A perfect day!

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer's day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."   

--John Lubbock

This weekend I saw an awful television preview for an upcoming show featuring that little "Honey Boo Boo" and her family, and the advertisement was touting the experience as a "scratch and sniff" show--with scents involving sour milk, perspiration, diapers and worse.  Really??  I am hard pressed to think of anything less appealing, but it did start me thinking about how much I wish I could share my perfect Sunday with you, complete with a scratch and sniff feature so you could experience my garden with me!

Martha's "scratch and sniff" Sunday garden: 

My birdbath and little fairy are almost lost among the coneflowers!

Stella d'Oros daylilies, nestled in among the purple salvia, are finally blooming!

Oh my goodness...nothing smells as sweet as honeysuckle (well, except for maybe peonies and lilacs!)



After four years, my clematis has finally bloomed!



"My love is like a pink, pink rose" (sorry Robert Burns, no red roses in my garden!)

My definition of a practically perfect Sunday:

It starts with a great cup of coffee in a favorite mug (my husband and I used to collect coffee mugs when we traveled, so my cups all bring back wonderful memories) sitting on my back deck while the sun comes up and birdsongs fill the air,

 followed by a trip to Home Depot to fill my remaining pots

And finally cleaning up the side porch and creating a bit of Mediterranean loveliness.  I love the cobalt blue with a pop of orange and red!  I'm trying to stretch my garden color palette beyond pastels!

 A quick shower and an early matinee at the "cheap" theater, and the opportunity for my husband and I to enjoy (and, I'll admit it, cry a little) over a beautiful movie, The Quartet.  If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.  I think it may be out on DVD now, but I'm glad I got to see it on the big screen. 

The perfect day continues by relaxing on my deck mid-afternoon with my favorite magazine:

and discovering a perfect place for antique croquet balls!

It wraps up with cooking a Sunday dinner for my family--citrus marinated pork chops with fresh mango salsa, a fresh corn and cherry tomato salad, and pineapple balsamic rice.  I was obviously on a citrus kick, but oh my, everything was so fresh and delicious!  My favorite apron on, Carly Simon singing in the background, and the opportunity to adorn my table with blue delphiniums and coneflowers from my garden---perfect!

and enjoying a glass of wine while my husband grilled the pork chops, my daughter chatted and an inquisitive bird dropped by to say hello!

And my perfect day ended up with pound cake and cherry ice cream, followed by watching the stars come out and the lightning bugs light up the backyard while I huddled under a wrap on my glider.  A day like yesterday is such a gift, and for that, I am very, very thankful.

June midnight
with a pale moon.
The pink oleanders
tap outside my window,
cast shadows in the room.
I lie in bed,
wonder if my eyes will ever close
when suddenly,
a flash of light darts across the sky.
Only from the corner of my eye
do I glimpse the quick glow
of something outside my window.

What could it be?

When I look closer I find
that it's not the sky alive with light,
but the oleanders housing little stars.
Fireflies twinkling,
on
and
off
A still, dark sanctuary
blooming in luminosity.