Twilight at Catty-Corner

My beloved Egyptian Queens have gone quite boffo this year.  Every day has been a new flock of beauties, but today may be their peak. 

The weather today has also been extraordinary, which will be especially cherished later this week as the temperatures are supposed to hit triple digits.  Tonight's sunset was especially breathtaking, and I couldn't help but take some pictures of the garden that so obsesses me.

The lilac bush is finally starting to grow at the corner of the patio.  It's almost as tall as me now.

The hollyhocks are still small, but growing.

The beans I planted only a couple of weeks ago below the arbor are growing like wildfire.  I hope they start climbing the arbor itself very soon.

You can see the tomato plants against the garage in the background.

The beebalm is doing its job and attracting numerous bumbles.

I've put a pot of Coleus by the back gate.

And tucked some annuals into the front of the planter on the back porch.

First Bouquet!

Today I made a dutch apple pie for friends, and picked my first full-bouquet from flowers in my garden.  :)

Arbor Amour

Yesterday, Tom and I finally pulled the vinyl arbor we bought almost two months ago out of the garage, and opened the box.  It took us two hours to put together the darn thing, (gotta love vague instructions) and by the time it was together, the sun was beating down in full force on us.  So we retreated inside and resolved to get up early today and install it. 

Success!  The installation was quite a challenge, since we were working on a slope with all four legs of the arbor having to be different lengths to keep the top level.  Oh and we were installing it right next to a gate with cement footings where two of the posts had to go.  But we got creative, and here's the result:

As you can tell from the pictures, by the time we finished, the sun was yet again beating down on us, but we sure feel accomplished!

Now to plant the fast-growing red-flowed vine my boss gave me beans for.

Hallway Wallpaper

I've finally found it, folks...the perfect wallpaper for the upstairs hallway. 

As you may know, I've done some painting of the rooms in the upstairs of our house over the last year.  The bathroom is now a dusky purple, the Dreaming Room is green, and the bedroom is a golden warm color known as "Peanut Butter."  I've long thought that it would be wonderful if I could paper our small upstairs hallway in a wallpaper that would bring the colors of all three rooms together.  But I really wanted something Art Nouveau, Voysey, or Morris.

Tonight, I found the perfect wallpaper.  It's a gorgeous rendition of Golden Lily by William Morris. 

 Want proof?  Check it out....Click to see this perfect wallpaper closer and how it matches the room colors.

Okay, so it's not cheap either.  But it exists!!!  And ohhh it's just so perfect....

Best Seat in the House

Today I was gone all day helping to set up a garage sale in my grandma's sold condo.  But when I got home, I moved a couple of treasures I picked up into the house.  One of them is featured in the picture below...

My grandma had a cedar chest with a padded top that she needed to find a space for.  When I brought it up to the bedroom, I discovered that when pushed next to my own cedar chest with padded top, and covered with a lilac-grey colored vellux blanket, it creates a mega window seat.  I love it.

This is a good opportunity to also show the trees I painted in this alcove a couple of weeks ago.  I'm debating if I want to paint another pair further toward the window.