Five years on

Next week marks the fifth anniversary of Bill's passing.

William Henry Schauer

December 28, 1943-July 5, 2007

Has it been five years really?

Over the past five years I have gone through a lot.  Trials and tribulations.  There had been a lot of tears and frustration, anger and sadness.  And emptiness.  Then gradually I realized that to get out of the void I had to take the first step.  

It was a great leap of faith.

And I found joy.  I found that there is love to be had.  That you don't lose anything by loving and allowing yourself to be loved again.  

I found happiness.  Once again.

I was happy once.  Very happy.

I am happy again.  Very happy.

And I'd like to think that Bill is up there watching.
And I'd like to think that he likes what he sees.


One thing I know for sure:  I am one damned lucky woman!
And I would not have changed a thing.

A picture paints a thousand words

And a new Nikon 3100 can capture all of them!

Once again the hydrangeas are in full bloom at my house.  They seem to do well every other year and this year they are exceptionally gorgeous.

Hydrangeas are fun to grow.  They are like litmus paper.  The colors of the flowers depend on the acidity of the soil.  Acidic soil turns them blue while alkaline soils turn them pink.  If you have pH-neutral soil you will get purple-hued hydrangeas.

Another fun factoid about hydrangeas is that they have individual feeder roots that feed each stem.  Therefore you can "customize" your blooms by adding peat (for blue) or lime (for pink) near the roots you want.  I had fun doing that earlier this spring.

The results are I have blue hydrangeas.

And pink hydrangeas.

And those in between

The mophead hydrangeas are showy, but I do like the open, flat-head kind as well.

You can't have enough!

Not in my yard

These are the "baby hydrangeas"  They flowers are tiny and very close together. 

Together they form a tight mophead, almost a bouquet on its own!

I know, I know, gratuitous pictures.  But who doesn't like hydrangeas?