Posted in #weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare #159 – April 6, 2024

Good morning and welcome to my April 6, 2024 #weekendcoffeeshare 159! Please come in a have a seat. I was hoping it would be warm this morning, but it isn’t, so we will be here in my kitchen.

If I were having coffee with you this morning, I would tell you that this has been one of those weeks. By the end of it, I didn’t know if I wanted to scream or if I wanted to climb back in bed and pull the covers up over my head!

The week started, last Sunday, with three and one-half or four full on bad weather

days. Here in the East Central U.S., we had flood warnings, tornado watches and warnings, severe thunderstorm watches and warnings,, and warnings about hail. In addition, we had warnings from the National Weather Service about high winds, perhaps hurricane force.

Where I live, we got all the weather, but we were spared any real damage. There was one evening where we had 70 mile per hour winds and a terrible thunderstorm, but they weren’t tornadic. The road flooded at the base of the mountain where I live and no one could get in or out.

After the stormy weather, it turns cold here. Really cold for April where I live in the US. I have two perennial gardens and all the plants had to be covered up – for four nights in a row. I think, today, the weather is finally back to something approaching normal and we can take the covers off.

Even in the cold, the perennial gardens are just starting to thrive.

The end of the week held an event I went to. One of my best friends lost her husband a month ago. She had a Celebration of Life for him instead of the traditional visitation and funeral. It was at a local bar where he worked off and on. Although we all paid our respects, it was really just a big party in celebration of Jeff’s life. It was nice to be able to see a lot of friends all at once. I was able to see some of my high school classmates which I always enjoy.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing for this blog. I’m gradually getting comfortable with it again and may start back to work on my book. I had been sort of blocked for a while, but seeing friends and writing with friends here has helped. Thanks to all of you!

I’m currently reading the book, “Commonwealth,” by Ann Patchett. I like her books sometimes, but not always. I’ve only just started this book and the jury is still out. Has anyone else read it?

Thank you for stopping by my #weekendcoffeeshare today! I’m off to read some of your’s. Will you watch the solar eclipse this week?

Thank you to Natalie the Explorer for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare!

Posted in #weekendcoffeeshare, Gardening, weekendcoffeeshare

Life – 6/4/2022 – #weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare

Please, come in, and share a cup of coffee or tea with me! I have breakfast roast and several different types of teas including apricot. So glad that you’ve come to visit and have a cup of coffee this morning. If I were having coffee with you today, I’d want to start to get to know everyone I don’t already know since I’m new – or really ”old/new.” I blogged here from 2016 until I started writing full-time. I’ve been gone a couple of years, but now I’m back because I’ve retired. I’ve missed blogging here and all of you.

You know, retiring when you’ve worked all your life is a huge adjustment. I wish I could still work at least part-time, but all good things must come to an end and I guess I’ve entered another phase of my life. I’m trying to adjust. Have you experienced retirement yet?

I’m trying to define my day, set up a ”sort of” schedule, so I won’t feel so lost. One thing I’ve done this spring is gardening and I’d like to share some of it with you. I can’t grow vegetables where I live unfortunately. Living in the forest means gardening challenges and you are stuck with shade gardens. I have a small patch of ground in my backyard where I can grow a few plants that need more son. My gardening zone is 6b in the U.S. We have four distinct seasons and a temperate climate. Here are some of the plants in my backyard garden that bloom in early June:

Here are my beautiful rose begonias. My grandmother grew them and I find them to be so beautiful.

Rose Bush, early June

Here is my little rose bush and it’s beautiful right now. That’s mint growing at its base.

Purple clematis

Here is my purple clematis. It had been here for 22 years, but last winter killed it to the ground. It is just getting started again, but I hope it once again will be lush and beautiful. Do you see the green bulb in the coach light? Our state’s governor asked that we all burn a green light until the pandemic is over. I wonder if I’ll ever get to replace it?

Now for my shade garden which is in front of the house:

Hostas

The hostas are large and lush this spring!

I grow many types of ferns:

Ferns under the azaleas

This is just one of my ferns.

I’d love to see pictures of your garden! These are just snapshots I’ve made of a little bit of the garden in spring 2022. Gardening is one of my hobbies now that I’ve retired.

It’s been great to have you here for #weekendcoffeeshare! I look forward to reading your posts.

Copyright @Rosemary Carlson