4rth of July weekend, Cindi style

Cindi style as in LATE! ***blush***

Unfortunately, this picture does not even begin to show the craziness of our 4rth of July celebration.
It actually started on Saturday with the yearly Alapalooza and went on until way into the morning of July 5th.
Al & Lori Kirkeby have a party on the first Saturday of July for Al's birthday and have cleverly named it "Alapalooza". We have been faithfully attending it now for quite a few years, although I can't remember the exact year that they started it. We all look forward to it every year, as the weather is always great, food and drink good and plentiful, dog heaven if you choose to bring your pooch and then there is the swimming pool........... The kids get there and we don't see  them until it is time to leave.The only time they come out is to eat, and even then, we have to force them!

Even after swimming all day, they were so excited about the fireworks (which we had both Saturday and Sunday) that it was hard to get them tired out. Oh, to be young again!

When we got home from Lori and Al's, the girls talked me into saddling up Harmon and I ended up giving rides to all the kids. Poor Harmon didn' know what hit him! I even got on! Must have been a sight with me in my old 4-H saddle that is kid sized! Glad no one took a picture! Anyway, we had 12 people here spending the night! Sleeping bags, blankets and tents everywhere! The kids had a blast jumping on the trampoline, roasting hot dogs and smores at our campspot, the girls brushing the horses, the dogs and cats running for their lives!!! I'm sure they will remember this as a highlight of their summer!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Sib lunch in Seattle

Had a wonderful day in Seattle today.

I got to spend the day with my favorite friends in the whole world .......... 

My brother, sister and my dear friend Miles.  It could not have been a more perfect day in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and we took full advantage of it! After we ate lunch at a wonderful Indian food restaurant, we toured the U of W campus which is absolutely beautiful with it's mixture of modern and "Collegiate Gothic" architecture. Our little group loves to do this kind of thing, so it was another wonderful adventure for all of us, even though Miles graduated from the U many moons ago!

We then walked the Burke-Gillman trail down to the Lake Union Ivars where we indulged in much needed hydration to fortify us for the long walk back to campus. We also drooled over not only the beautiful scenery, but the array of floating vessels that cruised by! (Miles is lusting after a yacht!)

What a much needed fun day for all of us!!! Looking forward to our next Sib Lunch!!!

Where does time go?

Wow, already the 14th of June. Where does the time go? My mom always asked herself that question and I never really thought that much about it until several years ago, and now in my 50 something bracket, more often than not. So what has happened in the last 11 days? Oh, just Leona's birthday party, Daemyan's stepping up program, a card class, a sunny Saturday at the little store down the road for some listening to some local blues bands (and a lot of beer :) , a weekend with a house full of people, a bad cold, work, church, choir practice, a trip to mom and dad's............just life on life's terms which is full of activity, planned and unplanned, good and bad,  fun and dreaded. That's where the time goes. Better than the alternative. At least in my human minded capacity.

Bill day......

Pay day. That means pay bills. It's a double edged sword.
I hate to pay bills, but on the other hand, I love to have electricity, phone, cell, internet, water delivery etc, etc, not to mention a roof over my head!  I have to keep all this in mind as I slowly watch the figures in my checkbook keep dwindling until I wonder if I'll have enough for groceries! The fact that I pay bills means Whitey still has a job. The fact that none of these bills include doctor bills means we are all healthy.
The fact that I don't have to work ouside the home is well worth the things that I have to go without. I don't have to walk anywhere for lack of a vehicle, (although that would probably be good for me!) and I'm definitively NOT starving.  I love sending Daemyan to private school even if writing out the checks are sometimes painful! I have to remind myself of these things as I perform this dreaded task every two weeks.
Now, to make a grocery list that will more likely take me to Winco as opposed to Whole Foods!

Rainy Memorial Day weekend

Just a typical rainy MDW for us in the Evergreen State! Although, just I start to write this, a ray of sunshine is peeking through the gray. I'm sure that will make some campers very happy. Dan took Dayla and Daemyan camping out at the State Park last week and it was beautiful, so they lucked out. We don't normally go anywhere for MDW because Whitey hates traffic and crowds and loves to stay home and bbq. We also have a camp spot on our property that has been a hangout for for kids ever since we moved here 20+ years ago! They still love to hang out there and now they bring their own kids to swing on the rope swing, play up in the tree house cook hot dogs, smores and just basically hang out around the fire!

