Painting, Planting, and Playing (on the Beach!)

I know it's been awhile....but we've been busy getting the garden fence painted and the garden beds planted!  My goal was to finish painting, install all the garden pathways, and level the mulch pile before we went on vacation...yay! Success!

Here we are working as a team to get the garden pathways completely covered in black fabric to keep down weeds. I love that white fence, all painting completed and the plants surrounding the garden all mulched!

Hannah planted her crops for this year before we spent our week away--both seeds and transplants: We'll give you a garden tour a little later in the season when the crops have started to grow: When I mulch my flower beds, I use thick newspapers, Costco cardboard, numerous catalogs, and old magazines...anything available to keep the weeds down before I put mulch on top.

In this picture by the garden shed, these coneflowers are getting a layer of Nutella cardboard! What flowers wouldn't love that?!

Any chocolate loving plants around the shed? Well, they're getting some Ghiradelli chocolate cardboard around their roots! 

I love the sweet smell of new mulch! Sorry guy in the sunglasses...we're covering you up!

Well, we had a lot of goals to get finished before our vacation...and that was a great incentive to keep working hard!

So two weeks ago we hit the road and traveled to North Myrtle Beach for a few days of relaxation. Our family had never been there....we actually are not beach people. Growing up my family never went to the beach...we always traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains, every vacation! We are definitely mountain loving folks!

Thing is....my sister has had a long-time dream for years to go sit on the beach, do nothing, and read a book. To be honest, that's not my idea of fun...we like to go-go-go on vacation and do everything there is to do!

But we made a plan to meet up in Myrtle Beach; we booked the condo; we planned the route; we packed up and made the long trip...and, unfortunately, my sister got sick days before she was to travel! Sick enough to go to the Emergency Room, sick enough to stay home and miss out on the entire beach vacation she'd dreamed about. So very sad.

But...Tom, Hannah, Granny and I enjoyed the beach on her behalf! Granny thoroughly enjoyed herself, sitting on the beach covered up with a blanket, stepping in the waves, and loving the warm spa waters inside the complex. As you can see by the empty beach, we almost had the place to ourselves! If you zoom up, those tiny figures at the edge of the waves are Hannah and Granny sticking their feet in the water. We were sooo afraid Granny was going to fall! Thankfully, she stayed safe the whole trip! One of my favorite activities was setting our clocks for 5:30 a.m. one morning to get up for the sunrise....well, not the getting up part...but seeing the sunrise was super special. Actually, because our condo was facing south, we couldn't see the sunrise without traveling to a pier to catch the sun.

We paid for a day's pass to have access to this pier in hopes of catching the sunrise...along with all the early morning fishermen--very interesting to watch them. These were king mackerel fishermen at the tip end of the pier pulling in their haul for the morning: And here are two early morning sunrise pictures: When the sun starts to rise, it does so quickly! We barely made it to the pier in time!

And yes we did go out and do some fun things...we found a nice mini-golf place, and I sent this picture to Jonathan and told him we were glad he could join us! :)

In honor of my sister who couldn't be with us...Hannah read on the beach one day:

We had absolutely perfect weather and wonderful temperatures! I think I could become a beach person quite easily, well sort of...as long as the beach was as quiet and empty as this one! Yes, it was a touch chilly for Granny, even in the sun:

After our beach days were over...we headed to our daughter Sarah's home in Atlanta! We hadn't seen our three grandsons since our last visit at Thanksgiving! We were so excited!

Plus, my mom...Great-Granny...had never seen her newest great-grandson! This would be a real treat for her!

Aunt Hannah was a big hit with the other two boys. Plus, we celebrated a 2nd birthday while we were there! All in all, it was a very fun time...until all three boys and their mommy came down sick with colds. Sadly, we ended up leaving a day early so they could all get some much-needed rest without guests in the house.

Great Granny is now safely delivered to my sister's home in South Carolina for the summer (and our house seems empty without her!)...and I'm recuperating this week from the trip after coming down sick myself.

So that's what we've been up to! It's been a fun and busy month of May!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend....stay safe and enjoy the holiday!

~Deb

Comments

[Sarah H]

It was so good to have you here, even though it had to be cut short! 💗

[Chris Odorisio]

Great post! The idea of putting down all that cardboard in your beds is new to me, but sounds like a great idea. I have been very busy pulling weeds this year...hummm maybe I'll do this before next years mulching. :)
Glad you all were able to see a sunrise at the beach, personally it is one of my favorite places to watch the sunrise and Yes! it rises quickly!! Its a great place to get a beautiful time-lapse bunch of photos.
As always I enjoy seeing all the photos of the family, those little boys are adorable and growing fast.

[Tammy]

All the gardening and sprucing up looks great! I hadn't considered using cardboard in my beds! I need to get the old plastic barrier out of my flower bed. We're having a heat wave here, so I guess I will save that for another time. ;)

Your beach vacation sounds great! So sad for your sister that she couldn't join you! Hopefully she can get to the beach another time! Last fall we went to Edisto Beach and it was amazing! We spent five hours on the beach and had it mostly to ourselves.

[Toots]

So sorry Bet couldn't make the trip. Sitting on the beach, and reading, while listening to the waves, is a great way to relax and recharge. I am definitely a beach person!
Hopefully the nice weather we're having will continue so I can do more yard clean-up, too.
Neat idea with the cardboard to keep down the weeds.

[Kim C]

Having a retired husband definitely suits you! I’m sure it’s satisfying to have your garden wish list materialize. Granny looked like she really enjoyed all the adventures. It looks like you all were blessed with lots of happy memories.

[Barbara J.]

So glad to hear from you again and I seem to have missed the post before this one. I had lots to catch up. Loved the pictures as always but I think my favorite one was of Hannah and the boys.

It is too hot to go outdoors here today. It was 103 on our deck the last time I looked. Hopefully it will be cooler this evening. Have a safe and happy holiday.

[ANA]

HERMOSAS FOTOS Y HERMOSOS NIETOS.

[Tammy C]

Vacation sounds like it was fun.Sorry to hear about Bet being sick.

Now l guess you can work more on your quilts.

[Sharon]

Wow, great post! I loved the cardboard idea... Nutella and ghiradelli.. lol! Very cute : ) very sorry Bet missed the beach : ( hopefully another time! We vacation in the country .. Lancaster Pa area, but an empty beach without the crowds looks quite inviting!

[victoria]

Hope Bet can make the next trip and get a chance to read on the beach. We enjoyed seeing you all but were sad your trip had to end early.
Have a wonderful growing season in your beautiful gardens.

[Toni]

Hi Deb!
I loved seeing all the photos and how fun to see that Sarah has another son! Big congrats to her.

We like deserted beaches also and evidently we get out beach wear from the same store you do. :) I haven't worn slacks or a bathing suit since the 70s.

I had to chuckle when I read you'd not posted in awhile. I disappeared for a whole year. LOL
Have a great weekend!

[Carol Blair]

Vacations and visits, the beach and a book.
A gorgeous sunrise; thanks for letting us take a look.

But the viruses – oh no! Trust that all are now well.
Holding on to good memories, and maybe a seashell.

The garden awaits! We look forward to see
The fruits of your labors – God’s blessing abundantly.