Just before leaving for up north I had been hoping to see the last of the five deer that we had enjoyed all winter passing through our yard.  My wish came true the morning before we pulled out there they were passing through the front yard.  Had not seen them for some weeks.  They came  to say good bye I guess. They are not afraid of the folks in the neighborhood. So they like to pose for pictures.

I  thought I might put flower in the boxes on the porch but that would mean brother would have to tend them the whole time we are gone.  So I opted for  fake ones.  Don't  think they look to bad for the summer.  Seem to put a little punch  on the porch as well.  So we are off to our stomping grounds in the north.  Hoping we continue to have warm weather so hubby can breath better and we can get our many family matters taken care of.

We will be  sorry not to see brothers son and family that will be coming down from Wisconsin in about two weeks but maybe lots of pictures will be taken we can enjoy when we get back.

Now we are back in the north and  we are to have the whole gang over on Sunday.  Got to get them together when we can because  the grrandchildren all have lives that are going in different directions.  Work and social activities  plus home chores all fill their days.  Will be good to see them all in one spot after almost  seven months of being apart.  Picture to follow  after the get-to-gether.

Have been  trying my hand in growing some heirloom tomatoes and some rainbow tomatoes from seed this year.  Hope to take them up to daughter for her garden and see how they grow.  Hope they transport well. Will give some to the neighbors here for their garden as well.  We will see who does the best in production.

Have done a lot of reading the past few days as it is raining  off and on every day.  The days are nice and warm though!  Made stuffed peppers for our game night Friday.  They went over very well.  Had bought some pastry shells to bake and fill for desert but...they did not turn out very good so I went ahead and made my own puffed pastry as I shoud have done in the first place.  I filled them with  real whipped cream and some wonderful tasting  fresh strawberries and red rasberries.  Yummy for sure!!!!  Had a  roudy game of TRAIN and realy enjoyed ourselves for the evening with good friends and family.

Have not been on in awhile.     After finishing the kitchen I took some time to finish up a painting I had been working on.We have so many of these bird in our yard I thought I would paint one.                       

Here is  a sweet picture I came across I just have to post.

Went out in the yard this morning to walk the dog and came across the bottlebrush plants  I had planed last fall.  What a nice surprise to see it in bloom before we head back up north.

Had a few new  critters visit  us last week.  One was a wild turkey  who did not want her picture taken,  The other was a large turtle.  Found him  just off the driveway so, I ran in the house to get my camera after taking a picture of him on my phone .  That little guy  took off so fast that when I got back  with my camera he was gone.  It could not have been more than 3 minutes!  He may have had short legs but he could use them.

Well, we finally got the big cabinet in!  On to the  one over the refrig.  Should have that one done in a couple of days.  All the trim is done on everything  but the last cabinet.  Boy,  this has been a long project but worth every minute!!!!

The weekend is over and we have moved on to trimming out the kitchen this week but,  LOOK what we got done!!  The large cabinet is in place and the counter top  has been resized to   fit until later.  Also  notice the  electrical  plug has been moved up to the counter top where I will put the wine cooler.  Things are moving along nicely now.  The heavy stuff is done and only the trimming out to finish.  The tall cabinet is taller than it shows.  Will try to download  another picture of it in all its glory later. My broom finally has a new home and the swiffer too!  YEA!!!!!

So, here is a special surprise this morning in my  front garden.  The flowers are blooming and I am so happy.  With the hot summer and drough here I'm surprise they are so beautiful this year.  Ther are  three more presenting  buds that should be in full color by next weekend.  What a special  gift  on a early  March  morning!