Friday, June 28, 2013

Girl's BBQ on the Deck

My older sister Roberta (center, in white) has her granddaughter Ava (2nd from right) here with her for a few weeks.  I offered to host a luncheon on the deck in her honor.  Our sister-in-law D'Ann (in purple) was serendipitously in town visiting her children and was able to join us also.  Far right is Tami, Roberta's DIL and far left is my younger sister Denise.  Dayle smoke grilled BBQ chicken breasts for us, Denise brought potato salad, Roberta brought fruit salad and Orange Baked Beans.  I have 3 siblings, Robert and Roberta are twins, then moi, then the baby Denise.
Today was the beginning of a heat wave here, I about died of the heat while bustling around before they arrived, cleaning, waxing the piano, putting a lace tablecloth on the dining table inside, setting the table outside.. making iced tea, etc.  Dayle was busy too, vacuuming, blowing off the deck, etc.  And it was all worthwhile.. lunch was perfection!!
I used a French style tablecloth, my Jadeite plates, the Mother-of-Pearl handled silverware, Ball jars for the iced tea, and Dayle picked us a bouquet of one pink rose and 4 "Double Delight" roses for the table.   
It got to 91 degrees here today!  We stayed fairly cool under the shade of the gazebo and with the waterfall next to us making melodious water sounds and giving off cool mist.  The girls headed off at 4 pm and Dayle and I cleared the table and came in the house and turned on our 2 AC units.  Ahhhh...
Sister Roberta had found some vintage Avon containers in a thrift store and bought one for each of us in honor of our Mom who had one of theses.  How nice of her! 
These held scented lotions - Mom loved Skin-So-Soft! 
The ivory roses with the pink edges are called "Double Delight" and interestingly, my younger sister's mother-in-law tested these for Jackson and Perkins and got to name them!  They smell divine!  If you don't have one, you should buy one.  I just checked and it's the number one rated rose for scent and beauty! 
Wish you could smell this. :-) 
We are now in the house and are cooling down.  Ahhhh... 
We got two strands of globe lights and Dayle and Travis ran them around under the gazebo for evening light.  Also - we got 6 new cushions for our chairs as the old ones were worn out.  I really like the tropical look of these.  Do you see our Blue Heron decoy?  He's there to scare off other real Blue Herons which have eaten many of our fish.. dang them. 
 I think we've almost gotten the deck ready for the summer, Dayle plans to pressure wash the deck and re-stain it.  
Dayle is very proud of his ceramic pot buying and planting project... Jasmine and blue Lobelia. 
He also brought home 2 hanging baskets of geraniums. 
The waterfalls (there are 3 with 3 ponds and then the larger one at the bottom.) 
I wish I remembered the name of the bamboo I planted there - it's very full and graceful, but it's roots do not "run" it stays contained.
I had mentioned to Kristi that we needed more plant stands to get the pots up off the deck - and she surprised us with a large collection of some that were extra at her parent's house! 
When were at a garden center buying the lobelia I snapped up a Lantana.. they thrive in the south and won't live through our winter, but I love how the flowers open up red, then turn orange, then yellow - very colorful! 
Just a few shots of Multnomah Falls yesterday.  Can you guess what is unusual about this photo?
OK, I'll tell you... the sun is shining on the waterfall!  This falls is on the north side of this tall cliff and the sun only shines down on it during this time of year - most of the year it's in shadow.  :-)
I just snapped this shot of the gazebo at dusk, all lit up and of the pond lights and Dayle's Dad's Chinese lantern that Dayle wired up to light.  :-)
Can we talk books?  I've been buying and reading books on my iPad - yes, I love real books and have many, but for ease of purchasing I've bought several eBooks.  I just finished one last night and I have to be honest.. there was way too much S*X in it!  It was "The Yonahllossee Riding Camp for Girls".  I found it by googling the best seller list.  It came up on several I found.  I thought.. girls.. horses.. camp.. this might be good.  I was tense the whole time following this young girl through her poor choices!!  Before this one I read "Sea Glass" - it had too much about the cotton mills striking and all.  I read "Last Summer" and wanted to smack the woman 1,000 times for not speaking her mind!  SHEESH!  I read "Where'd you go, Bernadette"... it was kind of crazy.  .... SO.. can anyone recommend a GOOD book? :-)  Enjoy your weekend and stay cool.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

