Love, Laughter, and Life

Adventures With a Book Lover


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Marvelous Monday Moonflowers

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Thanks to seeds from a friend (Hi, friend!), magic unfolded in my night garden last night!

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Moonflower seeds. I will admit I was accepting defeat at the beginning of the growth cycle. Never have I seen a plant grow SO SLLOOWWWW. Chances of actual blooms appeared nonexistent. Then came the heat. The smoke. The long summer days.

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And poof! Cigar-shaped flower pods grew amidst the large leaves. BTW, the stems are out-of-this-world interesting to look at and touch. Once the flowers began to poke from the covering, they transformed into green taquitos.

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Then came lavender-edged swirls.

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which burst open into extravagant balloons!

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Old-fashioned rose fragrance, glow-in-the-dark coloring, large, inviting. I wanted to stay awake all night to see which nocturnal pollinators took the bait and visited the deep blossoms.

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Marvelous Monday indeed. What wonderful flowers inspire you? Do you know of any other night flowers? I hear moonflowers are perennials plus they offer abundant seeds. Moonflowers, anyone?

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The Beach, It Calls to Us #ThrowbackThursday

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The beach and the Quantrells, we go way back.

This is significant because for most of my growing up years (1st-9th grade) my family lived in Arizona. It’s pretty difficult to find a beach (ocean, salt water) within the borders of this southwestern state. Not that I’m complaining! I loved the desert years.

(Heh, heh. Still live in a desert. Just one that is located in eastern Washington.)

I started going to the beach after I met my future husband, Kevin. His family always vacationed at the beach. Specifically Ocean Shores, Washington. Sure they traveled up and down that portion of the Pacific Ocean coastline, but the majority of beach time was spent right there.

Lucky me! I was invited to traipse along on summer vacations. It was a little cozy in the Prowler camp trailer, barely 6 inches of space above my nose. A little tight, a little close.

Fast forward a few years, and the new Quantrell family continued the tradition by hauling both babies to the Washington beaches surrounding Ocean Shores. They went as babies, toddlers, preschoolers, children, teens, and adults. We’ve taken along dogs, relatives, friends, family, bicycles, toys, fireworks, s’mores; you name it, it was probably in our truck, camper, or tent.

This photo shows the four of us enjoying the beach via beach grasses and dunes. Some of my favorite memories and experiences happened at the beach.

I can’t wait to go back with my grands. They need to experience MY beaches!

Where is your favorite childhood vacation location?

 


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do. not. touch.

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between here and there;

temptress, splayed and inviting.

kitty danger zone.

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by Angie Quantrell

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Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge! Have you dared to touch the danger zone? I’d love to read your haiku about facing a danger zone.


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Surprise Dinner Plans: Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge

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surprise dinner plans

 

salmon encrusted

with spicy cajun tartar;

cat had other plans

 

aluminum foil

cooler than summer and fur;

unsupervised cat

 

kitty barbeque?

dare not, methinks, feline love.

new foil, fish dinner

 

 

by Angie Quantrell

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BEWARE leaving the cat alone to her own devices in the RV while I’m out trotting around the pasture.

How has your cat (dog, child, husband, wife) surprised you? Share by penning a haiku!

 

 


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Party Night in the RV

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When I go to bed…

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When I get up…

Sometime during the night, someone has a party in the RV. Someone short, furry, wild, and nocturnal.

Monet? Was that you? That was quite some fun you had last night. Just look at that couch! How many toys did you leave tossed here and there? Was that thuh-dump duh-dump duh-dump duh-dump I heard? Were you galloping up and down the hallway? Climbing the window shelves? Leaping from the counters?

Oh, my.

It’s a nocturnal Kitty-Cat RV Party!

Tonight, we put away the breakables.

Tell me. What happens at your house during the wee hours of the night?

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Monet, sleeping during the day.


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Weeds Are Winning (Gardening Gone Bad)

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A hectic summer schedule has provided ample time for weeds to take over the garden.

Despite some attempts at control, a busy travel itinerary leaves much to be desired in the ‘finding edible items in the garden’ category. Is everything growing? Yes! All experiments and plant combinations are thriving with unbridled passion.

But alas, the weeds have accepted the challenge and are rising to the top, willy-nilly.

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Enter gardening goal: Fill to overflowing one wheelbarrow full of weeds each day I am home. At this rate, the garden will look spectacular by October 1.

Gardening gone bad, you lose!

Until then, we play garden hide-and-seek for prized veg and fruit.

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Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge

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gnarled shelves grasp earth

etched granite skin, moss blanket

tree’s knees bend and rest

 

by Angie Quantrell

 

Happy Hump Day! How about a haiku challenge? I’d love to read yours.

 


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Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge: Bird’s Nest

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Bird’s Nest

by Angie Quantrell

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not what you think, this;

fragile eggs offering spores

tiny fungus cups

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I found these beauties in my garden! I’ve only ever found them one other time in the Yakima Valley. So excited!

What’s your Haiku for the day?

 

 

 


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Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge: The Bumblebee

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The Bumblebee

 

hovering fatness

worker intent on flowers

bumbling life giver

 

by Angie Quantrell

 

Do you love to haiku? Post your nature haiku in the comments. We’ll do the bumblebee dance to celebrate!


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A Tub Can Be . . . Creative Uses for Everyday Items

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Taylor and Chelsie enjoy a sticky treat while lounging in a plastic baby bathtub.

A tub can be . . .

Actually, a child’s plastic bathtub can be:

  • a snacking spot
  • a boat
  • a water table
  • a push car
  • a chair
  • a sink for washing
  • an actual bathtub
  • a container for small animals
  • a storage unit
  • a reading nook
  • a garden box
  • an art project
  • a doll bed
  • a watering tub (for animals or kids)
  • a pond
  • a fairy garden
  • a mud pie factory
  • sand box
  • a cat box (if one is not careful)

Taylor and Chelsie (circa @1992) are enjoying some good old sticky lollipops as they sit in the baby bathtub. It was no longer a bathtub at this point, but instead became the object of many imaginative games.

How about you? What other uses have you found for a plastic baby bathtub?