Entertaining Out of Town Friends

 What do you do when you have company for a week? You have to find something for them to do right?
Even best friends can't sit around all day every day and just jaw, eat, and drink beer. Where we live there are a few attractions that guys would like. One day we decided to go check out this place.

 I have to admit I was impressed. I even tried on a back pack. The real kind. I immediately took it off too.

 Out here they have some fun slogans....

don't get me wrong I am not insinuating anything.

I had a blast taking pictures here.

This is a toy shop for grown up kids.

 Like
WOW.
 OK I would not want all the animal heads in my house but I am so into this fireplace and the SCREEN!

 This couch, I want this couch. Who knows what a couch trimmed in real cowhide costs. The cushions were buttery soft and the color perfect. I love country. I didn't know that until I came into this place. When I saw the couch it was love at first sit. Looking at that gorgeous fireplace and that sculptured fireplace screen.

 This is a closeup of the detailed metal sculptures on the screen. Amazing.

 The top corner talk about 3D,how about some gorgeous leaves and branches?

 He's your little Huckleberry, such great artwork. The day was coming up roses and then this!!!! They had my truck! The first vehicle I ever bought for myself and paid $200 for it. Those really were good old days.
I LOVED my Chevy truck. It was this color too, and it was a 3 speed on the column just like this.

 So I posed in front of it.

 and got some sass goin on....

 Hey baby wanta ride?

 I tried to get in it but the door was locked.
I woulda just borrowed it.

 They had a lot of exhibits, like this coyote.

 live fish

 The store has so many lights it was impossible not get reflections from the lights on the glass. These fish were huge. They are intended to make guys who like fish go for the gusto and buy out the fishing gear department.

 They make it look good.

 This is my toy of choice. These are FUN. They just are. Yeah I know they are dangerous but they are also fun.

 Meeting him would be dangerous.

This was on the wall a very cool display.

Made me want to go find a lake and paddle around.

Seriously this place can inspire you to go somewhere and get busy.

 

 Nice boats.

and my guy. What a sport he jumped up on this boat to put the SIZE of this motor in perspective. Seriously I feel like a part of the dark ages. When did this size motor come out and wow you should have seen this $22,000 boat! The seats looked awesome like you could sit in them comfortably all day long. It had a hard deck for people to stand on while fishing.  Me? I loved the motor I gotta need for speed. I wish we could have taken this baby out onto the reservoir and just borrowed it.

Like I said they gotta great store motto.

Fixins Projects, Progress & Experiments.

 Today started out really lazy for everybody. We just could not get started! Mercy was in sync with me. Let's just lie down mom. Yeah Merc let's just sit here, my arms feel like lead pipes. Move over that dog bed is lookin real good to me.

 I din't fit on her bed so eventually I at least started walking around and checking the areas where I am fighting rain water erosion. What looks like a foot print here is actually soil loss. I still have some work to do here. You can see how there is an edge about an inch high or low depending on how you would describe this.

 This is a lousy picture. This is supposed to show you that I worked this area and planted my tomato seedlings. I see a big fat weed smack dab in front of a rock. HOW did I miss THAT?

 This one looks bizarre! Look at the optical illusion created by the angles. Photography intrigues and surprises me. One of these days I'll take a class.

 Trim is happening people. The man on the ladder can paint! Just a little FYI it rained before it dried. He will most likely have to paint some more.
While inspecting and walking I meandered out front.

 I love the light in the afternoon before sunset. I decided to experiment and photograph my house from a bunch of different angles.  I started on the far right of the lawn and worked my way over to the driveway.  The sun is coming over the far left corner of the house.

 I also changed how far away I was standing.  Here there are more angle illusions, weird huh? The arbor has an odd effect from this position. This isn't a place I would usually select to take a shot. I am experimenting.

 Hmmmm this one is pretty good.  Still weird angles and not great light.

 I like this one the best. I am so grateful for digital photos so you can shoot a lot and pick one or two.  This one does it for me. I wish I had a picture to show you of the house before we painted and made new shutters. All those pictures were lost with the last computer blow up. There are some in old posts, somewhere. I am too lazy to go looking. HA!

 This one focuses more on the beds. It doesn't capture the light as well. What do you think? Some of you have learned a lot about photography.

My rock work here is a success the driveway is clean and my neighbor did not receive a cubic foot of topsoil. YEAH!  This made me so happy I went and painted some doors and made a salad for dinner.
Life is good. Everything that has been transplanted is uber happy too. I need a plan for this bare patch. It was solidly filled with ajuga which obviously did not make it threw the winter. My husband will veto rocks even though that would look good because of weed whacking. Any ideas?

Tomorrow is Mother's Day.
I hope you are blessed. Everyone has a mother, some of us are mother's, some want to be and aren't, and some have lost their mother's either recently or a long time ago. I pray that God bless, comfort, and encourage each of you wherever you are in that journey. My mom is smiling and hugging her twin who just recently joined her in heaven. That is the best place to be. One day I'll be there and missing my mom will be forgotten. In the mean time I get to fully embrace and enjoy being a mother and a Nannie; and I LOVE IT!
I have 12 grands and counting one of these days there will be the great grands. Like I said life is good I am abundantly BLESSED.

Spring Fever---A very intense case.

