Today is Independence Day - July 4th - America's 235th birthday! Happy Birthday America! At the end of this post I expressed my sentiments of this holiday.
Neil and I and Kirsten went over to David and Angela's house so that dad could cut some of the very tall grass growing in their yard. David and I are very allergic to outside pollen and grass. They were not there when we arrived. Angela's family had holiday plans. That was fine with us. David felt really bad he could not be there with us. We're just glad they had some time off' to enjoy some fun activities. Dad and I did not mind doing 'service' for them that they really needed.
Because of my allergies I worked 'inside'. I worked on the kitchen area. I'll leave it that. Anybody that knows me will know that I have 'busy hands' that like to do 'service' and I enjoyed myself!
Dad working in the yard.
The first half of the pictures are the 'AFTER' results.
He did some weed whacking in the planters.
The gravel and plastic is an area David wants to extend his patio with concrete.
It was over grown in grass and now we can find it!
This area, all the areas, was waist high in grass.
This is behind the house. The fence area is a kennel area. They do not have an outside dog.
Their dog Nala is a little Chihuahua and inside dog. They use the kennel area to store trash cans, etc.
Neil did not get quite up to the trees. This area looks so much nicer!
Inside the kennel, all clean and neat!
Coming around the side of the house.
This send half of pictures are the 'BEFORE' look!
This is inside the kennel area.
The entrance of their driveway.
The plastic and gravel area, overgrown, where David wants to extend a patio.
The planter under the porch. Yes, it's overgrown too.
Coming around the back side of the house. The grass was so tall it was laying down.
Just getting started with cutting the tall grass in the back.
Last Thursday I went over to help David watch Avery as he painted his basement. She opened one eye and took a peek and decided to go back to sleep!
Isn't she just the sweetest little princess?! She's such a little doll!
Today is Independence Day and it means a lot to me. I want to 'thank' our forefathers for their sacrifice in bringing freedom to this country and breaking free from the oppression of England. We also wanted religious freedom. I am so grateful for the beautiful country we live in and for all the freedoms we are privileged to have. I personally had ancestors who came to America on the Mayflower and ancestors who fought for freedom in this country. I get nostalgic every time I see 'Old Glory' waving. She is beautiful! When I drive around throughout our town or the next town I find so few flags flying. It doesn't matter what holiday it is, hardly any flags fly. It pains my heart. We have a flag and I love it and what it stands for...freedom!
This is a picture of Kirsten a week after coming home from the hospital. Quite an improvement! She has gained a little weight and her color is sooo much better! She feels better and has more energy! She was two pints low in blood and had a transfusion and it did wonders! :o)
This was taken a month before her hospital visit. Her 'new shades'. She is so good about ''not' taking them off. She will reach up to grab them and I say, 'Ah, ah, no touching your sunglasses.' She immediately takes her hand down and never touches them. I used them yesterday when I baby sat Avery and we went for a little walk. I walked between Kirsten's chair stroller and Avery's umbrella stroller. That was fun trying to keep the strollers from tangling their wheels! Ha! Ha! Ha! I should have taken a picture of that! Kirsten takes seizure meds that makes her 'light sensitive' and she has to be kept shaded when she's outside. When we got back in the house I forgot to take off her sunglasses for about 5 minutes and when I looked over at her she had her head tilted back and was trying to see out from under the sunglasses! Funny girl! I took them off! :o)
I wanted a bigger patio in the back yard. Neil laid out the bricks to get an idea of what to expect. He will take them all up and put down a bed of sand and tap them all in place so they lay flat and smooth. I wanted a pattern in the blocks and he suggested a hop scotch. Great idea dad! So we will have a hop scotch in the middle and a pattern throughout, just in case the kids want to play 'hot lava' and step on certain bricks!
The patio will be 12x15 feet. Someday we may change it all into concrete.
I don't know what the name of this tree is in our front yard but I love it! It blooms in late July and early August and lasts until the end of September and early October. The flowers look like small double pink carnations. The neighbors like it too!
This is my small flower bed just behind the tree and bird bath. I decided to plant a cherry tomato plant and one large potted regular tomato plant.
I bought this tomato plant already in the pot and with blooms. It's too cold up here to start from seed.
This is my cherry tomato plant. It started out as a 6-inch plant and oh, my goodness, it practically took over the entire flower bed! I've loved eating those yummy cherry tomatoes. I eat them like candy! I've even had to cut ff branches because it was going crazy!
Next year I'll plant tomatoes along the back fence in my back yard. I missed having all flowers in the flower bed.
This is a begonia plant that is in my friend's front yard. That plant is so beautiful!
These are lilies she grew in her back yard. They were like small trees! The smell was gorgeous. I can't have lilies in my yard because the smell would drive my allergies crazy. I would have to pinch off all the stamens which is where the fragrance comes from.
