Throw Back Thursday....School is Out For Summer....

This past week I enjoyed looking through old scrapbook pages of my Children's last days of school throughout the years.  This was my Sons last day of Kindergarten.  The fun thing about grade school was the last day of school was always a party day.  They had a carnival theme.  Both of my children had the same Kindergarten teacher.

While my daughter in this page looks happy, she was a little sad to be leaving her friends behind...But my son well the last day of school could not come fast enough.  Their grade school was JFK Primary School and JFK to my son meant Jail For Kids.

My Daughters last day of school for first grade.  This had to be the best grade school teacher ever, I wish my son could have had her too.  I spent many years going in and helping in her class on my free time.

I also spent many years being a room mom....I was burnt out by the time my daughter moved to 5th grade.  I was glad that class parties were over.  Plus each year the policies changed about food that could be brought in.  We went from every sugary treat imaginable to everything having to come in packages made in a store so all the ingredients could be read...to only fruits and non-sugar items....

My Son on his last day of school in first grade.  I think his sister got the better teacher.

This was my daughters last day of school in 4th grade.  She was ready to move to the next school.

My Son's last day of school for 6th grade....That was the year of the Swine Flu....He got sick and they wouldn't let anyone go to school for 3 days if they had a fever...He didn't have the swine flu but he couldn't go to the last day of school...He was not happy!

Here we are ready for summer.  My Son played for the High School Graduation and told me he can't wait for next year, to Graduate and move on to college...I'm not sure I'm ready for that.  My daughter has a huge list of things she wants to do this summer...Read, practice karate, run with friends, take on-line courses...My son has work too as he is taking AP English next year he is starting to read the books, and study a huge list of vocabulary words...I think I may check these words out and share with you...Maybe I'll even read one of the books... He also hopes to  create a bunch of animated movies on his Youtube site and get a summer job...My goal is to have adventures with my teens this summer.  To look for fun things to do around us...No sitting in the house all day on the computer...
I have to say we are all happy that "SCHOOL IS OUT FOR SUMMER!"
G.G.

Red Tulips....My Thanksgiving Point Graden Adventure......

The most popular type of Tulip is the Red Tulip.  There were lots of Red Tulips at the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival.

Some were planted together and some were planted with other colored tulips.

As you walk along the paths at Thanksgiving point you have rows of tulips each side of you.  For a Flower enthusiast this was wonderful.

They have a nice place where you can buy food and eat. All  around this area they have these big planters full of flowers.  I thought this one was so pretty.  I think if my husband really does make a planter for along our back deck I will try to plant something like this for the spring.

Here is a close up of the pot of tulips.

Here is a photo of another pot of flowers.

A Rainbow of colors.  Did you know that there are no Blue Tulips?  Some Tulips have a little bit of blue at the bottom of the flower but you can't get a totally blue tulip!

Here is a big section of Red Tulips...I would have loved to get the photo without the lady and her child..It annoys me when people are in my flower photos.  But her child walked so slow that I just gave up. It would have been so much nicer without them! Red Tulips symbolize love for another or hope in love.

There is a part of the garden where they tell you the names of the different Tulips.  I hope to go back next year and get photos of each tulip with it's name sign.  This sign says Tulip Red Emperor.

Of all the Tulips I think this one is my favorite, the red and white tulip called Estella Rynveld.  It reminds me of Christmas peppermint candies. Perhaps I will try to plant some tulip bulbs this fall and have something like this in my own garden.
Hope you enjoyed the red tulips as much as I did.
G.G.

The Garden was calling to me this morning....End of May Photos....

I'm really happy to say that so far this spring I have been able to keep up with the work in the garden.  I finally have a day off, and it is not raining, so I went out and pulled weeds out and thinned some of the baby plants.

My Dianthus plants are so pretty.  I have to say that soon I'll have to thin even more as I put a huge amount of seeds in the garden.  Usually nothing grows, but with all the rain I have tiny seedlings everywhere.  Now I'm not even sure what they are.  We have been enjoying the rain though.  Everything is so green!

I like my yellow Carnation plant too.  The forks seem to be keeping the cat out.  I had to add a few more in one spot, but it the cat seems to have stopped using my garden as it's personal litter box.

I've planted Sedum and Hen's and Chickens in the back garden.  If I had my way I would not have a lawn of grass, I would have all kinds of flowering ground cover with stone pathways.  Perhaps that is why my husband has decided to build me a large container garden for on the deck, he is trying to keep me busy so I will stop planting things in the lawn.

This little plant has so many babies on it, I can't wait to plant them and watch them spread!

This is an Owl solar lamp that I bought for the garden....I've been given permission to buy more of them.  My son would like one that is a cat.  I have not found any more that I like yet. 

