October Glory

That is actually the name of this maple tree. The color is this amazing fiery orange~red. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm a photographer (with real skill) and I have these little photo shoots. I thought this would look so cool with the blue sky in the background. The white is the sun...YES...we have sun!

So where, pray tell, was I having this little photo shoot??? Yup! We've been busy planting luscious flowering trees along the south side of the driveway. Then we planted a bunch of rhodadendrons and other bushes between the trees. Pretty, no?

For a little added color, I went nuts with the selection of kale and cabbage. Behold:

This beauty is called "Coral Prince." Sigh....

I don't recall the name of this one, but it looks like a gigantic rose sitting in the dirt.

This one is very frilly. We also have some white ones like this that look like heads of cauliflower sitting there. Very cool.

But I think the stars of the show right now are the maple trees.

Speaking of stars... ...in our book, at least! Tonight is our last home volleyball game, so it is Senior Night. The girls have been working hard preparing goodies and speeches to say "farewell" to the Seniors on the team. I'm bringing kleenex...no one warned me last year and it was quite emotional.

Have a GLORIOUS day!

Very, Very Proud

First of all, I do apologize for the absence of posts. We had a busy week of volleyball tryouts, work, laundry, cooking, sewing, and getting ready for school. I think once school starts and we get back on a schedule in the Liebel casa, I'll blog more frequently.

So, I warned you back when I started this blog that I would indeed gloat about my flowers...if I actually grew anything. I am very proud to present the following photos for your enjoyment!

Behold (a few days ago...)

And that turned into this! People, I GREW THIS FROM A BULB! And there are more blossoms getting ready to burst open and color our world around here. This is big. I'm a Dahlia freak and to actually grow this beauty...well, I'm a little excited! It's not even done opening up...

I put Gladiolus bulbs all over the flowerbeds...

Can you stand it?

I bought four skinny little fuschia plants from the high school greenhouse around the middle of June...

...and they completely filled up my wall planter and are blooming like crazy. Sigh.

These are Lupines that I grew from seed...

They weren't expected to bloom this first year, but lookie here! It is the only bloom, but that makes it that much more charming.

Dano boiled some eggs early this week and after a few days of soaking in the very yellow tumeric-infused concoction, we now have Joe Josts Pickled Eggs. Hayley has already taste-tested and deemed them a success. Another batch is already soaking.

And finally, we could not be more proud of our little Bobo (and yes, she will kill me for printing that!) Hayley had volleyball tryouts all this week and after coming home every day with sore muscles... ...she made her high school Varsity Volleyball team! She is beyond excited for the upcoming season and dude, SO ARE WE! Her coach affectionately calls her "The Beast" and we are ready to see her in action! Go Middle!

Finally, healing thoughts go out to my Mama, who is dealing with a compression fracture in her back and also to our buddy Blake, who suffered a nasty break of his collarbone last night at football. Mend those bones people!

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Flathers are coming!!!

Hi all! Sorry for the lack of posts. To be honest, it has been much too pretty (and hot) to sit inside! That and....our friend Shawn (aka Shawnie Boy!...aka S-Boy) is arriving with his three lovely daughters today. They'll be here for a few days before heading to visit Shawn's parents. I'll post more tomorrow! Meanwhile, check out my new favorite plant...the Bleeding Heart. Have you ever seen such cool blossoms? I think not! Oh, the ankle is mending nicely. When I'm just too lazy to strap the Herman Munster boot on, I can even walk without the boot. But don't worry...I don't want to risk the progress, so I do still wear the %*&#@ boot. Just sayin'... Have a great day!

What's Not to Love???

I think so many people were a little puzzled why we would want to leave sunny Southern California and move to Seattle. Where it rains. Every day. All day. Rain. RAAAAIIIINNNNN!!

Welllll, it does rain here. But certainly not every day and not all day. But, today it is raining a soft, gentle rain. It's the perfect day for a cup of coffee and baking brownies for later. A perfect day to sit in my crafty space by the window and make something. I really do love to take in how lush and green everything is up here. So, while it does rain, that rain makes everything grow so beautifully. The photo above is SOTC (straight out of the camera.) I added the frame, but nothing else. That is my pot of poppies with one bloom and the rest are ready to pop. Next to it are one of two pots of double petunias. They're fairly new, but I expect them to cascade over the edge. I hope you all don't get bored reading about my obsession with plants and flowers. (Just wait until I share my newfound obsession with cows and baby buffalo...then you'll think I've really lost it!) I just can't help myself...I love it here!

It isn't easy being green...

One of my goals up here has been to grow things. When we first got up here, I saw so many gorgeous flowers and plants and I knew that when Spring hit, I was going to try to grow some of the flowers that I couldn't down in California. So, I stocked up on bulbs and gave it a shot. I got my Fall bulbs in the ground a little late, but they came up anyway. The daffodils were the sturdiest. They survived freezing temps, snow and hail. I need to deadhead them now though, because they called it quits a few days ago. So did the little purple muscari. The red tulips just bloomed, but the slugs (ick!) really enjoy nibbling on them. We put out bait and the slugs come to a little death party every night! Good times! Meanwhile, I planted the Spring bulbs early this month and some are just starting to poke through! There are tons of dahlias in all different colors, pink peonies, purple gladiolus and multicolored rananculas. I also planted zinnia and lupine seeds, which are starting to poke through. Keep your fingers crossed for me...I tend to have a negative effect on growing plants! My wonderful Mother's Day gift was these two hanging fuschia baskets in the picture and a blue hydrangea. We went to the Smokey Point Plant Farm and seriously people, it is a gardeners dream! They have acres and acres of flowers, trees, shrubs and decorations. We picked out this variety (pink marshmellow...yes, that is the correct spelling!) and it has undoubtedly the most beautiful blooms I've ever seen on a fuschia. So, if everything that I planted blooms, our yard is going to be an explosion of colors and you can be sure I'll post pictures...mostly for gloating purposes, but also to prove that I actually grew something!