I don't sleep much anymore...

so instead of lying down and wearing myself out by trying desperately to sleep, I do what any other normal person would do and take pictures instead ;)

You may have noticed that, while others in Blogland are sharing pictures of their glorious gardens, I am not. That's because I don't have much of a garden, glorious or otherwise, thanks to the stupid drought (but at least we still have drinking water... for the moment). My rose bushes did bloom, beautifully, but I didn't get pictures of them. And then there are my gardenia bushes: they're spindly little things, I suppose because I never prune or feed them. But in spite of my neglect, they're giving me some lovely flowers.




I *love* gardenias-- almost as much as I love peonies and roses. And it's not just the gardenia flowers that I love; their glossy dark green leaves are worthy of center stage in a vase all by themselves.

Here's another shot of the gardenias:



Yes, I was also using this as a camera tutorial, trying out different light settings, the zoom, angles, etc. I was also moving the flowers and some other things around, as well, so don't adjust your screen ;)

I am miserably jealous of those who have mantels especially since we got rid of our old entertainment center, which had a broad top that I used as a seasonal display space. So, in lieu of both mantel and entertainment center, I use the top of the toilet tank (Necessity is the mama of invention!). Here're the gardenias (again), along with a small Homer Laughlin casserole dish (sans lid) that I've filled with soaps:



Homer Laughlin's Fluffy Virginia Rose is one of my favorite patterns. I might even say my most favorite, but I don't want all of the other patterns in my house to get their feelings hurt. I was thrilled when I found this casserole dish, and decided that it was just too pretty to sit in the armoire waiting to be used for its original purpose. It also happens that I'm addicted to all-natural, wonderful-smelling soaps, so voila! A perfect pairing.

Ireland picture update: Chris has finished fiddling with a number of pictures, so I'll try and get them posted (along with commentary) this week. All of you who have been waiting for them: thanks for your patience :)

Kimberley