I wanted to post some more picures today, as my flowers are really coming to life!

Mom and dad gave me a clematis for Mother's Day last year and I found the perftect spot for it! It's right outside my bedroom window closest to the front deck. Loves it there and is blooming like crazy!

Above, are some hydrangeas that Miles gave me a few years back that were from a wedding that he did and he knew they would find a good home with me after the wedding! There were so many that I wasn't sure where I was going to plant them, so Whitey took about 4 of them and planted them up against the garage. 

For some reason thought it was a stupid place to put them, but as you can see, they are LOVING it there. ***insert red faced smilie***I also planted about three of them on the south side of the house that are also thriving, and one on the north side that I will need to move, it is growing, doesn't look happy, so I know where I can put it so that it will thrive! Syl also got a few to add to her beautiful garden.

I cannot resist taking picures of the cats when I'm being click happy! This is Harry Potter and he was just chillin' in the grass.( I took these pictures last weekend and it was beautiful out, unlike this weekend.) Runt was chillin' under the trampoline and so I zoomed in on her too! No one is safe when I'm taking pictures!

Today I caught this guy in my orchard eating my cherry tree. NOT HAPPY but I could not resist getting a picture before I had Dan chase him off!

Yesterday, on my garden tour, I had noticed that the branches looked like they were being broken off

andI suspected that either Whitey was getting a little too close on the riding mower or that this was the work of a pesky deer.  Whitey is off the hook!

Now for the last picture..............Buddy!!!!

He was allowed up on my bed this morning as I was working on my blog since he got a bath last night. I still made him lay on an old towel, but he weaseled his way under the covers anyhow. I'm a sucker, I admit it!!!! Now to hopefully  do a little scrapping or card making today or if I get on the ball, maybe both!

~Flower Arranging, Fiori style~

This is what I made in my dear friend Miles's
Seattle floral shop, Fiori Floral, last night!!!
Isn't it beautiful??? The picture does NOT do it justice!
Miles invited my sister Sylvia and I to participate in one of his flower arrangement classes and man did we have fun!!! We also learned a ton of tips and tricks for floral arrangement, which is something Syl and I love to do! The arrangement is PACKED with beautiful flowers, no scrimping in his shop! Just when we thought we were done, he'd bring out more flowers for us to play with including orchids from New Zealand, wonderful scented geraniums, leaves to make ribbon bows,  and one of Fiori's specialties, using fruit with flowers and last night we used limes. Fun, fun fun!
We started out with a vase of beautiful variegated greenery and to that we added hydrangeas, peonies, Queen Anne's lace, and roses. As if it didn't look beautiful enough with just those elements, he brought out the finishing touches of orchids, geraniums, limes and the leaves that we made the ribbons with. WOW!!!

check out  http://www.fiorifloraldesign.com/

Thank you Miles and your talented staff!

Cherry Trees

I am soooooooooooo excited about my cherry trees! My sister started them from seedlings growing from her cherry tree at her first home on Camano Island. I still need to find the pictures of when I first got them, it will be a fun comparison!
Cherries are one of my favorite fruit, so hopefully I'll be eating home grown cherries later this summer!!!!!!

I have 4 growing along the fence line from the house to the barn. The two that are pictured are thriving, the other 2 are not as healthy. The little one needs to be moved and the one closest to the house needs to be sprayed, I think.

The one in my little "orchard" is getting so big and is LOADED, but the birds usually get those before they even ripen :(

But on a different note, it is another gorgeous day of and I am getting most of the day to myself which is heaven on earth. Still in the process of organizing my "studio" which is becoming the never ending task. When I moved things in here, I put them away only to find that some things are not as convenient and accessible as I would like them to be, so changing things around is a can of worms.However, I'm liking the changes that I have made. I need to have things positioned so as not to thwart my creative juices! My goal is to get a least ONE scrapbook (preferably more!) done before the end of the year! I also want to spend more time writing as I find it very therapeutic as well as my photography. I recently closed my Facebook account as I was feeling like that was a non productive (and stupid waste) of my my time. Maybe I'll try to fit a nice long walk every day in there somewhere!