Inspiration

A Blossoming Tickled In Pink Kind of Week

Shelley

I call this past week a tickled-in-pink moments kind of week. My heart is full of joy thinking back to the week that was delicately webbed together.

Moment # 1: I could see a way to connect all of the blog writing prompts I wanted to join in on today. See the bottom of the post for the inspirational links so you can join in too. And, they lead to a way to use this mystery fragment photo. Do you know what it is? And are you wondering if it was an original or a replacement ________?

Moment # 2: Mr. took me on a shopping date. It was his idea, not mine! I was actually kind of excited for an excuse to wear some of the new clothes that I bought in early May. Off we went to Walmart and a thrift store. A best-dressed shopper moment? 🤣 We needed some of the household’s usual things (TP, napkins, etc.). I suggested we stop at Goodwill to see if we could score him a suit jacket to wear to a wedding we’re going to in September.

He was game for the whole trip, YES! 💃🏻🎉🥳

Before we left he cooked me breakfast with leftover ribeye steak, fried eggs, and 1/2 of an avocado. It was a love-at-second-sight meal! He adorably tells me every time I eat a steak on the rarer side of done, “I remember back to when we first met, you’d send back any steak that had pink in it at all – look at you now!!”

For those inquiring minds wondering if Mr. found a suit jacket? He scored a dark gray pin-striped suit jacket that must’ve been worn only once. It fit him perfectly. It was a serendipitous moment when we went to check out and found that it was a green tag sale day where the price of $7.99 was reduced to $1.99! When we got home he searched it online and originally it goes for $119.00. 🥳 I scored some deals too – but, I’ll tell you about them in another post.

Moment #3: We got some rain! I had lost count of how many days in a row it had been that we hadn’t gotten any rain. The grass has been so crunchy the scoundrels resorted to eating the annuals that I planted from seeds. Mr. bought some deer and rabbit repellant that seems to be working to save the remaining few. On Saturday, June 10, 2023, we hoped for a rain shower as our little garden hose watering routine is barely keeping things growing. We crossed our fingers for gentle rain to not knock down more of the retaining wall. The repair on the corner of the house is in drying mode.

Since it is such an odd sight for us to see rain this year, we stood outside to watch the storm roll in. We thought about dancing but didn’t want to scare it away. It sounded and looked like an intense storm as it rolled in. Thankfully, it did arrive, and we only lost internet for 2 hours. The storm ended up just above a nothing-burger level for rain quantity. The rain came down in a gentle fashion, though.

Sadly, just a tease for the desperately thirsty grass and soybeans in the field. The rest of the week looks like working on the retaining wall weather kind of week. It’s only 55 degrees as I write this post.

And now, for some garden moments of pink eye candy, here are the hearty flowers that survived and went through their bursts before the drought hit.

The Irises

The Catchfly that is just starting to bud here’s what it will look like in comparison.

And the star of the sprinkle me with the pink show that comes and goes so quickly each year is my bleeding heart plant.

I love to watch the leaves and buds grow and open up!

It fills up the garden bed now.

Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make life so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg, fall in love, drop a jar of applesauce. In summer, we work hard to make a tidy garden, bordered by pansies with rows or clumps of columbine, petunias, bleeding hearts. Then we find ourselves longing for the forest, where everything has the appearance of disorder; yet we feel peace there.

Natalie Goldberg

The morning in May after it froze overnight I was devastated thinking I had lost it, but it survived.

I took a lot of photos of it this year.

It reminds me to enjoy each moment as time marches on into summer as we say goodbye to spring.

Even the later stages of the blooms as they fade are fascinating reminders to me to hold on to the last enjoyable moment.

Tickled pink moments come and go just like spring comes and goes as flowers do what flowers do.

