A Walk Around Brambly Pines

White Azaleas along the front porch

Pretty pink Azaleas in the side yard

New flower bed around the bell

Purple Columbine in the Studio bed

Needs ceiling, shutters, trellis and lots of paint....
some day it will be done. 

Laid out walk way.  ( I'm hoping it will be straight
when I get them all half buried.) Notice new clothes lines.

Studio bed against the woods

Looking from the studio.  All the ivy growing along the
woods that the BNOE and I planted about 8 years ago. 

Funny curly plant that is in both
urns on the end of the retaining walls.

Crape Myrtles and peonies in the front corner bed. 

Coming up the hill to the house.  The Iris and Day lily bed
in the median.  

I've been working outside every chance I get when there is no rain.  Believe me...we have had the rain this Spring.  More than we have ever had since we moved up here.  Brambly Pines has been like a Florida swamp!!  We still only have half of the garden planted because of it all.  The things we have planted are coming up but I'm afraid that it all might drown.  The white azaleas are just beautiful along the front porch.  Prettier than ever!.  I guess they have liked all the rain.  Our whole side yard is planted in different pink azaleas but they aren't solid blooming like the porch ones.  Still very pretty!  The Iris are all starting to bloom in the median of the drive way.  Next will be the day lilies. I love Fall/Winter up here but Spring/Summer is right up there with the other two seasons.  I have lots of work to be done outside but I love being outside so much that it's actually fun.  Looking forward to all the summer fun.  Now, if the rain would just stop coming every other day.

Getting Sooooo BIG

Mama and Vivi in her pretty outfit
from her Oma/Opa

Great Aunt Elaine and Uncle Fred came to see Vivienne

Sleepy face

Sound asleep on the crib mattress 

Stretched out but still sleeping

Yes, it's another post about Miss Vivienne.  I've been lucky to have seen her for three weekends in a row now.  She is growing so fast and I can see the difference from week to week. She has almost doubled her birth weight in the 2 1/2 months.    Great Aunt Elaine and Uncle Fred came to spend last weekend with us so Michelle came home to share Vivi with them.  Since we don't have the crib ( Michelle's when she was a baby) painted yet, Vivi has been sleeping on the mattress of it.  Once she rolls over, which will be soon, we'll have to get the crib done for sure.  When she comes to Grandma and Grand Daddy's she gets to sleep on hand embroidered crib sheets and a hand embroidered 40 year old quilt that I made for her Uncle Ryan when he was a baby.  It's so fun being an Oona/Grandma.

First Easter

Vivienne's first lamb cake

Easter basket with Mother Goose, baby chick,
tiny Easter rabbit and a stuffed Peep. 

Our pretty little girl in her Easter dress and bonnet

This is her favorite face to make

Mama and her  pretty Easter Baby

Easter Tulips and Lamb cake

We had a really nice Easter.  Michelle and Vivienne came home for the weekend.  We spent Saturday making our tradition lamb cake and dying eggs.  It's been a few years since I've done that....probably around nine or ten years.  It will be fun to pick up that tradition again.  We usually have our Easter brunch outside but the weather was a bit too cold for that this year.  So, we ate in the dining room on the Easter dishes and had our usual baked ham, scrambled eggs, asparagus and hollandaise sauce, biscuits with several homemade jellies.  After brunch we took lots of pictures of Miss Vivienne for her first Easter.  She was so pretty in her pink, smocked dress and bonnet that Gene gave her.  She also wore the pretty knitted booties that Lady Melanie had given to her.  She looked like a doll.  Every little girl should have a pretty Easter dress and Christmas dress every year.  Heck, even big girls should have them too.  We are all looking forward to next Easter when Vivienne will be walking and hunting for Easter eggs.  It will be here before we know it, I'm sure.

Still Working on it....

Railing....to be painted white

Wooden Chicken that I repainted

Tea Table

Chalk board that I made from a picture
from the thrift store

We are still working on Studio 22.  I think it will always be a work in progress.  Chuck did get the railings for the porch made.  The floor still needs to be stained and the railings painted.  Along with the ceiling put up.  I've been working on the landscaping.  I've dug up all the bricks that I had used for flower beds around the TT and have arranged them around the studio. Making a walk way and flower beds.  They all have to be buried half way into the dirt so they will stay put.  What a job that is!!  I can only do it right after it rains or the dirt (clay) is as hard as cement.  I have the flower beds just about planted they way I want them.  Still want to add a few ferns and some daisies.  As I said....a work in progress.

Spring is Really Here!

Both sides of the front walk way is
lined with tulips.

Flower bed by the back door.

Tulips and  snow drops

It finally got here!...Spring, my favorite season ( for now).  You know it's truly here when the first hummingbird shows up at one of the feeders.  Last year the first one showed up April 3rd.  It was a day early this year.  The tulips are all blooming along with the pretty snow drops.  The hostas are all poking their heads, arms and legs out of the ground too.  It's time to change out your closet and pack your winter clothes away until Fall.  It's so fun to see what you packed away last Fall.  You always need to leave out a sweater or two because our Spring nights can be cool.  Even cold.  Soon, we will be wishing for the cooler weather because we'll be smack dab in the middle of summer.  It's also time to plant the garden but since it's been raining so much, I'm afraid it's going to be late this year.  Spring....one of the best times of the year up here!!

Baby Vivienne

Grandma and Vivi in Nashville 

Vivi's first Easter Bunny Visit

USF Vivi
( where Shell went to college) 

Dressed up to see the Easter Bunny

All " little girl"

It's so fun having a " new little girl" in our family.  Michelle is a wonderful mama and is " playing dolls" with Vivienne as Chuck said I did when I had Michelle.  I always have thought if you are lucky to have a daughter then you should dress her like a girl is suppose to be dressed.  Ribbons, bows, lace, smocked dresses and pretty little shoes.  Michelle wore a dress 99% of her childhood.  Call me "old fashion" but how can anyone call all those " junk printed on clothes" that people put on kids these days, pretty?  It does my heart good when I see a little girl in a pretty dress, carrying her doll, shopping with her mommy.  I'm sure you will never see Miss Vivienne in just her diaper or her underwear on Face Book.  She will be dressed to the hilt!

There's a Baby in the House...

Mimmie ( Gene's mom)  and Vivienne 

Becca and Vivi

Becca and her two boys, Lainer and Davis
 with Vivi

Becca sharing Vivi

Lady Melanie and Vivi

Grand Daddy and Vivi ( at our house) 

When there is a baby in the house, of course everyone wants to see and hold it.  Lucky Vivienne  has so many people who are in her life and love her.  As we celebrated Georgette's long life, we also celebrated the new life of Vivienne, by showing her to her Alabama family.

Fun at Carmichael Hall

Miss Vivi getting a bath in the sink before leaving for the funeral. 

Lady Melanie coming down the stairs, headed to the funeral. 

To get us all to Georgette's funeral, it took some fast thinking once we found out what day it was going to be.   Michelle had to come from Nashville and we all had to get down to Montgomery by Friday morning.  Michelle and Vivienne both had Dr. appointments on Thursday so, they didn't get to our house until dinner time.  We packed up and headed to Birmingham to Carmichael Hall to spend the night with Lady Melanie.We got there just at bedtime.   Everyone had their own bedroom and there was " Downton Abbey" breakfast in the dining room the next morning.  After baths and getting dressed, we all headed to Montgomery for the day.  A big "thank you" to Lady Melanie for welcoming us to spend the night at such a short notice.