{In Memory of Mom}

From a sweet dear friend that knew Mom very well, we received some special Camellias in honor of Mom, around the time that Mom passed away on January 27, 2015.

Perfect timing as they were blooming a couple of days before All Saints and All Souls Day.

Friend B said that she chose this Camellia with a touch of pink because it resembled the softness of Mom...

THANKS again sweet Friend!

These are the CAMELLIA SASANQUA (northern lights) with beautiful long stamens.

A rather drab picture, taken during dark days. We've had lots of rainy days, followed by some dreary looking dark days.

But we are very proud of this young Camellia shrub that did bloom so well before the rain knocked down its petals.

The weather is rather typical for All Saints & All Souls Day...

Being born into the R. Catholic Church, in The Netherlands, we also celebrate All Saints' Sunday at the Christ Episcopal Church here in Dublin.

Our Church Family did mention Mom as well...
Mom will be also mentioned in her Dutch R. C. home Church of H. Lambertus in Horst, The Netherlands. on Sunday, November 8, during the NONES at 3:00 PM where they too will honor all those that past away since last year's All Saints & All Souls.
Note: NONES - (Christian Church) the ninth hour after prime or sunrise; the devotional service performed then.
In Dutch it is called LOF.

Sadly however, the Priest, Dr. James Arthur Johnson who did her 6-week Mass, died on August 18 himself...

He did such an excellent job on March 15, 2015...

It meant so much to both of us, doing so in the Church where Mom knelt with us in prayer during her four visits to the USA as well as in the R. Catholic Church where we used to attend.

May ALL our loved ones that died in the past year and before R.I.P.

Related links:
{R.I.P. Dear Mom} | previous post by me - sorry I was forced to take down all my special photos from Mom... upon demand from some toxic relatives. May God forgive them!
{ALL SAINTS DAY | ALL SOULS DAY} | previous post by me

{Retaining Wall got CURVE}

As promised, here the finished look!

The official inauguration of the added CURVE to our Retaining Wall!
Speckie walking to the CURVE and Tiggy-Tiger already sitting on it.
Our cat-girls LOVE the new addition, which Pieter built down in steps.

Can you see the markings where the huge Indian Hawthorn and the 25 year old Rosemary have been growing? They covered quite a section of our driveway!
Now it's free again and we both love the new look.

At the end, Pieter placed four solar powered LED lights.
We had some rainy days in-between and the wall might need another coating of Benjamin Moore Golden Mist but for the time being we're fine with it!

Tiggy Tiger showing you the entire wall, while Spicy, just disappears over the wall...
We love the huge Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno' being solitair now.

Tiggy-Tiger and her brother Spooky...
Do you like this new addition, done by a lay-person who is not a mason?

Related links:
{Extending Retainer Wall & Lawn} | previous post by me
{Digging up Huge Indian Hawthorn and More...} | previous post by me

{Extending Retainer Wall & Lawn}

In my previous post I already gave you an indication about the changes that husband Pieter was going to make.
At the end of that post, where Pieter dug up the Huge Indian Hawthorn and More, I promised to show you how it looks now.
First of all, here you see a clear view of the Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno' being freed up!

On October 7, at 7:00 AM a truck delivered the concrete blocks that Pieter would need for extending the retainer wall.
Here you see very clearly the dirty part on the driveway, to the right of husband Pieter, where the Indian Hawthorn and the old Rosemary had been.
We regained quite a bit from our driveway; about one meter or over one yard!

Pieter also had dug up all the rattlesnake weeds and planned on extending the lawn.
So a big truck did deliver 2 mᵌ of topsoil on October 16.

That huge truck had problems backing up on the driveway but never mind, Pieter managed to scoop up all the topsoil.

This is where it got filled in... Behind the retainer wall, for extending the lawn.

Almost done and next grass seed was sown.

October 31, already grass has grown here! Some bare spots where we removed the big Black Gum tree on November 5, 2014.
It takes years for patching up such spots but with patience that will happen!
Do you like this extension of our lawn?
Next I will show you the finished retainer wall extension.

Related link:
{Digging up Huge Indian Hawthorn and More...} | previous post by me
{Black Gum Nyssa Sylvatica Cut Down} | previous post by me