Category Archives: flowers

Apr5

Some pretties

Posted on Thursday, April 5, 2012 by Dianne

The blooms are coming out! The blooms are coming out! These happen to be a gift from my husband last week.

I seem to have a little cold or annoying allergies, but I did go out and snap a few photos of my yard.

The Viburnum bush is showing off it’s load of blooms even though we had a mild winter with little snow and not much rain this spring.

This was a baby Japanese maple we planted years ago that came from my mom’s yard This one is in the front yard.

I have many Bleeding Heart plants as I have divided them through the years. They love the soil under the evergreen out front.

This plant was here when we moved in….I think it has a ‘wort’ on the end of it’s name…

Mar29

Bunny invasion!

Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2012 by Dianne

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I decided it was time to dig through the oodles of Easter stuff I have and get some decorating (and cleaning done). I got about half way done in the living room before my back started to complain. It’s been annoying off and on since I worked at the store. So these are close-ups and taken with the phone. More to follow. I really need to do more tidying around the house. Did I mention my teeth/gums are still bothering me too? Poor Brian wanted to squeeze in the dental insurance before the 31st and had 6 fillings yesterday. I went with him and the dentist said it appeared that just my gums were inflamed and by the way, since you are here, let’s do a filling-oy. We were there 2 hours. Tomorrow I go to the GP to get a BP check and I should really mention my back, but we won’t have coverage after the 31st until we find some.

I just got the Easter Snowbabies in Maryland at an antique store

Mar22

Spring has sprung, but it’s like summer too!

Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by Dianne

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I’ve heard that my pals up in Canada and Michigan and getting nice 70 degree temps like we are down here in Pennsylvania! Tomorrow it will hover around 80! We haven’t had much rain lately and the ground is cracking. I had a circle of daffodils out where we planted the tomatoes and zucchinis and I guess us working the earth made them bloom ever so nicely this year. They look like this:

The forsythia are blooming and my PT looks pretty near them. Brian gave her a wash for me this week.

My friend Rachel had a little girl on the 15th of this month and I sent her a few gifts. I couldn’t believe I found an outfit that had a cross stitched bear on it! We met through cross stitching! I said I’d give her one of my passes if she wants to bring her two year old son and newborn for a walk in Longwood sometime. She lives closer to Philly, but to the north more.

Brian and I are off for our trip tomorrow afternoon. It’s about 25 miles or so, but a B&B. I have plans to see a few little towns and there is a casino not that far away. We’ll keep busy! I have to wrap up his gifts after I get off from here. I have only a few, but one was a little pricier than the others. He should like the main gift (from Sean and me). Speaking of Sean, he did Turbo Tax and got his refund in less than a week! How lucky is that? We probably won’t get a refund, but we hope to use the program also.

And to live up to my blog name, the person I sent the poppy ATC scanned it when it got to The Netherlands as I forgot:

Mar8

Took a little walk in the wind

Posted on Thursday, March 8, 2012 by Dianne

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Well I was up in air as to what to do today as it was a bit breezy, but warm. Longwood Gardens is having their orchid displays until the end of March, so I decided to go for walk and some photo taking. I renewed my membership for the year which went up $5, but they also give you two free tickets for your guests. It pays for itself after about four times.

Here are some of my favorite shots:

What you see when you enter the one end of the conservatory

A very tame squirrel. I had fun editing this for a friend

White columns of orchids

Begonias and Aechmea

Amazing Stargazer lilies

One of my favorite flowers-Blue Poppies

Hanging orchids and an archway

A trained Nectarine tree with blooms

Yellow butterfly bushes that smelled like exotic honey.

A moth-like orchid the Calathea

Take it from the Longwood gardeners-how to prune a rose bush-many only had one or two main stems!

Mother of Thousands plant

I’ve been taking Olive leaf capsules for my blood pressure (think it is helping-thanks Dr. Oz). Here is an Olive tree

There are more photos in Flickr-just click on a photo above.

Mar6

Ahola to the Philly Flower Show

Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 by Dianne

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It was crowded beyond crowded at the Philadelphia Flower Show on Tuesday-must have been the bus crowd as the average age was 65+. We usually go on a Sunday and on a train and doing so we can usually get closer to the exhibits. My middle brother drove and took the long way in because of Sean’s GPS. It was nice to go with my brother as our relationship had been rocky for a while. When we got down to the city, we parked in Chinatown and Sean and I went into a restaurant to use their bathrooms. We said we’d be back and we did go back.
Sean and I decided to go to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch as it was going on to 1:30 as it was. Mom and her friend Jim went into the show and my brother went in another direction. That would be the only time we would see them all until we left at 5:30.

It was also crowded. We got premade tuna wraps and a soda and there was no place to sit down inside. We sat in a little park area and ate. There was this neat mosaic structure.

When we went back in the convention center (which was expanded) we looked up and saw empty tables on the next level. There was also a restaurant in the middle of the flower show. It was $18 for three courses. No one in our party ate there.

So we saw the cool ocean exhibit first and then the waterfall exhibit which was packed. It had music and an interesting light show. It was also hard to photograph.

