COLLAGES--Spring/Summer 2018

PETUNIAS on May 9 and again on June 5;  Love to see them grow and expand!!!!!

Dear Friends,   Recently --while learning the Google Photo's Program,   I started  making collages of some of our flowers/plants.    I also have a  Picture Collage Maker program --which I use on occasion... SO today,  I am sharing some of my collages with you.  Hope you enjoy them!!!

The top collage shows how much the Petunias have grown in a month.... One of my joys when it comes to gardening is watching the flowers grow!!!!!  The Petunias will stay pretty until late Fall--and DEER won't eat them!!!!!!  Yeah!

CLEMATIS 

We bought this Clematis a few years ago and planted it in the front yard --hoping that it would grow and wrap itself around some ugly utility pole wires in our yard which we wanted to cover up!  The Clematis said "NO" to that area.   SO --we bought a Climbing Rose to put in that spot (which is doing okay so far)   and took the Clematis to the backyard,  put it in a container and on the deck steps... The Clematis  says "YES"...  It LOVES this area...

Our HOSTA Plants LOVE living in Tennessee

I love "all-things-green" ---so HOSTA is a favorite of mine. AND---it does great here in our area.  The only problem is that the deer love munching on it ---so we have to sprinkle Deer Scram on the plants to keep them from getting eaten.

DAY LILIES

We love our Day Lilies ---and they are just now beginning to bloom.    Here are a few of them for you to enjoy.

CANNA LILIES 

As I said above,  I enjoy watching our plants GROW.... This collage shows how fast the Canna Lilies can grow....   Now---all we need to do is to wait a little longer to see some pretty RED BLOOMS...   BUT--I love the foilage on these as much as the blooms.

ROSES  

As you know,  George and I love our Roses... Since we had a lot of rain recently,  the Roses are really putting on a show for us now.....   I will share one more collage of Roses for you (below)!!!

ROSES 2018

Aren't they just beautiful?   IF you want to know the names of any of the Roses or Day Lilies,  just ask...   We don't have enough regular Lilies blooming yet  ---but if and when we do get more (IF the deer leave them alone),  I'll post a collage of them...

We are having lots of trouble this year so far with the Deer... Believe me --it is disheartening!  We have a love/hate relationship with those beautiful creatures...  We spend MUCH money on Liquid Fence and other things to keep the deer away, but it doesn't always work very well...   Thank Goodness,  their munching hasn't been as bad a it could have been  SO FAR.  The good thing about Roses is that they WILL come back after the deer munch on the buds/blooms.   BUT--the Lilies and Day Lilies  won't---at least until the next blooming cycle.

George and I 'walk-the-yard' every day --looking for new blossoms/buds....  AND--we take lots of pictures as we walk....   When the deer do eat our flowers,   hopefully,  we'll have photos to enjoy instead!!!!

Have a great week, my Friends.

Hugs,

Emoticons

Nothing Better than Family/Friends --and a Great Granddaughter

George, me,  Kelly,  Janet (May 26, 2018)

Dear Friends,    What an awesome month and a half George and I have had!!!!!  It's been all about catching up with family and friends.... Today I will share with you some of the many photos we have taken!!!!!!   Hope you enjoy seeing my HAPPY face as I share my family and friends!!!!

The picture above is George's sister,  Janet,   and his daughter,  Kelly.  They came for a visit and a meal with us Saturday,  May 25.  This picture was taken in our backyard on the deck.

At Bert and Mark's new home --on Mother's Day,  May 13;    Bert (on left) and Mark now live in Maryville, TN.  I love having them so close to us now since we get to see them more.   If you missed my terrific Mother's Day Blog Post,  click HERE.

George, me,  Diana, Mark  (May 20);    Mark's special friend from Texas came to Tennessee for the weekend,  and Mark brought Diana to see us!  This photo was taken on our deck in the backyard.  To read more about Diana's visit,  click HERE

My God-daughter,  Cathy,  and her three beautiful daughters,  came to visit on May 30th.
First Row: George, Cathy,  Betsy,  Bert
Second Row:  Mark, Rhiannon,  Deirdre,  and Aine 

Cathy and hubby, Rich,  live in Texas --and stopped by to see us after attending a wedding in PA.   Cathy and her Mom (also named Cathy) lived with us for several years when Cathy, Mark and Jeff  were teenagers.   We lived in New Orleans and then in Houston during those years (1980's-90's).   Cathy was the daughter I never had... AND it was GREAT to see her all grown up with fantastic kids of her own!!!!!!   We had a wonderful evening catching up when they were here...  SO much laughter and fun---and oh, the memories!!!!!

I love this picture of Pappa (Granddad Mark) with his granddaughter,  Vivi Lee  (May 27, 2018)

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AND HERE IS MY FAVORITE PART:

GRAMMY MEETS HER PRINCESS

George and I drove to Seven Devils,  North Carolina on Sunday,  May 27,  for a WILHITE REUNION...  The only problem was that 2 of our 3 sons couldn't be there.    BUT---there were LOTS of other family members, and we all had a wonderful day together.  Thanks to Mel and Sally for hosting this big group!!

This was my first time to meet my GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER,  Vivian Lee (Vivi)... Oh My Heart ---what a beauty!!!!! She was 4 1/2 months old when I met her on the 27th...

Look at Vivi giving this ole Grammy the 'eye'....... ha ha 

Vivi and Grammy had to have an important conversation!!!!!   I was trying to convince her  that she needs to go home with ME!!!!!   Somehow though,  her Mom and Dad  (Brooke and Tristan) don't think that would be a very good idea.  Ha!!

My favorite picture!!!!!!!   Funny-looking Grammy made Vivi SMILE!!!!!!!  Isn't she just adorable?

ANOTHER SPECIAL DAY FOR THIS MAMA:

Me,  Jeff  (youngest son, born in 1971),  Mark (middle son, born in 1970), and Bert (oldest son, born in 1963),  and Jeff's wonderful wife and my daughter -in-law, Dawn

This past Sunday,  June 3,   George and I,  Mark, and Bert  all traveled to Georgia for a day with  Jeff and Dawn at their beautiful home...   Having all three sons together is such a blessing..... Jeff and Dawn fixed us a fabulous dinner---and we enjoyed chatting/chatting/chatting...  Pure JOY!!!!

When I put this picture on Facebook,  I apologized to my friends that the photo was so foggy-looking.  Let's just call it 'soft focus'..... ha ha .....  NO--really what happened was that the camera had been in an air-conditioned house,  and when we went outside to get some pictures in the heat/humidity after the rain,  not only did my glasses fog up --but so did the camera!!!!!  Sorry!!!!

We have another special event coming up on Monday (June 11).  Bert is taking George and me  (and maybe Mark--if he doesn't have to work) to the Smokies  (Elkmont) to see the FIREFLIES....  (I call them Lightning Bugs.)   That should be amazing!!!!!

Well--- this is some of my wonderful family and part of George's.   Prayers for George's brother, Ken,  who lives in Indiana and has cancer.   Thanks....   My health is better --but I'm still struggling with A-Fib (which limits what I can do)... BUT--the key word is BETTER.

Have a great week...
Hugs,

Emoticons