Sunday in the Pool

Sunday afternoons are for swimming and enjoying time with friends. The pool temp is finally great!


Tex is gradually getting where he likes the water.


Tim and Jan, our neighbors, always like sitting under the waterfall.


Time lounges on the new floats.


Fred is in charge of the grill--Jan clowns around with the chip basket on her head. Summer is my favorite time of the year!!!

Our Sculpture

After the trip to the Sculpture Garden, I found this piece at Ross and decided that I would do something with it. I turned it a different direction and thought it needed some bright color. (It was all brown) Fred helped me by doing the painting and varnishing. What an eye catcher especially with the new striped cushions on the chairs. This is in the corner of our front porch.

Busy Beginning to June

The first few weeks of June are always a busy time. I have both of my Bunco groups over for dinner and Bunco, Fred has a BD, Father's Day, and our anniversary. We are leaving this week for Cabo to celebrate our 23rd anniversary which is on Father's Day this year. Fred is hoping to catch a big Marlin while there. We had planned to get out house painted (exterior only) next month so we got some bids. We were impressed with Southern Painting out of Plano--and we didn't have to wait to July. They were ready to go and could do the carpentry and painting all in 3 days!!! (before we left on our trip) They bought out a crew of 6 and got right to it. The house looks great and they left everything so clean. I am amazed---I don't have to redo my windows (which I had already cleaned before my Bunco parties)!!! And they saved us money over the other bids!!! What a great company. Check them out southenpainting.com Now I can relax and not worry about having work done in July.

Cousin's 50th

On June 10, my cousin Greg celebrated his 50th. We went over to his shop in Mesquite to surprise him. He is such a fun character and can tell the best stories. We always enjoy our time with him. I remember going to the hospital in Carthage the day that he was born---I was nine.


His favorite beer and something useful for someone 50. He said that he only takes one pill now---just wait---you will be surprised at how soon you will need one this large!!!

Texas Sculpture Garden

My friend, Rosa, and I went to Frisco the other day on a girl's day out. I had wanted to go to this sculpture garden for several years. We finally made it and it was great! The Hall Office complex is huge with several buildings, waterways with falls and sprays in the water, lots of sculptures by the various buildings. Around the Hall Building, the sculptures are all Texas artists. You can drive to see some and walk to see some and some are inside the buildings.

This one is in the foyer of the Hall Building. It was so unusual---it is made entirely of shoes, belts, purse straps, gloves, etc made of leather.










Afterward, we had a leisurely lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. DELICIOUS!!! We shared a piece of coconut creme cheesecake that was the best I have ever had. What a wonderful day we had---we have agreed that we need to do this more often.

What we have been doing for weeks---

The usual for us in the spring. Get the yard and beds in shape for the summer ---scrub and seal the patios--uncover and clean the pool-- wash windows--rake leaves. We are almost through and everything is looking so good. If the weather would just cooperate and warm that pool up!!!


The bench in this bed is my favorite. We had the stones put in and then Fred built the rough Cedar back copying a picture I found in a magazine. A great place for taking pictures. We have had some wind so my windchime collection has sounded so pretty. In the summer, I almost never hear them.



This bed is one of my favorites. We love to decorate with stones and did not want many plants or mulch this near the pool. So we used lots of stone, large stones for accent, small stones instead of mulch, and topped it off with shells that we have collected at beaches in Florida and Texas. The ice plant (pink in the center) is very prolific and loves sun and heat.




My day lilies near the front walk are in full bloom. These benches are our retirement benches inscribed with the year and where we worked. The stepping stones in front display our college name and years of graduation.


These beds are along the right front of the house. We pulled up most of the shrubbery here and started over as it had grown too large. I tried to plant more blooming perennials and added another Japanese red maple. I love their burgundy color.

I have been to two garden tours. One in Rockwall and one near White Rock Lake. I have a list of new plants that I want to try so I will go plant shopping before long.

Mother's Day Brunch

On Mother's Day, Fred and John took me to brunch at the Blue Mesa Grill in Addison. We had a 1 and 1/2 hour wait when a young hostess came up to John and offered us a table on the side patio. (It pays to have a good-looking son. Our wait was actually only 30 min.)
We took these great pictures in the Village on the Tollway where the Blue Mesa is located--only about 2 blocks from John's apt. We enjoyed mimosas, omelets, and fajitas with chips and dips.









Afterwards, John and Fred went home while I stayed in Addison to listen to jazz bands at the Taste of Addison. What a great Mother's Day---thank you Fred and John for being such special guys and making my day so perfect!!