Irises and roses

A couple years ago, one of my neighbors asked if I would like some bearded irises that someone had given her. I said sure, because I rarely turn down a free plant. When we moved, I dug some of the irises and replanted them without ever marking down any of the colors. They are finally blooming again and putting on a much better show than ever before. The yellow one was a surprise to me, which makes me think they didn't bloom well in the clay soil at our previous home.











And yes, I ended up buying a Double Delight rose ($8 - what a bargain!) and it has already put out a bloom for me. The flower itself is really pretty, but the best part is the scent - it's the rosiest smelling rose I've ever met.

A Triumph-ant weekend

The hubby, Spork, is long-time Triumph lover and has had his beloved TR6 since 1983. Last Wednesday, in a series of fortuitous coincidences we happened across a bunch of Triumphs in the parking lot of a local restaurant. We went in, despite our shaggy appearances, and found out that there was a regional Triumph convention in town for the weekend! They invited us to join in, so we did. Spork posted all the pictures he took here, so I'll just throw in one for fun.

In case you ever run into a bunch of British sports car nuts gathered in a group, I learned that the men do not like you to refer to their cars as "cute". They want them to be called "sexy" instead.

Someone stop me, please

I have become addicted to roses. So far this year I've planted 6 new ones, in addition to the 5 I planted last year. I have one more in a pot, waiting to be planted. And now some rose fanciers are telling me that I absolutely, positively cannot live without adding a Double Delight and a local store has roses 20% off this week. Did I mention that I'm also rooting some cuttings from a couple antique roses? Aaiigh, I'm hopeless!

If anyone wants to join me in my madness, the varieties I currently have are:

Old Blush, I have 3 of these planted to (eventually) screen the backyard of the house next door
Mutabilis
Climbing Don Juan
Climbing Fourth of July (my favorite)
Flutterbye
Chrysler Imperial
Tropicana
Lady X
Kordes Perfecta
an unmarked pink hybrid tea, that forced itself on me in a moment of weakness


Here's a picture of a Fourth of July rose in bloom. Don't you want one, too?

I'm not as bad as I've been told

People keep referring to me as The Devil, but I think this proves otherwise:

You Are 26% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

Just call me a copy cat

I like to think of myself as original, but I had to be like Lorie and move over to blogger. I wonder what she's wearing today. Oh, I hope it's jeans and a t-shirt so we can be just alike!

In my second attempt to be just like Lorie, when I heard that she had made the onion straws from the Pioneer Woman Cooks blog, I had to make them, too. OMG, they rock! We had them as a side dish for blue cheese burgers. Yum!

I haven't quite figured out everything that can be done here, but at least I got the first post loaded. Hopefully I'll get the hang of this soon.

Fresh strawberries from the garden. Fresh strawberries served on rum-soaked pound cake and topped with cream. Life is good.