Summer Days - The Pleasant Ones

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 

Shakespeare - Sonnet 18

I love Shakespeare's sonnets. He knew that to compare someone to a summer day they would have to be more temperate to be sure!  I love the early days of summer, especially June when the temperatures only rise as high as the 90's. Yes, that's a bit of sarcasm there. My favorite times are the mornings. As I'm waking up I hear the sprinklers popping on, doing their best to keep everything fresh and green.

Misty drops on Knockout Roses

New Additions to a shady section of the yard

We have green beans!

Beautiful zucchini flower

Side view of garden

Vinca in a pot by the pool - will be huge by summer's end

(or fried to a crisp, depending on my ability to remember to water them)

Love this section under the oak tree - mix and match annuals and perennials

My swimming partner this week, enjoying a nice cold sip of pomegranate soda

Summer must haves: cold drink, sunglasses, sunscreen and a book

And, we have the occasional guest in the pool. This is Brodie, the diving dog! Great form.

And we couldn't do without our beautiful pool girl, Absie

Hope your summer is lovely and temperate...I'm off to the pool!

Photo of the Day

Guess which items on this plate came directly from my garden?  All but one! The ground turkey came from Kroger. I grew the cherry tomatoes, lettuce and zucchini. That makes for a very fresh (and inexpensive) meal. It was delicious!

Mini Scrapbook

I spent an evening putting together this mini scrapbook to give my niece, Emily, for graduation. While I realize 18 year olds won't find a Scripture scrapbook one of their favorite gifts, I believe that God's word never returns void, just as He promises in His Word.

Her mother said her favorite colors were orange and pink so I selected my paper on that basis. One day I'm going to learn to take pictures that look like the exact colors of the book, but I thought this little album turned out really nice. The cover and half of the pages are covered in a light linen-looking fabric.  I chalked a chipboard "E" with pink and orange to place on the cover.

I really enjoy putting these little albums together. They are usually very quick to do if you have lots of paper lying around. And, I have LOTS of paper!

Summer 2013 Reading List

My Summer 2013 Reading List is being compiled. After extensive research, I'm ready to begin. Well, not really extensive...I just posted a status on Facebook and got quite a few good suggestions. I'm starting with these and will see how far they take me. I'm currently simultaneously reading the bottom two books and decided to count them since I will finish them during the summer. Here are my choices in no particular order:

Feel free to leave any great suggestions here. I'm sure I'll read more than nine books by summer's end.

We Have A Graduate! - Grace Prep Class of 2013

We had an amazing weekend celebrating Becca's accomplishments and graduation from Grace Prep. I am so proud of the beautiful young lady she has become and look forward to the plans God has for her in the future. So many friends and family came out to wish her well and we are so appreciative of their love and support.

Walking in with Amanda, her friend since elementary school

GPA Class of 2013 -- all 36 of them!

Rebecca's table and senior board, representing her accomplishments

Served her favorite cupcakes at a lunch in her honor before the ceremony

Decorating with her favorite flowers

On Sunday evening our church recognized the graduating seniors. Becca did an amazing job on her speech. Yes, I am biased, but it really was the best. 

The family celebrating at dinner after the church service

Way to go, Becca! Can't wait to see you take on the world at Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the fall.

Growing, Growing, Growing

Exciting times in the Holmes Family Garden! We will be eating vegetables soon, I think. As you can see from this first photo, most everything has grown quite a bit. The spinach didn't grow very well, but I blame that on the squirrels digging in it and scattering the seeds from the beginning. The onions are doing okay, but are overshadowed by the zucchini leaves. Zucchini has a mind and growing power all its own. It's crazy! Look at the leaves in the second photo. They have overtaken the cucumber plants and the okra plants. Note for next year: Give zucchini it's own space. It's bossy!

Cherry Tomatoes - so cute!

Anyone want a salad for lunch?

Zucchini Flowers

Squash will be ready to pick by week's end

Green Beans

Green Bean Flower

At this point we might have enough for one green bean per person. Not sure how that will all turn out. I've never grown string beans before. And I'm sure you'll be on the edge of your seat to see how it all turns out! 

Before School Photo - Day "LAST!"

A bittersweet day - for me, anyway. The girls don't have a problem with it! Rebecca's last day of high school and Abigail's last day of sophomore year have arrived. It's been a year of ups and downs, as high school always is, and we are happy to be on this side of it. Graduation next week!

School Photo - Day "Next to Last!"

I don't know the day, but I do know for a certain senior there's only one more left after it! (Abigail still has two days of finals.) Becca is dressed up because her senior seminar class is having a business lunch at a local event center where they will eat and discuss "business" with local leaders in the community. Gotta get those kids ready to take on the world!