{SWEET Gifts from Celia at High Heeled Life}

SWEET Gifts from dear Celia M. High Heeled Life & Resilientista, a Blogger Friend I very much admire!

We did have brunch with her and with Susan from Ava Grace's Closet, while visiting Toronto, Canada in June.

Look what sweet Celia sent us home with:

Pure Maple Syrup; Orangic Wildflower Honey from her lovely state of Ontario, Canada.

Also 8 Syrup Wafers... So sorry that my husband Pieter had eaten some of them before I even could take this photo!

We ALWAYS do use Pure Maple Syrup with our waffles and/or pancakes.

That's what I did again today, see photos below...

The remainder of those 8 delicious Syrup Wafers.

YES, I got to taste one; when it comes to sweets, husband Pieter will win!

Such delicious Pure Organic Ontario Wildflower honey!

Guess when my husband will ever reincarnate, he will be a 'Honey Bear'

Yes, I baked plenty of Multigrain Waffles, using the Multigrain Mix for Pancakes from Trader Joe's  

We got fresh raspberries and blue berries from Costco in Jacksonville, FL.

Yummy looking out on our balcony in the sunshine!

Generously drizzled with delicious Maple Syrup...

Still lots of Waffle Hearts left over for indulging many more times in Celia's Pure Maple Syrup and fond memories!
Freezing them and reheating in the Toaster...

THANK you ever so much SWEET Celia for so many SWEET Gifts that keep on giving!!!

Please do visit this very special lady as only yesterday she went through the very tragic anniversary of her accident in 2006.

Related links:
{Brunch in Toronto with Blogger Friends I Admire} | previous post by me
Meet Celia M. | How High Heeled Life came to be: About Sunday, October 29 in 2006...

Managing Change with Celia M. | YouTube video Excerpt from Celia M. Speaking at BIST (Brain Injury Society of Toronto) - Oct. 28, 2013   

  

{Digging up Huge Indian Hawthorn and More...}

Little shrubs can grow into HUGE monsters... and often, after some 15+ years we find out that they were planted in the wrong spot!

So we decided to dig up our Huge Indian Hawthorn or Rhaphiolepis umbellate.

In Dutch this is: Indiase meidoorn. 

In German: Weißdolden.

In my previous post (link you find below) you saw me with my short hair standing in front of this HUGE Indian Hawthorn.

A nice evergreen shrub that blooms in the spring but it was growing inside our precious Fragrant Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno', again you can find the link below.

On a damp and cloudy day, husband Pieter started the mega-task. 

Together with also digging up the azaleas and prostrate gardenias that succumbed to the rattlesnake weeds, growing behind this retainer wall.

Spooky boy was always at his side!

Here you can see the Magnolia branches inside the HUGE shrub... They had to be rescued!

Even the drain pipe from the previous water project had to come out....

Supervisor Spooky is right there.

A pile of dug up underground stems from rattlesnake weed with its tubers is to the left and front.

Branches from the Indian Hawthorn in the back.

This is the pesky weed!
Called here in the south rattlesnake weed or Florida betony (Stachys floridana) just click the hyperlinks.
Also seen in the above picture are the other nasty weeds with taproot we got everywhere, the Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria)... 

Spooky is pondering about those pesky weeds...

Nasty looking all those rattlesnake weeds behind the retainer wall. 

All needed to be dug up and Pieter decided to sow grass seed instead and have the lawn extended.

There was a 3rd pesky weed involved too!

Smilax (Greenbrier) grew from the center of the Indian Hawthorn up into the Magnolia tree.

Spooky too was working hard to kill the pesky weeds.

Those underground stems and tubers from the rattlesnake weeds are shown behind him...

Such a loyal helper; every day he accompanied Pieter!

Pondering how it will look like in the future...

Right in the center of the Indian Hawthorn were these nasty tuberous roots from the Smilax (Greenbrier)!

No way to ever eradicate those, with that shrub sheltering them...

Their branches are also full of nasty thorns!

The Indian Hawthorn had a kind of orange wood and many stems, some thick and hard to cut and dig up.

Hard work!

Now you can see the cross tires that we together did place there 25 years ago!

The shrub also was covering up at least 3 feet of our driveway or 1 meter.

Spooky is seriously supervising!

Huge tuberous root came out from the Smilax (Greenbrier)

Will show you next how it looks now!

Gardens don't come about easy...

Related links:
{New Hair Style} | previous post by me showing you the Indian Hawthorn
{Our White Pansies & Indian Hawthorn} | previous post by me
{Our Fragrant Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno'} | previous post by me
Florida Betony control of pests weeds info

{New Hair Style}

Well, here is my New Hair Style!

Quite a bit shorter...

Sunday, September 27... The day after we'd done another Etiquette Class for girls.

When we're outside, our felines always follow us!

Standing now in front of our HUGE Indian Hawthorn.

Husband Pieter standing in front of that HUGE Indian Hawthorn...

For a reason; as it is NO more.

Muscular Pieter did take it out and dug up its roots.

It was growing into the Magnolia Grandiflora Namnetensis Flore Pleno!

Friday, October 24 just before we left for the special Birthday party: 'Strawberry Fields Forever'

Our Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Fore Pleno' is visible again.

Yes, cutting back on hair and on shrubs or trees often pays off!

Pieter is wearing a Burberry polo shirt and Alberto Tonal Stripe Five-Pocket jeans in black.
All of my outfits, including shoes are Escada. 

Related link:
{Contemplating Cutting my Hair...} | previous post by me
{Our Fragrant Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno'} | previous post by me