Easy Going Sunday

                            Lovely afternoon.. just spent some time in our backyard with husband.  Roses are blooming and beautiful, lupine is purple and prolific.  :)  The lilacs, tulips and daffodils passed by weeks ago.  Spring comes early to the Pacific Northwest.  The days have been warm and full of sunshine, though the weather people are predicting overcast and showers for the next couple of days.  We have the air conditioning on.  Friday was the first day of the spring/summer for that.  In my mind, i'm making little plans for tomorrow.  It might be a good day for a spot of baking.  Cookies?  Bread? A cake?  Chocolate chip?  Oatmeal?  Banana?  Maybe something not dessert-ish, but then again, why not?  The days are getting longer, i'm spending more time walking and all around outdoors, so i'm getting more exercise.  Cutting back on calories, but still splurging now and then.  I think a cake.  I love to bake.  I like to cook too, but there's something special about baking.  Mixing ingredients together.  It's meditative..  I love to sift flour.  Sounds odd, doesn't it?  Then i look at the finished product and think, hey!  I made that.  It's sort of like when i do a sketch that i like.  I like to do things with my hands..

                     Anyway, we are getting ready to watch something on Netflix.  I'm thinking maybe a mystery, but nothing too dark.  But then, we've been watching episodes of Rebus on Acorn.  Those can be quite dark, but they are excellent.  Based on Scots author Ian Rankin's novels.  Love 'em!  The show is good, but the books are better.  And there's not a new Rankin coming out until November.  I'm not very good at waiting, but that's just too darned bad.  lol.

               So enough rambling for now..  I just want to add a couple of photos of some of our roses.  We have quite a few varieties of all colors.  Some have scent; some don't.  Can't decide which ones are my favorites.  I think today, i choose the yellows.  Maybe tomorrow i'll like the pinks better?  :)

Aren't they stunning?  When tulips show up in the springtime, they are my absolute favorite.  But then!  Then the roses make their grand, gorgeous entrance!  And i just can't get enough of them.  I have numerous photos, but i don't want to overwhelm anyone, so i'll add maybe a couple to each post!

                          I wish you all peace and a lovely Sunday evening!  I'll be back soon...

                                        Mary

Here I Sit

                           Here I sit watching an episode of Midsomer Murders on PBS. Windows open. Beautiful breeze. Husband on a two night trip to Cali for work. Coming home tomorrow. Nice and quiet. Just two kitties and me. Have glass of wine, Pinot Noir, and a good book beside me for when the show is over. Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner. The dishes can wait until morning to be done. Same with the laundry. I don't procrastinate as often as I used to, but once in awhile...

                Don't have a lot to say. :). Doesn't mean I'm unhappy. On the contrary. Do you ever feel so grateful for your life and everyone and everything in it that you are nearly speechless with that gratitude?   ...........

wordless wednesday

    Or maybe just one word.. Pink!  And maybe one more.. Joy!  You all have a lovely Wednesday!

                            I'll be back soon..

                                    Mary

No Flying Haiku!

                            No flying for me!
                            I like my terra firma!
                            No desire for wings!

               Yep.  I'm a homebody.  Husband and i had been talking about flying to the east coast this summer, but i have no desire to get on a plane.  The flight itself.  The wait in various airports.  The airport food.  The plane food.  All those hours in the air that drive me batty.  No thank you.  :)  So i asked him.. on a scale of 1-10, how important is it to you that we go?  Anyway, we've decided not to make the trip.  I could not be more relieved.  It will not be hanging over my head all summer long.  I like to take trips.  In a car.  I wouldn't mind a dogsled, or a train.  But not a plane.  No how, no way!

                        So, i'm a very happy woman this Sunday evening!  You all have a wonderful Memorial Day.

 

This is a rose from early last summer.  I need to work on loading some of this year's photos onto my laptop.  Maybe tomorrow.  We have many blooming right now, and i've been busy snapping photos of them.  Pinks, yellows, reds, on and on.  I'll be back soon, and peace to you all!

                               Mary

Columbo Haiku :)

                                  Columbo will know!
                                  No secret is safe from him!
                                  Oh, just one more thing!


Husband and i are watching a couple of episodes of Columbo on Netflix this fine Friday evening.  I have a kitty in my lap, and he has a kitty in his lap.  (My husband, not Columbo.)    All four of us on the couch.  :)  Big excitement at our house tonight!  No wild parties here.  We will totally be in bed by 11.

 

This was our first dandelion of the springtime.  At least the first one i saw, and i wanted to get a photo.  I personally love them, though i know not everyone feels the same.

                    You all have a lovely Memorial Day Weekend!  I'll be back soon...

                                     Mary

Nope!

