Frazzle Dazzle Time

Hey Friends,

Just a quick note to check in with you.  I am a little frazzled lately, but still have to dazzle as most of us do this time of year.  I'm not complaining because this comes with the territory, but my job has demanded a lot of my time lately.  Before schedule dictates again (off to work tomorrow), I would like to share some of my orchid photos with you, and let you know how my orchid project has been going.

Allow me to introduce my office orchids.  Yes, I have my own little Zen garden-on-a-stand by the window.  They flirt with the passersby on the walkway outside, and have drawn quite a bit of attention to themselves.  I'm surprised they haven't been hauled off to the Human Resources office yet for causing a "disturbance." :-) These lovelies have been at the office now for three months, and all of them are developing new buds, leaves or shoots while they are still blooming.  Amazing;  I'm so exited about this!  I love how orchids (or any flowers) draw people in and become the topic of conversation.  Then, before you know it, a new friend has been made. :-)

This one hasn't lost a bloom in three months, and has new buds developing as well.  Thank goodness I finally educated and applied myself to helping orchids thrive!  If only I could have all of those that have gone by the wayside under my care back for a second chance!

This one is still alive and well too!  No new growth of any sort has been detected, but it hasn't lost a bloom in about three months either.

Now that the addiction has been confirmed, stay tuned for a later report on my bathroom semi-makeover.  I'm turning it into a greenhouse of sorts for orchids.  The conditions are perfect in there.  Don't worry, I will do this tastefully.  I am loading up a bamboo rack across the tub with them, and recently hung a 'Staghorn Fern' (one of my impulse buys at the garden center) in front of the window in the bathroom.  Said window is very tall, so there's still plenty of bright indirect light flooding in for the orchids even with the fern hanging in the window.  There's more than one way to get a greenhouse. :-)

Until next time, let's all dazzle even if we're frazzled!  

:-)

Daylily Soup Chitchat III

Hello, Friends,

I've almost worn myself out redecorating Daylily Soup today.  It's easy to get carried away playing with the templates and fonts, and with "hanging" wallpaper over and over, etc.  Anyway, I sat down with a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and decided Daylily Soup needed a little pizazz now that the daylilies are on hiatus.  Just curious, how do you like the new wallpaper?  I don't want you to run out of here due to "loud" wallpaper, so please do give me your opinion.

I'd like to share a few photos from a couple of day trips I've taken lately, so let's take a couple of little trips if you have a minute.  Last weekend, I went to this boot shoppe with my husband and spotted these lovelies.

I've Gone Country!

You guessed it.  I proceeded to ooh and ahh, and ooh and ahh, etc. over each and every pair of them.  No, I don't have a pair, but it's not over yet. :-)

Then, we stopped by Fresh Market.  How do we always seem to end up in there?  I was whisked past the orchid display.  You'd think I have a problem or something. ;-)

Sugary memories ...

What am I doing looking at this?  A "girl" who has sworn off sugar (temporarily) has no business in here ...

Oohs & Ahhs

More Oohs & Ahhs

No, your eyes don't deceive you ...

This is a child's toy horse (the type on the springs) galloping in the open field.  Not the best pic, but a truck was coming down the dirt road, which we pulled onto for the sole purpose of me getting a shot of this.  I had to make a quick paparazzi/mad blogger getaway.

Beautiful Sunset

I took this on the way home.  I only had a few seconds to get this shot, and pouf, the magical scene was gone.  Each sunset is truly a fleeting gift.

- Let's time travel ... a week has passed us by. -

Yesterday, we went on another little day trip which was quite fun.  It was a beautiful fall day here, so I saw lots of photo ops.

Fall Morning on the Lake

 Isn't it lovely?

Blue Heron

Blue Heron on his own peaceful, little island. 

Lunch at Zoe's

A nice little lunch outside 

(Greek chicken pita, Greek cole slaw and iced hibiscus green tea).

Lovely Fall Creek Scene

My husband was nice enough to turn around so I could snap these two, which I had to do quickly due to traffic.  I wish I had snapped better pics, but safety had to come first.  Notice the Spanish moss hanging from the trees?  This creek was glorious in real life.

Lovely Fall Creek Scene

I'm off to start planning for Thanksgiving.  I feel a little bit overwhelmed this year with the holiday season upon us, so I'm going to take some deep breaths, remain calm and enjoy the season.  Just curious, do any of you have to take deep breaths, and remind yourself to remain calm at this time of year?  It really is a beautiful time of year, so we have to make sure we enjoy it.  I think the key is to avoid putting too much pressure on ourselves.  That being said, I'm not going to ruin my own holiday for myself by putting too much pressure on myself.  Stress-free Thanksgiving, here I come!  May those of you celebrating Thanksgiving this week have a stress-free, enjoyable one as well.

Thanks for stopping by.

I hope you have a lovely, fall week. :-)

Garden Chitchat II

Hi Friends,

I know Daylily Soup has been a little "dormant" lately, but I just wanted to let you know I haven't abandoned the blogosphere.  Also, I've enjoyed visiting your blogs lately even though I may not have commented.  I'm quickly on the mend from unexpected, unavoidable back surgery.  I injured my back at some time in my life, but was able to play quite a good game of hide and seek from surgery for the past four years with the aid of a great chiropractor until lately.  Anyway, I should be back to normal (as normal as a daylily addict can be) in the near future. :-)

Shortly after my last post, I took these photos of more re-bloomers in the garden, so I just wanted to share them with you before they become historical news ... lol.  By the way, 'Spacecoast Ojo Rojo' that was featured in my previous post is still blooming today!  This morning, the garden was whirling with feuding hummingbirds, and yesterday the yellow swallowtails that ate my parsley to the ground as caterpillars were all aflutter (the parsley loss was totally worth it).  There seems to be a new garden theme each day lately.  Anyway, here are my recent daylily images if you have time for a little stroll:

'Rocket Booster'

I added 'Rocket Booster' to my collection due to its intense red color.  Martha, my late mother-in-law and gardening buddy, used to refer to this color red as "candle red." Please excuse the weeds in the background.  Jane at Tidy Gardens by Jane, please shield your eyes from the weeds. 

'Webster's Pink Wonder'

I tried unsuccessfully earlier in the season to capture this one's beauty, and I do believe this photograph is a better representation of 'Webster's Pink Wonder.'  This daylily is a perfect example of one that needs time to settle.  'Webster's Pink Wonder' slightly bloomed last year, but has been one of my most prolific bloomers this year.  I just enjoyed the last giant, stunning bloom yesterday. 

Lemon Spider (Inherited)

Lemon Spider (as I have named it) is one of my inherited wonder daylilies.  It re-bloomed twice this summer.

I'm off to sit in my perch by the window with a view of the hummingbird feeder.

  

 Hope you have a great week! :-)