Thursday, March 27, 2008

Dragonflies, Tulips and Grandaughters!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We certainly did at our house. Our daughter brought us this lovely azalea plant that looks so springy. And the beautiful plant stand she put in on has a dragonfly! I am so happy with it and plan on putting a very special container on it filled with flowers to compliment the blue dragonfly. Maybe something in yellows and silvers.

My tulips are coming through the ground at an amazing rate. I have found almost all of them up. I am missing a bunch of bright red ones, though. Am wondering if they have died. Last year they were beginning to really be crowded and I should have dug them up and separated them...I honestly forgot by the end of the season.

These look a little strange don't they? Okay, I will admit to the fact that a rabbit probably ate the tips of the leaves. I did find a couple of spots where they were eaten. I have been leaving comments at Greenbow and May Dreams Gardens that I have never been bothered by little bunnies. In fact, I went as far as to say I even liked having them in my yard. I guess I will have to recant! (I still think they are cute!)
What a week we have had here! Most of you know we had made the decision to place my mother-in-law in a nursing home, and do it on Monday of this week. And while a difficult one to make, the family felt it was best for her health and safety. It went much better than we had hoped. She wasn't thrilled, but neither did she refuse. We think she knows deep down that this is best for her. I want to thank all of you who have given us words of encourgaement. Such a wonderful network of friends we have in this blogging world. I spent many evenings reading your posts and feeling such a sense of calm and peacefulness.
Along with all of that going on, the granddaughters that we only get one weekend a month came to stay with us for 6 days and 5 nights. This after having them last weekend for their regular visit. I picked them up last Friday afternoon. Long story here, but I think their dad needed a place to park them for most of their spring break. And that is so alright with us. We will take them anytime, anywhere!
On Sat. I had those 3 and one of the other granddaughters and we made pies for Easter Sunday. I had 4 batches of pie dough going at one time. That is a lot of activity for my small kitchen.

Of course there were a few spills. But we didn't mind. We made 2 coconut cream pies and a blackberry pie. Plus an angel food cake with green coconut topping and jelly beans for tiny Easter eggs! What a joy to spend extra time with them having fun but being able to teach them also. More than anything, I want to make lasting happy memories with them!
And we had time to color eggs. There were a few dyed fingers and some spots on the counter, but who cares when you see the smiles on their faces?! We marked each egg with different colored crayons first. There were flowers on some, names on others, and a few had abstract drawings. When we put them in the dye, the effect was beautiful to them. Of course I thought they were all works of art!

On Easter Sunday, we had quite an egg hunt. Lots of extended family were here to share the day with us. The weather even cooperated and held off raining until after the hunt. That Easter bunny sure left eggs in strange places!
We had the girls, four, five, and six of them at times until Wednesday afternoon. We thank the powers that be for the extra time with them. So even though this post is not all about gardening, I hope you enjoyed seeing my beauties and hearing of our week.







11 comments:

Amy said...

Looks like your grandaughters had a really wonderful time :)

Alyssa said...

What a wonderful holiday you had. Spending time with granddaughters is so precious! My oldest granddaughter is 20 now and she still loves to do the same things we did when she was little. The baking, cooking and crafts were (and still are) so much fun. Your grandchildren are lovely and they will treasure these times as much as you do. What a very nice post!

Aiyana said...

Hi Beckie,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm glad you like it. I'll look for your M. elongata post!

Aiyana

Rose said...

Beckie,
No wonder you have been too busy to get together! I'm so happy for you that you got to spend so much time with the girls. They will always remember all the time you spent with them.
You are much braver than I--I'd never attempt pies with the grandkids!

Unknown said...

I sort of miss this; my son is grown but not grown enough to be married and producing children (thankfully). So it was fun to watch your celebrations and see the joy in those dear faces.

It's really tough to have to place a family member in longterm care. YOur situation is different from ours; our father went into longterm care while in his late 60s, 13 months after being diagnosed with Alzheimers. He died in 2005, about four years after entering care. But I know others in care who aren't in that situation and who do very well; plus it eases the worries on the family, knowing there is always someone near to help.

Cheryl said...

What a lovely plant from your daughter with a beautiful dragonfly.

My rabbits do not eat tulips Beckie, so maybe some other little creature, might I suggest minnie mouse!

You look as though you had a wonderful time with the children. Don't they just make the world go round.

I am so pleased that ML is doing okay.....Hope it stays that way and that she is happy in her new home.

beckie said...

Amy, the girls are the light of my life.

Alyssa, I hope the girls will always want to spend time with me. How wonderful yours does.

Rose, as long as you don't mind a little mess! It was really fun though.

Jodi, Just you wait til you have grandchildren! Your whole life will change and you will become this crazy person. In other words a "doting" grandma. They are the joys of life. So Sorry about your Dad. This disease is such a robber of life and dignity. It takes them from you years before they actually pass.

Cheryl, a mouse...hmmm? That could be. Fat cat seems less than enthusiastic about chasing them these days. She seems settled and at least content for now. Thanks.

WiseAcre said...

Thanks for visiting my site and leaving a comment so I could find my way here.

Glad to hear you had a great Easter break with the granddaughters. There's nothing like having ours over to remind me of the good old days when my daughters were that age.

I get my kicks out of winding them up and sending them home. A parent's revenge :)

Brenda Pruitt said...

Well, first of all I just found you, via a comment you left. And what a wonderful, supportive comment you left! Thank you so much. Such kindness from a stranger! I don't feel hate, because I didn't know them. Hard to hate those you never knew. I can't say the same for my siblings, wherever they may be. Also, my red tulips haven't come up either! My yellow ones have. I just planted tulips for the first time (for some unknown reason), so don't have a lot of tulip knowledge. But I'm thinking maybe the lighter shades come out first? Your grandchildren are beautiful, as is your heart and intentions.
Brenda Kula, thebrendablog

beckie said...

Wiseacre, thanks for visiting. My husband says the same thing!


Brenda, so glad you found your way here. And glad to that 'hate' is not in your vocabulary! I was struck by how well you put your feelings into words. Lets not be strangers!
Tulips do bloom at different times. There are early, mid-season and late. Often within those the different colors will emerge at varying times. Most all of mine now are early, but I am planing on putting in some mid-season ones this fall to extend the bloom times.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Beckie it looks like you all had too much fun. Happy days!!