33 comments:

  1. What a lovely lunch you all had. The food looks delicious and your table setting is so pretty. I love jadeite plates and servingware. I used to have a fake jadeite bowl that was Martha Stewart from Kmart but it broke in one of our moves and I was disappointed because it was so pretty even if it wasn't genuine. The roses are beautiful; I love two-tone roses. I wish I could recommend a book but many I've read lately had a fair amount of s*x in them too...hmm, I liked The Snow Child and The Chaperone. I liked Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter, which is a memoir. Good luck!

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  2. A perfect time spent together and oh my made me hungry lol. Very cold here
    so enjoyed hearing about warmth ☺ Beautiful flowers Teresa.

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  3. I think your new gazebo is wonderful--and, with this 'lovely' (not) hot, humid weather, it will help keep you a bit cooler! Your waterfall/pond water feature is awesome--I never realized just how complex it was till this post--very, very nice!
    Glad you had a nice time with family...yummy sounding lunch:)
    Stay cool!
    Blessings,
    Aimee
    PS: I LOVE jasmine. We have some planted by our upper pond and it smells so good!

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  4. Mrs. Teresa you deck and gazebo look wonderful and so inviting. I bet it is a new favorite spot for you to relax with the waterfall and all.
    I wish I could recommend a good book for you but I have been reading classics lately. Right now I am reading "Pride and Prejudice". I downloaded the kindle app on my phone :)

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  5. What a fun lunch with all of the girls. You made such a lovely table for them all and I'm sure everyone had a good, (and warm) time. It was warm today wasn't it? I took Piper for a walk around the neighborhood but didn't go very far before we returned home. I'm not used to this humidity. Ick! Your flowers are sure beautiful. Kristi sounds like a great daughter-in-law with all of her gardening help.
    Knitting at Taci's was fun and I'm sorry you and Gracie missed it. Next time hopefully we'll all be together. I need to time my trips better.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. I'm sorry I missed knitting with you and Taci - hopefully next time we can all get together!

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  6. Okay...gosh, so much to comment on. First...what a lovely lunch!!! I think you better keep that darling Dayle! He is just a gem, isn't he!!! Lunch looked yummy, the table was pretty, the setting...perfect!! What a fantastic spot you have made there on the deck. So pretty with the waterfall, and the plants and flowers!! I love it. Also love the lights and new chair pads too. And how sweet of your sister to get the vintage Avon jar!
    Now...onto books. I loved the The Last Summer. I am an avid reader too. I love historical books. Did you ever read any of Diana Gabaldon's books? Wonderful! I love Nancy Taylor Rosenberg....Mitigating Circumstances. An all time favorite of mine..... Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher. Another favorite read...many years ago, Rex by Joyce Stranger. Oh, and Sacajawea bu Anna Lee Waldo. Cane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. Gorillas In The Mist....so many...so many....
    XO Kris

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    1. I'm definitely keeping Dayle. :-) Thanks fr the book suggestions, I now have Shell Seekers and Sacajewea on my iPad! Thanks!

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  7. Hi Teresa- I so enjoyed seeing your photos and what a lovely luncheon you've allowed us to see. Your gazebo is so pretty, especially with the new evening lights, cascading water and gorgeous flora. You are located in one of my husband's and my favorite areas in the world. Hubby's mom is from Ellensburg, Wa. and he had many picnics at the "Gorge' when he lived there as a child.
    Books?: You might like "Bone River" by Megan Chance. I pinned it on my Pinterest Book Board as; Like primitive anthropology in it's beginnings? Want to feel like your in the Pacific Northwest? Then read this one!
    Maybe you would like it too. Thank you for sharing such beauty on the Columbia River area. I plan to check back often. :)
    Reni- In- Az

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  8. I love the deck all lit up like that in the evening. So pretty with the pond in the back ground. Perfect spot for summer entertaining!! Be careful in that heat though. There has been so much on the news about how dangerous this heat wave will be. We have cooled down a lot here in the north and the humidity is gone, thank goodness.

