This year I have struggled for a long time, but the beauty of the world has conquered me.
Leo Tolstoy
Welcome to my back sundeck! I'm so happy that you could visit me here. Let's have a look around for a little bit and then have some wonderful refreshments!
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Can I offer you a drink? How about a refreshing kiwi colada?
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4 kiwi fruit peeled and quartered
1/3 cup Captain Morgan silver rum
1/4 cup melon flavored liqueur - (Midori)
3 T cream of coconut (Coco Lopez)
8 ounces crushed pineapple in juice - undrained
3 cups ice
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Combine all ingredients in blender
process until smooth.
Enjoy!
My friend Silke recently published this fabulous recipe on her blog. This is her picture - yep - I stole it right off of her blog! Such a light and delicious afternoon snack - it is sure to be one of your favorites. Everybody say Thanks to Silke for the great recipe!
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Finally - you get to meet met my (lazy) blogging assistants.
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Sooty
He is in charge of cat naps.
They have to be properly scheduled you know!
Homer
He is in charge of blogging related research.
(He thinks it is his duty to wander all around the yard and deck
looking at every leaf and bug in the yard!)
He is a very bad boy sometimes and does not want to come in at night!
Captain
This super sweet boy is in charge of customer relations.
He is the most loving kitty
He is a great help to us when we rescue stray kitties
They all take to him and he helps
to keep them calm and tame.
Bitty Kitty
This little wild child is in charge of all things relating to YARN!
She is notorious for sneaking into the Sacred Yarn Room
and stealing yarn!
Samora
(that means fat kitty in Siamese!)
She is in charge of food and refreshment breaks.
She tries never to miss a meal!
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Thanks for visiting me on my back deck and meeting the rest of the blogging gang. I could not do this without their dedicated assistance!
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We just returned from a wonderful visit to Atlanta to see our sweet grand baby there. I will be posting some adorable little Mason pictures soon! Up next - a summertime visit (again!) to the Biltmore. And after that - a sneak peek at a new nest in the works! Don't forget the Pottery Barn dishes giveaway - (there is a link on the top of my sidebar.)
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I hope you are having a wonderful and memorable summer! All too soon it will be fall and then you know what happens next!
Vicki
49 comments:
Oh my! Is that really your porch! How do you get them all to grow? I would sit out all the time there!! I love that the kitties do! Thank you for the lovely tour!
Hugs, lisa
You just HAD to remind us of what comes next didn't you? Lovin the kitties. Your deck is a delightful place to sit and sip and read and inhale the perfume of all those beautiful flowers. Thanks for the tour.
ps baby photos on my blog
That is the most GORGEOUS porch, I can see why your adorable assistants hang out there....When they aren't busy stealing yarn!
Carol
Vicki, I'm admiring your Begonias, Roses and Fucias. The colors are just gorgeous. It must be a magical place to sit and sip a cool drink. I can see why the kittys like hanging out there with you. Great post!
Love all your flowers Vicki, especially your climbing roses! Which one of your little critters is in charge of watering? They are doing a GREAT job! Sounds like you're really enjoying your summer with a nice refreshing drink with a little Captain Morgan, gotta love that! ~Lili
Your sundeck is just beautiful! It must be wonderful to sit there in the midst of this floridity and enjoy a cool drink and a little snack.
Wow, you have a great amount of assistance! They are all so sweet! I guess I have to rename our Cecil, who just sits on my lap and purrs, as Samora, lol. He seems to be hungry as soon as he takes a break from napping.
Have a great weekend!
Julia
I sure could use your help decorating my very small outdoor spaces!!! Beautiful! The cats are sooo pretty! I hope you are enjoying your summer. =)
Lovely hideaway!!
And I love your assistants! We have 5 also, 2 orange and white boys and 3 girls.
I LOVE your deck and could see myself on one of your comfy chairs with a drink in hand and a book in the other (and the dip near by). The colours are so pretty but I will need to wait a few months before i can think about planting flowers for summer.
Thank-you for sharing some of your summer with us who are in the mid of winter:)
Love those kitties!!!
Hi Vicki,
If I would have such a wonderful back deck you could never get me into the house again.... I would live there druing sommer lol. How many hours do you spent watering the plants hihi? It is so lovely and I really enjoy the Kiwi cocktail. Enjoy a wonderful summer weekend and see you soon for a latte or two lol. Hugs Myriam
Wowser! What a beautiful, stunning, colorful covered deck. Your kitties add to the lovely mix also.
Those recipes sound delicious too.
Enjoy your summer ~ FlowerLady
Always interested in new recipes so thank you, Silke! What a delightful deck y'all have. You sure have a GREAT gardener, don't you? It looks so peaceful - I'd love to sit there and read a book and have one of your yummy refreshment drinks! Ohhhhhhhh - and those cats! Yikkers but you sure have a lot of them on your payroll, don't you?!? Please throw my name in the hat one more time for a chance on those great PB dishes!
