This Years Tomatoes - and Two More Mandala's

Good morning. It's a beautiful day here so far, it's nice and cool and I can hear the birds chirping outside - I am enjoying it.

I am excited because my tomatoes are growing and doing good (with the exception of one plant that is growing but not producing). 

These are Indigo Rose tomatoes... 

These are German Queen tomatoes...

These are Yellow Pear tomatoes...

These are the last two mandala's that I crocheted. I love the colors of this one and I am currently using it on the living-room table.

I really like the blues and greens with that little bit of yellow of this mandala but I'm not sure of the variegated yarn. I have always liked the color combination of variegated yarns but not the patterning you get when crocheting with them.

These little baby birds are in a nest in our patio. The picture is not that great and the nest is more bird-poo that twigs but, they are so cute that I wanted to share them with you.

Have a great day.

{hugs}
Laura

Birds...

I have a new bird feeder in my backyard.

I am so happy about it too. In the past we have had bird feeders but the seed that falls always sprouts and it's so hard to get rid of what grows. We recently found a little store not far from our home that sells "clean seed" that doesn't do that. I bought a finch feeder and within 30 minutes of putting it up, we had our first visitor.

One week later, there are a lot of little goldfinches hanging around. We also got a few samples of a different type of clean bird feed for the sparrows and doves to eat. Now, all the little birds drink and bath in our pond's waterfall and eat their fill at the feeders.

I love birds and I'm so happy to see them in the backyard.

{hugs}
Laura

Doves...

We have another set of baby doves out our house.

{hugs}
Laura

Out Back...

Hope you are enjoying your weekend...

{hugs}
Laura

Pumpkins...

I love autumn.

I love the cool weather, the rain and overcast skies, the color of the changing leaves, pumpkins...

I love snuggling under a warm blanket with a good book, drinking warm vanilla coffee in the afternoon, wearing a sweater...

This year, Grandma and Grandpa took the kids to their churches pumpkin patch. They had a lot of fun because there was a catapult. When you buy a pumpkin, you can choose to either take it home or send it flying in the air (lol). Well, of coarse they did both. Below are the pumpkins they brought home.

{hugs}
Laura

A Beautiful Morning...

It's been a beautiful morning so far. I got to sleep in, have some french vanilla coffee and read a little. Errands will come in a little bit and then maybe a treat - lunch out and a movie...

{hugs}
Laura

The evening sky full of lovely pink clouds a few nights ago... (one blessing from the smog we have)

The book I am reading now... (almost done - it's really good)

Slowly, buy surely, my ripple blanket is coming along... (using my Nana's crochet hook)

Busy Time of Year...

Wow... It's been very busy around here. But, I wanted to share with you a few things...


Momma dove had two babies. They are both gone now. But, she is back on the nest again. Maybe there will be two more soon...

I love the way my embroidery turned out. It was a gift for a special little girl...

 My tomatoes keep growing. The flowers...

 ...and tomatoes are beautiful...

 ...and so red.

There has been an addition to Grandpa's pond...

And, I am currently reading this book. It's very good...

{hugs}
Laura

Summer Time...

Well, summer is here... 

It has been much warmer this past week with temperatures in the mid to high 90's. But, even with the high temperatures during the day, it's still cooling down nicely in the evening.

I'm really enjoying my sunday and hope you are too. I went out to check on the tomatoes and was happy to get a few more cherry and grape tomatoes off the plants. My little miniature roses are looking pretty today as well.

If you have ever looked at my photography blog, you will know we have a dove that nests on top of our spot lights in the back yard. Well, she is back. A little later than last year though. But, I'm sure I will be seeing a baby very soon.

I am also working on new embroidery project. I put aside my ripple blanket to make something very special.

Enjoy your day!

{hugs}
Laura

Saturday Morning...

What a beautiful morning it was today. My tomato plants are getting so big (I'm happy about that) and the tomatoes are starting to turn red.  

I got some beautiful flowers from a little friend at preschool... 

 I am working on a new crocheted blanket. It's called a ripple. I found the pattern at Attic 24. I am using the yarn I shared with you here. I did buy 2 more colors to go with them.

Last weekend I made a zipper pouch for my crochet hooks and such...

The inside...

And I found this sweater at the thrift store for $1.00. I am going to be using it for a project in the near future.

Tomatoes and Flowers...

First off, on this beautiful Memorial Day, I would like to thank all of the Men and Women who have given, and those who still do give, their time, energy and lives to keep us - as a country and a people - safe and FREE! May God bless them.

I love the way my tomatoes are growing. It seems like every day I go out to look at them, they have grown a few inches taller. The two plants pictured below have so many fruit on them (the other two plants have a little longer to go before producing). I can't wait to eat them...

Cherry Tomatoes 

 

Grape Tomatoes 

I am also amazed at how many flowers I have growing on my hydrangea bush. The colors are so beautiful...

{hugs}

Laura

Been Gone For a While...

I have been gone for a while. My hard drive crashed and I had to take it to get fixed at the Apple store. And because of this, it has taken me a while to get all of my goodies back. My iTunes library, my fonts, my water marks, my software all loaded again. It's like having a new computer, which of coarse is a good thing, but it took a while to get it back the way I wanted it. And I'm not even really there yet.

So, a note to you all - have all of your important things backed up on either disk or an external hard drive. I do this on a regular basis, being a photographer you have to. But a lot of people don't. A hard drive can crash with little warning and there is nothing you can do to prevent it. So, if you have family photos, important documents, videos , etc...

Back Them Up. 

And, with that being said and done...

I love the blog Attic 24. Lucy does the most beautiful things with crochet; blankets, pillows and flowers, and she has great pictures from her home in England. She made this cute bag to keep her yarn in and I love it. I have been working on mine, along with two of my friends from work. You can see my friend Penny's bag here. I can't wait until mine is done.

On a side note, my son and his friends found three kittens on the side yard under the shed early this afternoon.

{hugs}
Laura