Chocolate Flowers, Guilty Dogs, Sleeping Babes and Other Scattered Things

Tomorrow is Gregorie's 4th birthday.  I just cannot even believe that.  I am filled with sentimental thoughts that are too scattered at the moment to share.  I hope she, however, is dreaming of bubbles and sunshine and kisses.  Good last 3-year old sleep, Ita Bita Bonita!

(Just look at those eyelashes!)

Saturday we are having some friends over to celebrate the passing of four beautiful years of learning and growing.  And to drink some Bubble Brew.  We have been trying to clean up the house and spruce up the gardens so that our home is an oasis of relaxation and joy for our friends.  Gregg got some new "color" for the pots on the deck that were looking a little tired.  One new plant is a chocolate cosmo.  It is beautiful.  Deeper browny-purple than this photo captures.

But the chocolate-y color of the flowers is not the source of this plant's name -- if put your nose to the blossom you will inhale the rich scent of dark cocoa!

In not so pleasant news, our dog Stella is cute, but she has a problem.

No, she doesn't eat compost.  She loves corks.  And there was one buried in there.  And she dug it out.  And she got busted.  And she knows it.  

But she is not the only one making messes while I try to clean up.  Yesterday I super cleaned the master bedroom.  Not long after I had mopped the floor, Gregg carried some plants from the bathroom to the deck.  And dropped one.  On the freshly mopped floor.  Thanks Honey.

Notice, the vacuum cord is still there, in the middle of the dirt.  That gives you an idea of how long the floor was clean!

Now, the Bubbles are not to be outdone, by dad or dog.  So, while I cleaned the living room, they destroyed their freshly cleaned and neatened bedroom.

nflkglang 

(I didn't type those letters -- but when I reviewed and saw them there, I thought, "Okay, they fit. Nflkglang to you too!"

And when I turned my attention to the office, Gregorie made a tent for Mousy and assembled some strange items on the front porch.

In case you can't quite make those items out -- there is a bottle of clear nail polish, a chop stick, a fairy doll dress, and a butter knife.  NO idea. 

Ah, but these are the Bubble Days.   And the messes they make now are easily cleaned up, even when they involve nail polish.  Okay, truth told there are some nail polish messes they have made that will NEVER be cleaned up -- but they are just not a big deal, in the grand scheme.  I can only hope that in ten years, twenty years, thirty years, the messes are so manageable.  And maybe not quite so weird.

Despite the forces of destruction attempting to thwart my efforts, I did manage to create a new personal oasis in my bedroom.  A special place to sit and read and watch the bubbles drift over the ridge line.

Happy July 21 to you all.  Happy Birthday to my sweet Goyita.  And happy anniversary of becoming a mother again to me.  The joy that day in 2006 brings me overwhelms me.