~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
{pretty}
Oh, my little garden. We've seen some rough times.
Between our terrible soil (when Habou was visiting and helping me with my garden, she was astonished that anything grew in it. Her advice was to dig it out and just start over with new dirt!) and dry conditions (technically we live in a desert climate), I've planted and subsequently killed more than a few plants.
Maybe I didn't actively kill them. But I certainly did not manage to keep them alive.
My lavender has flourished, and the rose bush we planted over the sprinkler continues to grow and bloom several times per year. There's one other plant that was part of the minimal stock landscaping when we arrived; I affectionately refer to it as "the purple spiky one." It's not particularly beautiful, but it has the virtue of hardiness, and for that it has a special little place in my heart.
That leaves quite a few bare spots.
That leaves quite a few bare spots.
Last spring, though, I tried one more time. I went to the nursery and chose plants based on the fact that they were labeled "drought resistant" and "fast-growing." Pippo and I got them in the ground and watered them faithfully until they were well established. And then our garden continued to look scraggly for several more months.
But now? It's minimally scraggly and full of color. Mission accomplished. We can move now.
{happy}
Some scenes from Operation Soak-It-All-Up recently:
An impromptu trip to the zoo to see the animals we've missed on past visits.
The woman there (zookeeper? pandakeeper?) was explaining that the keepers don't enter the enclosure with the panda -- despite his looks, he's really not friendly at all. I found that very hard to believe. He looked like nothing so much as a big couch potato, lounging around and watching the entertainment: us!
(Pippo's take on it? "Pan bear eat! Make Big Mess!")
There's a playground on the beach that's pretty fun, but the lifeguard tower is even more appealing.
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| Now that I look at this photo, I'm thinking those shorts might have been riding a little low... |
We're going to miss our morning walks by the ocean!
{funny}
These are the awesome pajamas Papa and Habibti brought back from Hong Kong for Pippo. They fit! Doesn't he look like a native?
(As my mom pointed out, the socks seem especially authentic.)
{real}
The few minutes we were waiting in the car for Dad to run in and file some paperwork turned into a longer time than we expected. Even star stickers on his nose weren't that amusing.
The plan was to run some errands, then go bowling, right nearby. Of course, I realized much too late that the pair of socks I'd grabbed (I was wearing flats without socks) didn't make it into my bag. That's ok, there's a store across from the bowling alley. We'll just run in while Dad is finishing up. As I was taking Pippo out of his carseat, I realize his diaper had leaked...
One pair of pants in Pippo's size on clearance (he needed them anyway, actually) and one packet of socks for Mama later, we are finally ready to go pick Dad up and go. Not a very efficient day, unfortunately.
Thankfully, Pippo loves bowling. Ball! Crash! Repeat! The long errands are forgiven.
