It's A Good Thing!

It's Thursday.

Time for some random little things.
I'm slowly catching up after a visit from my buddy.
We went to university together (back in the middle ages).
We explored Houston while she was here and I'll continue to share with posts like Critters and Our World.

-Several weeks ago Earth Day was celebrated.  I had dinner at the zoo. The evening started with a short, but wonderful and informative visit with the Asian Elephant herd. For the first time in a long time I didn't take my camera. I just enjoyed the company of close friends and the beauty of the setting. Dining alfresco. Under the beautiful live oak trees. Around the reflecting pool. To the sound of a jazz trio and fountains. Pretty close to perfect.

- One of the local television stations sponsored an electronics recycling day.
I was off early in the morning to dump some keyboards, a couple of old computers and an old cell phone.

- Finished reading The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory.
I started this book months ago. It was my treadmill book. It got lost in my stack of TBRs and I found it last week and thought I should finish it before I start another book. It is another of the royal historical fiction books that Gregory does so well. The Lady of the Rivers is Jacquetta. She was first married to the Duke of Bedford and after his death she marries (for love) the duke's squire, Richard Woodville. Lancasters vs the Yorks. What a tale!

- I usually buy an amaryllis during the holidays. I didn't do that this year and I missed having one. This one is blooming in Musashi's Garden now. A little reminder that an amaryllis is a good thing!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Thank, Kim!

It Is Earth Day

Today is Earth Day.

To celebrate I'm sharing a few images from Musashi's Garden, the Japanese Garden and the Houston Zoo.

Don't you think every day should be Earth Day?

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Little Things

A few little random things:

- I bought two four inch pots of basil at Trader Joe's several weeks ago.

They are ready to be cut and the first batch of pesto made.

Yum.

- Once I finished reading THOSE ANGRY DAYS by Lynne Olson (it was excellent),
I started to clean my reading palette by reading some chick lit.
JOY FOR BEGINERS by Erica Bauermeister
SHADOW SPELL by Nora Roberts
DEATH COME QUICKLY by Susan Wittig Albert
DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT by Avery Aames
I enjoyed them all and am now ready to take on another history book.
I just haven't decided which one.


- Early Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market
Smoked Black Pepper Chevre from Blue Heron Farm
Golden beets, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower
Apple cinnamon rolls
Fresh picked strawberries

- Another rose blooming in Musashi's Garden.

This one is Wild Blue Yonder.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Thanks, Kim!

Little Things

It's the Little Random Things:

-Comfort food like Mushroom Risotto with Peas.

- A trip to the bookstore -- browsing heaven.

- Lunch with my "sister by choice".

- Friends who wait with you while the locksmith drills out the locks so you can get into your house after you lock yourself out and can't find the key.

- A rose blooming in Musashi's Garden

It's the Little Things.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Thanks, Kim!

Thanks, Nancy!

Double Delight

On this cloudy morning I'd like to show you 

Double Delight.

From bud:

 

 

to full bloom.

 

This is what she looks like today (before the rain) blooming in Musashi's Garden.

A Double Delight in color and her fragrance is heavenly .. just like a rose should. 

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Thank you to Karen for hosting Sun Lit Sunday and

to Mary for Mosaic Monday.

There's A Promise Here

There's a promise here that Spring is on the way.

They are small, but the Gerbera daisies in Musashi's Garden are blooming! 

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Thank you to Karen for hosting Sun Lit Sunday.

It's Party Time!

Vee's Note Card Party Time!

We get to pick 4 images from our blog that we think would make good note cards.

I think we are all looking forward to spring.

With that in mind, here are my four Note Cards.
The first three are from recent blog posts.

And last, but not least, from a Wednesday Wisdom post in 2013:

A big thank you to Vee for hosting the Note Card Party.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

I hope the sun is shining on you today! 

Potpourri

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope your Valentine's Day is full of hearts and flowers.

Another reproduction vintage Valentine.

No artist listed, but this one had a suggested publishing date of 1910.

Thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

*

Outside my window...
The sun is shining -- finally!
Highs in the 70s ... what to do, what to do!!! 
Celebrate!

In the kitchen...
Have you visited Estelle's? 
You must go visit. The blog is named after her grandmother and there is always something delicious cooking. Too bad we don't have smell-a-blog! Then again, it's a good thing we don't. I'd gain five pounds with every visit! 

I am reading...
I've just started THOSE ANGRY DAYS by Lynne Olson: Roosevelt, Lindberg, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941. I read Bill Bryson's One Summer: America, 1927 and decided I wanted to learn more about Charles Lindberg. I found The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin, a lovely historical novel that gave me more of an insight into Anne Lindberg. I heard Lynne Olson on NPR and decided I needed to read THOSE ANGRY DAYS. Isn't it fun how one book can lead to another. 

I looked forward to...
 The Westminster Dog Show.
I watch every year. I do love the dogs. I have three cats now, but when I was growing up we had dogs. The first dog I remember was named Brownie -- yep, a little brown dog. I was about 4 years old and I thought Brownie was huge -- she could stand on her hind legs and put her front feet on my shoulders. She wasn't huge, I was small. She also had a litter of puppies in my sandbox! I loved that the mutts appeared at the Westminster this year in the agility championships. 

A peek into my day...
The first camellia of 2014.

Thank you, Nancy!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

When The Red Red Robin

Came bob, bob, bobbing along --

he made an early morning visit to Musashi's Garden.

Not my usual visitor for the morning buffet.

He took a bath in the fountain.

No pictures -- although I did try -- he was just a blur.

Here he is sitting drying off. 

(I wonder where I put the tiny towels?)

The sun was just beginning to find the garden.

Pleased with himself, I think.

Come back again, Mr. Robin!

I'm joining the other sun lovers at Sun Lit Sunday.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Hanging In There

I've been watching the Houston marathon on television this morning.

I fixed a cup of tea and looked out the door and saw this:

This little rose has been through high winds and freezing temperatures and still is

hanging in there ... just like the runners in the marathon.

Join us for a little Sun Lit Sunday.

Wishing you well and much joy!

A Little Babying Never Hurts

There are three Satsuma trees in Musashi's Garden.

They've had a hard time.

I've talked to them and babied them through the continuing drought.

Telling them they didn't have to *perform* -- just stay alive.

This year, two of the little trees provided me with orange globes of sweetness.

YUM!

Before I ate all the evidence,

I decided that I needed to document the fact that

a little babying never hurts.

Wishing all of you well and much joy!

Good Morning, Glory!

Musashi's Garden is my postage stamp size backyard.

It is named for one of our favorite kitties, Musashi-San.

He was quite the guy.

This is what Fall looks like in Musashi's Garden.

Golden Ixora

Morning Glory

This is my volunteer Morning Glory.

If you look closely you can see the visitor that I captured.

Good Morning, Glory!

I do not know the name of this rose.

But I can tell you, she is a beauty and she smells just like a rose should!

I'm joining Mary at Mosaic Monday.

Wishing all of you well and much joy!

Potpourri

Friday means a few Random Things ...

a little This and That.

Thank you Nancy for hosting.

*

I just finished reading BRING UP THE BODIES by Hilary Mantel.

BRING UP THE BODIES follows Mantel's Booker Prize winning novel, WOLF HALL and continues the story of Henry VIII seen through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell. Katherine, Henry's first wife has died and Anne becomes the center of attention. Henry wonders that he has spent the best part of his life with Anne and only has one child and that child, a daughter. No one likes Anne. She is the focus of gossip and malice. Henry wants her brought down and he has already chosen her successor.

Perhaps I am now used to Mantel's writing style as I found BRING UP THE BODIES much easier to read. Seeing the story unfold from Cromwell's side is very different from the usual novel of the period. Mantel suggests that several of the men executed as lovers of Anne may have been selected as victims because of their part in the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey. Who knows? Being an advisor to Henry definitely takes a man of great skill and courage.

