Perty

Flowers! Why you may ask? No real reason at all..just so I feel loved ♥

 

Bit Spoiled

 

Feeling a bit spoiled, these arrived by surprise!

 

I signed up for some classes at the local community college. Super excited to start!

Thanks, Mr. K.! :)

Love Surprises

 

Completely unexpected, just showed up at my door step...love it! ♥

 

 



Gestures

Came home today to a strange car in the driveway. Turned out it was a florist delivery! These were sitting on the porch, just because. :) BIG thank yous!

☼flowers

The sunflowers finally showed their happy faces! ☼

Sunflowers always make me smile from ear to ear ☺
I adore them!
♥

☼flowers

I have been pretty quiet on here for awhile. Though there have been little goings-on. Other than the constant job search, I have been getting myself back in shape, and I did actually go on my first date since the divorce. But for the most part, it's summer, so hiding from the extreme heat. Had a full week of over 100 degrees. Can't say that I am am fan of that. Though, my sunflowers sure seem to be!

Last year, they were all pummeled by hail, which killed all but one little straggler. This year, though they were again hit with hail, they were bigger this time around and survived with just some holy leaves. ☺ They are getting big! Can't wait until they bloom. ☼  

Did He Really See His Shadow??

If Punxsutawney Phil really did see his shadow...it must of been from all the camera flashes! Because Spring isn't listening to him, and is arriving now! :-) Our daffodils are already popping up and blooming! Yipee!

Duke Gardens

Well, today we (Mike, Mary and I) went to Duke Gardens (my second time there, their first). Very pretty, they had all the fall mums planted and there were new blooms everywhere you turned. While we were there, they were finishing up three different weddings, popular time of the year to get married! And of course, I took lots of photos.

The bamboo had Mike in a headlock.

"Man of Muscles" :-)

Tree Hugger, hehe
The leaves are slowly starting to change.
Some of the mums.

Some random pics

Some photos I took of flowers in my mom's flower pots.

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This would be everyone helping build Beepa's new carport!! The original wasn't very well constructed, and had alot of termite damage.

So everyone helped build a new place to house Mariah (Beepa's car).

The Tale of Two Toby's

And this would be the two Toby's! Toby (1) on the left, everyone knows has been a member of the family for Years, and Toby (2) Mike and I adopted about a month ago, and that was the name he came with. You can imagine when they are together it can get confusing at times for them, when you yell Toby, and they both come running, hehe. This was the extent of their help while we built, they tried to keep out from everyones toes, like good doggies. :-) Abby wouldn't stay still long enough to be in the picture, she was too busy running from door to door to see what Becky, Beepa's kitten, was up too inside.

Playing Tourist...

Today Mom, Dad, Beepa, Cortney and I went on a *venture. We did the tourist thing and went around to some places in Durham. First stop was the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. These beautiful gardens occupy 55 acres. It is recognized as one of the premiere public gardens in the United States, and I could see why. It was started early in the 1930's in an area that they had hoped to turn into a lake, of all things, but funds were too short. This place is just huge and beautiful!! We spent over 2 hours there, and easily could of stayed longer.

Our elder tour guides :-) sitting by the iris fountain.The entire outer circle is rose bushes!

Dad being my model, banana trees, I actually used to plant those when I worked at D.S. Cole Growers (greenhouse) up in NH. But they were less then an inch tall, the largest I ever saw them get was about 2 feet tall...I've never seen them this big!

A shot of the Teien-oike Garden Pond.

A bunch of monkeys hangin' out in the bamboo! Of course they had many magnolia trees.This was some of the Terrace Gardens, there was just level upon level of raised gardens.

At the top of the Terrace Gardens is the Pergola...covered in wisteria.

Shhh...Cortney's huntin' wattit.

A view at Millstone Pond.

Cortney took this one, she made us all pose. :-P

Lots of lily pads...some were easily over 5 feet wide.

I easily took over 100 photos at the gardens, it was so pretty, and so much to see...would love to go again!