Arms and Legs

Blooming Beauty

Mock Orange-Philadelphus 'Natchez'

Viburnum sp.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Daruma'

Jasmine Nicotiana- Nicotiana Alata

Green and Blue

Tickle Sport

Asheville Lovelies

Spiderwort-Tradescantia and Penstemon digitalis

Buckey- Aesculus 'Fort McNair'

Mock Orange- Philadlephus sp.

Bishop's Weed- Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum'

This Weekend I Loved....

The sight of.....seeing Gus thoroughly enjoy his grandparents. I mean, thoroughly ENJOY! He giggled at them all weekend and barely let me hold him before putting his arms up for one of them to pick him up. Unheard of at this stage he's going through.

The smell of.....rain

The taste of.....breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe in Asheville - Sweet potato pancakes with pecans and an omelette with havarti cheese. Delish.

The thought of....mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains were lovely and made me more excited about going to Portland at the end of the month now that I see Gus will enjoy having Mimi around.

The sound of....4 1/2 hrs of "This American Life" all the way to Asheville. Aaron gets the podcasts for us and its less of a commitment than an audio book. And if you fall asleep you don't get lost!

Asheville

We met my parents in Asheville to celebrate mom's 59th birthday. This trip was also to serve for the training trip before we leave Gus with her while we go to Portland. We were concerned that Gus' recent stranger/separation anxiety would be a problem...

It took him 30 seconds and a box of new toys to convince him these 2 were okay by him. Not sure if he remembered them or decided anyone who brought him a drum to bang on had to be good people but it was as if he saw them every day!

Nope. No problems here! Whew!

Asheville (continued)

Mimi and Poppy playing with Gus

He's not standing yet but he will put weight on his feet if encouraged

Mimi feeds Gus at Mellow Mushroom to practice

Banana Before and After

I sometimes cut up tiny pieces of banana for Gus to feed himself. This time I put the entire cutting board in front of him thinking he'd pick them up off of that rather than dirty his tray. I should have known there was trouble when it got quiet....

This was a fairly clean shot. The banana was smooshed onto his cheeks and chin from eating it straight from the board rather than picking it up.

Mother's Day Weekend I Loved....

The sight of: my two boys all to myself and beautiful, non rainy, spring-like weather for Aaron's graduation festivities at Meredith.

The smell of: jasmine and honeysuckle in the neighborhood.

The taste of: mother's day brunch at Foster's market - shrimp and grits with grilled corn bread and blueberry pancakes - yum!

The sound of: songbirds in the morning and evening on the patio

The thought of: freedom! Aaron is done with graduation and I am done with my meeting! Now we can relax.

The act of: enjoying my first Mother's Day with an actual cuddly infant in my arms. Last year I was very late in my pregnancy and already celebrating Mother's Day but had no idea how much fun it would be with him here chattering and babbling away.

(For Mother's Day Aaron blew up the above pic in black and white and had it framed up very nicely. It looks great! Also a wonderful camera bag to keep help me keep on blogging. Oh yeah, and my favorite mint brownie from Whole Foods!)

Gus in Gap

This Weekend I Loved.....(Belated)

The sight of......OUR NEW BUILT-IN BOOKSHELVES!!!! After 6 years of yearning, we got the perfect recommendation on a carpenter to build them beautifully and affordably. Now we have a home for the stacks of books we have been accumulating for years. They look so great!

The smell of......the jasmine on our front porch starting to waft super sweet puffs of air in our face when we come up the walk.

The taste of.....Richard's DELICIOUS bleu cheese burgers, Aaron's famous mojitos, and the Tres Leche cake at Jeff's birthday party. Sooooo good.

The sound of.....Gus laughing. Gets me everytime.

The thought of.... getting through this week. I have to be away from Gus for the first time in his life. 3 long nights.

The act of.....putting fluffy compost on our newly planted garden. It is like the finishing touch of a rug to make everything look neat and pretty. Also, don't know if its because I am married to a plant man, but I love the sweet smell of it, too.

New Plant Palette

Rosa banksiae 'Purezza'

Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate'

Phlox x 'Minnie Pearl'

Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'

Gus

This Weekend I Loved.....

The sound of: Merle Haggard crooning country as we grilled steaks on the patio under our globe lights; birds chirping in the morning - gotta love Spring!

The sight of: My happy patio containers we planted last weekend - a mix of viola, golden moneywort, heuchera, golden oregano, golden spiderwort and grasses; the turquoise blue egg laying in the pot of our topiaries under a watchful mother bird busy incubating her tiny hatchlings

The smell of: Baby Gus fresh from a bath with daddy

The taste of: Aaron's yummy steaks. Mmmm.

The thought of: a close friend of mine becoming a mom this year. Makes me smile.

The act of: finally committing to a new project. I ordered lots of happy fabric swatches pre-cut in 5 inch squares for me to hand sew a baby quilt. This one is for practice. My goal is to make one out of squares of Gus' favorite first year onesies.

Field Guide

Field Guide
By Billy Collins

No one I ask knows the name of the flower
we pulled the car to the side of the road to pick
and that I point to dangling purple from my lapel.

I am passing through the needle of spring
in North Carolina, as ignorant of the flowers of the south
as the woman at the barbecue stand who laughs
and the man who gives me a look as he pumps the gas

and everyone else I ask on the way to the airport
to return to where this purple madness is not seen
blazing against the sober pines and rioting along the
roadside.

On the plane, the stewardess is afraid she cannot answer
my question, now insistent with the fear that I will leave
the province of this flower without its sound in my ear.

Then, as if he were giving me the time of day, a passenger
looks up from his magazine and says WISTERIA.....