it's not raining.. just mist in the air

We are in Seattle visiting kids and our sweet grandbaby.  Had a fun afternoon hanging with the little miss, and a fun dinner with extended family.  Planning to go to a minor league baseball game today, but very heavy "mist" is obscuring the view right now.  Guess that is why it is always so green over here :)

The weather forecast for "God's country" is 88 and sunny.  Amazing that weather could be so different within 150 miles.

So proud of my daughters and the lives they lead.  What gracious women they are!

visit comin' up!

Gearing up for a trip to the westside...taking zukes, cukes, potatoes, onions, eggs and homemade cherry jam.... what fun!

Has been a few weeks since we have seen that grandbaby!  Can't wait!  And we get to see our pregnant daughter.... haven't seen that baby bump in too long!!

This unassuming pile are the pieces of a crib skirt, cut out and ready to sew.  :)

I need to get busy!!

Day in the sun...

Summer hit Selah, finally today... still 90 degrees at 6:30 pm.  I know I shouldn't complain, compared to what much of the country is experiencing...I am happy that the garden is growing and I can enjoy the pool :)

I am replacing curtains in our trailer... I washed two sets, after the cat somehow spent some time in there, and I didn't notice the back of the curtains was rubberized... Needless to say, even delicate cycle in the dryer was too warm.  The curtain backs melted together :(

This is the worst of the curtains that I have NOT replaced.

New curtains,with original brown trim. 
The black-out fabric does a good job of blocking the evening sun.

Found light tan black-out fabric, cheap, and hubby carefully took the trim off the old curtains, and I stitched it down on the new ones. 

Had to run to my MIL's for velcro... my sewing stash was depleted.  Once retirement comes... I plan to get more organized, and SEW more.

And I have plans for a late evening dip in the pool!

Happy color

When I was a kid, I loved calendula flowers... .such a cheerful, gorgeous orange. In fact, one iteration of my room while I was growing up was based on the color of a calendula.  Here are two of my favorite flowers in my yard this year....

This is an Old Mexico calendula that I started from seed.  Love the color!!

And this is a gazania I bought as a plant from the Master Gardeners spring sale.  It closes up when the sun is not shining on it, so I usually only see it on weekends.  The sun is already gone from the flowers along the back walkway when I get home.  Isn't it GORGEOUS?!

Growin' like crazy!

Summer is in full swing in eastern Washington, as you can see by the garden pics. Had potatoes and onions for lunch yesterday..... just minutes after we harvested them!

Sweet corn looking good!

Birdhouse gourd hillls continue to spread like crazy... little gourds are starting to form.

Sunsflowers in the back, leaning to the east, facing the morning sun. 
Zukes in front, mulched with big sheets of cardboard.  Not real attractive, but works!



Found our first tomatoes in the midst of overwhelming foliage!
I am brutally breaking off the suckers.

First potato harvest... yukon gold, reds, and russets.  Tasty!

And use fresh-picked strawberries and raspberries for first jam of the season....

Crushed fruit, lids simmering, and LOTS of sugar!

Four pints - YUMMY!!!

The pectin box had a recipe for jalepeno jelly... think I might get peppers at the farmers' market next week and give it a try!

Been absent a bit....

...so here is a quick post of grandbaby pics.  Hopefully more time to write later today. 

Surprise!!!

Aren't I a cutie??

Some random photos of sunshine, shadows and summery vistas...

We planted this tree about thirty years ago.....
Love the weeping look and the evening shadows

My kids found these FUN FUN FUN cut-outs about ten years ago. 

They make me smile every time I see them!



Sun and shadows on the pool fence.

 

Shasta daisies I planted from seed many years ago... purple salvia - love it! - in the front.

Sweet grandbaby!

Little Miss M and her mama are here visiting. Selah weather has been cooperating, and we are all sporting a bit of suntan...except of course for the little miss... sunscreen, hat and spf swimsuit kept her safe and non-pink!

Lots of fun pics.... will share a couple....

Reading But No Elephants, a favorite from mama's younger days





Intent on turning pages





Cutie pies!!

Such a happy kid!!  (blurry but happy!)



Grandbaby is a-comin'

My daughter and grandbaby are headed this way for a long weekend.. can't wait!!!  Weather was HOT..and now it looks like that time in the pool may have to be delayed. Wind has picked up and it is supposed to be much cooler tomorrow.

Will be great to spoil them for the weekend!

And grandbaby number two is just over a pound, nearly a foot long, 23 weeks in the womb..... and moving up a storm.  Will have to start bugging her parents for a name :)

Sunshine!

It's the fourth of July and it is a beautiful day in Selah! Had lots of fun at a family BBQ yesterday....  as usual, way too much to eat :)  The next generation, Norma's great grandkids, enjoyed the pool and running around in the yard.


One of my gazanias from the Master Gardeners



Geraniums, lobelia, coleus, and a calendula to the right



Walla walla sweet onions - just about ready to harvest



I have FOUR kinds of zucchinis... this is a yellow zucchini, can you tell?  :)

I am pleasantly relaxed and cooled off, after hanging out in the pool for a time.  YAY! 

Had some odd, disjointed thought ramblings, floating around in the pool... among other things, I was thinking about Ree Drummond, aka Pioneer Woman, and how different her life would be if she had not visited her local watering hole that first night she met Marlboro Man.... 

Was thinking how some people take risks, while others chose not to, and how "chance" encounters and decisions put us on wholly different paths than we might have expected.... Nothing we haven't all thought of one time or another.... not sure why it appeared in my thoughts in the pool :)

Lovely day in July

The calendulas I started from seeds are blooming and a gorgeous color!

Sunflowers growing against the garden fence - June 20

Nine days later - June 29 - sunflowers are taller than the fence!

And today I got to spend some time in the pool.....NICE!!