Monday, June 22, 2020

Monday meanderings -


This morning I awoke with a start and looked at the wall clock with bleary eyes - 6:45 AM. 
Crawled out from under the duvet (do you use one year-round? I do) pulled off 
the bed linens ready for the wash and carried them downstairs to get them going in
the machine.
Funny thing was when I looked at the kitchen clock it said almost 6:00 AM!
I misread the first clock and got up an hour too early. It was OK though as
I got a lot done before Bob was even awake!

By 8:00 AM I had deadheaded the petunias and geraniums, and accidentally snapped
 this piece off - tucked it in with rooting basil for a pretty window sill display.
Then I watered much of the garden, especially the pots as they dry out 
quickly - and today it hit 90F by early afternoon, phew!

This morning the peonies continued to smell divine, some now open full but
a few still in bud, I think they'll last through the end of this week.


Father's Day was fun and we spent several hours celebrating Bob, a truly great Dad,
but not appreciated enough by some family members. I will not go into details here, 
just take my word for it!
Are you finding being 'locked down, or up", makes it easy to dwell on sad 
bits of your life? I guess it's because we have so much time on our hands. I have to
 hold myself back here because I don't want my blog to be a pity party or full of negativity,
there's enough of that going on all around us.

So back to the garden, that place of solace, beauty, birdsong, color, fragrance,
 and relaxation after a lot of hard but mostly enjoyable work.


The day lilies are coming along well now. I'm really not a fan of orange flowers except
here hugging up to the Nikko blue hydrangea, they work well. Each bloom lives up to its
 name, blooming one day and then fading.


Sunday morning I made another batch of basil pesto, so delicious.  I had enough to share
for Father's Day with my daughter's partner - he does most of the cooking - and my neighbor.
I'll be making plenty of this fresh 'taste of summertime' over the next few months.

Just so you know - I'm feeling quite comfortable now with the New Blogger and am
using it without having to revert to the old legacy version.
I thank all of you for your assistance with this, your tips online, and by phone, were such
 a huge help.  I do think Blogger still needs to fine tune the platform, and I do think
I preferred the old version. Maybe it will improve in the coming month - maybe I'll
like it some day!

Here's to a good week everyone.


12 comments:

  1. Good to know you have adjusted well to the new Blogger. I still have to get started - but definitely want to take my time for that, which means I won't be doing it on a morning just before work.
    Love the blue hydrangeas contrasting with the day lilies, great colour combination. And those peonies are just glorious!
    Sorry to hear some less than good things are weighing on your mind. As I do not have any extra time (still working full time; from home, yes, but just as busy as "before corona") I can't say that I am dwelling more on past and present unpleasantness than before, but it makes sense for those who, like you, have more time and less out-of-the-house activities than before.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, quiet time is necessary to learn the changes (ask me if you need any help). I know you are computer saavy dear so should be fine. Now I feel more confident however I find responses often very slow, almost hang up, so hoping Blogger is busy fine tuning! It takes me much longer to design a post now!
      Yes, we miss being able to go far - scenery is becoming boring. You asked earlier if our neighborhood is quiet - not really as there's always a lot going on nearby and being at the end of the street on a cul-de-sac, we have quite a lot of traffic. . . . . these days mostly Amazon PRIME and FEDEX delivery vans, sigh!

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  2. Dear Mary, such a treat to look at your garden, any time. I have done that one hour early thing too - and not realised it until I had done all sorts of little tasks around the house. You might have missed some sleep, but you sure get a good start to the day :) Thanks to you for the alert about Blogger, I seem to have negotiated it and produced a post. However, like you, I would have preferred it the way it was and personally find the tiny little icons a bit fiddly and prefer things to be named! I can hardly believe those peonies are real, they are so perfect and fabulous! xx

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    1. I'm definitely with you dear - I liked the way it was too! It takes much longer, for me, to design a post - Blogger is slow on the pick up and needs to work on that issue. Do you find it takes much longer to add photos?
      The peonies have been awesome - I bought 2 bunches of tight buds and they just opened into such fabulous huge flowers.

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    2. Yes, it does take longer to add the photos - because they have increased the number of steps in the process, the silly Blogger things :)

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  3. Your garden always looks so lovely. I am glad that the new blogger is working better for you now.

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  4. Thanks Penny - we've worked hard on the front this year but the back still awaits the guys we've hired to help with ivy/vinca overgrowth etc. The wet weather has slowed things down - except also made things grow out of control at the same time, if you know what I mean!!!!

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  5. I love your flowers and it sounded like you had a wonderful day. I had two different types of peonies for years and last winter one type died, all of them. I do not know what happen.

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  6. Dear Mary,
    Your peonies bouquet is even more stunning now than it was a few days ago. I try not to dwell on unhappy and worrisome happenings. I try to make plans in my head. Plans which mostly include travel to Italy. I think that by next Spring we can be on our way.
    I like the new Blogger. My computer man built a new computer for me. It runs along quite fast and I really don't have any problems with slowness. Maybe a good clean-up of your files would help make your programs run a little faster.

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  7. Dear Mary, Your garden is full of beauty. I smiled at the orange day lily nestled up to the hydrangea, for the very same thing occurs in my garden. I'm not a fan of orange, but in the front garden I have a bunch of day lilies that go so very well with the blue hydrangeas.
    I'm glad you're settling in with the New Blogger. I am getting used to it now, too. Glad you had a good Father's Day. Your basil pesto would be a great gift!

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  8. Your garden is looking lovely! How did you manage to strip your bed around a sleeping Bob? If Mr P was to attempt such a feat on me, there'd be some stern words!

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  9. Your garden looks amazing!!
    I often get up around 5AM. I love that time just with a quiet house. I do often on laundry day have a couple loads done before anyone is up and awake. This morning I made vanilla pie cream filling and will make some small meringues with indentations to fill with the cream filling then top with berries.
    I must say we have enjoyed your recommendation on veggie burgers from Trader Joes. Thanks!

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