A GREAT WEEKEND...

Good Morning from the porch!

This is what 

the early morning sun looked like today.

 We are enjoying

 such beautiful weather now,

 but before long,

 the heat

 will return.

A wondrous view

 to happen upon

 on the way home 

from the 

office.

We spent 

the Memorial Day weekend

at the kids.

 The garage sale

 was very productive

 and Tami raised enough money 

to put her over the top 

for her breast cancer walk in July.

  We all went to dinner

 on the wharf 

to celebrate her birthday 

and had a 

wonderful meal.

Shame on me! 

I took my camera 

but neglected to take

 any pictures.

I scored 

a few great finds 

at the garage sale...

...a large steel orb 

that will have a special place

 in the

 back yard project...

...a vintage Pepsi Cola carrier...

...and this 3-D art piece. 

 Although it is very interesting,

 I won't be using the art

 as it is definitely not my style, 

but I will be painting the frame 

and using it in another

 up-coming project.

The kids 

gave me this beautiful lantern 

with candle 

for Mother's Day. 

 It is another piece

 to trade time between 

the back yard project and

 the Cottage.

I picked up this wreath 

at JoAnn's last week

 and plan to embellish it 

with my growing stash 

of dried 

sun flowers.

Hope you all enjoyed

 a fun filled Memorial Day weekend 

and our special thanks

to honor the many 

who have served 

to keep our country free 

and to keep America 

as great

 as it always

 has been.

...Judy...

Another view 

from the 

road home.

Join me today at:

Dishing It & Digging It Link Party

BTTCG at Bernideen's

No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage

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BEEN THERE? DONE THAT?...

See this shelf? 

 Decorated for the upcoming holidays 

and looking so smug...

is it possible 

that something so unpretentious 

could be responsible 

for a smidgen of pain and suffering 

and a whole lot of 

well-wishes?

Over the past two or three weeks

 you have sent so many caring inquiries 

about the problems 

concerning my foot

 and I can't tell you

 how much I appreciate

 each one of them.

As I told you last week,

 the swelling had gone down

 and the pains had stopped 

and a visit to my primary doctor 

showed nothing wrong. 

 The foot was fine

for a day or so after that visit

 then the swelling

 came back.

I tried to think 

what I had done differently 

that might cause the problem to return 

- then it hit me - 

I had just re-arranged the shelf.

As you can see,

 the sofa sits directly 

under the shelf.

 Short of moving the wagon,

 pulling the sofa out from the wall 

and dragging the ladder in,

 it is much easier 

to just stand on the sofa. 

 What happens

 when you stand on a squishy sofa, 

without shoes,

 and try to reach up high?...

...your feet tend 

to rock back and forth

 and you end up on tippy-toes

 much of the time.

 This may not seem 

like such a bad thing 

and it certainly wasn't 

for my good foot,

but the bad foot

 isn't used to bending

 and hasn't been 

for about seven years.

 When I have the support of shoes, 

I don't walk with a limp,

 but I find it very uncomfortable 

to walk barefoot,

 so I tend to keep the foot stiff

 when I do.

I thought back 

and the last time

 I had rearranged the shelf

 was the day before 

the original pain and swelling started.

 Ha, ha, 

have I just diagnosed 

my own problem?

Yesterday 

was my appointment with 

the vascular surgeon 

who had removed the toes.

 He checked the foot over, 

said it looked very good

 with no signs of trauma or infection. 

 He used the doppler 

to check the pulse

 and I could hear it loud and clear, 

so the blood flow 

is excellent,

 and he checked all up and down

 my leg 

and found nothing 

to be concerned about.

  He said he didn't know

 what might have caused it

 and asked if I had done anything 

out of the ordinary 

and I told him my theory.

 He thought it could be a possibility.

 So there you have it 

and now I promise

 no more talk

 about my toes

 or lack thereof.

Now 

since you have seen the culprit,

 in all its glory, 

here are a couple of other spots

 that are ready for 

their patriotic duties...

We are off to the kids on Friday.

  It is Tami's birthday 

and she is having her annual garage sale

 to raise money for her

 breast cancer walk

 in July.

Who knows what I may come home with...

"You ride shot gun, I've got this!"

Kai 

is ready for a road trip

 and spending time with

 Rosie and Cruzer.

Have a

 wonderful and fun filled 

Memorial Day.

...Judy...

Joining in today at:

Dishing It & Digging It Link Party

BTTCG at Bernideen's

No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage

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THE GARDEN GATE AND BEYOND...

Thanks to all

 who have been so caring and concerned

 about my foot. 

 I appreciate all your kind words.

  

I do have an appointment with 

the original doctor that operated 

on Monday, May 23,

 and will hopefully have

 a definite diagnosis after that.

 In the meantime, 

I can tell you 

that I had my annual physical

 with my doctor yesterday

 and got very good news

 about my overall health,

 so I am very pleased about that.

  She looked at my foot

 and said it looks

 really good and healthy 

even though there is still 

a slight bit of swelling. 

 She seems to think 

that it isn't neuropathy 

as that seems to manifest itself

 with continuous pain 

and I am not experiencing that. 

 She thinks it might be 

scar tissue pressing on some nerves,

 but she is not a specialist

 so is glad I am seeing 

the vascular surgeon.

  

Imagine finding a butterfly that looks exactly how my tummy felt!

I had a slight attack

 of the old flu bug

 on Monday 

so have been laying low 

for the past few days. 

 The doctor said

 it is a viral thing going around

 and I am feeling much better today

 so that is the reason 

I am writing a little later this week.

Now on to the good stuff:

The flower of the moment: 

 Valerian, 

or as introduced to me by my grandmother,

 the Garden Gate flower.

It is 

what is blooming 

in the garden now,

 in great abundance,

 I might add.

I remember 

this old-fashioned and simple flower, 

from my youth,

 growing in my grandmother's garden.

  It was there 

that I learned the names of flowers, 

not by their scientific names, 

but by a fairy-tale image 

that the words

 from her lips 

conjured up.

"All the names 

I know from nurse:

Gardener's Garters, Shepherd's Purse,

Bachelor's Buttons, Lady's Smock,

And the Lady Hollyhock.

Fairy places, fairy things,

Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,

Tiny trees for tiny dames -

These must all be fairy names!"

Robert Louis Stevenson

When we first planted the garden, 

this flower was not on the landscape.

  It did grow somewhere 

in a neighbor's garden 

and the next season

 it grew in another neighbor's garden 

and following that,

 in another neighbor's garden.

 Eventually 

there were brightly colored blooms 

appearing up and down

 the neighborhood 

but the majority of them 

seem to have settled

 in the Cottage's garden, 

evidence that it is truly

 a fairy's place

 filled with 

fairy things.

I hope you enjoyed your time

 looking through 

the garden gate.

...Judy...

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