Sunday, July 29, 2007

Things That Rock

About 2 weeks ago, Chris & Laurie over at "Miss Flower" tagged me for a meme - 7 Things that Rock. It takes me awhile to think of things for these memes, but I have finally come up with some good ones. Hope you enjoy them too. (Thanks Laurie & Chris for tagging me!)

ONE: Gardens, of course! But especially beautiful tropical plants growing in a Minnesota garden. That ROCKS, right? This is called "Christy" (so I had to have it!). It measures almost 12 inches! WOW!

TWO: Living with a lake right outside our door totally ROCKS. This year we've added kayaking to the mix, and we are having a ball. Today was our longest ride - we did 4 miles this morning. Way fun!

THREE: Fun things in the garden ROCK. I go mostly for rusted iron, but one of my favorite decorations was a birthday gift from Mark several years ago - this cool gazing ball. You can see through it, but it also reflects everything around it. I love it!

FOUR: About 11 years ago, we replaced a deck with this very cool porch. It fits the look of our house so perfectly and is a wonderful place to sit and read, eat dinner, entertain. It's screened because we do live in Minnesota where the state bird is the mosquito - so it ROCKS.

FIVE: Our glider literally ROCKS! This glider originally belonged to Mark's grandparents - for as long as he can remember it sat out at their farm. When his grandfather died, Mark's parents moved the glider to their home. When we moved into this house in 1980, they gave it to us. I sit out here and read or watch the lake or enjoy my gardens almost every day. The dogs love to glide with me - I don't plan to ever part with it!! (If Mark's dad comments on this post, we may learn more history...)
NOTE: A comment left by Mark's dad, Everett: Supposedly Mark's Grandpa bought the swing from Sears & Roebuck in 1929. I fixed it up in 1949 for the first time and then maybe three times later. I bought it on the estate sale and it is so good to have you have it.
Thanks, Everett - Mark and I are both happy to have more history on the glider!
Mark has put new wood on once and painted it a couple times since we've had it - and it's due to have both painting and new wood again. Not bad!
SIX: The great lazy dogs ROCK my world. Pets of all kinds rock - but standard poodles are really great dogs. Ours are naughty and undisciplined and drive me crazy - but I would be totally lost without them.
SEVEN: I can't show you any more photos - but tomatoes from the garden ROCK!!!! We inhaled our BLT's - soooooo good! AND, the best part, there were 2 more turning red, so yesterday we had cheeseburgers with fresh sliced tomatoes - can you say Cheeseburgers in Paradise? YUM!
Let me know if you decide to play along!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSH!!!

15 comments:

Tristi Pinkston said...

Holy cow, I don't think I've ever seen such a big flower!

kate said...

Your dogs are gorgeous ... and I know what you mean that you'd be lost without them.

I think it is so neat that you live on a lake. You are making good use of your kayaks.

I love your screened-in front porch ... what a brilliant idea for our mosquito-filled hot summer evenings.

Thank you for sharing the story behind your porch swing.

Karen said...

I think your list rocks! I love everything on it, especially the glider and your dogs:)

prairie rose said...

Supposedly Mark's Grandpa bought the swing from Sears & Roebuck in 1929. I fixed it up in 1949 for the first time and then maybe three times later. I bought it on the estate sale and it is so good to have you have it.

Trailhead said...

Poodle alert!

I just love it when you post pics of your dogs. By the way, your house is gorgeous.

kris said...

Hi Tristi - this bloom size is a first for me!

Kate - thanks for the lovely comments. Having the screens on the porch really does give us a lot more time out there.

Thanks Karen! :)

Everett - thank you for leaving a comment on the glider - I just added it to the original post. Mark couldn't remember ever hearing the whole story, so this was fun! I'm so happy you gave it to us - I really love sitting out there!

Thanks trailhead - the dogs kind of just sit there when I have the camera in hand - apparently being cute is good enough!!
Our house is a small Craftsman (or Arts & Crafts) - not high end, but well-cared for. Built around 1906, it has a ton of double-hung windows, original leaded glass windows by the fireplace, a built-in hutch, arched doorways, etc. We love it - but when we sell, it will probably be torn down. (sigh)

Kitt said...

Well, we know how to fix that: Don't sell it!

Rockin' post, Kris.

Laurie and Chris said...

Great list for that rocks. Thanks for playing along:)

Anonymous said...

Love your list. I want a front porch - unfortunately my house doesn't have one and there's no way we could put one on. And your dogs are so cute!

Diana LaMarre said...

That porch does rock. I love it! I wish I had a screened in front porch. I can see how it would be a great place for summer dinners.

Jane O' said...

I remember a swing like that one. We would swing as little girls and sing silly little songs. Carefree days.......

Unknown said...

Oh wow, may I come live at your place. It looks beautiful!

Beth said...

Congratulations on your blogger award Kris! Your posts and photos are always fun to read. How wonderful to be on a lake and have your garden. Talk about paradise ... :O)

Liked the dog photos too!

kris said...

Thanks Kitt - yeah, I hope it is a long, long time before we get rich selling this place!

Laurie & Chris - thanks for tagging me!

Lynne - porches are cool - they feel so old-fashioned - and yet very practical!

Zoey - thanks - we use the porch a lot. We have 2 ceiling fans in there, so even on hot days we can enjoy it.

Marie - yes! We have had a lot of kids playing on the glider over the years.

Hey Candace - yes, you may! :)

Thanks for the kind words, Beth. We feel really lucky to be here!

Sally said...

Finally! I knew if I scrolled down enough I'd find a picture of your dogs - LOL. A lady here in town breeds standard poodles. She has a white female,a brown female and a black male and is hoping to get a parti-color puppy some time. I love the standards. They are so beautiful.