The orchids were abundant at the show. These were at the base of the waterfall:

The surfboard table was rather unique:

I love these colors together. The butterflies were a nice addition

These were unique too-from the Vancouver, BC area

A hammock is required for Hawaii!

Hawaiian Anthuriums

It wouldn’t be the flower show without a Azalea or Daffodil display:

The Bonsai were very lovely:

A canoe garden:

This nursery is a few towns over from my mom. Not sure what the significant of the piled up stones is. It took up a lot of space and wasn’t colorful.

Here’s something for Pinterest for sure!

The gardens in this display were very lush:

Near the end, my photos got a bit blurry. I had the ISO set high and maybe near the competitor’s plants it was bright enough to have it lower.
And here’s the restaurant where we ate. Sean didn’t care for his meal as they added green peas to his old standby of Shrimp and Cashew nuts. He never liked peas. They said that the original thing he ordered, Baby shrimp and Macadamia nuts was seasonal. I think they didn’t have a jar of them maybe? The food was good.

I bought only a few things, “Jade” roses for $5, the real lei and a bouquet of dried flowers which I don’t have in a vase yet. Pretty!

I’ve got plans already for Brian’s birthday weekend down in Elkton, MD. in a few weeks!

Feb19

Doing a little swapping

Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2012 by Dianne

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Swap-bot Sunflower ATC, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

Since my regular swap groups on Flickr have slowed down, I went over to Swap-bot.com (link in side bar) and just did 3 swaps. You saw the Victorian ice skaters below. This new challenge was for 2 sunflower themed cards. I took my old flower guide book and copied the pages to ATC size and this is one of the ones I came up with. The border is a sticker.
I just signed up for a poppies ATC. I already got one of the sunflower ATCs all the way from the Netherlands for my swap (we don’t have the same people we send to). I’ll have to take a photo of it.
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Brian’s dad had to be taken to a walk-in clinic yesterday as he was having leg issues and fell down twice outside. We almost beg him to carry a phone on him but he forgets most of the time. He was able to get himself up (this was Friday) and was in discomfort the entire night. The clinic did x-rays (one of their specialties is sports related injured). The doctor saw a shadow in his hip area, so Dad C. needs to get a MRI tomorrow. They didn’t give him any pain medication and sent him home.
Last night I got a call from my step cousin that her mom (my late Uncle Don’s wife) had passed away at age 96-I think exactly two months since her birthday. She wasn’t that crazy about my family, it was all about her three daughters and their families. And she didn’t like my grandmom as mom-mom and Uncle Don were very close (only 20 yrs apart). We saw each other more when we all grew up though. Being in a nursing home extended her life I think-she was in there about 5 yrs. So of course we are wondering about Dad C and if he is going to start to have trouble getting around-he’ll be 89 in June. He lives in a 4 bedroom split and we live in a 3 bedroom ranch, so no space here. Only time will tell, but it’s going to be hard for Brian as he needs to get serious about another job.

Feb10

Sow with me!

Posted on Friday, February 10, 2012 by Dianne

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I got some neat snail mail today from my pal Zoey out of Michigan. In the pretty card she included some Burpee ‘Night and Day’ Nasturtium seeds. I went on Burpee’s site to get a photo and they didn’t have one, so I found it elsewhere:

T. majus Pale ivory-yellow contrasted with bold mahogany adds an appealing zest to any container or border. The compact, 12 inch plants are covered with a vivid flush of either color. Sure to be a favorite. Germination code: (4)
By providing adequate water and clipping seed heads, your Nasturtiums will reward you with a profusion of 2 inch blooms from July to fall’s first frost. The flowers make a lightly spicy edible garnish, too!

Well, Ms. Zoey-I ‘accept’ your challenge if you can call it that! : ) Thanks so much for the seeds and thinking of me!

Zoey said she’ll do container sowing and I’m thinking of both container and in ground sowing. Last year Zoey had gorgeous Nasturtiums and mine were ‘so so’. I had sent Zoey some Nasturtiums I found at the Longwood Gardens gift shop (from Renee’s Seeds). I want to see photos from both of us in the late summer!

Well it’s been another slow week for me. I finally went out yesterday (after a week) to do some produce and a little grocery shopping (at a Dollar General) as I just needed to just get out! I am still getting congested and I had a bit of a cough along with it. I need to get my teeth worked on in a few days. I think sinus issues that drag on are the worse! Sean had sinus issues but he is doing well. He also used the humidifier for two nights. I think I need the machine for my chest congestion.

We had a dusting of snow a few days ago and we are expecting maybe an inch tonight. It’s a boring winter and I hope it stays that way as the next month or so will be busy for us. We are going to NYC in a few weeks and then Bri and I are taking that weekend at the B&B that was postponed in November for my birthday for his birthday in March.

Jan12

Winter Blooms

Posted on Thursday, January 12, 2012 by Dianne

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It’s so nice to see these blooms and ‘will be blooms’ during the bleak days of winter. The month is half over already, and as many of you probably do, I also count down the days until spring.

