Friday, March 22, 2013

Budding Out & Sweeties

My daughter took my two granddaughters Jenna (8) and Paige (4) for an Easter photo with a bunny.  Oh my goodness, they are so cute and I miss them so much!  I sent them a crocheted Easter egg and a little handmade purse with a bunny charm on it and some money to buy their own Easter goodies.  :-)  For new readers - my daughter moved to Ohio 1.5 years ago and so I no longer get to see my grandgirls much, it's heart-breaking.  But they are coming this summer and we went there in the Fall.  
Here is Hayden, our youngest son's oldest son - he'll be turning 5 soon!  I was thrilled with this school photo!  We are going to have our sons and their families here for Easter and an egg hunt in the farm yard, if the weather allows.  I don't have a school photo of Caleb at this point.  
Here is our eldest grandson - Michael, who's 12.
And Gabriel, 8.  
We've had a busy week.. yesterday we hosted my Daughters of the American Revolution State Chorus for a rehearsal here at the farmhouse.  Goodness sakes, we were vacuuming and dusting and polishing for hours!  I oiled the baby grand piano as an accompanist would be playing it for us.  We had a tray with ice water, coffee and tea and Dayle even made a plate of sugar cookies for us!  The song that we will be singing is one I'd never heard and quite frankly is difficult to learn.  I hope I "get it" soon!  We have 3 more rehearsals and then we'll sing at the Oregon State Society DAR State Conference in May - in front of 150ish people - and the President General who will be attending the conference from Washington DC!!
I got all prepared for my annual "woman's" doctor visit today - we go and find that I'm 10 days early!  Sheesh!  So, we went to lunch, filled the gas tank, went to the bank and did our grocery shopping.  When we arrived home I got a few shots of how the Spring flowers are coming along here on the farm.  Sorry for the fuzzy shot, my camera focused somewhere besides what I wanted it to.. but you get the idea, the dark purple lilacs are budding out.. yay!
Here is a fuzzy shot of my white lilacs. :-) 
OK friends.. HELP!  What is the name of this shrub?  The leaves look like Rhododendrons but the flowers look like this and they have a heady perfume.   
My Star Magnolia will open very soon - I saw one of these cute trees in town and all the flowers were open!  I love the fuzzy pod of the flowers. 

Creeping Myrtle.. right?  It's all over this place!  A fun story, the brick walkway to the right is lined with cobblestones that were used as ballast in ships coming from Europe - these were used in Portland streets downtown until they were pulled up and replaced with asphalt.  Now I have them.. oh the history of these stones! 
A few red Azaleas are open! 
And here are our Oregon Grape.. state Flower.. and you lovely ladies across the pond informed me last year that you call them Mahonia!  And then I realized our Governor's mansion is called "Mahonia Hall" and now I know why!  How funny that our state decided to change the name of this plant to suit itself.  :-)  Soon it will have bright yellow blooms! 
Our patch of Irises - oops, we need to pull that grass out of the middle! 
My 4th of July rose is all leafed out... now bring on the buds! 
How pretty is this Daphne Odora? Pink buds open to a creamy white flower and the aroma will knock your socks off!  I have a pinch of it in a vase next to me.. mmmm. 
Here is the whole bush.. it's a great shrub, you should get one! 
The pond fish are happy that it's sunny weather. :-) 
I forgot to bring out my little glass egg cups that I found in an antique shop last year, so they are out with 2 of my cotton crocheted eggs in them.. and just today I got a new Easter dec in the mail from eBay - a porcelain Easter bunny mommy holding a pair of bunny babies.. she's rocking them to sleep in a blue rocking chair. 
Here is her pretty chair. 
And then yesterday I won the auction for 3 more of these bunny sculptures.. can't wait to get them!   What a good mommy she is! 
I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned.. even if it's just to relax and take it easy! I have a big event to lead tomorrow - the Friends of Multnomah Falls Interpretive Volunteer Training Workshop.  I will take photos and tell you about it soon.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

22 comments:

