Fertilize....

It seems to help the overall blooming factor of my petunias and geraniums.  Miracle Grow!

It looks as though my plants have almost doubled in area since I fertilized them last week.  And with all that sunshine to help them along, well, they're bloomin' beautiful!

Just got back from the theatre with Shannon.  Feels as if it dropped several degrees from the time we entered until we came out.  And a north wind!  Burrrrrrrrr......

Now for a bit of rain and we'll be set to go.

Fertilizer is good for anything though, n'est pas?  We fertilize crops, insects fertilize blooms, people fertilize one another....growth being the common denominator!  A combination of great factors can make things really happen.

So too, with growing as an individual.  You put many dashes of encouragement, a few quarts of sweetness, several tablespoons of care, a cup or two of unconditional love....mix them gently together and you get a superb concoction of  fertilizer that gets a person growing in positive and healthy ways. You add a spiritual factor to that and you get a different type of healthy person.

So, I would encourage you today, to mix up a great vat of the stuff and offer it to others...your kids, friends, co-workers and store clerks.  We'll be a bloomin' healthy bunch of people if we do!

Oh, and Miracle Grow....it really does work!

You can tell it's only spring....

By the coats of the elk.  Shaggy.  Rough.  Like they rolled out of bed with nary a brushing.  And hungry....!!!

It was good to see the one we did see.  I think the moms with calves are still back in the bush in the protection mode until their youngin' are a bit more grown up for the summer public display. 

We ate our picnic lunch, read books, the gals played Frisbee and then it was time for granddaughter to get to her job at the ice cream shop...'Big Olaf'.  Glady, the proprietress, was there and we chatted like we used to, two years ago.

We missed last year at the lake with Ken's heart surgery taking needed precedence.  We noticed as we drove through the trailer park today that they now have some decent paving of the roads throughout and the camp spots have been re-graveled. Now at least, it seems our fees for parking there for the last 20 years have actually gone towards some improvements!

We drove out to the marina and then on to the Heart Lakes, enjoying the bright green leaves of spring as we made our way.

It was simply an enjoyable day.

That was a lot of sun for one day.  Good night, all.

Let's git....

While the gittin's good!

And that's what we plan to do tomorrow.  Git goin' up to our yearly May Long picnic at Waskesiu....fire ban or no fire ban.  It should be a lovely +24C and after all the wind we've had this past week, the lake should be out.

It won't be fit for man nor beast but it will be worthy of pictures.

Shannon and Brittney will come with us too.  I cooked up a potato salad, we'll take a bit of coleslaw, some brown beans, focacia bread and a BBQ'd chicken.  Plastic table cloth is packed, as are dishes, water, utensils, plates, salt, pepper and of course, ketchup.  Dessert from the Trading Post!!!

Cane is on the ready! 

Oh Lord....please let my knee behave more than it did today....Amen.

And now I shall 'git' me to bed and dream of a glorious day of lake and sun....and a whole boat load of people! 

Perhaps too, we should offer up a wee celebratory toast to our dearly departed Queen Victoria, to whom we owe a debt of thanks for this marvelous holiday weekend in which we honor her birthday.

It's hotter than....

A bucket of chili peppers on the 4th of July.
Pepperoni on a scorched pizza.
A firefighter on the sands of the Sahara.
A menopausal woman training for the Boston marathon.

Ya, well, if you have any of those sayings...that are printable...you can send them to my comments!

It really was THAT hot today.  I sat and read on the balcony but it was too hot even for me!

We're not used to it.  It wasn't overly hot last year...or the year before that.  So, I'm trying to ease myself into this hot spell.  Then I had physio.  I'm on the balance board to get my proper balance once again.  I managed to stay in the middle but had to hold on with one hand.  That was a total workout.  Played havoc with my calf, thigh and posterior muscles, not to mention my ankles.  Not sure what's ahead but it looks like a bunch of really hard work.

At least in there it was cool.....cooler than a teenager driving a new Ford Mustang.:)

I remember this calm, hot morning a couple of years back....9 AM and +26C...Sandy Lake.  Sooo hot!

Nice day....

Yesterday I walked down the stairs...one foot after the other...hanging on to cane and railing, of course, but it felt good.  I did that a few times during the course of the day.

Today I tried the same thing and nearly fell down the stairs!!!  It wasn't working for me.  I got discouraged...again.  I may have overdone it yesterday but I shall try again tomorrow.

So, husband took me for a drive this afternoon to Little Red.  I took my cane...and camera!

We walked a ways.  Over lumps and bumps and my knee behaved for the most part.  It's those danged hilly slopes and such.  I just can't do those yet.  By the time we got home, I needed it rested, so I took to the balcony with my book and put my leg up. 

I managed to get a few pictures.  While we walked, we saw various planes coming in to land at the airport.  We counted 8...all within 15 minutes or so and they just kept on coming.  We wondered how the guys in the little P.A. airport tower were going to handle all these planes coming in.  It was like O'Hare in Chicago!!!:)  After we saw about 15 planes or more going in for a landing, we suddenly figured it must be something to do with the Fire tracking planes...they have a distinct sound.  We figured they were either having a fire convention or were doing fire fighting maneuvers....probably the latter.

After all the plane watching, we took off into a little area by the swinging bridge and stopped the car.  I stood outside and reveled in the beauty and the newness of the leaves of both coniferous and deciduous trees.  The smell of the pine and grass and leaves was indescribable.  Then of course, the river was extremely high and it bubbled and spurted and boiled along the banks as it went along.  The sound of the water, along with the various birds, was mesmerizing. And there's still snow!!!!

Here are some pictures of what we experienced this afternoon...

Good night all. 

Shorts....

Ever try to find "shorts" that aren't too short?  That aren't cotton?  That are actually comfortable and stretchy?  That don't show off half your hind end?

I tried.....and succeeded!

So now I have 3 pair of the same kind of "shorts" (varying colors) that aren't really short.

I think I have accomplished the impossible....nothing "short" of a miracle!

One pair grey, one black and one white.

They come to just above my knee and they stretch.  I think women's fashions are now to the extreme when it comes to "shorts".  Some of them are barely there, showing half of a gal's butt cheeks and so low in the rise that it looks like it's setting.  Then there are the kind I bought, those that are a bit like the guys skate board shorts which are fairly long.

Gee, I wonder which one looks better on a 63 year old woman!!???

I think even if I were 23, I wouldn't dare wear those little shorty shorts.....waaaaaay too much butt cheek showing for my liking.  And really, I don't think they look good on ANYONE!  Slutty...yes.  Appropriate...no!

That's my fashion file for this day....May 17, 2011.

That's amore....

And so we will all sing the old Dean Martin song....

An a one an a two an a.....

When the moon hits your eye
Like a big-a pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine
Like you've had too much wine
That's amore

Bells'll ring
Ting-a-ling-a-ling
Ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"
Hearts'll play
Tippi-tippi-tay
Tippi-tippi-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool
Joost-a like pasta fazool
That's amore
When you dance down the street
With a cloud at your feet, you're in love
When you walk in a dream
But you know you're not dreamin', signore
'Scusami, but you see
Back in old Napoli, that's amore

A full moon gets one singing, etc.  Remember "Moonstruck" with Nicholas Cage and Cher?  Ya.

That's amore.......