Our view from the back yard.  That is actually two mountains that you are looking at.  And in the fall you can drive around them...It is beautiful....I keep meaning to put together a post of our drive along the alpine loop.
Happy Sunday to you. Working in the Garden is so relaxing!
G.G.

Throw Back Thursday....A Favorite Photo from my In Laws visit out west.

My In-Laws came out to visit us in 2013.  It was the last time I saw my Father in Law.  We had a wonderful visit.  I really love this photo of us all at Temple Square.   Father's day will be hard for our family this year. I will be missing my grandpa and now my father in law.  I know that they watch over us, but I miss being able to talk to them.  I'm glad for all the photo's we have to remember special times.
I can't believe it is Thursday.  Next week my kids are out of school for the summer.  The time surely flies by.
Have a wonderful Thursday.
G.G.

Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival....My Garden Adventure....Brown Tulips.....

As I look through all the photo's I took on my Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival adventure I marveled at all the different colors tulips come in.  One that really caught my attention was the brown tulips.  I searched for brown tulips on the Internet and found only one type....I'm not sure if these are that type or not..But the name was "Brown Sugar" Tulip.

I loved how as you walked along the paths at the Tulip Festival some areas had lots of the same colored tulips and some had a rainbow of colors.  I love to see all the different petal shapes, and colors.

Growing up I remember seeing red tulips, but not all the colors I saw on this trip.  I'm also amazed at all the different sizes tulips come in.  Some are very small and others are huge.

I have to say I was amazed that so many of the flowers still looked good even though it was almost the last week of the festival.  I think I could have spent the whole day walking around.  I'll have to plan to do that next year.

I like the pink, orange, and brown mixed together in this grouping.

So what do you think?  Do you like brown tulips?  I thought they were very unique!

Would you plant brown tulips in your garden?
G.G.

#Throw Back Thursday...May Reminds Me of Fashion Show Days.....

My Mother in Law used to run a charity fashion show...It happened every May.  When my daughter was young my Mother in Law asked if she could be in it with her.  I got to play photographer...

Then my son was asked to be in it too.  Don't they look so cute... We got a free meal, and the kids got to keep their fashion show outfits.  I know that many people with needs in the community were blessed by all the donations made.  I enjoyed taking photo's for my Mother in Law.  I would print them out so she could give them to all the people who participated.

I miss this event and time spent with my Mother in Law.  We always had fun at the fashion show!
Happy Thursday!
G.G.

My Retail Therapy....Working in the Garden.....

To stay sane when you work in the retail business you need to have a relaxing hobby.  Mine is gardening.  I love to go out on my days off and weed, plant, and just look at all the different flowers.

When I am not in the garden, I'm reading magazines, and books about gardening or garden themed fiction books.  My Favorite book is Garden Spells.  I'll write about that some other day.

I have learned that I need to take time for myself on my days off...I need to have quiet and rest....And Gardening is a peaceful and productive way to have "me time"...This gives me the ability to go back to work and not get angry when people ask if an item is free because it doesn't have a ticket on it....or to keep calm and not react when a person is yelling at me for a policy I have no control over.  I think of my garden, and take a deep breath and smile.... Reacting only causes people to get angrier.  It is better to have no reaction.

I continually add to my garden.  I'm pleased to have this little patch that will be full of cosmos of varying color and sizes by midsummer/ early fall.  If I had my way there would be no lawn.  I would have paths and different garden patches.  My back yard would be full of colorful flowers and butterflies and bees.  On a limited budget it will take me awhile, but someday there will be more flowers than grass.  I love to start with seeds and watch every stage of the flowers I grow.  I love to be able to look a seedling and know what plant it will grow into.

I'm so thankful for my small garden and the peace it gives to me.  I'm thankful that my husband allows me to slowly take over the lawn with garden experimentation.  I also love to photograph and remember my gardens from year to year.  So that is one way that I keep sane in the crazy world of retail....
G.G.

My Peri Menopause Ultra-Violet Catastrophe...My internal Lawn mower broke....Preparing for what happens when it starts working.

So last time I blogged about my Peri menopause issues I was terrified I might be pregnant...and very glad I wasn't.    I tried really hard to get a doctors appointment so that I could get something to make my period start...I wonder can you do that?  But for whatever reason It took two months to get an appointment....

In that time I have enjoyed the bliss of not having a period...because hey what women really enjoys having a period.  If you do please write to me and tell me about it...My husband is sure women enjoy this and embrace it much better than I do... I have also searched the Internet hoping to have good questions for my doctor...And hoped and prayed for answers to what is going wrong with my body....hormonal imbalance? Ovarian cysts? Thyroid?.....

