Monday, March 18, 2024

Spring Break

 My weekly post is late this week. I was trying for Thursdays, but schedules don't seem to work as well anymore for this schedule loving girl. There were some sick kids and spring break daycare closures that threw my schedule up into the air. I am grateful to help out the kids though.

March is being temperamental as always, but the cloudy rainy weather is still hanging on unfortunately.  I am hoping April Showers is really March Showers and May Flowers will really be April Flowers. 

In the meantime, we will enjoy the show of azaleas that are in full bloom all along the roads of the Deep South. 

I will type and share some of the ones I have captured in my own yard and down the street.


Jeff and I have been old people hobbling along this past week. I pulled a muscle most likely from lifting boys and Jeff has a pinched nerve that has been relentless. He will think it is about to let up and then he just stands up wrong and it starts all over. Mine is much better but he is still struggling. We have both been hunched over and slow walking all last week. It is a sight to behold. 


Palmer got a little sick and couldn't go to daycare for 2 days last week. He and Miles had a blast together. They really do seem to be fun for each other. Palmer felt bad but not really bad enough to play. He would be tired by the end of day. 
On one of the days while Miles was napping, Jeff took him to get Chik Fila and to a park to eat it. He asked a lot of questions and they drove around trying to let me rest while Miles was napping. That afternoon when Lindsay loaded Tucker and Palmer and headed for home, he told Tucker in a bragging manner that PaPa had taken him to Chik Fila for lunch. Lindsay said they hadn't really even gotten off my street. Little ones. OF course, Tucker was jealous.


Tucker got his chance though. Palmer made it back to daycare and Tucker's preschool was closed on Friday so we had him that day. I almost told Lindsay to let me have both of them. Miles was not with us that day as spring break started early for Katie on that Friday. We decided Tucker should have his own special day with Mimi and PaPa. He soaked it all up and got Chik Fila as well.


Jeff and I went to Auburn for the weekend. We did very little as both of us were hobbling, but peace and quiet were in order. I finished a very good book. I read a lot but don't mention the books unless they are worth the read by someone else. 

May years ago, I read The Three Miss Margarets by Louise Schaffer. I loved it and didn't know there was another book written about the trio. I found it at the library this month. It wasn't as good as the first but a fun read. It was called The Ladies of Garrison Gardens. Both are old books from almost 20 years ago.

The book that I loved was The Women by Kristin Hannah. The author has written many lately that have been coming up in feeds but I just hadn't read one. This one caught my eye because many were discussing it but mostly because it was about the nurses of The Vietnam War.  I really liked the book. I thought she captured the times well and after I read it I looked her up and she is 11 days younger than me. I thought to myself -well that is why she captured it well for ME anyway. 

I am still stitching away on my Ole Florida Sampler. I think I have about 1-2 weeks of stitching left. It is close. I have really enjoyed stitching it and I have enjoyed not switching up things too. I restarted this one in midNovember of '23 but didn't start exclusively stitching on it until the 1st of January.

The railing was built last week too. It looks amazing.


It will age in color pretty quickly. I told Jeff 9 years is a long time to make a decision. He didn't believe it had been 9 years, so I had to show him. He got quiet on that one. 

I will say no one has come along in our talks that could do it to this precision on the stone and tile, so the wait was worth it.


Jeff and I are headed out on one more excursion this week. I will share it next week. Praying he can enjoy it since it is too late to cancel it. We may just be sitting and staring at the bay that we are headed to or if we are lucky we can do a few visits to good eating places and a few antique stores. 

Plugging along in life, but I make a point each day to focus on the positive and the good things. It has truly helped my outlook!!!




Thursday, March 7, 2024

Home Sweet Home in the Spring

 I finally got some sunshine and warmth. I have completely soaked it in. Yesterday, as soon as Miles went down for his nap I quickly mopped the kitchen and went to sit outside on the back deck. The sun was shining and the sun felt so good. I was like an alligator on a log. 

I will share my view and my thoughts while soaking it all in.


That pine tree to the right and I have a love/hate relationship. It drops so much on my decks. Right now it is those little worms. They are everywhere. It basically sits in the water, and I have worried more than once that it will fall right into that kitchen during a hurricane. On the other hand, I have wondered if it doesn't act like a shield for the flying things in a storm. 

Here's the deal I have no control over any of it.
It does provide shade and it has survived a lot of storms in its life, so I do my best not to give it too much grief over all the mess it makes.

I moved the geraniums over to enjoy a bit of those sunny skies too. One of them was falling over due to the wind that had come in earlier in the week. Is March 4th and 5th too late for March coming in like a lion?

Here's the deal with March.... It is magical in one sense, because everything is coming back to life but I think it and December are the most unpredictable and wild months for weather here in my little corner of the world.

Do you see that beautiful blue sky? 

That live oak on the left is about to undergo a major change. Between now and the first of May it will lose all its leaves and yet never be bare. Oh the deck will be covered in so much stuff, but I wouldn't change a thing. I love watching it all happen.


Today after taking Mom for an appointment I came home to a little one who wasn't interested in a nap so he and I sat outside in the front yard. He and Gus had a blast together collecting sticks.

Spring is showing up around the home and in the neighborhood. I took a few photos this week of all the things. I love to look back at my blog to see if something is early or late or right on schedule

Down the street, I took this picture because the petals around it are as pretty as the blooms on the bush. The camellias have been pretty this year in my neighborhood and I think right on cue they are finishing up just in time for azaleas to be the star of the show.


For those that think I always have perfect flowers, let me show you the truth. The pansies have had a lackluster year. The only pot of the 3 that looks good is the ones front and center. Two things are going on here...one is the light in this area has changed over the years with the growth of the trees. It gets less sunlight especially in the seasons other than summer.  The one closest to the house just fizzled out and got a disease which I think was lack of sun and so much rain. I didn't have to water all winter. 

They will remain there until April when I will replace with vincas.


The orange tree this morning is just covered with little buds for the blooms. They are beautiful when they open. All of those will not produce oranges because it is too small at this point. The lemon tree is ragged this year but has survived. It too is just too small, so I don't think we will have a large harvest in fall.


The other morning I went out to photograph my 5 roses downstairs. They are all sprouting and looking great. I can't wait for the first bloom. Out of all the signs of nature, I am thinking this one is the latest. They seems to be a little slow this year. 


WE have a lot of work planned this spring in this area. We have to finish getting all the dirt packed in between the new and old seawall. It is mostly done. We need to add some in right under the walkway out to the water and then I think we can call that a win.


We will finally be adding a rail to the second level. The wood is there and don't even ask why it hasn't already been completed. Jeff sat on that one a long time. Just waiting on the workers. Notice all the things that need to be done. Constant blowing off of the droppings from the trees and pressure washing the mildew off the stone. Pollen and window washing too. I am ready to get out there and get it all started. 


T-Ball started for Tucker. Jeff and I got to visit last weekend for the opening ceremonies which is a big deal in Destin.


It was still pretty cool and cloudy last weekend.

Miles is growing up so fast. He was is in deep thought the other morning while eating his muffin. He loves to eat. He is going to eat them out of house and home when he gets older.


This morning I made a smoothie which I think he was pretty sure was the greatest thing he had ever tasted. He wanted more more more and sucked up the last drop.


Those were the highlights of this week. 


Spring has arrived in the house no matter the outside weather. I am all in at this point.