bits and pieces

1 I've been putting in a lot of hours at work and it's definitely paying off. Feeling confident and capable and sometimes even, dare I say it, relaxed!
2 The house is clean and shiny and smells like layers of lemon. It's the fragrance of the soap and the furniture polish that's drifting in the air.
3 Outside it's a combination of rain, wind, clouds and blue sky. Mother Nature is a wee bit confused today.
4 The colours of nature are bright and cheery compared with the dryness of summer in our desert paradise.
5 We did a hard prune on a tree in the back and it opened up our view dramatically.
6 I try my best to sit back and watch things unfold but eventually I speak my mind.
7 I must be doing something right, my clothes are just a teeny bit looser. Or maybe it's just stress.
8 The new training is easier than I expected. Possibly that's because I've had this training earlier in the year. Different facility but same workload.
9 I start the day in the dark. Pitch black but by the time I get to leave it's sunny, warm and welcoming.
10 I miss my girls! There is something special about the girls from swb and I'm appreciating them more and more every day. Oh, how I wish I had more work there.
11 Mr P is home on Sunday and we talk about our plans for the next two weeks. A few things are planned but mostly we'll just hang out, hike and putter. I like that plan.
12 I catch myself being very negative today. A friend's husband points it out to me, in a kind and gentle way. I need to regroup.

in the heat, Sundays, and red and white

1 We spend so long lingering on our deck over coffee and breakfast that it's pretty warm out by the time we are ready for some of our talked about tasks. We decide to plant the dogwood but once we're outside Mr P gets distracted and ends up on the hillside in the front cleaning up some dead branches . We try to pace ourselves but the heat is a little more than I expected and I quickly head for shade and cold water. I think we're still acclimatizing.
2 It's Sunday which means family dinner! Our lovies come earlier today so our meal is earlier than usual which is nice in the heat.  Mr P marinated some pork ribs last night and grilled them this afternoon. Ithey were done to perfection with the bits of bbq sauce crunchy and caramelized.
2a Izzy and Kes play out on the deck in the water with hoses and buckets, shovels, cars and best of all bubbles! I love how eager they are to water plants and dump water on themselves not caring that it's cold and that their clothes are wet.
3 We planted a dogwood shrub that the kids gave me for mother's day in a spot by the front door. It was a thoughtful gift and we're looking forward to seeing it grow through the seasons. It has variegated leaves in the summer and once the leaves are gone in the fall it will display its dark red branches and that should be especially lovely in winter. Red and white...how Canadian is that?