Just curious….

Whad’yall think of this hotel room?

Um…That would be a bathroom above the bed

Glass.

The toilet on the other side of the sink.

and no curtain. I checked.

God forbid the poor soul that needs to make a few trips to the bathroom at night.

It does have a lovely private rooftop terrace with that room though…

and hard to beat the price.

What a gracious foyer…

This is in the San Telmo area of Buenos Aires…

I'm tasked with finding a great place for us to stay this September...I love this job...

and make it much more complicated than I need to.

Go figure.

I think I’ll keep looking.

Would you?

The Cocker...Dayum tempting...'cept for the toilet.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - August 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My first ever all singing, all dancing slide show for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, most kindly hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. My head is reeling and I am off out into the garden to recover !

Out With The Shades!

This is probably the brightest coloured flower in my garden. I have to confess not to being a big fan of yellow and apart from daffodils, primroses and some pale creamy yellow daisies I have snubbed the more in your face yellows up to now. However in an a conscious attempt to introduce more colour into the late summer garden, I asked for a friend if she could let me have a little bit of this plant when I saw it flowering in her garden. Now that was about three years ago and this plant has turned out to be a veritable thug. It's girth has widened considerably - goodness knows what it is eating but it's in for some serious thinning out next spring. My friend does know what it is but a helianthus is a prime suspect up to now. Apart from its spreading habit is quite a tall plant and I have had difficulty thinking of suitable companions, so much so that it sticks out like a sore thumb. In fact thinning out may not be drastic enough - perhaps the time has come to remove it completely and look for a replacement. I would go for another late flowering plant but I will definitely do more research before planting next time. If I do this I will save a portion though to plant at the allotment as it does sparkle on dreary days. Now is a perfect time to be looking for candidates so I have a perfect excuse to go to a plant fair at our local nursery this weekend :)

Jungle Beauties….

Amazing feats of nature…reds and yellows…lobster claws…

Even hairy think monkeys in the jungle…or baby parrots. Weird but true.

We are so gifted in the tropics…or sub tropics.

Such refined delicacies of color and shape.

Heliconia. Perfect.

We continue to rip apart our yard. Edit. Change.

...But thankfully find such gifts.

Happily thriving.

who knew?

find more hidden secrets at Hooked on Houses...Fun!

Life In The Slow Lane

D IS FOR ?



DONKEYS !

We came across this delightful duo last week, when we were dallying along the main thoroughfare of the little town of Huelgoat. We were most curious to see who might be using this alternative mode of transport but sadly there was no sign of their human companions.

Do dip into ABC Wednesday where you will find more debate, discussion and digital imagery all about the letter D.

Farmers Market…on the river… Join me.

Small town…simple market.

Fort Pierce has been holding an ever-growing Saturday market for the past 10 years.

Fresh tropical fruit

Live music

what else does a person need? really.

Amazing bread and pastries (thank you Mr. Bread!)

Cooling your heels at the waters edge.

Why not?

It’s hot!

Limes of course.

Coconuts cradling orchids

who knew?

Handmade soaps…

….And more

call them…they’ll give you a deal!

A growing town

And Po’ man’s plants...

our yard is full of his benevolent wonder.

Support your local folk…

They’ll love ya’ for it.

Peace.

The Most Serious Matter Of Holiday Reading

Well here we are safely back home. After a day of frantic activity unpacking, washing, shopping, inspecting the garden and lottie visiting I am ready for a rest ! Time perhaps to unwind with a glass of wine and a read. My favourite part of holiday preparations is choosing which books to take with me. I generally do not read as much in the summer months when outdoors is calling but holidays are different. This major decision takes me longer than deciding which clothes to take. This year's selection went down very well. My only regret as usual was that I did not take another couple of books as I finished them with time to spare.

This year I took the delightfully titled "The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, "The Behaviour of Moths" by Poppy Adams and "The Lady Elizabeth" by historian Alison Weir. The latter seems to have been swallowed up somewhere in the vast recesses of the camper van. Hopefully it will resurface sometime along with a jar of chestnut honey that we bought on our travels. My gardening book was a re-read of Elspeth Thompson's "The Urban Gardener". I probably enjoyed this more than I did first time around, as I can now relate to some of the author's experiences of the joys and pitfalls of having an allotment. With possibly another break later in the year I am intrigued to know what other folk are reading this summer and might recommend.