Happy Mother's Day

I has a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. My oldest son, Chris, came up to visit bringing his youngest son Scott and his girlfriend Michelle and daughter Leah. He took us all out to dinner on Saturday night to  the Willows where we enjoyed a wonderful meal. We came home for dessert. Don had made two strawberry pies. I had made Rice Krispie treats and chocolate covered strawberries. We usually don't have many sweet treats in our house. Our family loves to play games so we played Five Crowns and Pictionary. I got out the Mah Jongg that I hadn't played in years and we loved playing that. We stayed in and stayed warm since it was so cold that it actually hailed a little and some snowflakes came down.  I'm worried that it will be below freezing and the apple blossoms will frost tonight. Chris bought me a beautiful orchid. Don who always remembers presented me with a hanging basket of sun inpatients and two baskets of hanging strawberries. How lucky I am to have such a thoughtful family. 

Happy mother's day

I was the luckiest daughter in the world. My mother was a gentle soul. I never remember her giving me words of wisdom but she taught by the example that she set. She has been gone for thirteen years now and I still miss her every day. In this picture she was jokingly chasing my dad with a broom. 

Working

THe apple tree in all it's glory. Don finished raising the stone around the path today. 

T

Cranes

Working outdoors

SHere is the new hose container. Since we can't move the location of the faucet this will at least keep it looking good. 

Today Don lifted up the stone edging around the path to make a neater look. 

Sadie is always ready to play. 

Take a close look

The crab apple tree is loaded with flowers. Do you see the one section that is white blossoms?  That is where years ago Don grafted on a regular apple twig. Each fall wonderful Granny Smith apples grow there 

There 

Is a new addition to the courtyard. Today I found a pair of metal cranes at BJ 's. they sit at the top of the pond. 

Property

We bought our house in1973. I was eight and a half months pregnant with Ryan and Chris was three. The house formerly belonged to Dr. fannin and his wife. She ran the local bridal shop where I bought my wedding dress. Then Ann and David Lee owned it for a while. We fell in love with it the moment we saw it. Don of course liked the construction...maple woodwork, pegged oak floors throughout and excellent workmanship. I loved the fireplace and large living room. I had grown up in the West Branch area so it was a very comfortable place to be. We both loved the location...far enough out of town to be in the country, but in five minutes you could be to the hospital or center of town. Our street is very quiet and we have woods behind our house.
In 2006 we decided to add on a large room in the back. People thought we were crazy since we were empty nesters then. But I always wanted more room. I got to design it the way I liked with French doors and a Palladian window. We made a stamped concrete courtyard and added a pond and landscaping. We have never regretted it.
Here are some views of the property you don't usually see. There are some of the new bushes we put in last summer in bloom.

It's worth another picture

The flowers are so beautiful I just had to post a few more pictures today I organized my jewelry and changed my winter clothes for summer ones. That involves getting the bins down from the attic, then emptying the tops from the closet in the spare bedroom. Then taking all those clothes off their hangers and hanging up the summer tops. Tomorrow I'll hang the crop pants in the closet in our bedroom. If you are wondering why I have to have two closets just remember that our house was built in the fifties when the closets were very small. When I see those huge walk in closets on home and garden tv I get so envious. I actually have a very large bag filled with clothes for goodwill.
The weather is looking good for this coming week. Tomorrow I plan on gardening.

Party time?

A few years ago I had electric paper lanterns on the breezeway that I loved. I tried to replace them when the paper finally tore but never could find the ones I liked. So this year I am trying out these battery operated colorful paper lanterns. It looks a kittle like party central out there. It might be too much too soon. Lol!

It's delightful

I wish you could hear as well as see this post. The breeze is swaying the chimes and making them sing such a chord of melodies. The pineapple fountain is happily bubbling away. And my weeping cherry is in full bloom. All is right with the world.

The beauty of Spring

I like to think that Bradfordians appreciate Spring more than anyone else. It is a long time in coming but once it's here it is spectacular. The weeping cherry was blooming right before my eyes today and the tulips were swaying in the wind. Where I live on the west side of town it does not get as warm as downtown and there is always a lovely breeze blowing through the breezeway. The sound of the water fountain served as a background for the melodious chimes.

Power washing the courtyard

It's a happy day when the porch swing comes out. I am very proud of it. I had an old one that I really loved but as with most things it soon became unusable and needed replaced. Don has a good friend who does amazing woodworking so he built us one with the exact dimensions as the old one. The neatest part is that he used the wood from an alder tree that he had actually planted himself when he was a young boy.
Don hosed off the courtyard with the power washer and I cleaned out the lion fountain and started it up. Sadie loves it when someone is using the hose and spends the entire time barking and begging to be squirted. It isn't exactly warm enough for that yet.

Season of the ants

When the weather becomes nice once again in Bradford the season of the ants returns. No, I'm not referring to those little pesky insects that seem to find their way inside your house. I'm referring to the way the people in our town come out of winter hiding and bustle around doing outdoor projects. You see, our summer is very short. We can't plant or put annuals out until after Memorial Day for fear of frost and by Labor Day we have to worry about that again. So as soon as the sun comes out everyone is busy mowing lawns, doing yard work, or working on home improvement projects. Like ants. So we were today. I've been under the weather the last few days with a cold so Don was outside uncovering our outdoor planters and fountains. It was great to see them again. He's also picking up the last of the oak leaves and weeding. There is so much to do to get ready for our summer season. Each year I declare that I will keep it simple. But anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't do simple well. But after spending days putting away things in the fall I'm inclined not to get so much out this year. Yeah, sure I can hear you saying now. Lol!

May Day

It was such a big day when I was a child. The first of May was May Day. In school we made paper cones and decorated them. I don't remember where we got the flowers. I think I went into the woods and picked wild flowers to put in the cones. Do children pick wild flowers now? Then we were told to quietly go to a house and hang the bouquet on the doorknob. After ringing the doorbell we ran away. The idea was to surprise someone with a lovely token out of the goodness of your heart. It was the way we were taught to be generous and caring of others. When I think of how children these days can be so self centered I wish this custom would return.

Welcome back color

The great thing about Spring is the return of color. My tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinths are in full bloom with the tulips promising to follow. And the first of my new landscape from last summer is blooming. The fountain weeping cherry is full of blossoms. This wek is going to be warm and sunny so I hope that we can get all our outdoor things out. I always am happy when we hang the porch swing. I bought a pillow for it from the new Threshold collection at Target.