  1. Your grandchildren are beautiful! You have such a nice family. I'm sorry to hear about the appointment being another day; if you're like me, you probably just wanted to get that over with. The flowers are looking great! I don't know for sure, but your unknown plant might be a type of photinia? We have several of those and the leaves and flowers on yours remind me of them. I think they are native to China. Ours also has some red leaves at the tips of the branches. Hopefully someone else knows for sure. :)

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  2. Pretty, pretty pictures Teresa! Sorry about your Dr. visit. It takes me awhile to psyche myself up for that visit every year and I would hate to have to do it twice!!! :-). Love the grandchild pictures and your new bunny. Such a fun post! Have fun tomorrow.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  3. You are sharing so many goodies; could your mystery plant be a mock orange? There are 2 very different plants called mock orange, and your photo looks like my plant.
    Your grandchildren are fabulous, and your Easter decor.

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  4. Hi Teresa,
    I have been MIA, and missed so many posts. I will try to cover it all. Your grand girls are adorable and growing so big!!! Love the Easter photos of them. I know how much you miss them, and how much you are looking forward to their visit this summer!!
    Your flowers are all so beautiful!!! Spring is so pretty! I loved the pictures of the boys too. Such cuties. I feel like I have watched them grow before my eyes.
    I also love your new Bunny figurines. Such fun things to collect.
    Now...the biggie. CONGRATULATIONS on your Minnie Bell!!!! I have a Featherweight too, and cannot tell you enough, how much I love it! It belonged to my Dad's Mom, and then it was his sister's and my Aunt gave it to me. I do ALL of my piecing for quilts on this workhorse of a machine! Also, it is the perfect take along to classes, being that she is so compact. You will adore this machine. And, she looks darling just sitting out!!!!
    Enjoy!!!!
    XO Kris

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  5. You are always such a busy woman. But I'm sure it brings you pleasure. Your grandchildren are adorabble. And the photo's of all those gorgeous flowers and plants, I love it. I see it is spring there with you. Here we have one of the most cold months of march since over 100 years. I remember last year, we were sitting in the sun this time of year, not freezing outside. Enjoy your weekend, groetjes, Gerda

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  6. Did it snow over your way today, Teresa? It did here!!! And we are only a few miles away!!! We just have forsythia, daffodils and the camellia bush blooming here so far, but I'm not complaining, just amazed at the difference in micro-climates here in Oregon. Your grands are precious for sure, and I am glad that you are having happy busy days even if you still have to look forward to your appointment....sigh.

    I want to give your mama bunny a hug :) I have been having fun sewing up Miss Maggie Rabbit...a lot of blanket stitch that I am really enjoying.

    Looking forward to our next visit, xx, Gracie

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  7. Your grandchildren are adorable...lovely and the cutest. You are such a proud gramma.
    Your farm is looking wonderful!

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  8. They are lovely photos of your dear grandkids Teresa, how lucky you are to have them. The photo of the girls is super cute with the bunny....they are growing into 2 sweet young ladies. You must be so excited about their summer visit. Your garden is reallly blooming sadly winter is back here in the UK this weekend and it is snowing again...eek! Have a lovely weekend, Jane x

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  9. Love your spring plants Teresa, snow here this morning too! Just sitting in bed, bit of crochet on to go and lots of tea.

    CN x

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  10. The grandkids are growing up, something about a school picture makes them look older. The girls are indeed looking beautiful. I am sure they just loved your gifts. I know your heart is breaking that they are so far away, but believe that they feel your love even across all those miles. Your flowers are gorgeous as always, I love where you live, so much beauty surrounding you all the time.
    Hugs to you and I almost forgot your piano is absolutely beautiful,
    Meredith

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  11. Gosh it doesn't seem like 1.5 years since your grand-daughters moved ! Gorgeous photos of them and your handsome grandsons too. Teresa, you have a GRAND PIANO !!!!!! Wow wow and wow - I love piano music - used to play myself a long long time ago but not any more. Obviously spring is bursting all over the place in your neck of the woods. Weather is still warm in the day time but getting cooler at night. Our winters are usually very cold and very long so I'm not really looking forward to it. Enjoy your weekend. xoxox