Wow Vicki! Lovely "outdoor" room! I wish I could stop by and have a chat and share one of your yummy looking concoctions!
I saw one flower that I planted just this week,,,those little peachy/yellow delights that smell like what,,,,grapefruit? Yummy!
All your kitties are darling, oh my, and I thought I had a zoo!
Looks like it is going to be a BIT cooler today here,,,,,,shew! Thank heavens!
I owe you an email!
Love you to pieces!
Hugs,
Shell
That is amazingly lush and shows evidence that someone has a bright green thumb!
xx
julie
I love your sundeck! You have more than one?!
So pretty and colourful and that's just the Kitties!
You have fairies too I see.
Thanks for sharing your garden with us all.
Sandie xx
Your sun deck looks such a pretty place to sit and relax. Your flowers are beautiful. It looks so lovely and shady. I could sit there all day.
Hope you are having a great weekend.
Lindsay
x
Hi dearest Vicki,
What a fantastic sundeck, dear, so full of wonderfull colored flowers, in every color to wish, it looks so gordious, and must be a wonderfull place to sit, and reflect, or just have a lovely drink, or meal.
Love your dear assistants, Used to have cats ,too, but thsy got hit by cars here where we live now, and then I better live without them. I had white beauty once,too --called Pytte, oh makes me a bit sad to think of them.
But your`s are very beautifull, all.
It is so very hot here, now, far too much for me, to feel good-and all so very dry,--well, what to do, but wayt for rain.
Sending you love and hugs, sweetie.
Dorthe
Oh, Vicki, one of these days my threat to come hang out with you will no longer remain idle. What a deck you have!! So beautiful!! And everything is still blooming so nicely - here the yard is suffering with the heat we are experiencing once again (and lack of rain!).
And your kitty assistants! Wonderful!! You are right, your Captain looks just like our Ramses? And I take it he is also a most gregarious cat and very friendly? Ramses has adopted the whole neighborhood and will "talk" with anyone who will pet him...
Enjoy your back deck!! Love, Silke
your kitties are adorable, my 2 send lots of purrrs to them! I ADORE Captain, your ginger boy, reminds me of my Granny's cat that was a darling character too. It must be such a happy place to hang out in :) Catherine x
Oh! Your flowers are just simply stunning!!! What a lovely place to relax. Loved the tour!
Vicki, I know you and your favorite gardener love to travel, and I'm glad you can do it, but honestly, you have HEAVEN right there on your deck!!!
A feast for the eyes and soul....and I bet it smells good too! Thank you so much for letting me SEE. Enjoy your weekend! pat
Oh, yes....your feline 'helpers' are just gorgeous too!
Vickie your porch is AMAZING! Geez my porch looks like well doo doo compared to yours....
We have been adding on for a year now and well I just didn't do anything on the back porch....now I wish I would have maybe people would look at the flowers instead of the piles of lumber and tools!
Thanks for the inspiration and the recipes...uhmm I will be right over for one of those drinks!
warmly
Diane
Hi Vicky :), I adore all of flowers that you show to us :))
as I love your porch & lovely cats too :))!!
And thanks a lot for the kiwi colada recipe! Looks like great :)!
Have a wonderful day,
Mila :)
Your porch is beautiful, sweet Vicki. Love love all the roses, actually i love all your colorful flowers! We have had much much rain last night, so gooooood for the garden. i love to listen to the sweet raindrops on the roof and windows.
Lots of love xxxxxx
**swoons** So you live in Heaven???
I am raising my grandcat named Captain Morgan! I already love the beautiful one named Silke! She led me to you and your wondrous world.
**blows kisses** Deb
Your sun room is so invited and the flowers are beautiful. I wish I had a green thumb and could grow flowers like that. I would love to sit on your deck and sew because it looks so peaceful. Thank your for sharing all of its beauty with us. Your Missouri Friend.
Hello Vicki,
Oh how wonderful you were able to come down here to Atlanta...wish I could have seen you!!
Your deck is so lovely and your flowers are well loved!! Homer is soooo adorable!! Tell him MEOW for me!!
Hugs and Smiles Dear Friend,
Susan
Hello Vicki
I think so he he I am going to the post office today...... so sorry about rushing off and away from your beautiful post but I have to work first and I can pick it up tonight....I am sooooooooo excited you have been so kind (small excited squeak)
Love Lynn xxxx
Thank you for the deck stroll/tour!!! So very beautiful! Kitty noses are treasures, too~
Hope your day is wonderful!
