Now THAT'S Good...

This may be a long shot, but there was this show in the 90s that was aired on HBO called "Dream On" that would use clips from old movies to show what the main character was thinking or feeling. I never really got into it, but I watched enough episodes for the concept to have stuck with me through the years. And lately I've been thinking about how inserting a few old movie clips to reveal my inner thoughts and reactions to situations and conversations might explain myself more clearly...when life is "interesting". (Pensive sigh...)

Anyway, life has been interesting again and I thought I would fill everyone in on how things are for us. Too bad I'm not talented enough to do it in the "Dream On" fashion...but I'm sure if you used your imagination, you might be able to insert a few of your own hilarious interpretations of my reactions to things. But I digress...

It's spring here in Charlotte...more accurately, it's BEEN spring...a beautiful spring...and here in the Cary Household, we have been busy little bees with a few things around the house. Neal's parents came to visit not too long ago and, as the trend seems to be with their visits, we put them to work and got A LOT done around the house! That sounds "task master"-ish...we work WITH them...and Neal says they like doing stuff here with us...so...I hope it's a "win-win" situation for all involved. (Right?)

So, here are some pictures of things we have done around our little nest...hope you enjoy...I'll explain as we go along...but I think a lot of it is self explanatory...

Grammy and Granddaddy got this for the kids as a joint birthday gift. It has also been a huge gift to Neal and I. Sometimes, we don't hear from them for at least an hour...as they are busy playing in their club house or swinging on the swings. That's lovely...

Just caddy corner to the playhouse is our little vegetable, herb garden. We have sugar snap peas, stringless string beans, roma tomatoes, "Mountain Pride" tomatoes (they are an heirloom variety), green bell peppers, cayenne peppers, cilantro, parsley, greek oregano, "globe" basil, thyme and I'm using my rosemary as decorative bushes in front of our patio. I have loved having fressh herbs, tomatoes, and peppers at my disposal the past two summers, so I thought I would continue it and add a few other offerings. I started the peas and beans from seed so it was fun for Olivia to see the "baby" plants come up through the ground...and it was fun for Emerson to stomp on them. So, we have lost a few, but thankfully enough of them made it through the germination stage that we aren't missing the few Emerson mercilessly killed.

Anyway...next to our garden is our patio and last fall Neal started working on a pergola to go over it. He and his dad finished just last month...and it is really nice! They did a great job. He also expanded our patio on two sides with pavers, which gave us just enough room to get a little bistro table and chairs and not have the grill right on top of us. (Would you like third degree burns with your dinner tonight? No, thank you.)

I've loved putting in flowers and am starting to feel like I kind of know what I'm doing . My mother-in-law, Becky, has a green thumb and has brought down bulbs and things from her yard for me to put in mine. (Free plants? Yes, please!) So, I have lots of beautiful white irises (which already bloomed and have gone), five huge clumps of daisies that came from the one that Becky gave me a couple of years ago, a large bunch of spiderwort that is a beautiful bluish-purple, two different kinds of day lilies that are new this year, a miniature yellow rose that is getting to be not-so-miniature, and I just replaced my lavender that ended up dying last year when I moved it during our drought (not a good idea...) I'm trying my 4th hydrangea...they keep dying on me...and we've also put in poppies, foxgloves, lenten roses, primroses, balloon flowers, and coreopsis. Oh and petunias. Lots of work, but it makes everything look so nice!

(L-R: Our lone Poppy...another is about to bloom. Spiderwort...and our dirty siding in the background...and a balloon flower. Isn't it cute? Below from L to R: a Lenten Rose and Primrose. These two are in our front patio area.)

So, those are all the pictures of our humble little home. I hope you have enjoyed them and for those of you who have been here, we've done a lot with the place, huh?

Well, along with lots of yardwork, spring also has been known to bring about other things...birds, bees, the birds and the bees...positive pregnancy tests...like this one...

So, we are expecting the elusive #3! I'm in shock. What were we thinking?!?! Oh...that's right...we weren't thinking! But, I'm also excited and so WANT this...so please don't read anything but any other normal, very surprised, "we didn't plan this at all", response to our exciting news. (And if you have any ideas on how to get a shocked husband and father-of-3-to-be out of "Shock-and-awe-la-la land"...pass that on to me...)

So...how's that for catching up?! As my trend goes, I guess you'll hear from me in another 2-3 months...but I will try to keep the distance between posts shorter. So, take care and as Martha says "It's a good thing..." Right?