This & That: Around Here This Week

So around here this week...

I've been working at dead-heading the roses and brought a few into the house.

These bright, "hot" colors seem to reflect the temperatures outside. My poor roses are definitely panting in the heat.

Whatever outside work I need to get done takes place before 9:00 in the morning. After that, I'm parked on an air conditioner vent. I was roaming around outside and saw this. For some reason, it just tickled me. It was like the branch was waving crazily at me.

Because my husband has been gone on the pack trip, "I'm gone" flowers arrived.

This is without doubt the most exotic arrangement I've ever received. This 2-tone anthurium is something I've never seen before.

I've seen these big pink flowers growing, but I don't know what they're called.

My herb pot has been doing remarkably well this year. Usually by now the basil is looking really pale and ugly. I don't know what the difference is, but it's really happy. I have thyme, marjoram, parsley, and oregano growing in there with it.

With all the "big kids" in the mountains, we had a Mommy Movie night with the littles. We watched the newest Little Women offering. The camaraderie with some of my daughters-in-law was a lot of fun, but I can't say the movie was my favorite version of the book. Don't mess with iconic books. Don't change endings, don't mess with plot lines. The little boys had a great time playing together.

Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week....Jude thought he'd be ready to go on the pack in trip with his dad and Issac. Unfortunately, he's not big enough yet. It's Isaac and Roger's first year to go. The family rule is you have to be 7 to go. By then, it's thought they can walk a good share of the 13 miles in to camp.

Jude's also getting really brave around the dogs. While my dogs are very nice and quite well-behaved, they're big compared to little ones and can be a little intimidating. Jude reached out to give them a pat this week. It's a big step.