Michelle
Vicki,
Okay, I'm with Homer & the gang. I just wanna spend the day laying on the deck, with my fat belly (full from cocktails & apps) facing the sun & smelling all the Delicious blooms! I've never seen so much color in one area, & all the containers you use... beautiful! Lisa
PS Am I still on the waiting list for a nest? I thought you said August. Just checking.
What a beautiful retreat! I am so jealous that you have the perfect weather to grow such wonderful flowers. They are flourishing! And the kitties look like they enjoy it too. What a lovely place to relax.
I adore your deck! Not being a great fan of the heat, I can imagine finding a shady spot with your kitties and curling up for a read and a nap. The delicious food and drink would not be that hard to deal with either! How lovely it all is, and how hardworking your helpful gardener...
As the only other person I know with a travel blog, I also wanted to personally invite you to stop by a new blog I'm starting to post my travel pics. Once I get a few more things uploaded, it should be interesting. And if you have any favourite travel blogs you follow, I'd love to hear about them.I've posted the link to it on my Imagination Lane blog...
Thanks so much for the chance to relax in your little green oasis...I enjoyed it thoroughly. Give each cat a head rub for me!
Lynette
What a wonderful and cozy little sun deck, love the flower pics and of course your blogging assistants! I really love the little knitted nests you have pictured in the side bar, is there someplace else you have a closer up picture of them? They are so cute!
That drink sounds DELICIOUS and I can't believe that's really your back deck! I wish I had a green thumb . . . I regularly fantasize about growing beautiful flowers and my own vegetables!
Awww Vicki,,,thank you dear for the lovely compliment you sent to me. In answer to your question, some I give away as gifts, some I display in my home....and some just hang around till I figure out what to do with them!!!
Hugs, Smiles and sitting on your gorgeous deck with you and the kitties!!
Ciao Bella,
Susan :D
What a lovely porch. I wish I had room for a porch like that.
Your garden is so beautiful but, I am telling you, I just went nuts over your niece's first tea party( and your adorable niece)! That was cute, beautiful, charming, sentimental, yummy...how much better does it get?
We are relatively new to blogging. My daughter created the blog for me as a gift. It is truly not all about our jewelry! Stop by, if you wish.
http://katsuijewelry.blogspot,com
Suz
I have never in my life seen anything like this in my whole life. Honestly your deck and flowers are just beautiful. How in the world do you manage to keep them all so lovely and healthy.
I for one would be so excited just to have a few of these I can not imagine all of them. lol
Those pink roses are to die for.
Love
Maggie
Oh I love the blog gang your babies are just precious. Too cute
Hi Vicki,
Oh my goodness gracious - I am so glad that you found my blog because now I get to meet you and visit your beautiful blog. Your back patio is beautiful - love all of your flower containers and vintage furniture. Your blog assistants are adorable. Your photographs are lovely.
Have a wonderful week.
Blessings,
Erin
I was here yesterday for a bit and got called away...so I'm back and the drinks and snacks were wonderful!!!!
Your porch should be in the porch and deck mag....flowers are all so radiant and lush.
The assistants all seem to be performing their jobs well and could probably use a good raise!!!!
Thanks for stopping by...always love your visits,
xoxo~Kathy @
Sweet Up-North Mornings...
Now THAT is a a deck!!! I can't wait until mine looks something like that!!!!
I love it!! Great job!!!!
Hi Vicki,
Love the flowers on your deck. They are beautiful. I am afraid that mine are suffering so in this Florida heat. I will have to start over again in the fall. Can't wait to see your photos of the precious baby. I have been checking in on your blog waiting to see updated pics. I know you cannot wait to get your hands on her. Also am looking forward to your photos of the Biltmore in summer.
Jill - jillybee12@bellsouth.net
WOW. All I could think of while I viewed these photos is that I would love to have a large glass of iced sweet tea and a delightful book and I would be in heaven.
Simply beautiful.
Vicki,
WOW! What a gorgeous deck and all those beautiful flowers!!!
I do not have a green thumb, but I am green with envy!!
Thanks for coming by to visit me, and so glad you like my rosettes, and lantern nest cloche.
blessings
barbara jean
Your back deck looks like a wonderful place to hang out and relax! It's beautiful! So many cute kitties too!
Your blog is beautiful too!
Fantastic Garden deck - you must share what you use to keep your pots so lush and full of life? after a few weeks, mine seem to look leggy in the center...do tell your secret!
Hi Vicki... I visited this post in the summer and loved coming back again today from Tracie's party at Fishtail Cottage... you are one talented lady, all of your crafts and gardening too... love to you... xoxo Julie Marie and "the nests"
Wow! what a lot of hard work you have done ,I would love to know what sort of fertiliser do you use and how often?
So jealous.
I am your newest follower :)
Oh goodness, that is one breathtaking back patio you have! Your flowers are absolutely gorgeous!!!
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