June

My Alaskan Mountain Men calendar often has wise words to share, and this quote will, I hope, frame my busy (and stressful)June–during which Younger Daughter will move into a new house, Older Daughter will celebrate a milestone birthday and I’ll be juggling birthday parties (John’s youngest granddaughter’s too) and the usual yardwork and house cleaning. I’m also hosting Book Club, which means I need to work at finishing our classic book, “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.” I’m not enjoying it much so far; luckily, it’s short. I’m finding Miss Jean Brodie a real pain in the you-know-where!

My mom always complimented my bearded irises. Growing up in a small town, Mom saw too many people treat their relatives and friends horribly but then make a big show of taking flowers to their graves. She would have said, “Don’t waste your money on flowers.” Or “You’re just doing it for yourself, don’t forget.” I didn’t spend a cent, Mom!

Here’s my sweet snuggle bug; I babysat for Older Brother’s gymnastics class and got many smiles and giggles. I thought Thu (yard guy) was supposed to cut down the rhododendron, but he didn’t show up. 😒

My orange lily is ready to burst with blooms, so I’d like the very dead rhody out of there as soon as possible. When it was alive, it was fine that it blocked other flowers, but now I just want it gone.

I finally got to the back lawn!

It’s a great year for the dogwood. I like it, even though I desperately wanted a pink one. However, my late husband brought home this supposedly hardier white one. He said it would last forever; it outlived him.

My Martha Washington geranium is doing nicely! Unfortunately, the multitude of rabbits are chewing up my black petunia. I’m trying to dissuade them with cinnamon sprinkles. The coyotes are apparently not doing their job, ahem.

I’m wondering why in the world I bought this plant? I must have looked at the tag and seen pretty blooms. WHERE are they?

It’s perfect swimming weather for Older Daughter and boys. Tomorrow I’m going out to watch their lessons although OD has invited me to go swimming at a pool with them before that. Me, in a swimsuit? I think not.

I’m still working on my costume for Older Daughter’s ’80s themed birthday fest late this month. That era was all about hair volume, and my short style doesn’t lend itself well to that. I’m thinking that poofing out my layers with my curling iron might work. And then what about the shoe wear…

Yesterday, I invited John on a date to see “The Sheep Detectives.” We both enjoyed the movie, oddly him more than me. For some reason, I much prefer talking cartoon animals to supposedly realistic ones. The film did have excellent messages, as well as good acting and voices. After the movie, we found a lovely Mexican restaurant with Negra Modelo on tap and shared a loaded quesadilla. Now, onward into June! 😬