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  9. Loved all your pictures! The deck looks pretty in the day time as well as evening :) Also I like so much that you and your husband both love gardening, planting, just like my parents do!
    Have a happy weekend, Teresa!
    Anna

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  10. I am so happy you got to visit with your family ( we missed you this afternoon) here in my house...your table look just gorgeous and your yard just lucious. What a pretty gazebo and it looks so wonderful and seren with the fun lights. I haven't read for a while now. I've been just so tired... I just follow asleep as soon as I start to read but a friend ... I'll try to think about a few good books idea for you soon. Have a fabulous weekend :)

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  11. Your gazebo turned out so beautifully :) It must have been wonderful to lunch out there - but thank goodness for AC! As far as reading goes I usually pick older classics: you've probably read it already but I can highly recommend "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, also "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson is such a good book (much much better than any movie adaptation)...a newer book I haven't read yet is "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" which gets great reviews from my friends who've read it. Let us know what you pick :)
    Smiles, DianeM

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  12. Hi Teresa, Great post, I enjoyed it so. Great luncheon, great roses, lights, falls, and over all scenes of your beautiful home and gardens, I emailed you, The light between the Oceans by M L Stedman. Read this, you will love it I did!!
    I also read Seating Arrangement, and now The mermaid in Brooklyn both are so so. Next for me is The unfinished work of Elizabeth D., by Nichole Bernier and then Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. I will let you know.
    Have a wonderful weekend, xoRobin

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    1. I am making a reading list.. thanks for the ideas!!

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  13. Okay, I love The Last Summer, but you are right I wanted to smack her. Speak up! I have heard Orphan Train and The Paris Wife are excellent, they are next on my list. Did you ever read The Promise of Stardust? That has been my favorite so far this summer.
    Love all your pictures.
    Meredith

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    1. I just downloaded "Shell Seeker" by Rosamunde Pilcher and "Sacajewea" by Anna Waldo - I guess I'll get your recommendation, too!

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  14. Wow looks like a wonderful day. I love your spider web tablecloth. I am a fan of vintage avon also. How are the bugs there where you are. At this time of year by me you can bearly stand all the mosquitos.

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    1. Hi Denise - we are lucky to be fairly bug free here. Very few if any mosquitoes. Not one bug yesterday. :-)

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  15. From where I am sitting your lovely deck looks cool and inviting, but I know that on the west coast you guys are suffering with terrible high temperatures. Your get together with sisters and extended family looks inviting and the meal sounds perfect. Once again you have WOWED me with the lovely flowers. I have never been one to have much luck with roses. Around here they are something that one has to fuss over and time consuming, but I do admire them and love all the varieties out there. How romantic your gazebo looks at night. Do you have much trouble with the insects being attracted to the lights?
    As always,
    Susanne :)

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  16. Yum! That plate of food looks so yummy! I love your gazebo and yard! Looks like such a wonderful place to spend time. The lights look great too. I bet it makes it extra special to sit out there in the evening. So pretty.

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  17. Teresa, I bet you are so glad you put up that gazebo. I can tell how much you are enjoying it. The plantings around is are beautiful. I'm sure even if it is hot up there it offers a great place to retreat to in the evening and enjoy your yard. I love the color yellow in your house. I too have a yellow great room and I enjoy it so much. It's 100 dn here in So Cal today, I'm 45 mins west of Los Angeles and it's like a blast furnace! I have plants that their little leaves are burning, so they've been moved into the shady area closer to the house. My roses are not liking this heat!

