The Farewell Tour

I did the farewell tour of the gardens this morning. Later today I will load up to head to the annual writing retreat I attend each year in McCall, Idaho. This is one of my favorite times of the year in the garden, so I tried to capture some images to remind me later of this June blooming time. The lavender is just beginning to bloom.

This late blooming iris was hidden in the shade. We definitely need to move it out where we can see it better next year.

The pink Iceberg,


Unforgettable, Livin' Easy,and Honey Perfume. I will miss the sweet fragrance of this gorgeous rose.

Isabelle walked the tour with me, but now is trying to convince me I need to stay home with her by giving me this look of distress. I am eager to spend a week on Payette Lake with other teachers and writers, but I will miss home and our gardens.

Sibling Assignment #67: Jukeboxes, The Perch, and "Hello, It's Me"

I gave this sibling assignment this week:
What songs take you back to a summer growing up? Share the song and the memories that are attached to it. You will find Raymond Pert's here and Silver Valley Girl's here soon.

Growing up in Kellogg songs tended to be popular for two reasons. They were played over and over again on KWAL in Osburn at night, or were played on the jukeboxes in different restaurants and cafes around town. When I think of the early seventies many songs that hold memories blend together into jukebox songs. These were the songs people could call out the number by heart and everyone would yell "Yeahhhhhh" and play that song. In high school the jukeboxes I loved were at Sunshine Inn or The Boat where we would go hang out and have fries on a summer week-end. As we moved to college, jukeboxes were also a big part of our favorite hangouts in Moscow when we returned early before classes began.

Songs we loved from the jukebox had to be ones you could belt out loudly with your friends. They also had to be songs that if you heard the first few bars everyone would know the song. This was when Dick Clark still had hits every Saturday. This was long before MTV. This was our karaoke back then. These were songs that remained on the same jukeboxes, waiting for you to return at winter break.

You could sing to "Tie a Yellow Ribbon "by Tony Orlando and Dawn. Everyone knew the lyrics and tune to " Billy Don't Be a Hero " by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. In 1972 the top two favorites for all of us were " Alone Again Naturally" by Gilbert O'Sullivan ( the anthem for the "no-date wonders" on Saturday night) and "Brandy" by Looking Glass. I think so many of these songs stayed with us because they never left the jukeboxes. When we were old enough the next year to go into a bar, Tony's had our favorite hits just lined up at the jukebox. We could sway and croon to "Precious and Few" by Climax, " Betcha By Golly Wow" by the Stylistics, and "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon.

Now there was other music going on during this time period. We loved Chicago, the last songs by the Beatles, Bread, Elton John, and America. Hard rock had a following also. Elvis was still hanging in there and the Carpenters were always good for some perfume bottle microphone harmonizing, but the songs that always remained were those sing-along jukebox songs.

When I left home in August to return to the U. of I. we loved to walk to The Perch. It was a small store, deli, cafe mix. The Perch had jukeboxes that seemed to have the same songs I remembered singing back home. There was a familiar feel to The Perch. When Madge served hot chocolate topped with vanilla soft ice cream we could listen to our old favorites.

The quintessential jukebox song of all time for me was "Hello, It's Me" by Todd Rundgren. It was always on a jukebox somewhere, particularly The Perch. Even when I listen to the lyrics today it takes me back to a time of summer romances that you thought might last, saying good-bye yet hoping to hook up again, and regretting later what you had or didn't have.

The Perch is still there in Moscow, but I doubt the jukeboxes remain. Todd Rundgren performed "Hello, It's Me" on Wolfman Jack's show "Midnight Special" in 1973 and here is the YouTube video. Whether this is your first time listening or you are enjoying a blast from the past.... here is "Hello, It's Me."

Combinations That Light Up the Garden

With the honeysuckles really taking off this year I love the combination of golden orange with the deep pink Betty Prior roses.
Green always sets off red, especially with these Olympiad roses.

Yellow and yellow work nicely with the Golden Showers climbing rose.
Take white, a bit of pink with a deep green background and it creates a lovely combination with this peony. Any color of rose goes well with McDuff, especially these early blossoms on the First Prize rose.