Post Inspiration: Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “the last thing you filled.” Think about the last thing you filled in or the contents you filled it with and use one or both of those things as your prompt. Enjoy! Terri Webster Schrandt’s June 11 Monthly Color Challenge: PINK (any shade) and Brian at Bushboys Photos where he’s hosting this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge – Fragments

PS – Did you figure out what the mystery photo was? What’s the longest stretch of time where you live that you’ve gone without rain or sunshine? Have you ever thrift shopped and scored a great deal? What is your favorite pink colored flower?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

85 thoughts on “A Blossoming Tickled In Pink Kind of Week”

  1. Cheers to the good moments in the week. Hubby comment about your growth with pink beef made me chuckle. Cheers to rain, which I’m currently getting … much needed! But lack of rain means hubby’s projects should be at least on schedule if not ahead. Cheers to the begin hunters. Have a good week ahead

    1. Hi Frank! I’m glad you chuckled. It’s an ongoing joke around our house.
      The little bit of rain brought with it cooler temps and a surge of additional planning action on the wall today. 8 wheelbarrows full of dirt moved and another 5 foot root from the tree found to be destroyed. We’re hoping for a good week indeed. Same to you!!

  2. Your bleeding hearts are the stars of the pink show, Shelley! Speaking of rain, we must have sent your ours–not common for us to get rain here but refreshing after 2 days of 90s! I love your story about your date. The inexpensive jacket and pink steak had me chuckling! I used to prefer my steak well done in my early 20s, then when I had my first daughter, I couldn’t get steak rare enough! Moo! Great job combining fragment with pink! I still don’t know why your link doesn’t pop into my dashboard for approval. At least I get your email posts!

    1. Thanks, I love the bleeding hearts. I was so happy to see your schedule for June for PINK, I saved the photos just for your prompt.
      The steak, the shopping date, and the jacket for a deal was a great day indeed! Yeah, I couldn’t stand any uncooked meat when I was in my 20s too. I’ve learned how it is so tasty and easier to chew when it’s not overdone! Moo!!!
      I was happy all the prompts worked out together.
      I think it has to do with combining links. Brian requires approval of a shared link. Linda’s doesn’t, but if I only link her blog then my post shows up on her comments. I’m glad you see my post in emails. I’ve yet to figure out how to do more than one ping-back in one post. 🤷🏻‍♀️

      1. Interesting about the links. Somehow I’m not limited. I have a ton of links in my SS posts. Still your link to my post should alert me on my dashboard. Oh well. Now I’m off for a hike! Have a great week, Shelley!

        1. I’m sure it’s something I haven’t figured out in settings. Maybe by the end of the year I’ll figure it out! 🤣
          Happy hiking to you!! Enjoy 😍

      2. I do have prior approvals for comments so spam doesn’t end up on my site if it gets the through. When I set my site originally I had all sorts of strange comments appear. Do you think I should turn that function off?

        1. If having prior approval is working for you, you should keep doing that. I let my Jetpack subscription service route the spam comments on my blog so I don’t see many spam comments that I have to approve. I don’t know what way is best. It does work for you to have to approve so that you can do your spam comment posts. 🤔😉

  3. Wow, you really know how to grow your flowers, Shelley! The Bleeding Hearts are so cute. At least you got some rain, better than nothing which is what happens down here way too much. Your forecast looks great except for a lack of rain again! I hope you guys make progress on the retaining wall, that’s a big job. Have a great new week, guys!

    1. Thanks, John. I lucked out and found locations for the perennials that seem to foster happy growth. My annuals, not so much.
      Yes, a little bit of rain helped some, it brought cooler weather which is nice. It’ll be good for working on the wall for sure!
      We hope you have a great week too 🚲😎🌞

          2. I suppose. It’s not as humid when it’s hot right? We typically get humidity with our heat and that makes for miserable moments when it gets that hot.

          3. I remember the Michigan humidity, Shelley. We grew up on a lake so it was easy to beat the heat for a while anyway! The humidity here is around 18% now. Dry! Perfect.

  4. My bleeding heart is finished, though yesterday I found a couple blossoms deep within it. I love it too. I don’t have any really pretty iris, I should get some. My aunt had a lot and I don’t know why I didn’t dig up some of hers after she died. And what a find at Goodwill! I never go there. My sister does all her clothes shopping there. I should try.

