...7.1...Over the Weekend...

...we started the weekend off with some pancakes for breakfast...

...perfectly cooked on the griddle...

...with a tofu scramble with vegan bacon bits topped with cheese and a small bowl of fresh strawberries...

...after breakfast...the Man said he had an early birthday present for me...it was the patriotic porch buntings that obviously couldn't wait until my actual birthday...he said he just knew I'd love them...and he was so right...I've always wanted to have buntings...but I'd never really had a house that was well suited to hanging them...and now I do...

...and he also got a box of coloured lights for the back porch...

...so we changed out the white ones for red white and blue...

...it was so, so hot out there...

...but I checked on all the plants...we actually had about an inch and a half of rain from two evening thunder showers...

...last year's volunteer vincas are still blooming wonderfully...

...and the giant marigolds are just starting to bloom...

...they are seriously almost four feet tall...

...the pretty purpley-pink zinnias...

...and the verbena was one of the first things to bloom this spring and it's still blooming...

...the Okinawan sweet potatoes are doing really well in their pots...and the two new pots of runner beans are up and almost ready for strings...

...the second planting of bush beans have blooms and tiny beans...

...and the morning glory is climbing up the fence and filling in...no blooms yet though...

...the garden stand on my bike path had red onions...so I dropped 75¢ into the box and took a nice big one...

...and we're picking the very first little patio tomatoes...

...and they are so delicious...

...the Man and I went out for a Greek lunch...and they happened to have a vegan lentil soup...so I got that with a basket of delicious bread and a cup of Kalamata olives...it was so yummy...

...after lunch we stopped at the Food Lion practically next door and picked up just a few groceries...it's a novelty to have the Man with me...and I didn't have a list...but still...we'll make do with this until next weekend...

...when we got home I got busy putting up the buntings...the first section of the porch is not the same width as the other sections...so I got out my grommet setting tool and added a new grommet...so that I could attach it at the right place in the corner...

...I just folded the extra fabric underneath and tied it to the upright post...

...for the ties...I just used some white acrylic yarn and made a chain...100 stitches for the fat posts and 80 stitched to tie around the railing...it worked perfectly and was nice and snug...it's pretty invisible from the sidewalk...and it should last a few years...

...and all of the buntings are in place...and it is still so hot out there...

...but I'm pleased as punch with the results...so pretty and patriotic...

...we went for a pretty late evening walk...still pretty steamy out there...I thought this cloud looked like a swan...

...the skies change so much just during the 30-40 minute walk...

...the last of the sunset as we approach home...

...and our red white and blue lights cast an almost lavender light on the back porch...

...I still love it though...

...and there was a pretty patriotic bouquet at Church on Sunday too...

...I didn't do much in the afternoon...but I did prep some tofu for the week...thinly sliced and marinated...

...I put the Griddler out on the back porch to avoid heating up the oven in the house...

...I'll use it for sandwiches during the week...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!