Recap

27                  Number of posts in June
39                  Number of flower pots I planted in June
30                  Number of times I re-arranged pots in June
14       15       Number of pictures of Bea posted in June

74                  Number of pictures taken of Bea in June

6                    Number of pints of strawberry jam made in June

27                  Number of followers in June

Guess that wraps it up for June. Except I'd really like to invite you to follow my blog. I've been at 27 for quite awhile now. If not, it's ok too, thanks for stopping by.

I'll be back tomorrow to tell you what's up for July.

Frog Junk

was the original title of the post, but I couldn't get the photo to load correctly.

I looked out the window at my new frog ornament and wondered aloud, "Shouldn't the frog have green balls?"

Yup, that's what my 30 day blogging challenge has come down to folks, frog balls.

Milestone

Every morning for the past couple weeks, Sam has been introducing Miss Bea to the tub set up especially for her. Every morning she has frantically jumped out and headed straight for her favorite spot under a hosta.

The tub is old, really old, as I was in a pile of stuff we brought home from Opee's (Gardas) farm. I tried growing flowers in it last year, but it held water and the dahlias spend most of the summer floating in a soup of potting soil.

 Sam cleared a spot for it (smooshed hostas, no comment) Made some steps out of bricks

Filled it with water

Bea isn't sure what to think

Yesterday morning, I walked into the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot, looked out the window and saw this.

Frog Story

I found a fun, whimsical piece of garden art this weekend. I love frogs--in moderation--they have to strike my fancy.I brought it home and placed it (temporarily) outside my kitchen window.
I went out to snap a quick photo and noticed a twig protruding from the frog's mouth. On close inspection, I found that an industrious wren had already started a nest in its mouth. It has been less than 2 days and already my object d'art is violated.

Miss Bea watched intently as I took my photographs tonight. I asked her if she wanted me to take her picture.

She's a poser

There's more to the story but I had a photo malfunction. 

Sunday Scenes

A beautiful Sunday here and a good family day enjoyed with Kent. For most of the weekend we savored the leftover smoked chicken and ribs from George and Daniel's visit accompanied with cheesy potatoes, asparagus and fresh lettuce from the garden

On the menu for lunch today

Beer braised Johnsonville Brats perfectly smoked with apple wood served on atop a bed of rustic local Vintage 2010 sauerkraut 

 (photo re-enactment--too busy stuffing our faces at noon to grab the camera)

Olivia took a break from playing outside to have "quiet" time playing pac man

And Mr. H, well look at this folks

Later on, we all went to the garden to plant some yellow peppers and pick the lettuce

A baby summer squash, what an unexpected surprise

Pea blossom

 Two peas in a pod

Radish Raider

Saturday Briefly

10 AM Mary's Roses

6 PM Pick Kathy's strawberries

10 PM Eat Kathy's strawberries

In between, a fun day of touring gardens, lunch, plant shopping, weeding and feeling better about life in general. Never underestimate the healing power of friends and fresh-picked berries.

I Am Determined

to fulfill my personal goal of posting every day in June. Even though today has been a bad day--ending a bad week. So I'm going to post this photo I took Wednesday night when George and Daniel were here. I loaded the photos this morning --and have been an emotional wreck ever since.

We always take a picture of everyone around the table.
This is the first one without Mom.
I just miss her so much right now.

One of my least favorite things

is being on the front-line of our hiring process. On the other hand, I have great stories. Probably enough to fill a book, if I could remember them all. 

We put a help-wanted ad in yesterday's paper, so the phone calls have begun and I now have my first applicant.

Here's where we are so far:
He called twice trying to find the office --understandable, it is quite the complex.
He walked in and his opening line was, "Wow, I ran into the glass wall at the end of the hall.You know, the one next to the door"
Rubs goose-egg on forehead

Standard applicant attire, sports jersey, baggy pants,  tattoos, lots of them and reeks of cologne. He'll fit right in.

I hand him the application and show him into Sam's office to fill it out.

His name is Nick. He has no driver's license. He says, "I haven't got it yet."
I ask, "How old are you?"
"I'm 20," he replies.
"Did you lose your license?"
"No, I flunked the written exam and just never got around to it"
"So how do you plan on getting to work?" I ask
"Oh, I have reliable transportation."
Yea, like I haven't heard that line before....
"It's my wife, I'm like married."
Wow, no surprise someone snatched you up right away. You are such a hot commodity.
But on a scale of 1 -10, I'm giving him a 4. Because he showed up (or at least somebody made sure he showed up), he was polite, honest and smelled pretty darn good.

Wondering

It's Wednesday--only 8 more days left in June.

I'm about to post another photo of Bea. 

If anyone is planning an intervention, could you possibly wait until the first of July. 

I can quit any time. 

Really I can.

But she loves me, she really loves me.

And, no, I don't know what I was thinking when I put my hair in pigtails.

And, yes, I'm in my pajamas.

Chair Story--The Saga Continues

Chair as bunk bed

Clean funky sheet

Then the cat showed up and everything changed

Explanation: Poor photo quality. Black blob in chair is sleeping cat. Sorry. I've started bringing my real camera to work so I can use the zoom

Green Is

Bea's favorite color

And mine

Zoey is still thinking about it

Happy Father's Day

Some of us:

Made lunch and lemonade

Did the dishes

Or Called

Or just missed

Our Dads

Saturday

Made Paella for the first time tonight. Delicious, but need a different pan.

Sam read Olivia a book

Harrison loves his sing a ma jig

(Don't you just love his hair?? The nicknames are endless: Little Alvin, Little Mark, Curly)

Meanwhile 

 

Friday Night

Long week. Will try for asparagus recipe tomorrow.