Merry Christmas

Deck the Halls

Getting all the Christmas stuff out. The weather has been mild and so it really hasn't felt much like Christmas.

A Great DIY Idea

I saw this DIY tutorial on www.Centsationalgirl.com and thought it was so great I wanted to share it with everyone. You can get a lot of great, inexpensive ideas out there in blogland.
Remember to click on the picture to enlarge it.

Cape May celebrates Fall

My friend, Linda, went to Cape May, NJ last weekend and the town was all decked out for Fall.

The pictures she took were so colorful I wanted to share them with everyone.

Maine

There were lots of hummingbirds flitting about and my friend, Linda, and I managed to get a few pictures. The pictures in the hummingbird collage were taken at various places in Maine. Remember to click on the photo to enlarge it.

Too cute not to share

I saw this on a blogger's Pininterest site. I have just discovered this site and joined it, but I haven't taken the time to learn how to use it yet. It sends me off in all sorts of different directions when I follow up on things that seem interesting. Let me know if you like that site, too.

www.pininterest.com

Memories

After touring so many gardens this spring I started remembering all the wonderful things I had in my garden in Fresno over the years. It was hard to give up my yard, but as the years passed I was finding it harder and harder to keep up by myself.

Thank goodness I took a lot of pictures and can relive those days.

Happy 4th of July Everyone

Hope you all have a great holiday!

Last Garden Tour of the Season-

Just when I thought I was done with garden tours for this year, we discovered a garden tour in the nearby historic town of Fredrick. Evidently they do this every year, but we had not heard about it. We decided it was worth checking out. How often do you get to go in the backyards of historic old homes.

It was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon after church. I went with Linda and her husband. He figured he would give a garden tour a chance, but after a couple of gardens I think he realized that it just wasn't his thing. I don't think he will go with us next year.

A Few More Gardens

Spring is winding down and we are heading into summer. When a couple of days of good weather came our way we headed off to two more gardens. On Tuesday, May 10th we went to the National Arboretum. The day got a little warmer than predicted (82), but the beautiful gardens were worth it as the azaleas were just gorgeous.
On Thursday of the same week we ended up at Brookside Gardens---again at a time when there were many flowers in bloom. I love wisteria, so I was happy to see that blooming away. More pictures are available at my Shutterfly Share Site. http://peggy41.shutterfly.com/

Spring Road Trip

I left on April 8th and returned on the 19th. My friend, Linda, and I headed South to see some signs of Spring. This year seemed to be a really long winter and I was anxious to visit some gardens and see some flowers.

We were in Durham, NC, Richmond, Williamsburg, Norfolk, and Charlottesville, VA. I got my wish and saw so many beautiful gardens and flowers. You can see more of my pictures on my Shutterfly site. http://peggy41.shutterfly.com/

Carmel Mission

As usual, I made a visit to the mission. It was a nice Sunday afternoon and there were not too many crowds. They are continuing to enlarge the area near the Indian Burial Grounds. There is something different blooming whenever I go. This time one of the Wisteria vines was blooming. It was a little the worse for wear as just the day before there was an a cold snap and Carmel actually got some slush.

The Barnyard in Carmel

The gardens at this shopping complex are always beautiful and changing depending on what is in bloom at any given time. The economy has left many of the stores empty and some of my most favorite shops have closed over the years. Still, I always stop by to walk through the gardens. This year it was particulary nice to see all the flowers since in Maryland it will be a good two months before we fix flowers like these.

Pacific Grove---California

I went home to California at the end of February. I can't be in Fresno without making a trip to the coast. It is the part of California I miss the most. Although my original plans were to make the trip a girl's getaway, things did not work out that way.

I ended up renting a car and making the trip over by myself. I bet it has been 15 years since I made a three day trip on my own. Weather could not have been any better and there were almost no tourists out and about. That was good for me, but I imagine the tourist industry was hurting.

In places where you usually have to hunt for a parking space I had my choice of parking! It made driving along the scenic roads in Pacific Grove and Carmel a very special treat. Whenever I saw something I wanted a closer look at I just pulled over. I'll be posting more pictures soon.

Remember, just click on the picture to enlarge it.

January Snowstorm

After the storm I went out to take some pictures around my complex.

The crews were busy clearing the roads and sidewalks. I wanted to get a few pictures before the pristine snow was disturbed.

Snow Pictures

Well, although the news makes it sound like we have had a lot of snow, we really have had only one big storm here in the DC area. Cheryl took these pictures at her house after the storm.

Luckily, David was home sick when the big storm hit and working from home so he did not get caught up in the massive long commute so many workers did. The federal government closed down for one day only.

I just stayed home and read a good book for two days and enjoyed looking out the windows at all the pretty snow.