Lantana

Years ago my daughter and I removed the grass from the little strip between our yard and the street. We waited til school let out for the summer, but the heat and humidity was already brutal. It was a labor of love, though, cause here's how it looks today:

  

I love how it spills out over the sidewalk and curb.  It's very drought resistant, but there are a couple of sprinkler heads in there, watering it every 3 or 4 days even so.  It will bloom and be absolutely beautiful through the Fall, and when it dies, I just cut it down to the ground, and it comes back the next Spring.

And it makes a nice backdrop for cute teenagers.

Gina

Shared with:

Things I have to stop putting off

I took Scout to band camp, walked for 30 minutes, then came home to eat a bite of breakfast and check e-mail.  That was about 40 minutes ago and here I still sit, with so much to do it boggles my mind.   For starters I need to find The Girl a place to live in Waco.

I also have to work on get her student loan paperwork, seeing how tuition is due on the 31st.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, right? I am also dragging my feet on all I need to do, including laundry and back to school shopping.  

Guess it's time to make a glass of iced coffee and get going.

Gina

Outdoor babies

I think of my potted plants as my outdoor babies - after all, they wouldn't survive without me!

This cute little trio lives on the deck.  Notice the red mulch?  I think this keeps them from getting too dried out and looks pretty, too!  I mulch on all my potted plants, especially in the summer.  And I try not to pick plants that require watering everyday - I often forget.  Even so, the ones I have don't seem to suffer too much in this Central Texas heat.

This 'baby" is older than my eldest child - I got it in 1984.  Yes. 1984.  It was much much smaller and in a pot we bought in Nuevo Laredo.  As the years went by I re-potted it over and over as it grew. I think I might re-pot it soon as it's still growing and there's lots of space out here for it.  Gee, I love terra cotta!

My $5 ficus.  Rescued from HEB.  I took pity on it having to be on the deck with the other full sun loving pots and moved it over by the swing under the trees.  It could stand to be pruned, but so far it loves it's new home.  And it makes this little nook more inviting, hiding the cords from the bug zapper.

This started out as some struggling potted plants that I just combined in a container by the front door; airplane plants, pathos ivy, dracena, pony tail plant.  It has a couple of styrofoam blocks under a few inches of soil to keep the pot from being too heavy.  Worked like a charm. I guess it's about three years old now.

Potted plants are such a nice way to add greenery to a home! 

Shared with:

Scout is our budding photog

I made an inexpensive Kodak photo book for Scout recently with some of his photos that are my favorites:

He recently bought a Fuji XP series point and shoot and has been all over the place taking pictures which I will share on the sidebar as he shares with me.  And maybe he can teach me a thing or two!

Gina

My cute bunch - 10 years ago

Summers have been some of the best times with my kiddos - so going through old photo albums in preparation for scanning them all in to my computer, I come across some summer pics that I love.  

This one in particular:

Summer 2001 - Volente Beach

They were 11, 9, 5, and 2.  This was at one of our favorite summer destinations: Volente Beach.  We would pack a cooler with drinks and sammies, grab our towels and sunscreen, and head out to this waterpark on Lake Travis.  Coming home, we'd swing by Wendy's for a frosty, then they would all lay on the den floor and watch a movie while I made dinner.  Makes me nostalgic for the good old days!

Gina

Bowling

I took the boys to Dart Bowl last week for some delish burgers and enchiladas, followed by a game or two of bowling.  Bubbie was pretty disgusted that there were no bumpers.  But he's 12 and is getting better at it.  No need for bumpers for the big kids!

 

What he lacks in form he makes up for in energy level!

It was nice and chilly in there, did not smell like an ashtray as many bowling lanes do, and you can't beat the food they serve in their little diner.  And since it has the added benefit of something they can use large muscle groups on and doesn't involve electronics. I'd say we'll probably go again real soon.

Gina

Homemade popsicles

Last summer I jotted down some popsicle recipes hoping to spot some nifty plastic molds in a thrift store or even the grocery store.  All I ever came across was the super flimsy cheapo ones.  Fast forward to yesterday and look what my thrifty eagle eye spotted at the Big Red Ball:

OK, for 98 cents I will give it a go.  I got a recipe for creamy peanut butter popsicles from Homebody and I made the slight variation of adding a little Nutella:  Boil 1/2 c. water with 1/4 c. sugar for 3 min.  remove from heat and stir in 1/4 c. peanut butter and 1 c. milk.  Freeze til set.

These didn't fit exactly over the bars on the freezer shelf, but they were pretty steady and didn't tip.  I had to run some warm water over them to get them to slide out of the molds, and the creamy peanut butter separated a bit.  I think next time I will freeze the mixture halfway, stir up the slush and and then add to the mold - just to make sure it's a little more homogeneous.

My taste tester enjoyed his and asked that we try the Cafe Au Lait recipe next. (:

Capital of Texas zoo trip 2011

Last Wednesday I took the boys to the Capital of Texas Zoo.

It's basically an animal sanctuary out towards Bastrop.  Very rustic, and it was fun to take the boys on what may be one of our last field trips together as they are getting older and less interested in these activities.

  

  

 

 

This was actually a huge bird enclosure that you could walk into.  

No thank you for me, but the boys liked it.

 

 

 

It was hot, but it was relaxing and a nice thing to do in the middle of the week. 

Gina