Life After Oral Surgery.....

.......I am thinking I need to get something on here or you all will think I'm gone for good. I had two hours of surgery and started to the car and had to hurry back to the chair because of excessive bleeding and stayed thirty more minutes for applied pressure and then one more stitch. I sure am glad it is over and would not want to do it again but I have gotten along quite well after coming home. I haven't been taking many pictures in the last week but.........

.......got a few shots from the sofa, through the glass door and screen on the porch.  These guys helped entertain me when I didn't feel like doing much.

The birds and squirrels were very active out there.

These goofy woodpeckers are enough to keep your mind off of your troubles. He is leaning back ckecking out the little tit mouse on top.

He really has a red head but is not the one called the red-headed wood pecker.

The cardinals are so much more graceful and mild-mannered.

The squirrels cannot get to the seed but it sure doesn't keep them from trying - time after time.

My friend Lynda brought me this large, pretty, creamy white magnolia from the tree in her yard.

She also brought this pear soap and cute dish along with a very large baked to prefection potato with toppings. It was so good - one of the best I have had in years.

I still can't chew anything much at all and am beginning to wonder if I ever will again!  It will just have been a week tomorrow so I guess it is too soon to get discouraged. Yesterday I tried to make one more plate of soft food look tempting. It didn't work!  I would love to have a big bag of potato chips or better yet a big juicy steak!

~~~~

Garden Update.....

........Things are looking pretty good and I have several things blooming .  Some aren't as full as I would like to see them but I guess I am asking for perfection. I won't be showing everything, just chose a few for this post.

This blue salvia has grown very tall.

Thunbergia is also tall but isn't producing very many flowers so far.

                 The bell shaped blossom is so vivid in color.  I want to see a lot of them all at once!

I like seeing my British crown in the background.

The peace lilies are blooming good.

Sweet potato vine has come back good and is finally getting rid of freeze damage.

Nice color on this lantana too.  Butterflies love it.

I am beginning to see baby ones of this macho fern coming up several places.  I have been trying for years to get plants to naturalize and fill in bare spots.  I am more encouraged this spring than any time before.  Several things have decided to spread.

This calibrachoa had declined but has made a good comeback.  I guess it pays to use liquid fertilizer on certain plants!

I forgot to get a picture of this Florida dogwood (mock orange) until it had dropped most of its blossoms.  It did not bloom as full this year anyhow.

I nearly always have the enjoyment of some type of wildlife when I am in the yard.  This time it was a pair of brown doves.  I didn't get a good picture of the mate.  You can be sure if you see one of these that a second is nearby.

The caladiums are starting to fill in some bare spots.  I sure wish they could stay year round.

                                                                 This is one of my favorites.

This Easter cactus tried but it did not quite make it to be in full bloom for Easter.  I didn't know there was an Easter cactus until my son brought this one to me last year in full bloom. It is a bit more upright than the Christmas cactus.

I was so excited when I discovered last week that I have a baby pineapple growing!  I almost got rid of the plant because it had gotten so bad looking but I decided to trim it up and give it a chance to pull through. I am so glad that I did.

Hopefully we can watch this fruit mature together. I think it takes a good while so we will just patiently watch.

All in a Days Time.......

.......I have been wanting to share a few pictures that were made throughout the day on Saturday. My daughter is a wedding planner and runs her company called Destination Occasion in Orlando.  I am her assistant when she needs me.  She was the coordinator of a vow renewal service for a couple from England at the beautiful Omni Champions Gate Resort in South Orlando.

The service was planned for mid-morning but we showed up early to receive the flowers from the florist and meet the Gentleman who was also arriving early from a villa where they stayed the night. The couple and their small party of guests had only arrived from England the night before. The service took place in the back resort grounds within a small garden/gazebo area.  So, we arrived in the garden in the early morning and who was there to meet us.......

.........this little guy.  He stayed in there rolling this big green apple around for fifteen or twenty minutes - plenty long enough for us to get several pictures. What a treat he was for Carrie, myself and the harpist who had also arrived early. He finally got tired of the apple and went hopping on out.

                                                                                Christine MacPhail

Eventually, the flowers, minister, photographer and vow renewal party (five people) all arrived and a beautiful service was conducted.  This sweet husband did the surprise planning for his bride of seventeen years!  He told her there would be a vow renewal and asked her to buy a special dress - she knew little more.  What a nice guy he is!

 After the service was completed and several pictures were taken everyone moved just outside the gazebo where a nice table had been set up with a cake and champagne which had been requested by the husband.  He had even secretly brought from England a Mickey and Minnie bridal figurine that they already had.

So, things were going well until this .........

.......yes, about four feet from the back of the table where the people were standing! It caused a little squirming but it dissappeared into the bushes and was only seen briefly once more!

It is fun to help with the wedding/vow renewals and be able to experience the special time with the couple and their guests. But, my day wasn't finished. After seeing the party off we left and stopped by Checkers (my favorite place for french fries), got some lunch and headed on to Carrie's apartment, loaded both our vehicles with boxes, etc. from two flights up and headed on to the recently purchased house of Carrie and Mark - my first time to see it.  After a lot of looking around and unloading the sports vehicles it was time to hurry to International Foods and get British Easter candy for my English son-in-law and then pick him up from his work. We went to the apartment again, loaded up two more loads, delivered those to the house, unloaded, ran the vacumn, messed around a bit more and it was dinner time.

The new house is in this little country town of Gotha which is the home of a  well-known eating establishment called Yellow Dog Eats. I had never been there but had heard about it. I have got to tell you it is not your ordinary place! The pulled pork and cheese balls and tomatoes with pesto are great and I imagine the other food is too considering how many people this place draws in. The decor.......well............just let me say it is different!  This place also had special greeters.........

She, along with several others, was in the parking lot when we arrived. I think we saw eight all together, just hanging around town.  I love chickens! They were a special addition to my day!

This cute little church is just accross the street. I expect this little town has other picture-worthy things that I hope to check out on another visit. You may see more chicken pictures in the future! I left there and drove the forty-five minutes home.

So, quite a variety all in my day Saturday - you need to remember I am heading towards seventy-three!  I am so blessed to be able to put in this kind of a full, fun day! I was glad I didn't have an Easter meal to cook the next day though!

