Finally.... Pictures!

Springtime in Macomb.  At this point I was worried our grass would look this sparse all summer.  

I planted daffodils and little purple flowers.

When I planted my tulips I didn't realize they were giant.  Unfortunately they didn't last long because our spring was weird and I think a night of frost ruined them.

Gracie is opening her birthday gifts here.  Gracie knows exactly what gift bags are for.  She thinks all gift bags contain treats and toys for her. 

For her birthday she also got doggie ice cream, which really isn't ice cream at all, just some weird frozen stuff.  This was a complete mess in her beard!  

This is Nathan and I at "The Grannies", the end of the year awards ceremony that the theater department has.  I had worked all day and then hurriedly got ready, so I was not totally award ceremony spectacular, but I tried.  Nathan won an award with his costar in "The Pillowman" for the best fight.  He did not get a statue but he did get a golden water pistol glued onto foamboard... it is still proudly displayed in our office.  This picture also shows my first short haircut of the year.  

Summertime in Macomb!  Gracie is loving being outdoors again!  (And my grass did grow in nicely.)

I planted petunias around the porch, these are pictures of them just starting out.  I also planted rose moss and marigolds in pots.  All the plants that weren't started from seed did very well.  Next year I will skip the seeds.  All the seeds I bought to start a "wild flower garden" did not grow well.  I think that I just planted weeds.  And, I am currently trying to grow sunflowers and became very perplexed when I wasn't seeing anything sprout.  That is until I discovered that something is eating them up as soon as a little green pokes out of the ground!  Even when I dusted them with bug powder.   

This hollyhock grew all by itself.  I thought it was a weed at first but it kept getting so big that out of fun I let it grow to see what it would turn in to.  I'm sure glad I did because it was gorgeous in full bloom!  I hope that more come up next year with the seeds it produced.  

Our little garden has turned out to produce quite a few zucchini and tomatoes.  This is a picture when the garden was first growing. The zucchini plants overtook the pepper plants, which weren't thriving anyway.  Next year we will know better and give the zucchini more room.  We bought tomato plants that said they grew well in containers.  Even so, I still decided to plant them in the ground.  I didn't expect much, but they are giving me a constant stream of tomatoes right now. I have made three loaves of zucchini bread, and  eaten fried zucchini until I can stand no more!  

These are just really cute pictures of Gracie.  The first one shows her on a bad beard day.  

This is a picture of my 2nd short haircut of the year, much shorter than the first!  I love it, it is so much easier to take care of this summer and my hair is out of my face!