don't forget...

...to wave those flags tomorrow! :-)

the lovely...

remember this...?



Hopefully our neighbors will be pleased :-)

waiting...

...for the pool water to warm up just a bit more!

summer chair...

...summer hair!

So, after way too long, I went for a haircut yesterday. I feel great! While there, I had a professional color consultation with my stylist -- a pop of color would make me feel even better -- perhaps right before my birthday!

Okay, so what's the summer chair -- I'm sitting on it in the picture (which was taken by Miss Sofia). I went over to Pier One a few days ago in search of a stand for the awesome turntable. I found that, AND, the chair, AND, it was 50% off, AND, it had a twin sister! PLUS I got tons of "Pier One Cash" for opening a credit card -- so I can go back and shop more!

I'm having a little fun up here on the roller coaster ride -- after being waaaay doooowwwn below...

i've been busy...

...growing! :-) Here's my 12 week picture. What a difference...right?

she keeps going...

...and going...

doin' the crane...

Hey, ma... watch me!



Does this child ever stop? Only when she's in bed at night...sleeping!

persistence strikes again...

Since the warmer weather arrived, Sofia does this everyday as soon as she gets off the school bus. I think she is sneaking in some practice at school too -- even though I told her not to do this if I am not watching. Why would I ever think Miss Persistence herself would listen to me, I just don't know. Oh well.. I guess she could be doing worse things!

Remember this?

It became this...

:-)

long awaited...

We are looking forward to spending the 4th summer in this house. That means I have lived without my little backyard summertime oasis that we had in New York for a very long time. All we had there was a little 2 foot x 12 foot pool, a patio table with umbrella, and, a tree -- but it made me happy. Even though we worked very hard last year putting in the pool and installing the fence, planting arbovitae, and installing the paver patio, the backyard here has not made me happy -- until yesterday when this arrived in the box...




No, not them! :-)

THIS...



Rick and Nicholas put it together, and when I sat in one of the chairs my eyes welled up with tears. I am finally feeling like this is home. Since the delivery arrived early in the morning, we had some spare time to visit one of the local nurseries -- and -- we "adopted" a tree that will be planted on the other side of the backyard to give some morning shade.

This past weekend was one of the "loveliest" I have ever had! :-)

wow, I can't believe this...

I posted this and then Sofia came in the back door with these. Do you think my neighbors are psychic?

thanks for sharing...

I wonder if my neighbors know how much I am enjoying their gardens!

irises to the left...



peonies to the right...



And, here I am stuck in the middle! Thank you neighbors!

saturday...

Guess it's warm weather time again! Last evening we were "treated" to our first "sunderthorm" of the season. We must have been right on the edge of a red weather.com blob -- the wind didn't know which way to blow, and, it poured while the sun was shining. Poor Ozzy almost jumped out of his fur after a LOUD clap of thunder -- Rick needed to sit with him for awhile after that to calm him down. Then, as fast as it started, it stopped -- and we watched the rain blow away to the east and the clear blue sky mellowed into a beautiful sunset.

Today is just an all around perfect weather day. As you can see, Rick is out there doing the prep work for the pavers. I dug 2 holes and planted a daylily and the "fireworks" grass that is in my background picture.

The children are not fighting. The puppy is taking a nap.

I must have done something good this week to have earned such a reward. For, this is heaven on earth. :-)

now, how fast did this week go...

I cannot believe it's Friday already. I've been running in circles non-stop all week -- and I haven't finished anything but I've started a bunch of things -- sooo... in my book that is a good thing because I can finish next week when I'm back to being my organized self. We are planning on working on a small piece of the patio tomorrow -- looks like the weather will be cooperating and I will take some pics to share.

Oh, what's with the picture in this post? I am sorting through the old -- and I mean OLD -- records. That one in the picture is circa 1921. The recording artist is Al Jolson himself who (according to the label) was exclusive to Columbia at the time. I am excited to have a little bit of music history in my possession -- however -- I don't have a turntable so I can listen to this or the 10-20 others I discovered in the "pile". Nicholas has expressed an interest in these shellac beauties and the other more current vinyl ladies -- so perhaps an electronics shopping trip with my son is in order!

By any chance does someone out there have a gramaphone laying around that we can borrow? :-)

nature does not hurry...

...yet everything is accomplished ~ Lao Tzu ~

I have something chewing away at the leaves on my rose bush. I had the same problem last year and just assumed it was those darn japanese beetles. But I don't see any japanese beetles -- yet! Guess I'll have to go digging through the chemical section in the garage and see what I can find to stop those critters from ruining "the lovely".

waste not...

Remember this? -- http://myhappybluebird.blogspot.com/2010/01/emotional-color-day.html

Today, I figured out what I can do with all of those discontinued color chips!

slowly moving along...

Is everything moving faster -- or -- am I just moving slower? We have plants to put in the ground, and, weeds to pull out of the ground. I think we have just about any weed you can think of growing in the dirt patches that were left behind from the pool project last year. We'll be working on those areas first -- and to start us off I bought 2 plants yesterday at Lowe's. The plant in the pot on the left are hens + chicks, and, the plant in the pot on the right is a lupine plant with multicolor flowers (or so the tag says). The pavers in the picture will be placed near the ladder end of the pool -- and then we'll move on to the walkway extending from the back gate to the driveway.

I'll update with pictures as we progress... hopefully... not... slowly...

growth chart...

So, here I am yesterday. Did I tell you that I was born on a Tuesday? Yup. So, yesterday I was 12 weeks. Mom says I need a growth chart -- like the one Nicky and Sofia have on the basement wall. Dad says its okay (that's why he's my Dad). So, my growth chart is going to be right here by the gate between the kitchen and pc room. Mom says she'll take a picture of me each week so you can see how I'm growing too.

Time for a nap...so I can grow some more!

me and my dad...

Dad and I had fun this past Saturday. I sat outside with him and supervised while he washed his car. Mom thought that we should take a picture -- you know -- as a memento of our first real Saturday together. Dad told me that Saturday is the day of the week when we spend time together. I need to remember that word -- Saturday! :-)