The Arte Y Pico Award

Thank you Carol at Charlie and Me for this blog award. Charlie and Me is a blog worth visiting. We share many of the same interests as Carol blogs of adventures with her dog Charlie, favorite books, her garden, love for tea, and other life events. I was honored to be chosen for this award.

This award is "dedicated to many who nourish and enrich the spirit and creativity. They see dedication, creativity, camaraderie, joy, and above all ART, much art. I wish that this prize is entertaining to all those bloggers and to bloggers who day by day share this space and enrich it a little more each day." Arte Y Pico at http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

Now for the rules:
1) Select 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter what language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) The award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show a link of "Arte y pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of the award.

My first award goes to Dog's Eye View. This blog shows the life of a woman and her two dogs through the lens of her camera. The photography is inspiring and the design of her blog so creative. I always leave her blog wanting to try a different shot with my camera. Stop by and check it out. You can also purchase unique gifts.

My second award goes to The Rocky Mountain Retreat. Rocky Mountain Girl reminds us each and every day the beauty that can be found in her corner of the world in eastern British Columbia. She shows us images of wildlife, rivers, lakes, and mountains in stellar photography. Her blog is worth the trip and she also has photos for sale.

My third award goes to Ramblings by Reba. I was just visiting her site and am amazed at her photograhy. She takes simple things and turns them into masterpieces using color and light. Her blog illustrates joy and creativity in her daily life.

My fourth award goes to Katney's Kaboodle. Katney shows us other parts of my state as she hikes and travels to beautiful places and makes us feel like we are there with her photography. We share a love of books and the written word and both have a passion for finding a cure for breast cancer. She does such a variety of photos, you never know what to expect when you visit.

My final award goes to Marmite Toasty at Twaddle Everyday Rubbish. With every post Marmite shows us how words can be art. With a creative, humorous style, she shares the sunny days and the cloudy days of life "across the pond." Her blog has had me laughing out loud, crying, and thinking deeply and she has shown courage and creativity in the stories she has revealed. Stop by and learn about her nippers, her day-to-day adventures at home , and learn her beloved chicken Janet.

Catching Up on Memes Pt. 2: Pet Names

Crafty Green Poet tagged me with the Pet Name Meme. In case you aren't familiar with The Naming of Cats, in the Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, by T.S. Eliot, cats all have three names! (or you can use any other animal here) Here are the rules:

You must link to the originator of the meme ( that is Tara ), list the following rules, and then tell:

1-The name that the family uses daily (such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James ).

2-The name that is particular, a name that is peculiar, and more dignified ( such as Munkstrap, Quaxo or Coricopat )

3-What you are doing when you are thinking of the name only you know, and will never confess, that deep inscrutable name?

Then tag a cat ( or other creature) to give us his/her names.

My cat's answers:

1. Kit

2. KitKat WhiteSox (more peculiar than dignified!)

3. Snuggling up and napping with my best friend Annie.

All you pet lovers out there can try this meme. I won't tag anyone this time.

Catching Up on Memes Pt. 1: Book Meme

I have been slow at getting to memes. Here is a book meme from my blog friend Nonizamboni over at Peacock Blue.

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123.

3.Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

The book I just finished is Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon. If you are familiar with the Mitford series by Karon, this is the first installment of her new Father Tim series. In this book Tim goes back to his birthplace and meets old and new friends. Here is what was found on page. 123. It is a meeting with his childhood sweetheart Peggy.

“The room wasn’t greatly changed from his visits many years ago, though the overall spirit of it was brighter. They sat in high-backed velvet chairs in the bay window, at a table furnished with a silver tea service and a vase of roses. Three petals had fallen onto the white cloth; a small cake, ornamented with a curl of shaved chocolate, was displayed on a crystal stand.
“After I wrote the note, I was sorry to have used chocolate at a bribe.”

This first book in the new series gives a foundation to the character of Father Timothy in the Mitford series. I find it interesting that she went back to his childhood in the new series. There was a certain intrigue in this book that kept me reading long into the night.

I now tag Silver Valley Girl at Silver Valley Stories, Yolanda at Perfectly Imperfect, Shelby at Time With Shelby, Marcy at My Knitting and Other Stuff,and Becca at Ravenous Reader.