All the Birdies in the Nest

My mother used to say, "Well, here we all are." She'd say it when all seven of us were home at the same time. I thought it today when all our kids came for lunch, bringing all our grandchildren. The three youngest are pictured above. Aria is one month old, Sam is six months old and next is Miss Bug who is almost sixteen months old. Then comes Finn, almost twenty two months old! The fairies are both three. There are lots of them and it's heavenly!

Our good boys

Foxy watching her girl and her baby. Isn't sleeping in the sun dreamy?

Shadows accounted for! It was on and off, on and off with the swimsuits, dresses, fairy dresses . . . I have such summer fever. How will I make it through five more days of school? A catastrophic thing happened to the school's air conditioner and it won't be fixed soon, so I am going to WILT at school all week. I'm going to TRY to be my very nicest, full of love and good humor. I think I'll need popsicles.

First Flowers and Flower Girls

I had a couple of little sprites in the garden today. They wore dresses.

Miss Bug is wearing an old dress that belonged to my mother-in-law when SHE was a baby. I came upon it this morning when I "thought" about tidying a drawer. Doesn't Miss Bug look like a little cupcake in it?

Look at that high kick! Birdie and I had some quiet time in the family room while Miss Bug took her nap in Grampy's office. We played and ate gold fish crackers and popcorn. We watched The Princess and the Frog. But MOST of the day, Birdie busied herself outdoors.

A lone gray dove watched us.

In the wagon, out of the wagon. "Granny, pull it fast!"

What was I thinking? It's going to take me DAYS to plant all the yellow snapdragons and the taller pink snapdragons.

Digging and raking up the dirt, pouring water in the holes, gently placing the plants in the earth - it's FUN! I planted the wildflower seeds Libby Q sent me. I put morning glory seeds near the rock wall. I had a daisy looking zinnia package and I poked holes in the dirt and dropped the seeds in, one by one. I found yellow petunias and now I must say that this summer is going to be yellow. Oh, I love home. Tomorrow, all the kids and grandchildren are coming for lunch. We'll fill the blue pool, grill burgers, eat lemon cake and say a big, "Hey, Summer! Come on over to our house!"

And one more thing to mention in a quiet, respectful voice . . . thank you to all the soldiers.

Two Years of Pinkness

I had to join the pinkies today because it is the second anniversary of Pink Saturday. Congratulations to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for sustaining this happy, neighborly blog event for such a long time!

This morning I had to hurry outside to capture this almost summer sky. Perfect pink!

I am so eager for my peonies to bloom. See how lovely they were last year? Isn't the pink as pretty as a tutu?

I know I've shown you this Jane Dyer art before, but I wanted to look at it again. Do you like it?

Here's a new one to me. It is called Heartfelt. I find the way Jane Dyer combines red, yellow, green, and blue PERFECT.
I wish you a happy weekend. Three days of summer anticipation. I need to buy a bigger flag.

Making Swimsuits

Frances over at Left-Handed Housewife brought up THE subject: the swimsuit. I thought about swimsuits yesterday and all day when my mind bobbed back to it, I wondered if I could sew myself a snazzy swimsuit. I plan on floating around in Birdie and Bug's neighborhood pool this summer, and I need a nice, substantial, BRIGHT, swim DRESS to hold me together while I play. Why can't someone design a suit that does its job and looks happy? It really is a shame that I can't draw to my satisfaction, but I came up with a few ideas. If YOU can draw some cute swimsuits, will you email the pictures to me? I'll send a summer box to the favorite design. Try it! Send the photos to pompomclwn@aol.com.
My mother made me a bikini out of blue calico fabric when I was a senior in high school. I really appreciated her helping me out with the swimsuit conundrum. It was cute and it covered well on both top and bottom. I can't wait to see if any of you can design a good suit. Think of the possibilities! Lots of spandex underneath to provide tight security and some flowery ruffles and feminine necklines? Skirts?

This morning, I tromped through the dew with my camera. My darling neighbor was out in her pajamas, too. She's a teacher and we're both doing the countdown dance and longing for our homey summers. Look at her blooms!

She gave me a stem and I shall take it to school today. The kids will love it, I know. I took one to school another year and they were fascinated.

I hope you have a smooth, relaxed, soulful day today. I hope you see some people who pay attention to your goodness and I hope you look forward to a swimsuit summer filled with splashes and sun dried warmth. Delicious.

Two More Weeks

The iris are blooming! The iris are blooming!

I haven't planted my pots because it still gets a little too cold at night.

The soccer practice field up the street is so big and green. Did you think it was my backyard?

Sam says, "Hello!"

Believe it or not, on Saturday it was HOT! The wind was blowing very hard but Kelli, Birdie, and Bug had fun floating in the blue water!

Aria had another photo opportunity!

I have a lot of grading to do and I've been working on it. Sigh. In two short weeks, I'll be ready to summer it up! Yahoo! I hope things are going well for you. I have some fun ideas in store and I always say this, but I'll say it again . . . keep posting and I'll keep visiting.
I wish you posies.

Good Place

Last weekend Sam came and it was nap time so I wrapped her in the only shawl I've ever knit and rocked her (and myself) and when she had drifted off to sleep, I HAD to sit and gaze at her. Oh, I wish I could have a nap like this today. Can you?

I took the poppy pictures in Kelli's neighborhood. She called after school on Monday and invited me over for a walk. We strolled around her new block and enjoyed the spring blooms.

Our Colorado sky is so blue and clear. I love my life's scenery.

See Miss Bug's little peeper?

Kelli's new house

Birdie on the porch

Miss Bug is so good at "face-to-face" and when she looks at us, we know she's paying attention. I hope people feel like I'm paying attention today.

Poppies

Through the dancing poppies stole
A breeze most softly lulling to my soul.
~John Keats

The poppy opens her scarlet purse of dreams.
~Scharmel Iris

And far and wide, in a scarlet tide,
The poppy's bonfire spread.
~ Bayard Taylor

I'm useless at marking all the projects from school because Lark Rise to Candleford season 2 came in the mail. Tonight I watched the last episode. Sadness. I'm going to miss those people. There was a wedding and the way the women wore flowers in their hair and pinned to their breasts, well I'm completely captivated by the story. My favorite character is Queenie. She's rosy-cheeked, industrious, loving and friendly and extremely tolerant. I love the setting, the story lines, the costumes, all of it.
And I absolutely need poppies in the garden. I shall buy them this weekend. What are you planting in your bit of earth?