Camping and Scamping

For the Memorial Day Weekend, we reserved a site in a campground at Flowing Lakes County Park in Snohomish, just 18 miles north of our home.  It was recommended to us by our neighbors Mary and Steve (who are currently renovating a 22- foot trailer they got free and hauled out of a farmer's field south of Seattle!).  We had never camped here before, and it was more remote than our last site, and in a heavily forested area.

We arrived Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., and were able to set up our camp much more quickly than the last time we camped at Tolt Park in Carnation.  While Don took an afternoon siesta in the trailer, I set up the outside area of "Beach Music" and then sat back and enjoyed my handiwork.

Since our last trip, I acquired some "glamping" items from local thrift shops to make the outside area look homey.  Our red and white outdoor rug (made from recycled pop bottles) set the red and white theme, along with our custom-made awning.  The red canvas chairs Don bought for us last fall are comfy, and I picked up pieces of red enamelware for an outdoor trash can, and even found a child-sized antique ironing board to use as a mini-bar for our wine and pop drinks and snacks.  I sewed a couple of cloth buntings which I hung outside, and even had LED-fairy lights!

I also found a nice tablecloth at Country Village's White House Antiques, painted our old stool from home (to get the canopy down), and found a tiny chalkboard where I wrote the name of the trailer and the year it was made.

It looked like "home away from home" by the time I finished.

We had a wonderful three days, enjoyed two nights of campfires, S'mores, and games of Scrabble.

I love the red and white exterior!

Campsite on lower level

Scamp nestled in the trees at Campsite #14

My Own Spring Flowers

Here is a nice medley of flowers from my yard.  They made a nice arrangement in the front yard!

Weigela

Here are two views of the weigela that has been here ever since we bought the house 14 years ago.  It is one of the most beautiful plants we have.

View from the pasture.  The shrub spills over the fence!

View from the back yard

Hosta Garden

My hosta garden, which contains the items given to me for my retirement from Starbucks, is coming up nicely in its second year!  I'm very pleased with the four varieties I have, and it creates a restful backdrop for upcoming warm summer days out in the yard.

A Profusion of Lilacs

The lilacs this year are huge and full, and I'm giving credit to the Mason Orchard Bees for a fine job of pollination!  These are incredible.  The bushes are over 12 feet high.

The Yard in Mid-Spring

There is nothing more beautiful than this yard in the Spring!  There are azaleas, rhododendrons, lilacs, weigela, and flower baskets from every nursery in the area.

It's so wonderful this year to have time to dedicate to my yard, and to be able to use my Master Gardener knowledge to improve upon each flower bed, garden and rockery.

Back yard with lilacs weigela and rhodies

Front yard facing neighbor's flowering cherry tree

New rock feature to cover French Drain in driveway

More Recital Pictures

Here are a couple additional pictures.  The lovely bouquet of two dozen long-stemmed roses was from Sheila and her family.

Maltby Piano Studio Recital

Saturday, May 9, was our first piano recital!  It was a wonderful time of seeing a lot of hard work and practicing come to fruition!

We had over 50 friends and family members attend, and we almost ran out of space for additional chairs.  Each student performed admirably, and I was proud of all of the courage it takes for people to learn something new.  They were truly an inspiration to everyone who heard them perform.

This week, following the recital, I have heard from so many of my students that they are so excited now to move forward with new music now that they have been successful in their first public performance.

Bonnie, Meditation Teacher, helping us relax before the recital

Take a bow!

Kaila's 10th Birthday

Dave dropped off Kaila a few weekends ago for her piano lesson, and afterwards, we went out to celebrate Kai's 10th birthday.  She loves spaghetti, so we went to a new restaurant in Bothell.  We had so much fun, and got caught up on all the news.

Empress Wu Hostas

My Empress Wu hostas get larger each year.  Take a look at this beauty!  It's only two years old.

Scaevola

I  got a lovely, large flower basket at McLendon's yesterday, and I was intrigued with its lovely blue flowers and lush foliage. Common names for Scaevola species include scaevolas, fan-flowers, half-flowers, and naupaka, the plant's Hawaiian name. 

The flowers are shaped as if they have been cut in half. Consequently, the generic name means "left-handed" in Latin. Many legends have been told to explain the formation of the naupaka's unique half flowers. In one version, a woman tears the flower in half after a quarrel with her lover. The gods, angered, turn all naupaka flowers into half flowers and the two lovers remained separated while the man is destined to search in vain for another whole flower.