While I Was Away

...my home won an award.  Can you believe that?  I'm not being boastful but really I win an award while away?  Chuckling at that fact.

J and I drove all the way to Northern California to drive thru a tree.   I'll post photos on that later.  It was while we were at Crater Lake that my home won an award.  I would say house but the the sign in my front yard says "home".

In case you can't read the sign it says "Home Pride Contest Winner 2013".   Funny I didn't enter the contest.  I know they were out taking photos of various houses all summer long and as late as week.  The photo they took of my house I can see was done while I was away because my hose wasn't rolled up and I was having my neighbors water my plants for the three days I was away.  J took these photos today of our house.

I'm so happy to see today in my garden near my rosemary bush that the violas and nasturtiums are coming back!  Okay so yes I was pleased about the award.  Didn't expect to win.  Didn't know I'd also get a prize.

I found stuck in my door in an envelope a certificate for me to pick my prize from the four offered:  3 piece patio bistro set, bbq gas grill, 24 inch LCD TV, or a 7 inch tablet.  I went for the tablet as it is portable and won't cause an overage on household goods weight when we move next time.  Oh and I already have two tvs (CRT but that is just fine with me), patio furniture though old it still is functional, and we have a bbq grill.  J was the one that told me that since I had been wanting a tablet I should check off that box.

Tomorrow if I'm feeling more up to it I'll post photos of our three day trip to Crater Lake, Redwood Forest, and lighthouses on the Oregon coast.  For now I need to go put my feet up as the arthritis in my left knee is acting up.

Side note:  Picked my first Yukon Gold potato before vacation from my garden in back of the house.  I didn't plant potatoes this year but must have left one behind from last year's planting.  I'm good with free potatoes any time!

Taking It Easy

I've been making baby booties for my shop this week.  I'm really hoping it will keep me sane.  Plus I did say that since I won't be moving until next Spring that I might as well restock my shop.  I was really running low on choice of colors in various sizes.  Seems like I had a run on pink in my shop over the winter.

Today J and I went plant shopping.  We purchased a tomato plant from the post exchange, sighs because had I known that the Army was going to defer this move until next year I would have started everything from seed like I normally do, and a new hummingbird feeder.  The two hummingbird feeders we had leaked terribly.

Next stop was off to shop for more plants.  I purchased two that I know attract and feed the hummingbirds.  They've been having to feed off of my blooming rosemary bush.  Poor little Rufous.

photo from www.allaboutbirds.org

After getting the plants home we went grocery shopping.  I'm tired to say the least.  No I didn't do any heavy lifting.  Well okay at the home improvement store some old man was pushy and I had to lift my cart up and out of his way because he just couldn't wait.  No I'm not in any pain though I was told to take it easy for a few days after the embryo transfer.

I checked, no bleeding, no bad cramping from trying to lift more than I should. Seriously I had the choice of being rammed in the back by his cart or lifting my cart out of the way.  Manners aren't generational, they are learned and I'm guessing that old man didn't learn any.

Yes J was with me but he had his hands full with wallet and hanging plant and couldn't have gotten to me fast enough for the old man's liking.  Oh I did voice my opinion of that man's patience.

Well enough of that.

So I'm home.  J carried in the groceries to the house and I unloaded them.  The bagger had loaded up our suv so again I didn't have to do anything.

I have had uterine cramping, more like pinching on the left side and right side of the pelvic region and at times near the mid-line of the uterus too but nothing all at once.  It doesn't last for long, maybe a couple of minutes.  Fingers crossed.
We purchased this exact feeder today!

Garden Changes

In June the poppies were in bloom in the garden at the back of my house.  Lovely though they were they didn't last but a few weeks.

I trimmed them back to the fluffy fern leaves when the blooms died off.  I did save the seed pods to some day try my hand at making more plants maybe at the next duty station.

Now that its July another flower has decided to blossom in the garden bed out back.

The delphiniums are now in bloom.  They smell as wonderful as the poppy plants once did while they were in bloom.

The potato plant should bloom by the end of the month if all went well.  I planted three store bought potatoes in three beds.  So far so good.  I can't wait for my own potatoes especially the purple ones.

Though its hard to see, the salmon snapdragons are still blooming and the dahlias have started to bloom too.  I'm still waiting for the hollyhock to send up its blossoms but with all this grey I'm having my doubts.

Off to the far right you can see my hanging tomato plant; I started from seed.  I also have the marigolds in a basket that I started from seed.