pookieville:

So, that party that I had been working on... happened. YAY! Paul, Joe, and I had been planning since Feb. and getting things in place for it all to go smoothly, and it did! We also had the help of lots of friend who brought food, drink, helped set up flowers. It could not have been done alone. The back story to this party is that our friend Tamara ( owner of Zinnia) had been saying she was going to have a 50th birthday party- which she never did. So when her birthday rolled around again, we jumped on the chance to make it a really special day. It was a complete surprise to her, which made it even more fun for all of us! My brother Turin was so helpful as he spent a day hanging lights through the trees. We set up the cutest bar area, with big buckets and huge container of lavender lemonade. The lemonade container is a bee skep. How cute! The day before the party, we got flowers and Joe and Kari made table arrangements in little vases and jars, and Paul and I hung paper medallions through the trees and placed jars with candles all around the perimeter of the space.
Roses, mint, queen anne's lace,daisy's and bachelors buttons. It couldn't have worked out better!

paper medallions!

and in the dining room from the chandelier...

here is one very blurry pic. of the tables dressed..

It was such a fun evening, so many wonderful people- good food and music-my only regret is that I didn't get very many pictures. You must go see more at Paul's blog. He really captured the magic of the evening.

It has been a rough go lately. It kept me from blogging too, I just didn't want to complain even more than I already was. I will give you the short version. Dad in hospital ( he is fine thank goodness) , childhood friend died,then identity theft, cat died, brother in hospital ( he is fine too- thank goodness) It all happened within a month, and it left me kinda shell shocked. I was actually scared when I woke up each day, at what I would have to face. Thankfully my family is all well- but my dear sweet #1 cat Neko did pass. I have dreaded this since the day I finally admitted that I loved her. She was my soul mate kitty. And she was a really good friend. She will always hold a little piece of my heart.

The remaining kitty clan is adjusting. Poe just runs around and bites things. Anything actually. I have never seen a cat gnaw on a chair before. Tonight he found a super ball- you can imagine...Jackson, I think misses Neko, even though they never got along. I think that we will all find a balance after some time.

Once the tragedies stopped, Harry and I felt the need to bond with friends, and have some joy in the house. So, a party has been planned. I won't tell you much, but I wanted to show you this.. doesn't it look cute? After a warm day of yard cleaning,

and then some watering and washing down- I am loving how everything is growing like crazy... and FYI