I have it. Spring fever it comes so suddenly and when you get it you just can't stay in the house another second. Mosquitoes don't stop you, wasps, don't stop you, beetles don't stop you, not even heat. The flaws of the outdoors don't even exist with an intense case of spring fever. All I can see is beauty everywhere.

I love to sit here. I never used this little slab of concrete before. I don't why. I have no excuse. It is a cozy little spot. I am thinking about painting the concrete with that new stuff I've seen advertised that repairs decks and concrete. You just roll it on.

I am getting more into containers for things. It's just easier than dealing with our soil and all the diseases and bugs. These little pots of herbs are happily growing in potting soil. Good stuff. You know you can't compost here it is an invitation to huge cockroaches. I dunnnot like em. GO AWAY
.

It's spectacular there must be a thousand or more flowers on this. Each year it blows my mind it's probably 20 feet wide now. Time is always on the side of a garden and ours is 13 years old now.

This is the last of the roses over my dog Rasmus's grave. Think it's about to peter out. It's a hybrid rose and they just don't thrive here. But it's a sweet reminder of my faithful friend.

I realized that I told you about painting the house and  never showed you the finished house. I am goofy like that. The shed is in progress. I painted the door yesterday. Our doors were purple before. The trim will be the darker shade of the house color and I will stain the steps and railings soon.


A very happy southern grape. I can't spell it but it sounds like suckinon. Don't go there ok.

Looks like a park doesn't it? We have almost a half acre and that is a big garden to work. I could be out here 8 hours a day. I almost have been but not quite. I sit down, take breaks, and use ice. I am working on my own rehabilitation plan. Strengthening unused muscles slowly but surely. I am so grateful that nothing has broken for quite a long time!!

Back fence, what is it about blue flowers? I love blue flowers!

Little teeny white rose next to them that  has nasty hooky thorns so it does what it wants too!! I ain't touchin that bugger it will snag you so fast.

This is actually a sad picture. Hairy my weeping willow is dying. He was my birthday present about 10 years ago. I read that willows have a short life span and it looks like Hairy is at the end of his. He was the cutest baby tree ever. So tiny with a "head of wavy hair"  that's why I named the tree Hairy. He looked like Einstein.

This rather boring shot shows how many boards Mercy broke to get out of the yard she is one dominant alpha female. That black cur hound knows what she wants!  Good thing our neighbors didn't object to free fencing. Our entire yard is now hot wired. Mercy respects her collar. She doesn't respect much. She is one bull headed female hound. You should see her down at the lake when she sees geese or ducks. She jumps in the water and swims as fast as she can after them. It doesn't matter if they can fly a little she just increases her speed. She WANTS A DUCK!!!!

Side yard, lots of work still to do here but it is so pretty.

A perspective shot so you can see how large the New Dawn rose is.

Nellie Moser clematis.

The work I need to do this needs to be cleaned up and the rotor tiller is broken. I have tomato seedlings to plant.

A different clematis I love those vines.

This is what I have been doing. Moving rocks. We have a bunch of rocks in the back next to the fence and I need them up here. When we first came we put rain gutters all the way around the house. I wondered why no one had rain gutters. We found out the hard way that your trim will rot. It really RAINS here. How do you spell gully washer?

Knock out roses love us.

All my top soil has been washing out of these beds so I have been diggin up rocks and toting them in a bucket to arrange here and hold the soil in. I hope it works. I am blogging today because I couldn't sleep last night when I posted 2 other posts, because I worked too hard yesterday. I couldn't find the hubbins hand truck. I carried medium sized buckets of rocks. THAT is aerobic exercise. I nearly killed myself. Today is going to be a rest day even though I'd like to work that area my tomotoes are going into. Fuggedaboutit.

Pot on the porch. OMG I was working a pot the other day and pulled out a weed that was full of FIRE ANTS and yes I got bit and no, I did not cuss.

My rock work. I also moved plants from the side yard over here. We lost a tree so I planted banana palms and in the back where the soil had washed completely out I transplanted some rubekia, the common name is Black Eyed Susan's. My hubbins did the actual labor that is way to heavy for me.

Front door from a toddler's perspective. Squats are strengthening, as long as you don't fall on your keester. I am working on the balance too. That is a challenge with Menier's disease in both ears.

RANDOM---Walked in the house and shot a quick pick of this. I painted it. What do you think should I try and develop some painting skills? Other than houses and sheds?

There she is Miss Merciful Minerva. in all her hound dog glory. She is drying off from her swim in the lake. I kinda worry about it because it;s full of turtles and snakes but I guess they are more afraid of her. The ducks are definitely afraid. I actually love her tenacious spirit. She makes my hubbins and my granddaughter mad. I like her. If she digs up my pots of flowers I will be mad. She better not!

These are the tomato seedlings I need to get into the ground in a big ASAP hurry. Why does the rototiller not start? It's a Mantis don't fall for the ads it's always been a pain in the neck and it is NOT EASY to use.Jumps off the top of the ground and it's a mutha to hold onto! They show old people walking with it in potting soil. I fell for it. Hopefully you are much smarter than me.

Can you tell I am sittin here? I keep shooting thses pics from my chair but it's that spring fever thing. I can't help it I have a very bad case. If there is a cure I don't want it. How about you? Are you outside yet? Hopefully no one has snow! By the time yawl shed your jackets and sweaters I will be neck deep in sweat, or glistening. You still here? Good night nurse put your computer away and get outside!!!