    1. I should look to see if my bleeding heart has any new blossoms hiding in the branches. The tiger lilies that I transplanted next to it will bloom soon.
      Irises are so hardy, if you can find some, they are worth planting. They are only really attractive for a week or so. I just love that they’re low maintenance. I only have one color, I’d like a variety. My MIL has 4 different colors and none like mine. I should trade with her!
      Yes, we were pleasantly surprised at our Goodwill adventure. The pandemic has provided a lot of donations and it’s fun to luck out and find perfect fit deals. My youngest does most of her shopping at thrift stores. She worked at Saver’s as her first job and learned how important it is to recycle and reuse clothing. If you venture there, I hope you find great deals like we did!!

  5. The flower photos are beautiful. I don’t know what you have at the top. Also, I don’t think I’ve seen that view of the retaining wall project before. Will the wall extend across all the exposed dirt in the photo? That’s a lot! Best photo is breakfast.

    1. Thanks, Dan! The photo at the top is the roots from one of the tree sprouts I saved from the tree we removed from the wall. We had a deer or rabbit eat one of the first ones we planted so we yanked out the first transplant, poured on some root stimulator on that root and then planted it. It’s taking off well. If we’re lucky, all 7 trees will have mighty roots in the yard in 10 years like the one that nudged us into redoing the retaining wall in the first place. Mr. found another 5′ root buried in the sand today. Oy.

      The wall will extend all along the exposed dirt. YES it’s 18 feet long… Yes, Mr.’s back dictates how fast project is made on it.

      I knew you’d like the breakfast photo – it was SO delicious 😍🥰

    1. Thanks, Kirstin! It’s so nice to have flowers that remind us of loved ones. I’ve been happy with my bleeding heart that reminds me of my mom. I’d like a white one some day too. I had lily of the valley when we first moved into our home. It didn’t last long, guess our yard isn’t a happy place for it.

    1. Yes, I agree, it was a bargain indeed. I don’t know who has been smiling and bragging more about it, Mr. or me :-). And the suit jacket that he has that is too big on him was purchased 10 years ago new – and it was definitely more expensive than this one 🤣

  9. What an amazing bargain the suit jacket was! Love all your pink flowers, Shelley. Have a great week.

    1. Yes, I kind of have a perpetual smile on my face after scoring the deal!! Mr. is quite proud of the find as well.
      Your pink post is great – I love the dog photos too! 😍

  10. Oh, I love that bleeding heart. It’s really grown! Must love that spot. I miss mine. 🙂

    I grew up eating well done meat (shoe leather, anyone?), but now I like it just about to run off the plate, as my DH says.

    1. Hi Laurel! I remember you mentioning how you loved your bleeding heart. You’re right, I found a spot this one loves to grow in. I think my mom would be happy with it too.

      Yes, tough meat was in my growing up too. So odd, not sure why meat was so tough? I didn’t know what I was missing out on! That’s great that you’re converted too – I can’t imagine going back ever again 🥰😍

  11. Well Shelley, this is a fine post. I do op-shop and often score big. Top buy was a black dress jacket I bought for my daughter as she started a new job which cost me $4. I checked the label when I got home and it is a NY designer that retailed for $600. I scored a Marks and Spencers jacket in Scotland for $8. Lots more as well.
    The almost two years of drought prior to THOSE fires in 2019 where only sporadic rain fell was the worst.
    That first photo looks like a Spanish Beard type of air fern although the ones here are green.
    I feel for Mr but also the satisfaction when the job will be complete. If he needs help removing those huge roots, I have my Powder Monkey Licence so a quick KABOOM will have those suckers out of there in no time 😂

    1. Thank you, Brian, I’m glad you enjoyed the post and thanks too for hosting the Lens-Artist challenge this week!
      Wow – you did score big! I need to learn more about the name brands that are big. I scored a black jacket too, it was an American Eagle Outfitters but it was $19.99 (still a deal, I think…well, maybe not they’re on sale online for $39.99🤣). I think the excursion to Goodwill convinced Mr. of the deals he’ll be able to find in the future too.

