From This to That

'This' being my cast and 'that' being my new contraption. Just got it this morning and it is a huge improvement. I do have to wear it except for showering ( even for night)  but that's okay. 

I haven't accomplished much so far today and as you can see in the above pic it is a lovely day. I did do some watering and I cut one stalk of a Lily to bring in. Each stalk has so many buds and blooms!!
 

I hope your day is going along nicely. 

                                     GRANNY MARIGOLD

This and That

I'm still having issues with my computer and this is my third attempt at a post so I hope this will work. What's happening is that for no known reason suddenly my screen goes blank and I lose whatever was on it. My son assures me it is not a virus. In fact, when he stood here and watched me just now of course nothing bad happened. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Anyway, I wanted to show my lovely Japanese Iris, the one I bought a couple of weeks ago. The other one is similar but blue where this one is purple.

In my kitchen...   local strawberries are available now and they're so sweet.  Maybe a little on the small side but it has been very dry so that may be the reason.

This is actually a glass paper weight. Just bought it today at the thrift store and I love it.

Also bought this simple blouse which I can only hope fits because there was no way I could try it on with my arm in a cast. But it does look nice and roomy.

         The red T shirt was too pretty to leave there. Only cost me a dollar.

I hope your week is off to a good start. Hard to believe we're in the second half of June already. Teachers and students alike are counting the days now. Doesn't make as much difference to those of us that are retired.  I'm trying to spend as much time outside as I can, after all, all winter I wait for the sunshine and warm weather.   


Thanks for visiting.              Granny Marigold

Lady's Mantle

Two years ago I had more or less decided I would get rid of all my Lady's Mantle because of its tendency to self seed everywhere. I'm glad I didn't because it finally occurred to me that if I cut the flowers off BEFORE they could go to seed I could appreciate the soft, fuzzy leaves ( and their loveliness when  they hold drops of  water after it rains). If one or two volunteers do pop up somewhere I can always use them to fill some empty spot.  Or pot.

        Those are California Poppies to the right of the picture... another self-seeder.

      Here is the bouquet I brought in after I cut the " frothy sprays of dainty yellow flowers". 
 

Like Lady's Mantle Coleus also like being in a shady spot. In the past I have not had very good luck growing Coleus but so far these are doing fine.

And another shade lover is the Astilbe. For some reason the ones in my front yard are doing great and the ones in the back are a third as big and so far, no blooms.

This Coreopsis is a volunteer, growing in gravel, and looking very sturdy and full of blooms. Definitely NOT a shade lover though.

Have a great weekend !

                   Granny Marigold

My Morning Walk

Another gorgeous sunny morning. The flowers in the park are at their best now. Daylilies, Lavender, Roses,  some kind of grass is also in there.

                        

                

                             Bindweed ( wild Morning Glory) is lovely but so very invasive!

           Water Lilies threaten to clog the lake every year. There used to be a sort of floating harvester with big cutting blades that would sever the plants deep under the water.  Well, not really deep because the lake isn't very deep. But so far this year no steps have been taken to get rid of these.

As I walked along I came upon this turtle wandering around no doubt looking for a patch of sand where she could lay her eggs.  She was quite a distance from the water and still hadn't found any ( nor was there any to find. I wonder what she finally did?)

I made Potato soup for supper as well as fresh bread and Banana Loaf with choc chips for dessert.  My grandson ate so much his tummy hurt! 
Tomorrow the forecast is for slightly less warm temperatures so I'm planning on a few projects that I've put off due to the heat.       Thanks for visiting.    Granny Marigold

Odds and Ends

Our weather continues to be sunny and HOT.  I get done what I have to and make sure that by lunchtime I am done. Then in the afternoon I can putter along and not have to do any big chore.
On the weekend we had my DH's sister and BiL visit and that was lovely. We hadn't seen them for a while ( they live 1500 miles away, like most of my family and about half my DH's family does.)
We did find time to go to a few garage sales Saturday morning. I found three 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles that look like they'll be fun to do, and a couple of necklaces... the kind that have a pendant on a cord. I use those for bookmarkers in books that I frequently dip into. I shove the knotted cord down behind the spine with a dab of glue to hold it and it works very well.  My favourite one has some pretty beads at the end.  Then on Sunday we drove past a house that had had a gs and now had piled leftover things by the street. I convinced DH to stop and I picked out all the china including 3 boxes of Christmas dishes still in the original boxes.  DH's sister was thrilled to get those ( I knew right away I would either find a home for them or take them to the thrift store).  The rest of the dishes were odds and ends....4 cake plates ( I only kept 2)  5 luncheon sized plates and a number of saucers as well as 3 pretty blue and white cereal type bowls with a gold band.  After I got home and began to really examine them I found that all except the 3 bowls and 2 of the luncheon plates ( second pic down)  are Royal Albert!  No pattern name is on them but they definitely are RA.  Oh yes, there was also a cream and sugar set in the same pattern. I have never seen such an enormous sugar bowl.

I love these two plates with their raised gold pattern. The words on the underside are MEITO CHINA  hand painted  made in Japan.

I've rambled on quite long enough.   I hope your week is off to a good start!

                                              Granny Marigold

Busy Day

I didn't plan to have a busy day... or a busy week, but it has turned into one. Mind you, it's been busy but in a good way. Yesterday I decided my arm had had enough time to be useless and I made supper for all 6 of us. My DH helped a lot and the littlest grand even set the table for me. ( He loves doing this because he changes  where people usually sit by choosing different placemats for each and assigning them to the one he chooses.)  We had just finished eating and clearing the table when we had a surprise visit from GD2 who we hadn't seen in quite a long while. She has been very busy getting her masters in library science but being a very determined person she accomplished this while working full time!  
Then today DD1 and her daughter, GD1 , came over and GD1 trimmed my hair, DH's hair and even her uncle's.  They stayed for a nice visit and after they left I worked outside dead heading Iris that were done blooming and pulling the occasional weed that had managed to grow tall and remain hidden!  Came in and did a little more baking. By 4 o'clock I sat out on the porch swing with the idea that I'd read for a while but I  almost fell asleep.  Fortunately there was really nothing left that I had to do. 
Tomorrow I plan on having a "vacation" day. I hope to finish the book I'm currently reading ( I am Hutterite  by Mary-Ann Kirkby ) and maybe do some scrapbooking, some sitting outside and doing nothing.  I hope you have a vacation day in your near future too. We really do need them.


          Granny Marigold

June

Although Summer doesn't officially begin until the Summer Solstice ( June 21st this year) I've always felt that that the first of June ushered in the lovely season. Recently I read that there are recognized "meteorological seasons" and June 1 to August 31 is considered summer. September first then begins Autumn... just as I've always thought of it. Seems I've not been out-of-sync with my idea of when a season begins.  December first till the end of February is then winter. For us here on the coast March does feel like Spring although I know for the rest of Canada things are quite different most years!!

Peonies bloom for such a short while. I love to bring in a bouquet and put it in a white jug on the table where I can stoop to inhale the scent every time I walk by.  My dark pink Peony  is NOT thriving in its new spot and I've given it one more year and if it still fails to bloom it will have to go.

I have had a busy Monday doing laundry and baking cookies while trying not to use my left hand too much. It was quite a bit cooler today than it has been and we didn't need to open the umbrella that DH put up to protect the Astilbe bed from last weeks hot sunshine.

Have a good week and remember to stop and smell the Roses... and the Peonies.




Granny Marigold