Gladioluses

These pretty gladioluses are now blooming in my yard. I must say I am very pleased with them! They are such tolerant flowers. They are quite happy with the water they get from the sprinklers and I don’t bother to water them additionally. I need to tie up their tall spikes of large blooms, but that is not difficult and doesn’t require much time.



Right now I only have these yellow ones with red centers. I bought the first four bulbs from a dollar store last year, from which I had a few blooms. They reproduced quickly and this year I have several big plants and lots of small ones.

I found gladioluses to be the easiest flowers to grow of all I have tried. For this reason, I am going to add more gladioluses of different colors to my yard next year.



I'm linking to Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage.

Morning Walk and Pretty Homes

I love walking! My daily goal is ten thousand steps. Usually, I take my kids for a walk in the morning. And then in the evening, when my husband can join us, we all go for a walk again. But I also love going for walks alone (although it doesn’t happen very often). That’s the time when I can completely relax and let my mind wander.

I absolutely must walk every day. Walking energizes me, and for me it’s the best way to manage stress. If I spend a day or two without my habitual strolls, I start feeling sad and even depressed.

Last Sunday I had a fantastic walk! I spent the night at my parents’ place, and early next morning I took a walk around a gorgeous neighborhood nearby.

Located in the middle of the city, that area is shielded from the city’s noise and commotion by huge old trees – pines, firs, oaks, eucalyptuses, etc. I think it’s the trees that make that neighborhood so magical.

It was such a great way to start my day! I’m glad I brought a camera with me, so I can share some picture with you.

Sofa Buying Tips and a ScS Sofa I Love

In my home I have three sofas, two loveseats, and a big soft chair. They are in different colors and shapes, but one thing is common to them all – I really dislike them. It is surprising that I feel about my sofas this way. After all, they are not hand-me-downs; they all were chosen and bought by me and my husband.

We bought the first one when we just got married. We were walking by a furniture store and decided to take a look. The next thing we knew, we bought a small sofa that looked like it should fit in our apartment. I hate that sofa the most!



Not only it is of poor quality, but we paid way too much for it. Well, there is no point in regretting it now. What’s done is done!

However, if I were to buy a new sofa, here is what I would do differently:

• Search the Internet and get a price range. My husband and I ended up paying a high price because we had no idea whatsoever about sofa pricing.

• Search the Internet and get an idea of what kind of style and design I want. The variety of sofas available is huge and if I were to dig the Internet a bit, I would surely get a clear idea of “my perfect sofa”. Unfortunately, my husband and I limited ourselves to the poor selection of one store because we didn’t want to waste time driving to different stores located all over the city. Why it never occurred to us to check online is still a mystery for me.

• In addition to style and design, I would get some ideas on details – arms design, legs or skirt, tight or cushioned back, leather or fabric, etc.

• Get the measurements of the space designated for the sofa. Back then, we didn’t. It seemed like the sofa was small enough to fit in our tiny living room. And it did fit but seemed rather out of place. We realized a bigger sofa would’ve looked much better there.

• Consider buying a sofa online. For a long time, I had been rejecting the idea of online shopping as images and descriptions can be deceiving. Well, we saw the sofa with our own eyes, and yet…

And I would be very careful with the sales people as well. They can be so persuasive. The owner/seller at the store where we bought our sofa turned out to be of a Russian origin. When he heard my husband and me conversing in Russian, he warmly welcomed us to his store. Then he poured my husband with compliments about his fluent Russian. At the end, we both felt like we are ought to buy from this man out of cultural solidarity.

• Of course, the ideal way would be to find the sofa I love online and then visit the store to see it in person.

I plan to replace my “sorrowful sofa” as soon as I can afford it. I hope it will happen over the next couple of years. But I am already on the lookout for my “perfect sofa”. Right now I’m in love with this beauty from ScS (Sofa Carpet Specialist).



I like the style – it’s contemporary yet the fabric texture and all the cushions create a sophisticated look. I love the color palette with the chocolate and chestnut dominant ones. It doesn’t say in the description, but I assume the cushion covers are removable, so it should be easy to clean them. When I converted the price from pounds to dollars, I realized it’s even cheaper than what I paid for “my sorrowful sofa” five years ago.

Here is another UK furniture site with lots of beautiful and inspiring sofas.

I learned my lesson! I’m sure when I finally buy my new “perfect sofa”, I will love and enjoy it for many, many years.

Gibson Ranch Park

When I used to live in Sacramento, this was my favorite place. It’s so peaceful and remote. I loved walking the ranch’s paths, looking at horses and cows grazing, and pretending that I was a country girl living on a farm.





The park is huge! It has a beautiful pond with noisy geese and ducks. There are several corrals and pens with farm animals – cows, horses, goats and sheep, pigs, and even two llamas. There are lots of shady places and huge oak trees to have a picnic under.

And that’s what we did! My family and I met up there with my cousin and his family for an afternoon picnic.

It was great to visit my favorite place again and see its beautiful views. But this time, my favorite ones were these


children exploring the nature


running around and exhausting my husband playing tag.

What a fantastic place, and what a great memorable time we shared there. We surely do spend a lot of time outdoors this summer. Usually I would complain about the summer heat, but this year I just embrace it.