I'm looking forward to part 3 of the tale of Thomas Cromwell.


**

This is Alice Owl.

Isn't she cute?!

Love her eyelashes.

Meme Rose is having a CAL (Crochet-A-Long)

I've gone through my stash and picked out my yarn.

I'll report next week on how my Alice is coming along.

***

The plumeria are starting to bloom in the garden.
When they were first planted I had three different colors.
Then came a couple of bad freezes and Hurricane Ike.
I've pampered and babied them and thankfully, they don't mind the drought.

These are the first hints of what is to come.

YeeHaw!

****

I've been going to the gym with a good friend at 5 in the morning for our morning stroll

on the treadmill.

It is just too blooming hot to walk outside. 

UGH

But it is good for me/us. 

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Wild Blue Yonder

No, I'm not getting ready to fly off into the wild blue yonder!

In this case, Wild Blue Yonder is the name of a floribunda rose currently blooming

in Musashi's Garden -- even in this horrible heat!

Almost a purple color with a smattering of white.

It even smells good -- like a rose should.

I don't believe this rose bloomed at all last year.

I have it planted in a pot and moved it to a new spot. 

Guess Wild Blue likes the new location.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.

~Buddha

Thank you to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.

Don't forget that Google Reader is going away.

You can follow Twisty Lane at Bloglovin'.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Old Country Rose

I've been out cutting roses from the garden.

It's so hot they don't last long outside.

Why not bring them inside and

enjoy a cup of tea in the lovely old-fashioned Old Country Rose by Royal Albert.
The tea is even rosey -- Rose Petal Tea by The Republic of Tea.

tea leaves

tea loves

loves tea

lives tea

leaves tea?

never.

~Uniek Swain

"A red rose is not selfish because it wants to be a red rose.

It would be horribly selfish if it wanted all the other flowers in the garden

to be both red and roses."

~ Oscar Wilde

Thank you to our tea party hosts:

Tea Time Tuesday

A Return To Loveliness
Friends Sharing Tea
Teacup Tuesday

Tuesday Cup'a Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea!

Blooming!

Blooming in Musashi's Garden

Using one of Nancy's scripted textures.




Nancy, Thank you for hosting!



Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Random Friday

I'm joining Nancy at A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday.

Some very quick This and Thats!

- I had guacamole for dinner last night. 

Just guacamole. 

Perhaps it was an early Cinco de Mayo celebration.

-I'm enjoying our last (probably) cool front of the season.

I'll soon be entering my summer hibernation faze.

Too much heat and humidity.

Meanwhile -- I'll dance in the cool!

- More roses blooming in Musashi's Garden.

- I'm getting my hair cut today ... yippee!

- Practice, practice, practice....

This is from Martha Lever's color drop class.

Too much fun!!!

Random Things

I'm joining Nancy at Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday.

Do you have a bucket list?

One of the things on my list is tulips.

Yes, tulips.

I've often thought it would marvelous to see the tulip fields in the Netherlands.

I also figure it would be easier for me to visit the tulip fields in the Pacific North West.

Like this:

This is a postcard of the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon.

The photo was taken by Jon Gnass and I found the image in TULIPS OF THE NORTHWEST:

A Postcard Book.

Can you imagine?

Field after field of tulips.

Heaven on earth!

(Thank you to the lovely Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday)

**

I went to the grocery store and while there decided to check out the cut flowers.

I found more daffodils.

They were a little past their prime, but I couldn't resist.

Along with the daffodils, the Easter decorations were half off.

Now I ask you -- how could I pass up a bunny wearing tennis shoes?

***

One of my favorite cozy mystery series is The White House Chef by Julie Hyzy.

FONDUING FATHERS is the latest in the series.

Fun characters, good background story, good mystery, believable amateur sleuth.

Highly recommend but be sure you start with the first one

(STATE OF THE ONION)

and read them in order.

****

The garden fairies are very happy.

The Gardenias have started to bloom in Musashi's Garden.

*****

I'm going to the zoo today.

It is going to be on the cool side with low humidity.

Perfect!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!