The white Amaryllis has been blooming since Christmas! (This is the second stalk). The poinsettia came from the same place as the paperwhites-Terrain. They are about to bloom. I have them in a aluminum pie dish with sea glass in it.

The tree came down yesterday and I still have some the boxes in the living room. I have major tidying to do in the basement, but will need help with the lifting and stacking part. I’ve been having lower back issues (on the right) that I feel is from standing so long and vacuuming for 45+ minutes-all the pushing and pulling. Certain things are aggravating it, so I have to be careful. Then my right eye is really red in the corner. I called the doctor’s office yesterday and she called an antibiotic drop in for me. I can’t tell you the last time that happened (not having to go in for a visit-but I will if it gets worse)! I have to use it for a week and it’s still a bit red, but it was weepy and filmy Tuesday night.

I’m going to start my new year of dental repair on Tuesday. It’s going to be quite pricey and they said we could space out the visits. The first visit will be two crowns on the bottom and a filling. I have an older crown on top where the tooth underneath has a cavity. I hadn’t had my teeth cleaned for over a year, but went there 5 times last year. This time they did bitewing x-rays and the very thorough dental hygienist found all my issues. She was kind of rough, but surprisingly my mouth only was sensitive in a few spots. I can never seem to be debt free with the dentist.

Sean is going to a GIS conference in New York City at the end of February, so I guess we will tag along. It’s been almost 5 years since we went up for Karin and Michael’s wedding. We will not drive in the city, but look for a place with bus transport right over the bridge. We learned the hard way. We will probably take a tour of Chinatown. We’d really like to see the 911 Memorial. Not crazy that it is in February, but maybe it won’t be as crazy up there as it was in June. ; )

Of course I am loving the iPad2. It’s worth every penny. I do love my laptop and phone too. I have 23 apps on it and a lady on Facebook has about 150! A neat one is Hulu pro, sort of like tivo for your iPad. It cost $8 a month, but you can watch tons of tv programs and movies. For instance, I missed ‘Parenthood’ the other night, so I’m watching it in my leisure now. The picture is so sharp! If you take lots of weekend trips or are waiting for people at the doctor, etc. it’s a great device as you can sit all cozy on your sofa and do most of what you do on the web. Am I selling it to you good enough? LOL

Of course I need to get down to doing the crafts I love which I haven’t lately. Everything is gathering dust. I have some ideas up my sleeve and I also have some new yarn for crochet (and new stitches to try thanks to Pinterest).

Nov6

Sugarloaf Craft Festival

Posted on Sunday, November 6, 2011 by Dianne

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Facebook is a good place to find places to go on the weekend! A pal in New Jersey mentioned she went to the Sugarloaf Craft Festival in her state last weekend. I looked up the festival and its next stop was Oaks, PA. this weekend!

I asked Brian if we could go and he said fine (it’s about an hour away). It was easy to find and very crowded. I had coupons off the internet, so we saved $1 each. The first thing that caught my eye was this:

I didn’t purchase it right away, but Brian did buy it for me as a birthday gift. This isn’t the chain it came with as it was a bit too short for my liking. The gem is a Mystic or Rainbow Topaz-the topaz is my birthday gem and it comes in all colors, though this colorless stone is treated with something to give it an aurora borealis appearance. This photo doesn’t do it justice-guess it’s about 2 carats and wasn’t really pricey.

There were over 250 vendors and most of the items were priced on the high side. I got a good look at gorgeous scarves, but for $45-160, I will make my own or find them elsewhere. We did buy some chocolate and candy goodies to enjoy and give as gifts. I tried a slushy wine product (yum).

I happened upon this pottery place and decided to get a large mug-it’s like 12 oz or more! Only $10. Then I saw a chowder bowl, which is good for my oatmeal and cereal.

And compared to the one I bought in the 1970s that my mom returned to me a few years back:

This company is called Transformations

See how it goes from the state of Pennsylvania and Declaration of Independence and is transformed into the Liberty Bell?
Bought some nice soap from North Carolina:

This is sitting on top of a couple of sheets of homemade paper I bought.
When we were leaving to go to the Chester County booksale, I took this photo of the 1918 Oaks train station out the car window:

We got to the book sale about 45 minutes before it closed. I managed to find a few books from the Martha Stewart Halloween book to the Chincoteague Island book (from 1977). I think they all (plus a paperback Bri got and one I got for his dad were $12.

I’ll let you know if the flat belly diet works! LOL Saw the authors on Rachael Ray a year or so ago and was intrigued, but not intrigued enough to spend $25.
Nice illustrations in the clothing book:

The lighthouse we saw a few months ago:

Cute cover of the book

I went with Brian to see his dad, it’s been a long time since I saw him, but I hear him every day several times a day as Bri must use the speaker part of the phone all the time. We went food shopping for him too.
Also wanted to share some roses I bought-$1 a stem at Fresh Market. They had about 15 or more different colors. They lasted beautifully.

Cherry Brandy

Jade green and a pretty sunshiny yellow

Sep22

Flowers on the last day of summer

Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2011 by Dianne

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Decided to take some photos on this very humid day and share them with you. Accompanied by Jackie Evancho (this song was paid for and downloaded from Amazon).