      Yes, I remember you writing about the drought in 2019. It’s so sad when this happens. We keep our fingers crossed that the fires won’t happen here and that gentle rain will appear. It’s been bad enough with all the Canadian fires and the air quality issues.

      The first photo is the roots from the tiny tree branches we’ve been propagating. One of the trees we originally planted was nibbled on by the rabbits or the deer (as you previously predicted would happen) so we took out a tree from the bucket we had the branches soaking in and planted this one with all those roots. It’s taking off nicely (with the daily watering we’re doing).

      Yes, he’s looking forward to the completion of this project and a long list of other ones he ticks off the list in between when he’s too sore to work on the wall. I need to talk to Mr. about the Powder Monkey License opportunity! We’re quite amazed at how far the roots spread and how big they grew! We might send for you soon! 😂

    1. Thank you, John! We’re happy with this years’ blooming season while it lasted. I enjoyed your clever take on the prompt. 😉

  13. You certainly got your share of pink in for Terri’s challenge Shelley – I just read her post. Years ago, when I retooled the yard and garden, I asked my mom if she had some favorite flowers we should get for the garden beside Clematis. We used to go to the Olive Garden sometimes and they had wooden poles with Clematis plants winding around them, so I already knew she liked them. I planted them and they took. She asked for Bleeding Heart. I got two to make a decent-look plant. The scoundrels got the Bleeding Heart each year when I planted the two plants, hoping this year it might “take” – nope. I have to get my pictures of Bleeding Heart at the Volunteer Garden at Memorial Park. I would guess those are roots from your root project, but not sure which tree?

    1. Yes, I’ve saved the pink photos just for the June prompt!
      I love the Clematis plant too – my MIL has a perfect spot for them to grow (covered by some chicken fencing so the scoundrels can’t get it). I remember you saying the scoundrels ate your bleeding hearts. For some reason (knock on wood) my scoundrels leave my bleeding heart alone.

      YES – you guessed right on the roots! It’s a second attempt – the first tree was nibbled on by the scoundrels!

      1. Is there anything the scoundrels DON’T like? The scoundrels also ate some of the sunflowers I planted. I planted seeds and only one came up, so I put a glass jar on it and it managed to grow without nibbles. I have to salvage my trellises before the tree guys go back there – the trellises are curliques and the Clematis looked nice trailing up the trellises. They were not destroyed in the fire. Today I came home and found DTE trucks and cones across the street – saw a lineman so asked what was going on and there was a downed wire across the street – no fire though. It was windy this morning.

        1. The scoundrels don’t like it when I chase them. 🤣 The nasty little adorable bunny jumped into the flower pot I place by Copper’s grave and ate ALL of the marigold babies that I had growing in it. I’m so sad. 😭 I might go to the local greenhouse to see if they have any bargain deals and by a more established plant to see if it’ll survive. I’m sure with the drought, the rabbits are extra vigilant to eat whatever they find when they find it.
          Glad there wasn’t a fire – I hope there weren’t any power issues for you too.

          1. Honestly – how does something so cute (and I include deer too) wreak so much havoc? I’m nervous about this storm. I’m following on Twitter as it nears but likely will shut down and head downstairs in a few minutes. We are having storms all evening, so once this round of severe weather is done, it is routine thunderstorms, but I’ll stay shut down. I WAS caught up in Reader ’til last night.

          2. I think we’re noticing them more now that they are struggling to find food too.
            I hope the storms weren’t too bad and that you got some much needed rain.
            Being caught up is always a temporary thing 😉

          3. I was grateful we were spared any damage, but lost another year off my life from worry. 🙂 We got a ton of rain which pounded down seemingly for hours. I found no damage this morning. Yes, being caught up, fleeting and seldom.

          4. I’m so glad you’re okay and survived without damage. Summer storms aren’t any less scary than the winter ones we lived through just a few short months ago!

