Garden Blooms and the Return of Stargazer

Hello!  I am so happy that a peony we got last year put out 4 buds this Spring and look.. they opened up over the last few days and they are swoon-worthy.  :-)

The color is closer to the first photo, but here is a more open flower.  :-)

And I wanted to show you our legendary and massive and tall dark pink Rhododendron.  

These really are show-stoppers.

These three flowers are forming a heart.. awww.

Then I snapped this image of the blue sky with puffy clouds and the big chestnut tree covered with prickly nuts.

There are some Irises we planted last year ready to open - I can't wait to see what they look like.

And this iris bloomed.  We got this in a mixed bag of bulbs, I would never pick such a colorless bloom.  LOL!

Now it's story time.  If you've been reading my blog for a while you will know we used to have a sailboat named Stargazer.  I loved that boat and the adventures we had on her.  But in 2014 we finally sold her as we just weren't using her enough.  :-(  I wrote a blog post about it, HERE.  Below is one of my favorite photos of her, at anchor in Government Cove near Cascade Locks in the Columbia River.  I took the photo with my waterproof camera while swimming in the late afternoon sunshine.

Dayle got this shot of me at the helm when we were sailing in the Pacific Ocean when we had her moored in Newport, OR one summer.

SO.. we had sold the boat to Mike and Mary from Montana.. but then a few days ago I got a "Messenger" request on Facebook from a name I did not recognize.. it was from Erica who told me she now owned Stargazer and it's back in Portland, OR!  We chatted at some length and have planned to meet for lunch with both of our husbands next week!  :-)  She shared these photos of her daughters having a sleepover on the boat when she had it decorated for Christmas!  Isn't that the coolest thing ever?

Her youngest in the quarter-berth.  It totally warms my heart to see my beloved boat is being treasured again by this family.  

And so the story continues.. Erica has invited me to see the boat, too.  :-)  I hope your week is going well.  Thank you for visiting and to those who leave such heartwarming comments.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)