Happy Decoration/Memorial Day!

In many parts of the South, Memorial Day used to be known as Decoration Day, a day when communities gather to clean and decorate their local cemeteries. Listen to this National Public Radio story about it at http://www.npr.org/2011/05/28/136742729/decoration-day-the-southern-way-to-honor-the-dead?ft=1&f=1003

It's also a great day to honor and recognize the millions of men and women who have served our country in the military for their bravery and commitment to the United States of America! Hope you've had a great Memorial Day!

Follow the red brick road

This is another simple pleasures post. We've added a few more landscaping features to make the front of our rental house look a little nicer. Apprarently, a previous tenant had a rock garden in front, so it's been difficult to plant any shrubs. We bought five red bricks and some pebble stones for less than $10 and set them up.

The bricks don't form a road but a small path in front of our house. In the fall, it will lead to our scarecrow decorations. I think Dorothy would be proud! :)

I'm the proud owner of a ceiling fan

Yes, it's the small pleasures in life that make us happy, and a ceiling fan is one of those this week. As we've moved farther north, we've realized ceiling fans aren't as common as they are in Florida. I remember my parents installing ceiling fans in our bedrooms, family room and play room during the 1980s, and all the apartments we lived in during college in Florida had ceiling fans in each room. When we moved to Tennessee, there was a ceiling fan in the master bedroom and one in the living room, but in Kentucky, there is only one ceiling fan in our living room.

When we moved last fall, the weather was already turning cooler, but now that it's warming up again, we miss having a ceiling fan in the master bedroom, so we bought one, and electricians installed it Monday afternoon. It's a great addition, and we're hoping to save money on our electric bill by using it this summer.

I know my parents and many people throughout the South grew up without ceiling fans and air conditioners, but I am very thankful for these inventions. Ironically, we have some friends who just moved to upstate New York, and their house doesn't have an air conditioner, just a heater. As I've said before, I think Kentucky is as far "north" as we want to live.

This weather is for the birds

A family of geese seem to be the only ones walking in the rain, but I'm enjoying the cooler temps.

It has been a wet and rainy spring in Kentucky, and this week, it has felt more like winter. Lexington had a high of 49 degrees Tuesday, which was the lowest high temperature for that date ever recorded, breaking the previous "low" high of 58. It's only been in the 40s and 50s for highs this week, and it's been cloudy and raining every day. I love it! :) It will warm up into the 60s and 70s by the weekend.

We waited until after my birthday to plant flowers outside since there were frost and freeze warnings during the first week in May. We potted a plant in my sunflower pot that broke during the storm (David glued it back together), and also put a planter on our back deck railing.

We tried to plant two small shrubs in the front, but there are tons of small rocks when we dig down. I don't know what happened, but someone must have created a rock garden at some point.

I finally figured out a way to keep my small flag from flying away by putting a binder clip on the end of it. Several flags have flown off, but I've been able to recover all of them except an adorable Easter flag I had.

Here is a short video of the planter we have on the back deck and our bird feeders.

I hope some of the rain makes its way south to Florida, where I know they really need it. Also, I am not complaining about the cool and rainy weather. I prefer it over humidity and temperatures in the upper 90s, the weather we'll probably experience when we visit Florida again!

Family celebrations

There are several days to celebrate in May for our family. There is Mother's Day, and then my birthday (May 9), which is always close to Mother's Day. Even though I wasn't with my family for these occasions, we still celebrate by sending cards and flowers!

Due to a mix-up at a local florist, I received two birthday arrangements. The first one was beautiful, but it wasn't the birthday-themed arrangement with sunflowers (my favorite) my parents had picked out, so the florist arranged to pick up this first arrangement and exchange it for the birthday one.  They both are beautiful! Thanks Mom and Dad!

The birthday flowers have sunflowers, yellow roses and lilies and smaller green and yellow flowers. The only down side is that Cash, our cat, loves to eat any type of flower, and since he is a jumper, he has no problem launching on to the mantle above the fireplace to indulge. At night, the flowers "go to bed" in the spare bedroom, so they won't be a midnight snack for him.

The birthday flowers lasted for almost two weeks. Here is a photo of them more than a week after I received them.

David bought some balloons for my birthday, and Cash enjoyed trying to eat the ribbons. I told him that I can't have anything nice for my birthday because he tries to eat my gifts! :) Here is a short video I shot of him playing with the balloons, Sammie trying to take a nap, and the flowers on the mantle.

Below are the flowers we sent to our mothers for Mother's Day. These are the ones I sent to my mom, a variety of colors and flowers in a reusable green and white bag.

My brother and his wife also celebrated their third wedding anniversary May 17. Happy anniversary Jason and Kristen! Here is a photo of them and my nephew taken on Easter. What a happy family! :)