          5. Thank you – I never used to worry about storms as it seemed like we had a storm, had some thunder and lightning and didn’t have to water for a few days … now it is these volatile storms, talk of rotation. You and I lived thru the Derecho Green Storm of July 1980, so we have cause to pause during severe weather. Our second storm left here, went to Ohio, near Cleveland and was a bigger tornado there and caused more damage.

          6. Now that you mention the 1980s storm, that is when I started to pay more attention to them! We’re wise to take notice and cover!

          10. Our storm looked so scary and was just very brief rain. I hope your storms calmed down and that you got some sleep!

          11. After the second storm passed I went to bed. I normally shut down my computer during a storm, even on a workday and even though I have a whole house surge suppressor, but I wanted to follow Twitter where the meteorologist was giving real time updates when to head downstairs. Scary stuff.

          13. We did get another one and that one packed more of a punch than the first one. Made me nervous when the weather alarm went off for the second severe weather alert – gulp. I do like that weather alarm. I got another one because when I replaced the battery, it no longer had audio for the weekly test so I didn’t think it worked – I didn’t set the new one up yet, then we had the ice storm. But it goes off for severe weather alerts loud and clear. I should look to see if I toggled something off in the weekly test. But it flashes that it went off until you clear it … that is every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.

          14. We have one, not sure what model. We only turn it on when the weather is bad. We live a mile from the sirens. They test them every 1st of the month.

          15. Mine is a Midland … the meteorologist recommended it as it was easy to program. I had a Red Cross weather alarm and it was not as easy to program and broke a year after I bought it (at Radio Shack which was also out of business). I leave it on all the time. Once it woke me up at 4:00 a.m. because the Creek was rising … in another City. I am a mile away from the sirens too and they test at 1:00 p.m. the first Saturday of the month. I can’t hear them unless I am outside though.

          16. I’ll have to check with Mr. about our model. I laughed when you said Radio Shack as it was a favorite store of Mr.’s so I bet it IS a Radio Shack model. 🤣
            WOW – you must have good insulation and sturdy walls. I bet your blinds help keep some of that sound out too. If only it would keep the sound of the dog barking out too!! 😏

          17. My model was associated with the Red Cross somehow and it also had a crank so that you could use it for camping – you cranked it up and let it run on solar power. But it didn’t work. This weather radio has back-up batteries so I guess you could take it camping, but you’d have to reset the region. I was happy to find Amazon carries my AM-FM radio headset … I was bummed Radio Shack went out of business as I had a few of them, but they eventually stopped working. The idiot dog is howling now. She leaves for work at 8:00 a.m. – if I am here, if it is raining or Winter and dark out, it starts the minute she leaves the house. I don’t know what I’m going to do – it is non-stop right now under my kitchen window. I’m thinking of maybe getting big windchimes to hang by her bedroom window … I don’t usually stoop to her level though and they are expensive.

          18. That’s good you have a model that works now.
            Does that dog bark when she’s home too? I wonder if she even knows it barks when she’s gone. Maybe you could send her an anonymous gift of a pet camera that she could set up in her house to see what the dog does when she’s gone? Maybe she has a heart and would feel bad knowing the dog has such anxiety when she’s gone? I do like the big windchime idea too! Make it out of cans from your pantry. It might scare the birds though 🤔

          19. She knows alright … last year I was getting ready to leave to walk and she was lugging out her garbage. We really don’t speak (any more than necessary) and she told me she found a rat on her front yard. I had told her once Marge’s son was outside til late near his fire pit and saw them … I found raccoon scat last week and he told me he had raccoons in his garbage can. Anyway, she stopped to tell me that. She had just left the house and Luna started howling (Luna … appropriate name). She yelled “shut up!!” So yes, she knows … I forgot about the birds … they are on the other side though … I never thought about making one … what do you use for the clapper though?

          20. Ugh…that’s even worse if she knows the dog barks like that. It is learning to bark to get its way. So sad!
            We have a wind chime made out of metal pipes from the hardware store. I’ll send you a picture of it.

          21. Yes and if she knows that the dog has that much angst being alone all those hours, then set up one of those devices for your dog that is similar to a baby monitor and you can talk to it … yes, she know. They both are idiots. I think it would work well … hopefully send it to the other side of the house!

