First Day of May

 This seems like a perfect day all around and a perfect day to break my silence on this blog.  

It's the day we weather followers have been looking forward to for a couple of weeks.  High of 77 today and 70 tomorrow, and the rest of the 10 days seem wonderful - and dry.

Noreen and I have plans to go sit by the pool this morning when the sun gets high enough.  At least, that's what we talked about.  We don't feel obligated to stick by a plan if we are enjoying the present.

We did follow through with going to Ace Hardware Monday to look for some plants to start off our porch beautification plans.  We aren't quite ready for a nursery, and Noreen needed a tension rod!  That was a nice short trip to North Bend, and we did find a few things.  I'll venture out and take some pictures when I get dressed.

Katherine stops by at 8:45 or so on Thursdays to walk to school from here, and I love that little bit of alone time with her.  

She is just growing up so much.  So conversational.  So sweet.  She had a litany of injuries she needed to show me - like the waist-area bruise she got from the monkey bars at school yesterday, bruises on her legs from something, and a red bump on her shoulder that made the straps of her bookbag uncomfortable.  I found a perfectly sized bandaid and some Neosporin and patched that right up.  We stood at the door for a while and discussed the weather and how Wuffie was sitting in the park across the street watching us, and then she headed up the street to school.  

I couldn't resist a soft, "Look both ways before crossing," even though it normally makes her roll her eyes.  Lately, she said, "I literally cross three streets every single day."  This morning though, she turned around and smiled and waved, looked both ways, and ran across Kinsey.  Then she turned around and walked backwards, waving until she was out of sight.  My heart!  

This is going to be her month.  In 28 days, she will be 10 years old, and I enjoy every minute with her.  I'll try to post the pictures that come up in my memories.

She had just had her first birthday in Palm Springs and was just on the verge of walking.  What a fun trip.  What a fun baby!

Super special time she got to spend with PopPop.  I wish they could have known each other longer.

Sleepy or pensive?  The old flowered loveseat has finally gone away.  It was special to me for so many years but just didn't fit in here and was getting pretty worn.

I'm lucky enough lately to have both girls come after school for a couple of hours on Monday and Wednesday, and sometimes several hours on Friday.  

Sometimes they'll get out their homework and do a little bit, knowing they have more time that night for it if necessary.  Yesterday, Graysen did some of her math review, and we all worked on a poem Katherine had to answer questions about.  I loved seeing that it was "The Road Not Taken," by Robert Frost.  We had a long discussion about it.  Then there was mac and cheese, of course, made by them for the most part, a little TV watching with Aunt CeCe, and chatting about Graysen's upcoming Friday night Dance.  What?  I'm not ready for this.  She's wearing a dress and getting her nails done.  Katherine might have a playdate after that and then lacrosse on Saturday.  I hope I get to watch one of their games.  I really want to learn what it's all about.  

I was tired at the end of the day, as usual, although I did almost nothing all day except planting the flowers I got and doing minimal housework.  

I just made a chicken salad for lunch with some sweet pickles, celery, eggs, and mayo.  It was not bad at all!  

I hate to be totally useless, but there is such a limit to what I can do.  I took out the plants I got Monday and made plans for where I'm going to put them and put some dirt in two pots.  I brought the car floor mats in to vacuum - but didn't vacuum them - and went to pick up the mail.  I walked an extra half a block to look at the pretty spring greenery.  Noreen had to go to Bellevue this morning, so we didn't sit outside, but there's still time and sunshine if we want to this afternoon.

Here are a few pictures I took while walking.

I forgot to take pictures of the two cherry trees at the end of our alley right by the mailboxes, but this is all that's left of those beautiful blooms.  

Here are some of the trees in downtown Snoqualmie at the Railway Museum.  And maybe in Kent or Issaquah.  They were everywhere and amazing.

This is one in North Bend just as it started raining one day.

Walking back to the apartment from the mailbox.  I never get tired of this view of the mountains.  It's fun to see my old upstairs balcony down the alley.  I loved sitting out there with the girls so much when we first moved here.

    

The little sidewalk between Noreen's apt and mine.  I'm jealous of her little rock wall.

     

The prettiest rhododendron in the neighborhood.

 

My place on the left and Noreen's on the right.  We have some work to do.

Residents don't get to plant their own stuff in the beds, but I campaigned for leaving this hosta that comes back every year and somehow hasn't been bothered by the deer.

I'm still aggravated that they pulled up some dead boxwoods and replanted these little new things.  They're pretty, but I'm not sure why they left those scraggly old ones that they prune into little boxes.  You just have to go along with it.

Noreen has painted her planter boxes and is ready to start relaxing outside.  We now have a choice.  If we want a little sunshine, we'll go to her porch, and if we get hot, we will go to my shady retreat. 

And this is the same sidewalk between our apartments with a pretty little Japanese maple on Noreen's side.  We have a new family moving in above my garage with 3 elementary-age children, so the girls might be having quite a few to play with soon.

The only sun I get is around back outside the garage, so I planted a red geranium and 3 ruffly pink petunias in this pot which was here when I moved in - full of heather.  I always have to have a red geranium!  Those yellow miniature petunias are just waiting there until I find something else to put in their pot tomorrow.  Looking for some white bacopa and creeping Jenny.

I got this strawberry vanilla hydrangea last year for Mother's Day and tried to get it to bloom on my shady porch.  It didn't, but it stayed healthy.  I put it around back about a month ago and was rewarded with these new leaves.  If I can remember to water it enough, it should do really well there.  

It's supposed to look like this when it blooms.

The primroses I found at Safeway have brightened up the porch during the cooler months and look healthy.  I'll find a few little things to add to this pot tomorrow too.

 Happy and content.