Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Moving into May

 It's been awhile, hasn't it?
It seems as though as April drifted away, I drifted right along with it.  There seemed to be no motivation for picking up the camera much less composing a post.  I've done some visiting, but the comments were not forthcoming for some reason.  I surmise that I have arrived at the crossroad that many bloggers seem to come to at one time or another.  What else is there to say when it seems like it's all been said over and over through the years.

Last night we had our own happy hour on the patio enjoying the dappled sunlight, the brilliance of spring greens and the profusion of blooms on the shrub roses. 

Up until a few days ago we were practically begging for rain around here.  Now, after a few days of good soaking rains, things are growing by leaps and bounds.  Here I started sunflowers and Heavenly Blue morning glories in pots.  I was amazed by the growth spurt they had once the rains came through.


 Once happy hour was finished Brett told me he wanted to show me something.  Look what he found behind the A/C unit.  Ugh!
You may remember me telling you about an experience last year with a snake slithering between the bricks shown below:

That was bad enough, but it looks like he squeezed in under the vent this time and left his skin behind.  Is that something like taking your shoes off at the door?  
Thankfully (I guess), these openings lead into the crawlspace under the house.  Although, if I think too long about the whole thing I get the creeps knowing what is lurking below the floors I walk on.  Yikes!!!  Change the thought pattern quick!
I'm sorry.  By now you must be wishing I had stayed "adrift".

How about this?
A peony bouquet.  Yes, I think that is much nicer than unwelcome guests of the slithering kind.
I was recently reading an article about peonies in which it was suggested to cut them at the bud stage.  So, I ran right out there and cut a bouquet consisting of many buds and a few blooms.  I didn't realize that the buds would open while in the vase so I am conducting an experiment here.  It is now three days since I cut them.  The big white flowers are mostly brown and the buds remain tightly closed.  Hmmm???  Not quite sure what to think of this.  Have you any thoughts on the best time to cut peonies?

In other exciting news, last night I was trying on a new shade of lipstick.  Red to be exact.  It came in a free gift I received when I last purchased foundation.  Having never worn a true red lipstick before I put it on and decided to take a picture.  I thought this might give me a more objective view.  While performing this little task it dawned on me that I have never taken a selfie before.  Thinking it might be time to get with it a little, I snapped a few.  When I took a look at them my first thought was who is that old woman?  I'm not kidding.  Guess I don't zero in on my 58 year old neck very often.
So, I resorted to a different head angle and a different lipstick color.
Now I know that I haven't missed a thing all these years.
That was my first and last selfie.
No to the selfies and no to the red lipstick.
: D


Edited to add:
 To avoid any confusion, the selfie shown in this post is the one that happened after the red lipstick was tried and rejected.  This is back to normal lipstick color with the head looking down (in an attempt to hide the neck) and eyes downcast (in an attempt to hide the puffy eyelids).  Brett saw this photo and innocently asked why I took such a strange picture of myself.  Ha Ha.  Men!!

True color of the red lipstick shown below:
Scarlet Siren

Very pretty on the right lips.





15 comments:

  1. Haha to the selfies and the red lipstick. I don't take selfies, either. I don't know why my mother's neck is on my body!
    I would MUCH rather see the peonies than that snake skin. Gives me the creepy crawlies (the skin, not the peonies). I'm curious to know about the best time to cut peonies - there are lots and lots of buds on my plants just now.

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  2. You are pretty, Kim! Keep taking those selfies.

    My neck always gets me too. In my mind it doesn't look the way it actually does at all. Darn it!

    Your peonies are beautiful. ;)

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  3. No? But you're beautiful and the red lipstick looks great! The snake skin is interesting. I think I'd have a brick and mortar dude out there to fill the crack. It's not terribly difficult, perhaps Mr. Happy at Home could find a tutorial online. Peonies...I rarely cut them because they are so pretty out of doors and can be so buggy indoors. If you find out...

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    1. We thought about filling the gaps in the mortar. Upon closer inspection they seem to have been intentionally left that way when the house was built. Not sure why. Perhaps ventilation for the crawlspace which does get very damp in spots. As for the gap under the vent, I may look into what can be done there.

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    2. Had John look at this and he says that you are correct...it is an intentional weep hole and the reason is to get rid of the moisture that could freeze in cold weather and cause the bricks to be pushed. Weep hole is the term, if you wish to look it up. John says that it gets cold enough to freeze even in your corner. He would like to see some sort of screening to prevent snakes, mice, and insects from getting in. Here the current method is for the bricklayer to install a piece of special rope every five feet or so as he builds the wall or whatever to allow the moisture out. It doesn't show. I even got a demonstration this morning only John used his iPhone and the tv remote for bricks. Ha!

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  4. You look lovely Kim and I've seen you in person. : )
    At least with the snake in the crawl space it keeps the mice out of the house. : )

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    1. Thank you, Karen. That's a good thought on keeping the mice away. Leave it to you to find the positive in this situation :).

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  5. I never take selfies - a look in the mirror is enough to convince me that the old woman I see isn't really me! Red doesn't suit me, either.
    Your garden is beautiful but I don't envy you the snakes. We only have one poisonous snake in UK and that's rarely seen.

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  6. Kim-what is it about our necks that seem to show it all?? I'm beginning to think turtlenecks-LOL!

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  7. Kim, you love very pretty. You look younger than your age. I had to laugh, my friend and I saw, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2," in which the women say, "Pull my neck," when having their photo taken. You see they are hugging and are reminded to pull back each other's necks so that they appear younger. My friend and I took a selfie that way. I like reading your posts. Kathi

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  8. Kim, I've always read that peonies require the little ants crawling about on the buds to assist in opening the blooms! I'm not sure they will open indoors if you washed off the ants before arranging them! Must say yours have bloomed early - mine haven't even got buds formed let alone opening.

    No, no, I dislike selfies and never take them - for some reason they are not flattering photos for we older gals (and I'm so much older than you!). That's really a nice one of you actually. Do try perhaps an orange-red lipstick, nothing with blue in it, for your pretty warm hair color. You may find it fun, perhaps when out in the evening if you don't care for it during the day. I have a problem with eye makeup now so a deeper red lip often rescues me from looking washed out. Speaking of necks - not a good area either - and mine will be gaining a new 'wrinkle' when I have thyroid surgery in June, grrrrr!!!

    Your garden is looking lovely.
    Hugs, Mary

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  9. I love to cut my white Peony blooms and bring them in ( after giving them a gentle shake to get rid of insects). I've never cut buds so don't know if they;d open well or not.
    I think you look lovely and as for necks.... I think with age we all have a problem with sagginess. ( Is that a word even?)

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  10. Smiling here at your description of your 'selfie attempts'. I know whereof you speak! I'm thinking I need a really long selfie stick. Your yard is looking lovely!

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  11. Hi Kim! I think you look lovely! I try real red lipstick sometimes, too. Nope. Our Birdie asked me, "Granny, why do you wear dark lipstick all of the time?" I do wear kind of a mauve colored shade because it helps me look NOT HALF DEAD. Old habits die hard. Your peonies are lovely. Mine won't pop for weeks. Sometimes there are so many buds that it's impossible to cut blooms without buds but they don't always flower. Your garden looks so good!

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