Working on my summer to-do list... part 1

Here we go!  Into the best season of the year!  I am trying to get some items from my summer wish list checked off... whether I get to all of them or not, I am smiling a lot and taking in every moment.

Although watching our grandson, Christopher, wasn't on my wish list, that event took me to the park, which was on my list... and spending the afternoon with this little guy brought lots of smiles to my face.






Wearing new shades of lipstick?  Done!



When I said "visit all water parks within 30 miles" I didn't necessarily mean the parks with water fountains that shoot up from the ground to play in... but this worked, too!





 Much progress has been made on the painting of my bedroom!  The results are exciting.  You can see the new shade is not white, but not dark or too colorful.





Stay tuned for more summer events!!  I hope they get a bit more exciting than painting walls... I am sure they will!

Thorns

I was not raised with a green thumb.  I'm quite sure that any houseplant I was given prior to 2007 was doomed and died.  I liked them just fine.  I just had no idea how to take care of plants. 

Scott was raised by the Green Thumb Queen Katie.  To visit her home is a visual treat.  Her flower beds are lovely, the roses climbing her brick exterior fireplace are gorgeous.  Multiple large flower pots boast the prettiest plants and blooms.  Ivy surrounds her front porch and her back porch has a back wall of jasmine, which intersects and combines with grapes that cover the porch roof. 

Katie has been a patient donor.  The purple daisy-like flowers were so thoughtful.  I wish they had survived being planted out front.  My pink azalea did not make it through last summer.  This year's purple azalea is faring much better!  My irises are more than surviving and seem quite healthy... I need to learn how to thin them out, actually!  I am proud to say that my wedding ivy has taken off!  It might even surround my front window someday.  And the miniature red roses that Katie brought to me shortly after I moved here are thriving.  The hydrangeas are most impressive! 


Potted purple azaleas... they wont bloom until next year.


Pretty pink hydrangeas. 


My ruffled mauve roses have been going crazy with multiple blooms!


And this brings me to my post title... thorns. 

Now, I enjoy an object lesson.  And irony can bring a smile to my face. 

There I was.  Free time had found me and I was out clipping and pruning in the flower beds.  Along the side of the house are my 3 rose bushes.  I used to be very intimidated by them.  But, I have found my plant caring confidence this year and I was out there working.  And thinking.  I am always thinking about life and lessons and looking for areas to work on.  This is an annoying part of who I am when I want to sleep at night... but that is another topic.  So, there I was, thinking about the thorns on these rose bushes.  Working very carefully to avoid having my skin punctured and scratched up by thorns, I clipped.  I didn't completely avoid the run-in with the ever evil thorn.  I stepped back, marveling at how sharp those buggers are!!  They are really, really sharp.  Then, of course, I couldn't think of sharp thorns without thinking about my Jesus.  Gazing at those thorns, I thought of how awful it would feel to have a crown of them shoved down on top of my head!!  As I mentioned, I like an object lesson well enough... and irony has it's place in life, but... really??  Just after I consider thorns piercing my brow, (and quite deeply in thought, I must say...) I turn and bend down to pull a few weeds and OUCH!  I bent right into a branch with a thorn at just the right place to stick me in the forehead!!!  Like I said... I was deep in thought and all... and I laughed at the irony of my thoughts and life events.

The Official "I LOVE Summer" and My List of Summer Dreams Post

I love summer, oh, yes I do!!  I love nearly everything about it.  I love it sooo much more than any other season.  It is MY time.  To me, heaven will be never getting chilly or cold again.  I love that I live in an area that gets hot all summer.  I guess I will have two lists in this post... one for all the reasons I love summer and a second one for all the dreams I have to try to fit into one summer.

Here goes the first list!  I love summer so much because...

I rarely get cold
I don't have to wear layers
I can wear summer dresses and not get cold
I can wear a pony tail nearly every day and it "works"... (yes, I will be the 50 year old lady wearing a pony tail... maybe even wear one at 60... I guess we'll see!)
I love the smell of hot dirt and plants in the evening as I water them... you just can't get that any other time!
We can run around barefoot and not care where our shoes are... for a few weeks!
Children sleep in later and we don't have to "get up and go" prior to 8am... usually... I don't sleep in, but I sip coffee in a quiet living room, reading or writing... or sit on the porch... taking in every quiet moment life has to give me.
I have more time for the "bigger" projects in life!
The dock is warm, but shaded, so not too hot... and I can sit and play cards while Scott works on the boat and I am not cold or hot... I just am...
You can learn unique lessons that would happen only this time of year... like, don't jump into the delta with your cell phone still in your pocket!
Some days you walk outside the door and the heat hits you and sinks in and just feels SOOO good (heat as in over 100 degrees... no one else seems to share this love of mine, but that's okay!)


Well... I imagined my why I love summer list to be longer... and it could be, but I'd have to keep sitting here thinking and I want my love for summer to simply pour out...

Without further ado... here is my wish list for summer... things that I want to do at 100%, breathing in every moment...

This summer I want to:

Visit every water park within 30 miles... and go on nearly every ride... and particularly enjoy the wave pool and lazy rivers with Victor.
Read a classic novel... I am starting Treasure Island... I have never actually read the book!  Seems like a perfect summer time read!
Got to the library and find or order books on my list that I haven't wanted to purchase
Wear a lipstick shade that I normally wouldn't... just for fun...
Relax in the hammock at dusk, sipping a mojito, watching for the old horned owl to fly out of his tree next door...
Lay on a blanket in the shade at the park while the kids play... see if I can fall asleep... probably not, but I'll have my book with me!
Re-organize the garage... I know this is actually work, but once it is done, it will bless us all...
Paint and redecorate my bedroom...
Find and hang shimmering, flowing lavender curtains at my bedroom windows... the kind that you swag at the top... I don't like thick curtains...
Hula-hoop out on the cliffs of New Brighton Beach in Capitola as the sun sets over the ocean... hopefully with some friends!!


Isn't this the best summer picture??  It always fills me with happiness...

Go to an outdoor concert... probably just a local one...
Buy a couple pairs of flip flops or summer sandals in bright colors... like red or green or both... to match favorite shirts... and definitely finish it off with that new lipstick shade!
Listen to the old Go-Go's album... the "Vacation" one... over and over... it's so much fun! (and, hey, kids, it's better than putting you through Barry Manilow, right??)
Go out on an absolutely fabulous, wonderful date with my man!!!
Hang out at Pier 39, San Francisco... find the art store I heard about... then go and gaze at my favorite landmark... the Golden Gate Bridge.
Keep my flower bed plants healthy and alive!
Buy a great summer hat that I really, really like... one that'll keep the sun off my face and neck...

Well... that's it!  I suppose there is a possibility that I wont get to do everything on my list.  But, I live with lists nearly every day, and this is the best one ever!!  (it sure beats lists of running errands and buying groceries!!!)

What do you really want to do this summer??  Please leave me a message and let me know!