periodic pharmaceuticals) and educating myself in a way that provided "Power with Knowledge".  Finding your authentic self is arriving closer to Nirvana.  I am so happy to say that at this time, my life is happier than I can ever remember.

Yes, I surprised myself by putting "pen to paper" on this personal and emotionally charged subject in my life.

I wish tremendous Good Will to each and everyone of you !  And, please do not give up if you are feeling near unbearable heavy burdens with life.  Just Ask - There is Help!

Mary

Kitty Kat Outing To The Vet

Today Miss Ivy saw the Vet again to see if we can determine what causes her eyes to have so much watery discharge which means that her eyes require cleaning at least once a day .  She sure was a good girl with all that stuff being done to her eyes.   A real sweetheart.   Isn't she pretty ?

Last time and this time the Vet did a lot of testing for all kinds of eye conditions such as glaucoma, corneal lesions to name a few.  Last visit she had conjunctivitis which has been treated with antibiotic eye drops.  She no longer has the conjunctivitis. All of the many tests that were done today were normal.  However, she may have some allergies.  Cortisone eye drops are ordered for 3 to 4 times a day for a week. Maybe, that will help.

When we got home she sprawled out on the living room floor and started cleaning herself.  It is nice to see that she is comfortable enough to stretch out and roll around on the floor.  I guess she was tired after the morning activities.

Because before long she wandered over to her little teepee and fell asleep !  She is becoming such a little love bug.  I am so happy that I can give her a safe and pleasant home.  And, she is giving me some soft love in return !

Is it the weekend already ?  Where did the week go ?  Until next time.

Mary

Black Flowers In The Garden And More Colors

I never realized how difficult it is to photograph the color black.  But I think I captured the interesting contrast of these petunias with the other flowers accompanying them .

What fun - having something so different and unexpected .

It is quite stunning especially with the interesting textures of the surrounding rocks .

The White Double Peony has put on a nice show this year .  Sorry I didn't get a side view photo of the flower showing the magnificence of the double formation.  It looks like there is a flower on top of another flower. Very large and warrants a second look !

The garden has lovely bright spots of easy to grow Red Valerian  here and there.

The Chives, Oregano, Thyme and Rosemary Herbs are looking great.

Year after year I enjoy planting Parsley in a Strawberry Terracotta Planter.  It looks so decorative sitting near the front door as well as convenient for some quick clipping for garnish or whatever.

 What a Wonderful Surprise .  My relatively new White Amaryllis used as a perennial .  I always thought of Amaryllis as an indoor Christmas flower .  How wrong I was !

 Isn't She Magnificent ?

I like nice little surprises in the garden .   Flowers as well as little creatures.

Twenty four hours later and I could hardly believe how large it has gotten.

Not an easy task taking a photo and holding a measuring tape at the same time!

 On a section of the fence, Honey Suckle is bursting with it's delicate blooms and fragrance .

 The Mock Orange has grown twice it's height since I pruned it last year.

It is beautiful.  I like that it blooms a little later than the first beautiful flush of flowers at the beginning of blooming season in the spring time.

The fence behind the White Garden and outside the living room window is covered with several feet of blooming Star Jasmine .  The fragrance drifts into the house from the open window !

And now, a wider photo perspective of the corner at the entrance to my driveway.  I like it !!!

We are having much hotter weather for a few days and that requires more time watering the garden.  Summer is with us.

Mary

It's Official

Miss Ivy has proclaimed this place as her Furever Home !  Probation is over and she doesn't think she could improve on the house rules and the proprietor !

Morning naps in the sunshiny living room on the window sill is such a great way to start the day following a yummy breakfast.  The house proprietor and staff have agreed to vote her in as a Permanent Resident .  See her jumping with joy ?

Ivy continues to surprise me with her impressive behavior progress and I think this is just the beginning.  Even though that differs from what I thought a couple weeks ago.  Her comfort level is continuing to improve and I think she has taken ownership of the entire house.  I never know where I will find her curled up with her head tucked in and looking like a big fur blob.  It is clear to me that she feels safe anywhere in the house and she likes to keep track of me if she is not sleeping so she can talk to me . Finally she is faithfully using her scratching pad which makes the proprietor happy .  Oh, remember this little lady is deaf.

And, WOW you should see her trying to chase her tail when she is at the top of her cat condo on the 12 inch square platform at 53 inches height.  When it starts to sway, I marvel that she shows no fear of falling off .  In the evening when she finishes playing with her tail and the toys hanging from the platform she frequently falls asleep and many nights that is where she will sleep !  Recently, she has decided that sitting or sleeping beside me is a good alternative to hanging out on other surfaces if the proprietor would sit still long enough.  So usually that luxury is reserved for evening time.

With the beautiful weather these days the Catio is a very favorable place to hang out and enjoy the marvelous sights of this big fabulous world that found me !

If you have a cat, please give them a Big Loving Hug. If you are lucky they will give back tenfold of Love.   And, I will always love dogs, too  and the unlimited amount of Love they always share with their beloved owners.

*** Obviously, this is not a blog post to critique grammatically !  But it fun to write !

Mary

Excitement Found In The Garden And Rolling Along

I am so happy with the results of the replanted Iris Garden this year.  The hard work was so worth it.  There may be more flowers to open.  Maybe some different colors that I see in the photo of 2009.  Iris have different blooming times, early, mid and late.  Time will tell.  Oh, and some bloom early and then again late !  It has been so much fun for me to watch with anticipation each day to see what new blossom I will see .   Some photos may look like duplicates but they are different in very slight ways !

All this beauty sprung forth from these elegant harbinger spires !  They did not disappoint !

The entire garden is looking wonderful in regards to health and bloom activity this year and I am really enjoying it.

I think I am on a roll.  By that I mean I am getting a lot of different types of things done.   And, oh, how good it feels.  I have always worked hard throughout my entire life and I am grateful that I feel well enough to continue to take care of things at home.  However, it is getting more challenging to try to keep up with all the home care activities.  And, I am a long way from maintaining my home like I would like to and like I was able to do in the past.  I am really trying to clean out all the many things that I certainly no longer need.  It is a bit daunting especially since I have lived in this house 25 years and have not been forced to liquidate like one usually does when they move.  But, I take a lot of comfort in that I have not had to move as frequently as I did when I was younger and the rent "was always going up".  It took a lot of energy and there was always the expected expenses of moving.

I am trying to find some handyman and garden help but it is very difficult and I may not find anyone.  Front what I hear there are many experiences where the people just don't don't show up or they are living "on Mountain Time" !!!

Ivy, my "Resident Heart Beat" is doing well.  I don't think she is ever going to be totally comfortable with her life.  I have another appointment for her with the Vet to work some more on finding a diagnosis of her watery eyes.  She does not seem to be uncomfortable but she may have always had the problem.  The drainage from her eyes is at an amount that there are little reddish/brown drops on the floors, furniture and especially on the window sills.  I think she has settled in and in general is quite content.  She does a lot of purring and she comes looking for me when she wants a little pet on her head !

The sun is shining bright and that always gives me a lot of energy !    I am on my way to discover what the day brings !

I hope your day is going well.

Mary

Beautiful Time Of Color

What A Spectacular Yellow Rose. It just bloomed today.

Some more new colors of Iris.

The Lavender is growing nicely.

And, the Orange Daylilies that are planted alternately with the Lavender are setting buds.  A little ladybug is visiting one of the buds.

The White Garden is bursting with blooms.

Yes, these are Black Petunias.  

The Camellias are still showing color.

And Rhaphiolepis Indian Hawthorn is doing nicely.

Thanks for taking a stroll through the garden with me.

Mary