Sweet neighbor love

I had lunch with my darling 94-year-old neighbor today. She served take-out Chinese food on china plates and we sat around her Mackenzie-Childs table; the one with the turtle feet.

Mackenzie-Childs' Round Turtle Table

I love this sweet lady. She has such a zest for life and she is the true "queen of everything".  I met her when I first moved into the neighborhood over 24 years ago and we have been friends ever since. Over the years I have helped her with a few projects around her house. Like the turtle table she saw in a catalogue and just had to have. Which led to more furniture to match the table ...

Because when she finds something she really loves ... she wants it all. A few months ago she was on a birdhouse kick and she came down to shop on my computer. We found her three that she liked. She said she thought three was just enough. But then she started seeing them at HomeGoods and the next thing I knew she had about nine. She put them in her rose garden and she delights in looking at them. And that makes me smile.

Signature Petoskey "Lake View" Cottage Bird House

Menlo Park Birdhouse

Claire Murray Sconset Cottage Bird House

And oh! I wish you could see her rose garden; it is just spectacular. The roses are immaculately cared for and are just heavenly. They really are! They are incredibly fragrant and have very few thorns. And there are so many! After lunch she let me go out with her clippers and cut a few. Ahhh... what a treat! Here is what I brought home:

I wish you could smell how sweet they are!