Where Does the Time Go?

I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post. The last time I posted was before a rain. We did have a fair bit of rain at the end of May and into June, but July has been drier than February in Arizona! Even the rain that has fallen in the last two days has been south west of us. But the weather channel is promising rain next week (When I'll be back at work).

The gardens have grown up, and nicely. This ground-level photo of the west "curb" bed was glorious. The galardia (centre in front of stump) is still in bloom. The geranium is very happy, and the butter-cream daisy (on right) has a new batch of blooms. I've learned that the wood "sculpture"in the centre this bed is actually a piece of a chestnut tree that was in the back yard. The delphiniums can just be seen peeking out from behind the "stump".

The entryway bed has grown up, too. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the bee balm/ monarda with the red blooms is over 4 feet high. What a show! I found the bench at a garage sale, and have enjoyed many mornings looking out toward a nearby park.

I've taken literally hundreds of photos of the gardens this year, 8 of which have made it into matching frames on the living room wall.

This summer has been all about preventative maintenance on the house: Dad came in and pressure washed the front porch, back deck and garden shed, then I watersealed the decks and stained and painted the garden shed. Yesterday we black-topped the driveway. Next summer, I'll be able to kick back and relax!

Here are before and after shots of the garden shed:

This is after the pressure washing

and this is after the staining and painting:

The only thing left is to add a finishing touch of a happy face on the left wall. :-)

All this has happened during two weeks off over the first three weeks of the month. Once the postal strike was over, the Summer issue of A Needle Pulling Thread was mailed out. Renewal notices for this issue will be following soon.

Another Canadian Guild of Knitters undertaking was to mark yet another Level 1 package. It's heading back out in tomorrow's mail.

The vacation wasn't all work: Zoey spent a couple days in day care so Mummy could shop! When you have a dog with separation anxiety, it's a real luxury to get to spend 3 hours browsing through Wal-mart! The two of us went to an arts and craft show in Bracebridge where we spent a little time in the Greenelf Wild Woolens booth. Today, the last day of vacation, I took Zoey (aka the Ming Princess) to the Barrie waterfront where she got a walk, and I got some knitting done. When we heard the skirl of the bagpipes, I moved us to a better vantage point and enjoyed some celtic music. Today was one of the most temperate days of the vacation, and it felt good to get out and enjoy some of it, now that the painting is over!