The out of towner

Rob was out of town this weekend.  I'm sure he enjoyed his visit, but Syd and I also had fun.  More fun than we've had together in a while.  She has my sense of humor, and we spent most of Saturday laughing together at things Rob would have rolled his eyes at and said 'it's all funny until somebody gets their feelings hurt."  We shopped, we went out to lunch, we talked about plants.  It was a nice chance to spend some one on one time with her and laugh about how structured her life has gotten.  The rest of the time, it felt like I was doing chores and spending time with the dogs.  Rob's beagle had her second cancer treatment last Friday and you'd be surprised at how inventive I've been at getting her to take 10 pills a day.  I have stuck those pills into everything from cat food to homemade roast beef, but I've gotten every single one into her.  

I didn't spend any time quilting or sewing or anything else.  But, I posted a picture of this quilt on social media yesterday and it got a lot of love.  The pattern is called Mosaic and I bought it more than 10 years ago.  I didn't think I'd ever be able to make the quilt, but it's all pieced from strip sets, so it was really easy.  It's hand quilted with a feather wreath in the center of each block and a grid pattern, down the center of the squares and it's lasted us a long time.  

I got two coats of paint on the greenhouse floor.  Now, that's going to bake in the heat and harden really good while we build the shelving units before I move back in.  I can see the shelves in my head and need to get them on paper so Rob can see them too.  I've given him the basic idea, now it's time to flesh that out.    I'm loving the dark gray of the floor in contrast with the light gray walls and the gray roof.  

One of Syd's co-workers is moving and was getting rid of plants.  I wanted one.  I ended up with three.  Well, three for now.  They're in such bad shape that I'll be lucky to end up with one or two.  There was a fig tree (the fruit kind) that has no leaves and Syd said 'if anybody can save it, it's you', so I took it for a challenge...but y'all, I don't know.  This one may be beyond my help.  

I put together this basket of succulent cuttings.  I've been saving cuttings for a while, but I couldn't figure out how to get them in the basket.  It's a vintage metal basket and I don't want to fill it with soil and plant directly into it, so I've always used pots in it.  This time, I lined it with a. cocoa liner and put juice bottles in the bottom of it to elevate it and then used a tray that plants came in, the kind that's molded to hold pots upright during transport.  I filled that tray with soil and planted directly into it.  It's still a work in progress, but I think it's going to be great!  There's a shelf beneath and I plan to put a pot of succulents under there as well.  

The only flower pics this week are some lilies and crape myrtle.  The garden is still full of pink and lavender flowers, but as it gets hotter and hotter, some of them are fading and being replaced by the hot summer bloomers that are getting ready to pop!

I got in a cooking mood yesterday, so I fired up the toaster oven and baked (it is far too hot for the big oven).  I made mini pecan pies and a quiche and baked rigatoni.  That will get me through a few meals.  I'm thinking we're going to have parm crusted chicken breasts with that rigatoni for dinner tonight.  I took a taste and it's delicious!  The pecan pies are too!  I had a fourth crust that I didn't think I had enough filling for, but after they baked out of the shells, I saw that I would have had plenty of filling for that one, too.

Everybody have a great week!  Find something you love and make time to enjoy it.  And, hug your pets extra tight.  You never know when you might be trying to get them to take 10 pills a day.

Lane