My Secret Garden is in Bloom.....

All of the elements are finally coming together in our backyard Secret Garden.  Although we still have a long way to go I'm beginning to feel like this is my happy place.  Today the weather here was soooo HOT and I really do miss having my pool, but when I come home to my backyard it really does make me smile.  I think that Uncle Duck's really would have loved this backyard.  He always talked about how he loved our backyard in our other home and I wish he was here to enjoy this yard with us. 

Some of the elements that I wanted to incorporate in our little sanctuary were water, fire, life in the form of plants and animals.  The birds are now visiting everyday and they look forward to playing in the waterfall.  We have a number of humming birds that come and buzz in our ears and say hi.  And we really were excited when we got a visit from our first dragon fly!

Kim made excellent use of all of the rocks that Uncle Duckie has collected throughout the years. Uncle Ducks was famous for finding rocks (no matter what size they were) and bringing them home.  So we couldn't get rid of all of the rocks (that would have been sinful) so we used them for our pond.

My Crepe Myrtle has it's first bloom and it's lavender Yeah!!!

The Geraniums transplants and my ground cover is finally taking.....

There is also a little of whimsey......

And of course you have to have herbs!

We also have a whole bunch of baby fish that are very happy......

2010 District Convention In Long Beach California

What a fun time we had this weekend!!! That shot in the arm that we get every year....just when you need it the most.  You know, the district convention!!!  A time to see your old friends and make new ones.  A time to reflect on what we  need to work on.  A time to give our thanks to Jehovah for all that he has done for us and to feel so privileged to be a part of his people.  Well Kim and I were so used to going to Qualcom Stadium in San Diego for our convention but I think we really have been spoiled going here to Long Beach!  No getting up early to save seats.  We actually sat so close to the stage everyday that we could see the speakers face!  We sat in air conditioning all day.  The restrooms were spacious and very clean.  Oh, and then during the lunch session.....the weather was absolutely beautiful!   The grounds of the Long Beach Arena are beautiful!  We had park like settings and walked around an visited with everyone and enjoyed the scenery.  What a relaxing weekend.  We also got two new brochures, a book and a new DVD!  Can't wait to check them out.

Here are some of the beautiful things that we experienced during our convention...........

My Mom and Silvia looking too cute!

At lunch time we would take a long walk in this park like setting and enjoy the association with our friends.

You don't get this at Qualcom!!!!

The outside of the building is painted like a giant aquarium.  It was very pretty.

This is how close we were to the stage!!! How cool is this!  But there is not anywhere in the staduim that is a bad seat. 

Kim and my mom.  Aren't they cute!

Creative Camping Week....

This past week I spent some time camping in San Elijo with my friends and family.  We had a great time being creative with our crafts.  Kim brought me down there and set up the RV and stayed for one night.  He left me to be creative and enjoy the time with my friends.  This is the view we had for the first couple of days while the weather was hot.

Kim and I went to Swami's for breakfast on Monday morning and here is a bird gleening what we didn't want.  Too cute!!!!

Our craft table was completely full with our art!!!!  It was completely Tinafied!!!  And anyone who came over to visit with us was given a small canvas to create a piece of art for my collection.  No one would pass up the chance to do a piece of artwork.  Kamron and Karla came and visited with me and spent the day with me creating!  What a nice time....

These are boat houses in Encinitas that are apartments!

Tina made me a cute posie hanger with fresh flowers from her yard for my RV door.  Isn't it precious!!!!  I love it!!!

"Friendship".......Cherished Gifts

Throughout our course of life we meet many people although some just pass through our lives unnoticed.  But if we are really fortunate we are able to achieve lifetime friends, those that you may not be able to see everyday but when you are able to see them once again, you just pick up right where you left off.  A friend that you can trust with your life, the kind of friend that you feel as if you have known them all of your life.  They are family to you.  This is the kind of friends I have been very blessed to have.  Although I have many very different friends from all walks of life, I love them all because each one of them is very special to me.  One friend in particular I have in mind is my friend Katherin Neuman.  She has been my friend since we went to the International Convention in Frankfurt, Germany 4 years ago.   Kim and I passed out our bookmarks at that convention with our email address and our picture on it and since then Katherin and I have become very special friends.  I have really gotten to know her throughout these years and I feel like her big sister.  I always wanted a sister.  I cherish her friendship especially because she is my spiritual sister and she encourages me greatly!  She keeps me in touch with what is happening on her side of the world and she shares experiences with me that are very encouraging.   I also let her know what is happening on our side of town.  Periodically we will send each other some special items.  These pictures are some of the very special gifts that Katherin recently sent me from Germany.  I wish I could just reach out and give her a big hug for all of these precious gifts.  I will always cherish them especially since they are home-made gifts (we all know how much I love items that are home-made).  These plaques were hand-made by Katherin and the beautiful collage of pictures and the frame were also made by her.  I received a beautiful post card, book marks and covers for our song book (I am already putting it to use).  Oh, and the can is Gummy Bears. 

Kim is enjoying some of our German Chocolate (Yummmmmmy)!!!

Just What I Needed....Another Project!!!!

Well Girls, in the midst of us working on our backyard pond....Of course, I came across a great deal on a trailer for our camping excursions!  My girlfriends and I go down to San Elijo during the hot summer months and Tina Capriotti, Brenda, Tina Fergusson, Gina and Tammy all have the coolest trailers that are the envy of the State Beach when we go.  They have been trying to convince me to give up my beautiful luxury suite RV and conform to the trailer life!  I couldn't pass this deal up, so Kim bought me my own fixer upper.  I will be trying to "cute it up" for the next few months.  Here are the "befores"....Boy do I have a lot of work to do!!!!!!!

We removed all of the doors on the cabinets and the bathroom so that I can paint them at home and to make it easier to work in the bathroom area.  It also came with all of the cushions for the seats and bed and I removed them so that I can recover them.  But they were actually all in great shape. 

It's Spring!!!! Time for Flowers!!!!

My poor flowers have been completely neglected yet they are still loyal to me!  Look they are letting me know it's time to get busy and start planting!  These are flowers that just sprung up from last years blooms.

Time to Get to Work!!!!

Well it's spring time and if you've ever been to Sun City during the summer time you know it gets very HOT here.  So we have decided to try to get our very small backyard completed before the heat gets here.  Kim has decided that he wants a water feature in our backyard.  This is a great idea since the water will make it very inviting and will offer some sense of solitude to the backyard.  So Kim is ready to go and tackling the job head on!  He is quite "The Man".  I'm here for moral support.  I will be ready for the "making things pretty" stage.  I hope that's soon because IT'S LOOKING PRETTY SHABBY!  I will have to keep you up-to-date with our progress.  So here are some of the "Before" pictures.