          22. I think that is so sad, some people shouldn’t get to be dog owners!
            It was raining yesterday so I didn’t get a picture, but will try to do so today and email it to you!

          23. OK, thanks, when you get time – I appreciate it. The tree cutter has to remove the elm “sapling” (half a tree) that grew alongside my Pyracantha bush and that is where I will hang it – right next to her bedroom window. I am sure to incite an argument and maybe I can air my grievances with her. 🙂

          24. I emailed you pictures! I hope you can air your grievances and that she corrects her ways and the dog gets some peace from all the barking!

          25. Thank you I appreciated that Shelley. I think that’s a fair trade don’t you – the melodic, big gong versus the howl and whine? Someone gave my grandmother a big gong once and the hammer (or whatever you call it) to strike it with. It was huge and my grandmother didn’t know what to do with it and gave it to my mom to use to call me inside for dinner when I was working out in the yard – it worked too (if the windows were open). I don’t think I’ve seen it for a couple of decades though! 🙂

          26. You’re welcome. The gong would work too. You’d have to be strategic and hide in your bushes so she didn’t know where the sound was coming from. It could be a a funny mystery blog story 😂🤣🤔

  14. Kudos for finding a way to tell a cohesive story with so many challenges to address Shelley! Thanks so much for including us this week. Loved your beautiful bleeding hearts!

    1. Thank you, Tina – I was happy all the prompts went together for me. I’ve had weeks when that’s not been the case 🤣
      I enjoyed your abstract take on the prompt too – I hope to join in again next week!! 😊😉😍

  15. While it never seems we get enough rain, we certainly had our share this year. It has been nice to have things growing that have struggled in the past. The desert hillsides are green and the lakes are full…for now. Interesting, we have also had flies and other random bugs. Typically because of the heat, we don’t see a lot of bugs.

    I loved the bleeding hearts. When we lived in WA I enjoyed them in my hanging pots. They would never grow here. Bargains? I love wandering into Goodwill for toys for the grandkids. Always a bargain. Have a good week, Shelley.

    1. Hi Donna, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m happy to hear that there is plenty of rain somewhere. We started out in May with rain every weekend and we were complaining – won’t do that again! I miss seeing the green of summer, it’s like we landed in the fall already. We have lots of strange bugs that the birds seem to enjoy catching.

      Bleeding hearts are so fun. I kind of wish I had a white one for my yard too.

      Oh, yes, Goodwill for grandkids is a great idea. Nowadays, I think I’d do more kids clothes shopping there, they grow out of them so fast.

      PS – I love your take on the fragments prompt! It’s so fun to see what you come up with. 😍

  16. I like the Natalie Goldberg quote. I forget that life is messy, meant to be, and then chastise myself for not getting things done. We’re finally getting a run of rainy days so our yard is perking up. I love your photos of flowers, btw. Somehow you manage to bring out their charm, more than most photographers.

    1. Hi Ally! I forget that about life too. With the odd weather and the ever growing list of things to do I’ve had to look for quotes to remind me that messy is part of the deal. 😉

      Yay for rain, I bet your yard perking up is bringing some moments of joy for the summer. I’d love to see more green and more flowers blooming.

      Thank you, I appreciate your words of encouragement. 😊🥰

  17. Gorgeous flower pics, Shelley! And I always wonder if other people stop everything to watch the rain. Growing up, we would all meet on the front porch for a good shower.

    1. Thank you, Rebecca! 🥰😍

      Aw, that’s a happy family memory, I love it.
      We always pause to watch rain and storms roll in. Mr. raised the girls to watch them too and always took them outside to explain what was happening and what to watch for. They would stay outside until it started to rain. They both still enjoy watching storms and listening to the rain fall. 🥰

  18. We finally got some rain yesterday…but of course not enough in this drought. Love the bleeding hearts, they are beautifully photographed!

    1. Hi Leya, it’s so nice to hear from you. Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I read your take on this prompt and it brought tears to my eyes. I’m sending hugs your way 🤗

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