MARIETTE'S BACK TO BASICS

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

{16th Blog Award + Challenge & Personal Update}

On May 18, I did receive my 16th Blog Award from Melanzana but I had no time to post about it right away. Also on May 11, I received a Challenge from Elna Sudden. Thanks ladies but frankly, I am not at all in the mood for passing them on... Got back on medication for my auto immune disease. That puts a bit of a damper on the 'happy' feeling. Let's hope that in a week the inflammation will be gone.

At the time when Elna listed my name on May 11, I was facing the challenge of getting the garden ready, together with my husband Pieter, before going on a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas. That is fun but you work your tail off prior to 'relaxing' time. Garden care, house cleaning, laundry, packing and off we went. Our best friends had asked us to join them and their clinic personnel, as we've also done so in 2009. A great team and we had a fantastic time. Lots of reading, healthy food and elegant dining as a group of 13 together. From Port Canaveral, Florida we first went to CocoCay Island, Bahamas. Strolling around this secluded little paradise in the sun was nice. Next day we arrived at the harbor of Nassau, also in the Bahamas. This 'Sunny Smiley' as Blog Award is therefore perfect for a cruise to the SUN!

Thanks again Melanzana!

This was our 4-night trip from Port Canaveral in Florida to Cococay Island and than to Nassau, both in the Bahamas.

Those Islands like CocoCay are like a tropical Paradise!

Hope you all are doing well.

THANKS for all my new followers and for your visits and comments.

As soon as I feel better (side affect of my medication also...) I will visit more blogs.

Yeah, let's hope it will soon be: Mariette's Back to Basics...

Related article:
Challenge Accepted + Easter Photos previous post by me

Monday, May 21, 2012

{Our Lilac Orchid & Roses}

On our windowsill the lilac orchid started blooming in all its splendor. However the trailing blossoms needed to get elevated so they could fully open up. At the same time we had a lilac rose blooming in our garden. So we teamed them up together. The roses are inside a French Baccarat crystal perfume bottle. Together on our white Corian windowsill. Do you have any orchids blooming right now?

Are they not a perfect match in color?

On top of an upside down white ceramic planter with sea shells but this worked.

Here the roses are still budding out...

Perfect buds and beautiful leaves as well.

Such a joy to look at on our kitchen bay window.

Hope you do have something blooming on the windowsill as well.

Tell me what it is you are enjoying right now.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

{Our Clematis lanuginosa 'Candida'}

For quite some years now we do have the pure white Clematis lanuginosa 'Candida' with its huge flowers. They can get as big as 9" across and put on quite a show! We used to have one climbing up on on one of the wooden posts in our front porch but we lost it. The one we have now is blooming in the shade, climbing up a tree. After the initial pictures of the flowers, you will get to see the huge vine full with blossoms. Several photos from both of us, posing in front of it in our front porch. Does anybody have this particular Clematis species? Or any other Clematis for that matter. They are such lovely vines.