What is that thing?

I have nothing fabric-y to show today. It has been a day for being outside. After so much rain (really a lot, even for Oregon) this spring, the sun finally seriously came out today. On days like today Oregonians like to point at the sky and exclaim "what is that thing?!" Ha ha. It's an old joke, but it always feels good to have the opportunity to drag it out, because it means the sun is shining after a long dark, cold, wet spell.

So I am falling back to the old blog standbye—pictures of flowers. I know. It's pretty boring and everyone is doing it, but humor me. I can't resist at least one. Purple-pink rhododendron that makes me want to put one between my teeth and dance a wild flamenco. Instead I just walked around and admired our new gravel pathway that goes from the front porch, around the big tree and to the bridge over the creek.  I've been waiting all winter for that gravel to arrive and it finally did this week.

Then I drug all the wooden outdoor furniture out to the driveway and sanded the rough spots and gave it all a coat of protective stain. What a difference! It went from dried out, faded gray to looking almost new again. Today gives me faith that summer is really coming. I want to be ready.