~~~~

I apologize for so many details and long crazy sentences.

Not all rust is created equal.......

.......I had not thought much about it before and some of you may start wishing I had not thought of it at all but, I realize that I really like some rust.  Not all rust but some is very desirable. For instance.....

....this rusty trowel.  It was already rusted when I bought it. In fact, if it had been a new metal look I wouldn't have wanted it.  And, I like the nice smooth old-looking handle. These first things are on my screen porch.

This stool was also rusty when I purchased it years ago at "When Pigs Fly". It has rusted a good bit more since then because it gets wet here on the porch. This is why I started to think about rust in the first place. I noticed last week that the feet are starting to disintegrate.

This is a metal hanger.

Here is the bottom.  The jar hanging from it looks rusty but that is paint.

These bumble bees have very rusty wings and spirals.

I have a set of three of these standing in the ginger bed outside. I love their rusty corrugated roofs and chippy paint. They are getting so chippy as to have nearly no paint left.

They are not real birdhouses because they are made from four by fours and are solid.  This one has a nice green color mixed with its rusty roof.

Another birdhouse with a rusty roof.  It's "home sweet home" sign needs to be repainted.

One of my most treasured pieces of rust is this crown from London.  My daughter mailed it over when she was living there.  One thing about rust is that eventually it will destroy things. This is one piece that I oil every once in awhile hoping to make it last longer.

I love this old rusty and moss covered bench!

I had to have two trees removed from this area and now the bench is more exposed and doesn't look like it belongs here like it use to. Before it was like a little secret garden area.

A rusty obelisk.

This is one of many hose guides all of which have become homes to rust. I don't especially like them rusty so they will all get spray painted soon.

The finial will remain rust covered.

I am not liking this rust at all and will need to scrub it with my metal brush and give it a new coat of paint.

A tall hose guide.

And, another.

I have a set of three of these and so far, I like their rusted look.

I like the rusty bent-tine rake but, need to paint the cage.

And finally, one more rusty trowel - love it!  Should have gotten rid of the spider webs before I took the picture, though.  I have several other rusted things but will spare you.  What about you?  Do you appreciate some rust or are you thinking, what a ridiculous post!

~~~~