Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts

Friday, May 17, 2019

crazy may

Me, Brian and my mom last weekend...yes, all bundled up. We were freezing and couldn't wait to get to our car when this picture was taken. And look at those gray skies. That's how it's been most of this month ~ with a ton of rain. I saw on a news site the other day that last year at this time, 88% of the farmer's crops were planted. This year, only 11%. I feel bad for the farmers, but also for us as consumers. Because you know it's going to hit our pocketbook.

Despite the cold, gloomy weather, the three of us had a good time at an outdoor spring market, then going out to lunch. It was the day before Mother's Day, so this was our "celebration". The actual day of Mother's Day was low-key for me, which is how I like it. We met up with Tim later in the day to have soup and salad at Panera and just sit and talk a bit. I've never been the type of person who likes to get dressed up and go somewhere fancy, especially on a holiday. I think this day is over-rated anyway...and can also be painful for a lot of women. There are those of us, such as myself, who have lost a child, who have lost their mother, who don't have a good relationship with their mother, who haven't been able to have a child, have chosen not to have a child, or even have a toxic relationship with their child.


On the occasional rare day this month that we've had sunshine, I've been going around with my camera taking photos of all the beautiful blooms. These are Benjamin Franklin daffodils in my neighbor-friend's yard.


Her crab apple tree was also budding...and now is in full bloom with gorgeous white flowers. I love how this tree changes like that.


After yesterday's rain, my lilacs burst into bloom. I wish you could smell them!


Bishop's Cap is a woodland plant that loves this cool, damp weather. Aren't those teeny white flowers on it amazing? 


Earlier in the week when we had a day of sunshine, I headed to a nearby nursery to see what plants they had. I came home with most of this mass. (That's lettuce sprouting in the planter.) I'm going to make Tim a planter with the red geraniums and trailing ivy for his apartment balcony. I need to make large pots of flowers for the porch and patio, as well as small pots to tuck here and there. And then I still need to decide what to do with Zippo's memorial garden and a circular garden in the back yard. So this is just a dent. I won't be getting any planting done this weekend because of ~ you guessed it ~ more rain. If we have flowers planted by Memorial Day this year, it'll be a miracle.


Another perk of sunny days...beautiful sunsets on the nearby lake.


And having a glass of wine on the patio in the evening.


Have a great weekend!



Monday, August 12, 2013

this post needs some wine!

 I almost didn't write this post today. In fact, here it is 11:00 p.m. and since I usually 
post on Mondays, I'm quite late. My emotions are quite flighty right now, knowing Tim
is moving out on Friday. Not only that, but I'm a little panicky about him getting
 everything done. He hasn't even started packing; he has to pick up his drum set
 (lots of pieces!) from his friend's house and he doesn't have a truck, so it means lots
 of trips with a car...and speaking of cars, his old Honda is in pieces all over our garage.
 He has taken on the task of doing all his own repairs lately, which is great. I commend
 him for that. He teaches himself by watching youtube videos. Well, his latest project
 has been to replace the heater core, timing belt, and head gasket. It's been nothing
 but one problem after another. He's had friends helping him and Brian even had a 
mechanic friend come over the other night and help Tim out a little bit. 

Insert cute picture to break up the monotony...


 This morning I went through my usual routine and did a little housework, but I was
restless and tweaking and knew getting out of the house would do me some good.
I should've just went for a walk in the State Park, but I needed a few groceries so I
headed up to Trader Joes. I had emailed Brian at work beforehand and asked what
he needed. It was just a few produce items. I only needed a few items myself. Oh, ho
ho, I kill myself. Who buys just a few items at Trader Joes?! I don't think I've ever
gotten out of there without spending about $100. The really bad part about this? I 
hadn't seen Brian's line in the email that said the balance in our checking account was
only $78. AND, to make matters worse, I also went to Goodwill and bought a few
things. Talk about GUILT! I felt like such a dolt. We have a little bit of money in savings
that we can roll over to cover my "mishap", but that savings is supposed to be for
Tim's schooling. Double stab in the heart. Guess this is what I get...I got caught in
an unexpected torrential downpour when leaving Trader Joes with a cart full of 
groceries. The drowned rat look is not attractive. My pissed off look says it all.


Enough of that - on to better stuff. The party for Tim on Saturday went pretty well.
I was disappointed that an aunt and uncle had other plans so couldn't come; and
another aunt and uncle were sick, so backed out at the last minute. And please don't
tell me I'm not the only one who obsesses over the house being perfectly clean and
presentable before having company, but then realizes how silly that is when your
house is pretty much in shambles within an hour? Since we had so much food, Tim
called some of his friends to come over. There went the leftovers!


I had mentioned in my last post that Saturday was also my birthday. I got
cards from family and friends, and cash from Brian and my mom since I'm saving for
a camera lens (Tim gave me his first DSLR since he has a nicer camera now), but
that's about where the excitement ended. No going out for dinner or anything because
 of the party, and no one ever bakes me a cake. (OMG, I just realized this post sounds
incredibly whiny!) I'm just trying to explain how my birthday usually isn't a big deal...
last year was because I turned the big five-oh.

BUT.

Brian and I were taking a break from party prep on Saturday. We were sitting at the
kitchen table playing a few games of Backgammon. We heard the cats making
some noise in the living room, so we went to investigate. I heard a voice at the
door saying, "Hi Brian, it's Melanie's friend, Penny!" I couldn't believe it...it was none
other than Penny from At Home in English Valley! She decided to pay me a surprise
visit for my birthday and came bearing a gift...


I had admired this vintage parsley keeper jar that I saw on Penny's blog and had
made a comment that, "If I were with you, I would've fought you for this!" I am 
actually tearing up just writing about this...how loving of a gift is this when you admire
something that someone else has, so they give it to you? And tucked in the jar was
a gorgeous blue and white Laura Ashley tablecloth that I had also admired on her blog.


 I'm using the jar on my countertop to hold onions and garlic - love it!


And if you will please excuse my lousy, temporary centerpiece ~ 
the tablecloth is just beautiful in my kitchen. Thank you, again Penny -
you are such a blessing in my life!


Oops, can't forget that Tim and his friend gave me bottles of wine for my 
birthday. Wine is always good. Goes well with my whine. Thanks for reading
and indulging me if you got this far.