Just received from OR!

 Isn't this lovely?

Oregon Floral Arrangement

I really like these....wild flowers?
Or carefully planted.

Vines

Our vines (unknown variety) are on their way up. It would be nice if they covered all the faded brick.
Salt water with chlorine will do that to bricks.

Now if we could just get the ivy to climb up instead of out.

Sage

Remember the line from the song, "Deep in the Heart of Texas" - The sage in bloom
is like perfume (clap clap clap)?
We have our little sage plants near the spirea bush. Usually by this time
the bush is covered by white blossoms. Not this year. It must be
the cool spring. Wait till next year.
But the sage is looking good.

Sheets and Quilts and Dresser Scarves - Oh My!

I watched some episodes of Hoarders Friday night.
Suddenly I thought of this closet shelf in our "guest" bedroom.   Extra sheets, some quilts that were
 removed from their quilt rack display in order to avoid puppy teeth a year and a half ago and some dresser scarves.

Does anybody use or even know what dresser scarves are today?

I will tackle this later today. I have already cleared some junk off a table and rearranged some shelves above the computer. 

I do like things tidy but sometimes clutter sneaks up on one.
I checked the fridge and there were no cats there so we're ahead on that score.

A slight improvement. At least I know what is up there now.

Peoni Bud

 

When these open up, they will be so heavy that they will bend over to brush the ground.

Rosebud

 

In Oregon.

Phlox?

Who says pale orange and lavender don't "go" together?

Milk Shakes

With that name I had to try one. It was delicious.
L. had to have banana.
For the two shakes, the price was $6.19.
Gee.
'Older than dirt' remembers when a shake was 25 cents plus one cent sales tax.
We used to mix them up on the Waring Blenders at S. H. Kress at the lunch counter.
Our flavors were limited to chocolate, strawberry and vanilla - quite a low
number compared to the 101 choices available here.

Yellow Stars

I like the way the twigs are the background for the flowers.

Soup

It's not cold, chilly or the kind of weather you might choose to  make soup but this is my favorite so it's in the crock-pot and will be ready to eat at 6:00 tonight.  Bon Appetit!

Soup Nazi’s and Kramer’s favorite

2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is okay)
1 cup peeled and chopped apple (mine were fuji)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried minced onion flake
1/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons curry
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup long grain white rice (to add later)
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the chicken thighs into the bottom of your cooker, and add apple, carrots, the whole can of tomatoes, onion flakes, and raisins. Then add the lemon juice, spices, and broth. Stir to mix the spices.
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. If you'd like, shred the chicken with two big forks, and stir in the uncooked rice. Flip to high for 30 minutes, or until the rice is tender. If you live in a high altitude, the rice will take longer and you might want to consider using instant or already cooked rice---it's up to you.
Ladle into soup bowls.

Brilliant Yellow

A bright, sunny, Sunday morning after some rain and a lot of thunder.
There were storms with hail and tornados west of us but
thankfully, no severe weather in our area. 

Unusual Spring

 

No one needs to be told that we have had an unusual spring.
This tree has white and red blossoms for a short
time during the warm days of April.
This year there were not enough "warmish" days for that to happen.
I noticed only one red blossom yesterday but after
I took the  photo, I did see one more.
This is the only color we have so far except for a few
thin lilacs.

Falling Waters

Another reason I like Portland (OR)
This is in the northwest part of the city in a residential area. 

A Perfect Rose with Dew

An Oregon Rose.

Did I mention - I LOVE chocolate.

Both from Germany and both de-lish. 

Elm Seeds

 Reminds me of oatmeal - but in a beautiful way.

Snow Drops

 More Oregon flowers.

Lavender in the Shade

Frothy ferns - not marijuana!
Lavender the color; not the plant.
 

Mother's Day and Dad's Birthday

 May 12th and May 11th.... many years Mother's Day and my dad's birthday fell on the same day, the 11th of May. Their anniversary was on his birthday too.

We got all that celebrating done on one big day!

Thistles?

 

Last night we had a scare. We had a lost dog. We searched the dark
back yard. With a doggie door, both guys can go out whenever they want.
No dog in the lilac bush, near the bamboo or the pampas grass.
We opened every door, every closet - even the lower cabinets -
except one!
Our closet. I had gone in there to retrieve something and shut the door.
In response to all our calling and yelling "Treat" there was no dog.
No barking, no whining, nothing.
Jack was in the closet.
If that had been  Jill, she would have scratched at the door and generally
raised cain (or is that cane?)

 

Poppies (?)

 

Maybe;  maybe not.

Flower - Another unknow variety

I believe I need a nursery catalog to find out what all these  plants are called.

Succulent?

Tinged with pink.