So Much To Tell

We're back from a wonderful weekend visiting friends, visiting and working in a fabulous iris garden, and Car Knitting. I took along the stole I am working on and was able to complete a couple of tiers on the way up and part of a tier on the way back. Usually I'm not able to knit in the car, it makes me dizzy (dizzier some would say)but I sat in the back seats to allow our guest the front seat. Naturally this was a treat for me and I didn't feel guilty about not participating in conversation. We visited with DH's Navy buddy, Frank from the 60's and his wife, Marie. Our friend Cameron was met by a lemo and driven to his hotel near the Presby Gardens while we commuted back and forth so we could visit with our friends. What a good time we had catching up and talking gardening, grandchildren, foods and wine which we both have in common. They have build a beautiful garden so we last visited them and they are so proud of it. It is a nature garden, having two ponds and many 'rooms' to sit and enjoy that part of the garden. We had appetizers and wine on the patio beside the pond on Friday and on Saturday, wine in the gazebo. Sunday it rained and we had appetizers and wine at the kitchen counter while our salmon grilled outside between two cedar planks. The bag and goodies I placed inside it was well accepted and Marie quickly removed the goodies and claimed the bag for a purse.

On Saturday morning we took off for the iris gardens. It was a beautiful day but before noon almost unbearable in the gardens. It was really tough on me even though I wore a brimmed hat and a light weight cotton long sleeved shirt to try and keep the sun off my 'radiated skin'. Our friend and DH was able to help the garden superintendent identify a few of their unknown iris and to identify many mislabeled (named) iris. The gardens were vandalized a couple of years ago by a drunken teenager and all the iris were knocked out of the beds with a golf club and stomped upon. What a shame, Presby Gardens, http://presbyirisgardens.org/is a registered historic garden and I believe, the largest of its kind in the world. For someone to destroy it this was is sickening and to ever correctly identify all the correct names of the iris that were lost is almost an impossible task.

We were also taken to see an individual garden belonging to one of Presby's volunteers whom we had met at the National Convention in 2006 and whom DH has exchanged some of his historic iris with. I do believe another 'swap' was arranged. On Sunday we had lunch in the private gardens at Presby and met with some of their board memebers and volunteers to discuss ways of improving the garden and what we saw as positive, or things that could be improved upon, to make Presby an even better iris garden. It was a wonderful experience for us all but for our friend Cameron, it was near heaven. He was a real trooper at his age and in his poor health to spend the hours we spent in the garden and in the horrific heat trying to help the staff at Presby Garden to carry on his beloved iris forever. Sometimes this older man can become a 'grummpy old man' but the joy I got from watching him in this garden last weekend will remain in my memory forever. It was an extremly tiring trip for me and I've still not entirely recovered from it, and would I do it over again? You bet I would. This was the kind of pleasure in life that you stumble upon; something that goes beyound what you imagined it would. To make someone as happy as this trip did our friend is amazing.

When we got home on Sunday night our neighbor came over with a 'big box'. It was from my exchange pal in the Spring Felted Bag Swap. I was so pleased to see it, yet to tired to give it justice. I did open it, couldn't bear to wait, and here are photos of what a grand box Nifers sent me.

Thank you Nifers for everything. She sent me her fist set of handmade stitch markers and they are beautiful,there is a wonderful flower bucket for displaying tall bearded iris as well as peonies, and lilliums. Also in the box was two skeins of freedom wool and two skeins of sugar and spcie yarn and a skein of Dreambaby to knit my little Dariana something from. She also sent Dariana bubbles which she adores and I can't wait for her to visit so we can blow bubbles together. There is Earl Grey tea, pita chips, dip, soap, bath confetti and a date bar cookie. Tell me I haven't been spoiled.....no sir rea, you can't. I have been spoiled. Thanks Nifers and thanks too, for the hand written CD note, I like it.