Here is what I learned at my doctors appointment..1. don't go to a Gynecologist appointment in the afternoon right before they are closing...That doctor you are seeing is done...Done looking at women's parts..Done talking about women's issues...They are thinking of going home and being something other than a doctor.... ( I of course believe this because when I'm at the end of my work shift I am done... Done helping people find clothes they want, done with clothes, I don't want to do anything with clothing except wear it..
.2. Don't be like me and push annual exams off....I did visit my PCP who said I didn't need to do an annual pap smear exam...My Gynecologist and Gynecologists receptionist thought differently and would not give me any appointment until I had that appointment and thus it being a non-emergency appointment.... I waited two months...I have to say I don't like the receptionist at this point..3. If you are going for an annual exam...That's all you get...There is no talking problems here, we scrap inside of you and quickly leave the room....4. Know what the appointment you made is...I thought I made I have an issue appointment...Evil receptionist made a annual pap smear appointment ...5. Don't tell the doctor you really don't like annual pap smear appointments, I mean when I said I didn't like coming to the doctors office.. that's what I meant, not I don't like you doctor. I don't like pap smear exams.. are there women who like them??( I wonder if I insulted this doctor and that is why they would not talk to me about anything...should I send an apology card?  Yet one of my friends says it's Obama Care...Annual exams mean no talking about problems you have to make another appointment for that )  For now on I will say how much I love them...Yes I love coming here and visiting you, sitting with this white embarrassing robe on, naked....Having my woman parts scraped by something that looks rather like a medieval torture device...And as for my problem...I learned nothing..If I don't start having my period in a month come back...Ugh!!!!

My mom was happy...The pap smear thing is good it detects cancer...Except it's checking my cervix and I'm quiet sure that's not where my problem is....So what does a very frustrated, woman do...she searches the Internet...What I found was much more help...A Web MD site about internal lawn mowers...Yep that's my problem...See Estrogen is fertilizer....I've got fertilizer....I have estrogen...Progesterone is the lawn mower.  Estrogen builds your uterus up....Progesterone causes the uterus to shed....I don't have that..That is not happening.....So I've been growing quiet the lawn of uterus in me......And now I'm preparing for what I desperately wanted to avoid...The Lawn Mowers Return....Yes at some point my body figures it out and the progesterone starts to work again in my body and there is quiet the lawn to cut....Thus the photo's of extra absorbent pads ( the equivalent of a diaper if you ask me ), and Ultra tampons.....because the last time the lawn mower stopped working I had a period for a month.... I can't even begin to think of how much I'll be spending on feminine hygiene products this month.  The question how long do you go before you try to see the doctor again.... How many weeks should I  let this period go before I call the doctor? Can I get an appointment?  Will I get any answers? Should I look for a different doctor?  How I wish I could fly back to New Jersey and see my old doctor...That is one thing I don't like about moving...I don't like finding new doctors...My old doctor knew me...Understood me....

So here is the beginning of my soon to be trial....The other thing that happens right before the Period from hell is this feeling of depression...I want to weep constantly for no reason..Having gone through it before I know what is happening and that keeps me sane...Yes every now and then I want to just weep, and I feel as though I may stop breathing from the weight of this feeling....But I know it is just the Lawn Mower getting ready to cut the grass...So to speak....Have you had any of these horrible Peri menopause issues??  Oh here the tears are rolling down my face...Uh why am I sad???  I am stronger than this!
G.G.

Planting Forks in My Garden....To keep neighborhood cats away....

My cat is an indoor cat....She helps me plant seeds...She sniffs all the growing seedlings and thankfully has not eaten any, and she watches me garden from the windows in the house. 

She has a friend who is an outdoor cat.  This cat seems to think my garden is the perfect litter box!

This is the perfect place for a cat...Inside, out of the garden.  After cleaning cat poop out of my garden for a couple of weeks, I decided to search the Internet and find out how I could keep cats out..I love my cat, but I don't love the ones that are coming to my garden.

I don't want to hurt the cats, I just want them to stay out.  So one idea that I have tried is planting forks in my garden.  You have to put them all around, it makes it to bothersome for the cat to want to walk around or even dig around them.  Plus if they step on them it doesn't feel nice, but it also does not harm them.

This is the present I'm trying to keep out of the garden!  Ugh!  I had one area that did not have forks and that cat used it. 

Along with the forks I also put lemon peel out.  Cat's don't like the smell of lemons!  I want to video what my cat does when I have lemon on my hands it's pretty funny! The problem I had was we had a lot of rain and the lemon smell went away...The cat came back!

So I've added more forks today.  It is a interesting look to the garden.

along with the forks I've also sprinkled crushed red pepper and paprika in the garden...more things cats don't like.....

The only cat I want in the garden is "Tom Cat"  my garden statue...All others please stay out!  I'll let you know what works!

Related sites:
4 ways to keep cats out of gardens   
Keep cats out of the garden
More ways to keep cats out of gardens
I have to say at least I have a chance of keeping cats out and glad I don't have rabbit or deer issues!
Happy Gardening.
G.G.