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  12. Hello Teresa your grandchildren are so beautiful, such lovely photographs. My heart aches for you re your granddaughters.
    How wonderful to see the shots of the plants. Everything here is covered in thick snow. Outside the lounge window it is about 10 inches thick!!! Will we ever get Spring- sigh I do hope so.
    (Thank you again for you encouraging words, much appreciated and have helped me.)
    I was supposed to be at card making class this morning but it has been cancelled. I for one could not have got in there. Such a shame as I was so looking forward to it this week and it is the last but one as sadly the Craft Barn is closing at end of the month. Another casualty of the present economic climate :-( so I think I will be staying indoors and maybe doing a spot of crafting :-) Love and Hugs Anne x

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  13. I can't get over how much your grand babies have grown! The girls are just so precious and all the boys look so handsome. I know you must be counting the days when summer arrives! You must really have a green thumb.....lovely flowers popping out everywhere and so pretty! Wishing you smooth sailing with your event tomorrow.....wait to here all about it!
    Hugs, Shari

    Oh.....love the bunnies!

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  14. Hi Teresa, So happy to be back and to see all your darling grandkids. The little/big girls looks so pretty and sweet. They are always dressed so lovely and cute. "Real girly girls" !!
    Your farmhouse yard is just coming alive with buds and color. It all is breathtaking after a long winter. Thanks for sharing all your joys!
    Enjoy your weekend, xoRobin

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  15. Your grandchildren are all so nice looking and sweet. I know you'll be glad to see the girls when they come. Spring has really sprung at your house. That's always a fun time of year, to see things budding and beginning to bloom. I always feel very motivated to work in the yard in the spring -- in the heat of August, not so much. We have beautiful blue skies this morning, but snow is predicted for tomorrow.

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  16. Looks like spring has sprung there. Glad to see the girls have arrived safely in your hood. What a fun Easter you will have. Great pictures today, sweetie.

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  17. Hello Teresa, what a lovely blog. Had some difficulty loading down the follower button but l shall pop in again and try. Love your dollshouse by the way! All the best, Pam

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  18. Your grandchildren look so sweet, and so nice all dolled up in their Easter outfits, the boys in their school pictures. I do not know what is going on here in Ohio but we are still stuck in the winter mode and expecting snow by tomorrow evening, through the night till Monday. It hasn't even warmed up enough to go out and clean up the yard a bit. Instead I have busied myself with deep cleaning closets and ridding myself of things I haven't used in years. Right now staying busy is the key for me, but I see all your lovely spring flowers and shrubs budding out and hope I can say the same for my own yard before long. I also want to say that new toy (sewing machine) you got is darling. Hope to see all sorts of sewing going on at the Kasner blog!
    (((HUGS))) Susanne :)

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  19. Once again thank you for the flower photos. I'm afraid it's going to be a long time before we have them here. Cute grand kids! My grand daughters have moved clear across the country to a warmer climate. Can't say as I blame them but I miss them too so I know what you mean there. :-)

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  20. Gorgeous pics of all your lovely grandchildren Teresa...you must have such great times with them all..Fortunately too, time does fly and your granddaughters will be with you again very soon....you must be so looking forward to summer!
    Your baby grand piano looks beautiful as do all your lovely spring flowers and the crochet eggs are fab!
    Happy Sunday,
    Susan x

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  21. Beautiful grands! I absolutely LOVE that picture of the girls! Soooooo sweet! And look at all the beautiful flowers! Ours are still in hiding. I'm excited that the Bradford pear trees are just starting to open...they herald the arrival of spring here. My daffodils have buds...still hidden...they should pop out soon, I hope. We have snow in the prediction for tonight tomorrow and again Tuesday...I'm hoping this will be the last! Soon, our bleak and brown yard will magically turn lush green and I'll be a happy girl! LOL Love those little eggs of yours in their glass cups...what a great find those were!

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  22. All your grandbabies are so adorable. I can't believe how much the girls have grown?!?! When I first "met" you, the youngest was still a toddler...and Hayden is 5? Where does the time go?

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