               Well, i couldn't do it.  I just couldn't stay away for 5 days.  I gave it an honest try, and managed about 48 hours.  And it was difficult.  What was kind of creepy, was how mindlessly i reached for my phone.  I have never talked on the phone or texted while driving.  I draw the line there.  Those things are illegal, and with good reason.  I didn't text or talk in the car before there was a law against it.  I've always thought those who do are absolutely nuts.  I always thought.. really??  You can't wait until you GET somewhere??  Wow.  But i'm pretty 'bad.'  My phone?  Where's my phone?  Is it in my purse?  Where did i put it?  And my iPad.  Now there's a most excellent piece of electronics!  And i am surrounded by books, and many other things to do.  But so often, i choose to play with the gadgets.  I've accepted that i can never go back to the way i was 'before.'  lol.  Before i came over to the dark side.  I just love the dark side too much, i guess.  It's not facebook i miss when i'm offline.  It's the blogs i love.  The websites i like.  Open Culture.  Arts and Letters Daily.  Words Without Borders.  (Fiction and non-fiction translated to English from other languages.)  Beautiful writing from all over the world.  And there is no print version.  It's all on the web.  The world at my fingertips.  I don't want to be away from it.  For long, anyway.  I have; however, been able to cut back.  Going cold turkey won't work for me.  But i can set time limits.  No more looking up at the clock and realizing that a half hour or an hour has gone by whilst i've been busy scrolling.  No more disengaging from the world around me because i'm so enthralled by the words on the screens.  So this was an experiment that failed in some ways.  But i'm no longer going to beat myself up because i like to play on the gadgets.  Usually, i learn a lot while i play.  And there's so much good in being connected!  Well, there it is.  And with that, my time is almost up.  Almost time to put my pencil down on the desk and turn the test over.  But wait!  :)

I just want to leave you with this little rhyme before i retire for the evening...

                                                Watching Nova about being hacked!
                                                Online can be dangerous, that's a fact!
                                                But i love my iPad..
                                                It's so much more than just a passing fad!
                                                But i must make sure my minutes on the web are not
                                                       too stacked.  (Or something like that.  I sort of lost it at the end.  lol)

And just one pretty late springtime photo!

 
One day, in a few months, these will become apples!

                                    Have a beautiful Thursday.. i'll be back soon!

                                              Mary

Happy

                                  Summer is coming!
                                  Time of intense azure sky!
                                  Nighttime wine and song!

              The days are so long now. I love this time of year. Much anticipation of the Solstice. But must not rush the days by, have to savor each minute.

                   You all have a wonderful weekend. Love and peace to all!

                                Mary

Agent Dangerous

                     Agent Byron Dangerous likes his oatmeal cold..
                     His hair in a pony tail, and his chartreuse ties bold!
                     He enjoys rainy weather..
                     And his scrambled eggs and ketchup mixed together!
                     His big white ranch house has just been sold!

                     Byron's moving in with his girlfriend Charlene..
                     She's six foot two, with a frame quite lean!
                     She madly loves Dangerous..
                     Who's not the least bit cantankerous!
                     In her long, fiery locks, she wears ribbons of green!

                     Sometimes Byron acts nutty, but he's really quite smart..
                     He paints in watercolor, it's his favorite kind of art!
                     By and Charlene are moving to a big Mansard home..
                     In its backyard garden lives a mischievous little gnome!
                     Oh, and i can't forget Charlene's kitty..
                          His name is Kevin, and he likes to fart!

                                Mary R.

                           To be continued in a future post..
 

                       You all have a great Friday and a fabulous weekend to come!  I'll be back soon..

                                       Mary
                   

Rain!

                             Rain is nourishment!
                             Droplets quench thirst of flowers..
                             Drink for each petal!


We had some much needed rain here in northwest Oregon today!  I have been loving the sunny, warm days of springtime, but sunshine is not usual for this part of the country this time of year.  And as lovely as it's been, the grass, plants and reservoirs are thirsty!  So today was a nice, quiet day of reading, errands and .... more reading.  Oh and getting my very long hair chopped.  Eight inches lopped off the back, and i now have a chin length bob.  I feel rather naked.  A little naughty!  A good kind of naughty if there is such a thing, (and i think there is.)  Anyway, it's still raining, and i can hear the beautiful sound on our roof as i type.  Our kitties are enjoy the peacefulness too.  :)

A magical corner of our yard a few weeks ago.  The tulips are long gone, but were gorgeous while they lasted.

I wish you all peace and a lovely Wednesday!  Be back soon!

                                    Mary

Sweet

                                  Is pink rose more sweet?
                                  Or is caramel with salt?
                                  Both have texture silk!

           Slowly coming back to online-ness.  It's been good to spend less time on screens, but i've missed the blog world!  I haven't left facebook, but i go there much less often.   I plan to spend, in the future, lots more time visiting you all and writing here on blog.  In many ways, this is a far friendlier place.

                                 
This is more of a deep, sexy pink than a soft, sweet shade.  :)  Bye for now, but i'll return a lot sooner this time!  I wish you all peace and happy springtime!

                                               Mary