Backyard

Here's what's been going on in my backyard lately:


Our resident squirrels have been doing gymnastics to have a snack out of the bird feeder:

This is lemon balm. Do not, I repeat DO NOT plant it in a bed unless you drink a gallon of lemon balm tea each day. Or grow it to sell. Or want to make the next people who buy your house angry. Seriously. We have pulled it up like crazy, by the roots, and still it comes back and wants to take over the entire bed.




I love these Asiatic lilies. They are just so bright and cheery, and bring the bumble bees and butterflies to my backyard.















Clematis:




Mourning dove enjoying the bird bath:




And last but not least, the best part of my backyard:

Max



Macy

Simple supper

We have been busy, busy, busy for the last couple of weeks, and tonight's supper needed to be simple as well. I've been busy catching up on all the neglected errands and housework, and frankly ran out of steam before I could think about supper.

I thought about takeout (nah, did that last night), running to the store for more ingredients (nah, tired of the running around), but ultimately decided to just look through the pantry and see what I could find.

I found udon noodles (2 packs) and decided to make spicy peanut noodles with veggies. I had all the ingredients for the sauce--tamari, rice vinegar, chili paste, garlic, and peanut butter. I used up 4 travel-size packs of peanut butter, so that was good too. Made the sauce, cooked the noodles, then steamed some on-its-way-out broccoli and baby carrots. And voila, a yummy but simple supper!

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day, my sister and mom went to see "Iron Man 2." I may not have any kids of my own, but I did get the joy of spending time alone with my nephew that day while those two moms were at the movies!

First we played in boxes and read:


Then we watched a "Wonderpets" DVD in the bedroom:

We did some marching and singing:

And we might (possibly) have jumped on the bed. But don't tell mom. :)

Isn't he sweet???

After the movie, my mom and sister came back and we went outside to play with bubbles! Here's J and his Nana:

J about to 'catch' a bubble:

The bubble as it popped:

After my husband got off work, we all met up with my inlaws at our local Mexican restaurant so we could treat the moms of the family for Mother's Day. Here's my mil and mom:

Uncle had just made a really funny sound, so we got a look at a mouthful of french fry:

Pure joy!

A couple of days later my other sister was able to come for a belated Mother's Day visit, and we went to eat at a local Chinese restaurant. Here we have Mom and her 3 girls (S, Mom, me, K, and J.)

My Mother's Day gift to my mom will be coming up hopefully in a few weeks. I'm going to treat her to a couple days and a night in Tunica, Missippi. She enjoys the slots and I think a day away from home will be fun for both of us!

Doggie blow bubble!

The title---"Doggie blow bubble!" is what my nephew said when my mom's dog Casper (below) first came home wearing his studly new lampshade. He had a pretty bad cut and just wouldn't leave it alone. First he had stitches, then staples, then a second round of flexible sitches, and it looks like it might finally be healing.

Poor guy!

The last 1 1/2 weeks have been busy around these parts. My sister and nephew are in for a visit, so I've been hanging out with them as much as possible. Two Saturdays ago we went to a festival in a nearby town.

There was game-playing, gorilla-winning fun:





And there was pony-riding fun:



There was also petting zoo fun, festival food fun, playground fun, and bouncy house fun. It was a great day spent with family!

Last Wednesday we dropped everything and traveled to Illinois when we got word that my great-uncle was dying. We got there by 8:00 pm and Uncle Elbert passed around 12:30 a.m. the next morning. Even though I still have many cousins on my father's side, and my mother, sisters, and nephew, for some reason I still feel as though I've lost my last link with my father. Dad passed away March 17 and my uncle followed not two months later. They were very close despite the 16 year difference in their ages. They were so much alike, and perhaps that's why I feel this loss so acutely.

The funeral was Friday, so we were able to stay for that. Can I just say that I have the best husband in the world? He drove there just for the funeral, just to be there for me and our family. My great-aunt and cousins were so touched that he came. We traveled back that evening, and my sister and nephew spent the night at my house because the boy just could *not* go on in that carseat one more minute. I enjoyed having them around, no matter the reason.

Today at my house

I'm catching up on laundry since we were gone a couple days. *Love* my clothesline! I'll admit in the summer I don't enjoy being out in the humidity that seems to be there even if I'm hanging clothes at 7:00 a.m., but for the most part I am so happy to have my clothesline!




My white irises decided to bloom--in the middle of the torrential rains and floods last weekend. So they are beautiful, but are flat on the sidewalk that runs from my deck to the gate.




The cat decided the guest room bed was just right for her nap today.

Spring

Clematis growing on my deck






Peonies from my garden

And I'm back

Yes, it's been 8 months or so, but I'm back. I really want to get back into blogging, and make this blog our family scrapbook. Things have been happening around here, some too personal to share, and others that everyone already knows about. My heart is still broken by everything that's happened, but I know that I can either sink or swim. For a while I was just treading water and thought I might drown, but now I'm beginning to doggy paddle again.