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  18. Your lighted gazebo and pond are perfect for our heat wave!

    I'm with you on too much smut in books. A little is fine but every flippin' page?
    I've been enjoying books from Angry Chicken's book list:

    http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2013/04/a-list-of-books-suggested-by-you-awesome-people.html

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  19. Oh my what fun...your backyard deck is so lovely! I love that gazebo of yours.

    Your flowers make me smile as well....I must plant some more rose bushes. xoxo

    Happy July 4th...xoxo

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  20. Hi Teresa,Love the evening look on your deck!!!It looks very romantic!!!Your lunch looked very yummy!!!The Orange Baked Beans sounds very interesting!!!I see on your one photo with the lovely big chair and crochet cushions,you have all your medals in a boxed frame,so nicely displayed!!
    Mind if I steal the idea??My inlaws were both in WW11 and we have so many of their medals but never really know how to display them!!!I had them pinned to a long ribbon,but they tarnish very quickly and look terrible!!!Your idea is perfect!!!So clever!!!Keep cool and have a great day!!!
    Love
    AMarie

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  21. All I can say is WOW WOW and WOW .... the gazebo is fantastic - it really has 'the Teresa touch' for sure !! I thought the first pic was wonderful but that final one taken at night just took my breath away. BTW, I could almost smell that flower - so pretty. I've been making notes of the titles of all the books people have been suggesting - I had planned to replace my Kindle but then decided a mini iPad would do the same job and of course so much more. Got one yesterday. Its rather sad but I do confess to being a tech-geek - now have 2 iPads (mini and the new 2) plus a desktop pc and a laptop. Thanks for your nice comments yesterday - I'm also very glad that we're friends. xox

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  22. http://helloknitty.net/2009/08/13/multnomah/

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  23. Sorry I tried to send you a link to a shawl pattern called

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  24. The temperature reached 100 degrees as we drove through Benbow on Highway 101 yesterday, but the further north we drove the temperature dropped until it was a perfect clear sunny 68 degrees at the beach when we reached Crescent City, CA, Teresa. My kids say they have had our airconditioning on in Gresham as you have in Corbett, so my sister, Carolyn, and I are bracing ourselves for the heat as we drive home tomorrow :-) Thanks for showing us the sunlight on the Falls, and the lovely gazebo celebration, the pretty lights and flowers and waterfall...and I loved your book reviews :-) I just downloaded Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl on my iPad...not light summer reading but thought-provoking so far. Hugs with hope of seeing you soon!!!!!! Gracie

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  25. Teresa,
    What beautiful pictures and love the gazebo, you and your husband have done a fine job getting it set up just so. And that lace tablecloth, absolutely lovely!
    Book recommendations: lite mystery-any by Sue North, Nevada Barr, great read and funny-any by Fannie Flagg, Contempory-The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand(her best book in my opinion, written before she was discovered and rebranded as chick lit by publishers) Quite a lot of the classics are free in the iBook store, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Agatha Christie, etc.

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  26. Teresa, you know how to do it right....and your flowers are amazing!

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  27. Wow your deck and gazebo are looking amazing......love all the new planting and the fabulous lighting! Your lunch party sounds lovely, and your table looked so pretty. Love all your flowers and plants and the new plant stands from your DIL look just right there. Your book comments made me smile...I will have a think and see what I've read lately that you might like :)
    Wishing you a happy week
    Helen x

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  28. Hi Teresa I really thought I'd left a reply but obviously haven't. I've been with mum for a few days and have been keeping up on my phone but sometimes I think I must tap the wrong button.
    The deck looks lovely now. Are you happy with it? Very pretty with the lights at night. Looks like a great time had by all. Mum's roses reminded me of you - she has some lovely ones as well!!!!
    Falls look gorgeous in your photo!!
    Have also been a bit disappointed with some of books I've been reading - for reasons you said and in some cases use of bad language - totally uncalled for in many instances. Hugs Anne x

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