Gifted

Hello.. thanks for visiting!  I forgot to show you my new toy that we got on our trip to the beach.  I couldn't pass it up.  I was a real and true hippie in the late sixties and lived in Hawaii for 7 months after graduating from high school.  So, this reminds me of those days.  I even cut flowers out of adhesive shelf paper and stuck them on my friends VW Bus that we used in Hawaii.  :-)  I did some surfing there, too.

On Sunday we met our two sons, their wives and our four grandsons for a birthday celebration of Michael who just turned 14!    We also celebrated our 2 son's birthdays, Shawn's wife's and my birthdays!  Quite a celebration!

We gave Beth a cool lantern with a big candle for their deck, and Beth gave me a handwoven tablecloth!

It's red, white and blue, perfect for patriotic holidays, and all year.

Dayle brought home a bouquet of Stargazer lilies for me.  I placed them in my great grandmother's crystal vase.  I've had the birthday gift from my daughter Amy, the barley twist candlesticks, on the table since she sent them.  

These smell divine!

Yesterday my younger sister Denise hosted a birthday luncheon at her home for Shirley and I.  She made guacamole and taco salad.  We had a nice long visit and then we headed out to a nursery in Tigard that is Denise's favorite.  She'd gotten some hostas there and I had wanted to get a few more for the garden.  There is a huge rambling building with all sorts of garden accoutrements where we strolled through and admired everything.  Denise showed me these adorable Fairy gardens, aren't they cute?

The Gardener's Choice nursery is quite literally amazing and huge and full of everything you'd ever want.  Look at the lush hanging baskets.

Looking up under a row of hanging ferns.

Begonias and geraniums.

Beautiful.

Do you have hanging baskets during the summer?  We usually have 2 or 3.

I like the yellows in this group.

They had these large plants of Madagascar Jasmine.. they smelled amazing!

This little bird's nest and 3 little eggs found their way into our wagon.

I was admiring this fairy gazebo in the fairy garden department and Shirley bought it for me for my birthday!!  Thank you, Shirley!  I am dreaming up a fun garden to make in one of my big pots... :-)  I got a boy fairy to live in my fairy garden.  I asked Dayle to make a swing for him.  And I'm thinking we'll need a little pond in there rimmed with little stones.

Yesterday also gifted me with a package from Blick Art Supplies.. I have the notion to do some watercolors and I just have a small old paint set from Winsor & Newton, but I always felt I needed more colors, and now I do!

Do you do watercolors?  I love them.

Lots and lots of colors!

I'm itching to try these, but I have to pack my swim bag and head off to meet Gracie for lunch before we swim!

Denise gifted me with these two treasures.. a basket she got in Belize on a recent trip, and a wonderful pin cushion filled with raw wool, she envisioned this black cushion next to my black Singer Featherweight sewing machine.  :-)  Thank you sis!

Isn't this a neat pin cushion?

My sister even took a photo of the woman who made my basket which is in her hands.  

Mother nature gifted me with this iris.  I think I new more colors in my iris garden.

We took the boys out to Elmer's for dinner last night.. they ate like champs and even got a chocolate sundae for dessert.  :-)

Well, time to pack my swim bag and jet off to meet Gracie.. I hope you have a super duper day and weekend ahead!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)