Wisteria and the Royal Wedding Shower

We've been so busy around here! The thing is, I am hearing that same thing from everyone. We collectively need to figure out how to slow down and create opportunities to smell the roses! I definitely think that it takes some real effort to slow down. We had a really fun time "smelling the roses" at Lindsay's bridal shower, which was given by my sisters and mom. Since Lindsay's wish was to have a bridal shower where hats were worn (or at least optional), that is exactly what was done! Everyone was so cute in their hats. The photo below is of my beautiful mother (even with her eyes closed, she's a beauty!) with Linds. My mom had just purchased her hat on a trip to California, but knew that for this occasion, it needed some embellishing. She put some darling roses around the top. So cute! What a fun shower, and what dear sisters I have for making it so special for Lindsay. We have one more coming up in a few weeks that is being put on by some of our ward friends, with Whitney's help. Should be fun!  After the first shower, Lindsay said, "I can't imagine needing one more thing for our apartment. It seems like we have received everything we need!" (She still has the other shower and wedding to go, so she'll quite possibly be overwhelmed with the generosity of friends and family).

Lindsay and Grandma Bowen at the
Royal Wedding Shower

Other wonderful news...my wisteria has finally come into full bloom! Actually, last week it was at its peak, which is when these photos were taken:

There is something about wisteria, with its rich, heavy, fragrant flowers that hang down from the vine. I love it! I have a couple of vines in our front entry way that climb up the brick and meet in the middle overhead. I also have a monster vine in our backyard that starts down on the basement level by the pond, and climbs up one level, and goes all along our deck railing. I love how it creates some privacy during the summer months for us. We can lounge up there, or eat, or nap, or whatever, and we don't feel like all of the surrounding homes are joining us! The vine was getting a bit crazy last year and going up along the roof line, but I cut it back so that the highest it goes is along the deck railing. I don't want it messing with our soffit or roofing or any of that. I need it to be at my reach so I can control it a bit.  We have learned a thing or two about growing wisteria. The most important is that it does not need or want to be babied and fussed over. In fact, I can't fertilize the lawn anywhere near where the backyard vine grows, or it won't flower the following year. Bob and I also have been known (in the fall or late winter) to take a heavy chain and also the claw of a hammer and beat the main stalk of the vine. It kick starts it into healing from its wounds and produces beautiful flowers the following spring. I think there is a pretty good allegory about life in that process. I think about it every time I look at those lovely wisteria blooms.

And lastly, an update on the snake. Bob and Robbie have scoured the backyard, several times over, and that old snake hasn't shown itself since it was there in all its glory waiting for me to happen upon it. I can't explain it, except to say that he is one smart cookie. Bob gave me a step-by-step tutorial on how to kill a snake with a shovel. When he said to bring the shovel down just so that it cuts its head off, I told him I wouldn't have any idea where that would be since my eyes would be closed during the process. I think I stumped him. I'm hoping that wherever the shovel comes down would be sufficient to end his life. At any rate, I don't even know if I could get close enough for any of that to happen. Maybe one of these days....