Welcome to this week's Friday's Fave Five, a blog party that celebrates the highlights in our week.
1. Last Saturday, we got together with some of my cousins who were visiting from Florida and traveled to my uncle's house for a visit. Later, we visited the family graves in the area. It's become a sort of tradition to do this when my cousins are home since we all are interested in genealogy and family history. We always pepper my uncle, the last living one of his generation, with questions about the family. He says that he was the baby of the family and didn't know a lot of the things we want to know. Why didn't we pay attention to family history when our fathers and grandparents were alive? They were always telling stories of the old days but we neglected to listen!
Now, of course, when any relative wants to share a story, I'm ready to listen and take notes!
2. I love pictures of beautiful flowers and landscapes. However, I have not been blessed with a green thumb, nor has my husband. He mows and trims the yard excellently, so it can always be said of our home that we have a beautiful lawn. However, we have no landscaping. I usually put some flowers in containers on our front porch and sometimes I even manage to kill them! So, it is definitely a highlight of my week when my two flower bushes that we planted bloomed!
Here's my first hibiscus!
But ... the blooms only seem to last a short time.
This is not a very good picture but this is my hydrangea bush. The first year we had this bush was disappointing because it only yielded three flowers and they were on the back side of the bush. We were the only ones that could see them! The second year we saw about 7 or 8 blooms. This year, the bush exploded with blooms all around the bush. (I didn't really get a good shot of how many blooms we have.) Since I have so many flowers, I'm going to pick some for a bouquet and put them in my vintage aqua canning jar that I found at a yard sale. I'll share a picture later.
3. All this week my daughters and my husband have been repainting and rearranging the girls' room. It has been chaos with all their belongings scattered throughout the house. How wonderful it is when the job is done and everything has been put back in place! We are all very happy with the new look of the room.
4. Anticipation! Tomorrow we are leaving for Florida to visit my mom, brother and sister and their families. I'm excited because the next few days will be days that I have no responsibilities!
5. Quote of the week: "I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe that loving is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles." ~ Audrey Hepburn
Her quote fits in well with something I've always told my girls: "There's always time for lipstick!"
Have a great weekend, and visit my friend, Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to read other great Friday's Faves!
That's a great quote! Taking time for lipstick is something I should do more often.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about not listening to the stories when we had the chance. Glad you had the opportunity to spend time with your uncle and other relies.
Have a wonderful 'responsibility free' holiday!
BTW...I do not do flowers/plants well, either, so you are not alone. My flowers are all in containers on my deck...such as they are.
Audrey Hepburn has some great quotes. I agree with her that happy girls are the prettiest girls. There is something about the glow around a happy girl.
ReplyDeleteI wish sometimes too that I had listened better when family stories were told.
A fresh coat of paint and change of color is always fun in a room. We've been in a painting mode around here too.
My Annabelle hydrangea (white like yours) is doing great but my Endless Summer hydrangeas don't have one bloom yet. I'm hoping that they will come through for me soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to get house projects done and everything tidied up! Then you can enjoy them.
My aunts and uncles are all gone - so we're the ones with the stories now. Just a funny place to be :)
Have fun in Florida! And don't forget your lipstick :)
I wish I had someone in my family share my interest in genealogy and family history. I did listen to my grandma's tales but I didn't take notes :(
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely quote. I will have no trouble remembering the lipstick and manicure as I'm a fan of the stuff. My fave line there is "I believe that loving is the best calorie burner."
I always enjoy reading your Friday posts...safe travels to Florida and enjoy that special family time!
ReplyDeleteWell I have learned a new expression "pepper my uncle" I must say I had to re-read to catch this. Older generation story telling, these were the good times, and yes the stories were told perhaps we just forget in time.
ReplyDeleteI think Hibiscus only lasts a short time, I could be wrong.
Have a great time in Florida without any of those responsibilities and don't pack them for the trip
Your hibiscus is so pretty!
ReplyDeleteYou're coming to Florida? That's my territory!
Great Hepburn quote...but I don't think my boys would appreciate it. I know what you mean about getting the place all back together after sprucing it up! Have a great weekend.
Year three is often the time when shrubs settle in and start to perform. So hurrah for your hydrangea :-) It's great that you have family get togethers to talk about family history. Think of the history you are making now...
ReplyDeleteI like your hibiscus and hydrangeas! I also have flowers only in pots, and would surely kill or neglect a shrub, too.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice you had time to spend with cousins and other family members. You're right that it's nice to have a big mess cleaned up after redecorating projects - fun that your husband and girls worked together to do that job.
Have a good week!
What a fabulous Five this is! Jerralea... this post is just HAPPY! I hope you are having a wonderful time in Florida!
ReplyDeleteWe are gardeners of a feather! I can kill ANY living plant too! Hubby mows, but he is not FOND of weed whacking... so I can not say that our yard ALWAYS looks nice. Sometimes it merely looks okay. Other times it is "presentable". We have a hard time keeping grass in our front yard! Apparently we can even kill THAT!