The DARK side of Paradise

I know that my life seems practically perfect in every way....

I live in a cute little town.....

In a beautiful setting.

I wake to this every day.....

And witness this every afternoon.

And the world's most amazing grandboy visits me.  

But there is the dark side of my paradise.  I think today is the time to share the seamy side, the tragedies that lurk in this hidden treasure of life.

My wonderful (engineer)  brother came to visit and we made a......
well, a bit of a mess.
That was a week ago. hmmm.... will it just form itself into steps? 

The former owner left no manuals to the various unusual appliances-
including two inoperable water softener systems,  three satellite dishes
and..... a junked TV with TUBE  replaced by a nativity scene. On shag carpet.
You'll have to let your imagination chew on that one.

And here it sits in my side yard. All I need is a couch next to it.

And is that my car door open??? All night???
Yep...

Speaking of my cars.... it's not pretty but it must be confessed. More tragedy.

I live on a gravel road.
I drive on a mile of gravel to get to my gravel road.

It doesn't rain much in the summer in South Dakota.

When it does rain, this is all the "dust" that came off . I need more rain.
Or a car wash and a paved access road.

If I didn't treat my Prius like a truck, it would help.
Hey, I was out running errands and I need some small rocks.

Speaking of trucks.... 

Yes, Clyde's wide rear end (fiberglass, I might add)  has met an immovable object.

The bright side of this tragic story?.... Gorilla tape "repairs" fiberglass.
You can hardly see the damage.
Right???

In this tale of woe, there is the positive. I do have a luscious, amazing flower garden.

Artemisa's silver foliage is the perfec foil against the brilliant morning-glory vine. 

Sunflowers and cosmos compete with miniature marigolds along a rustic log wall.


(Ignore out of focus photography.... our un-professional photographer used her phone)

 Or we could back up a step or two and show the true story of the gardens.

Hmm.... they never show this view in the magazines.
Not quite lucious.

Then there's the relatives that try to add some  humor. What I'm forced put up with!

Unnamed people return from trips with amusing signs for my STUPENDOUS gardens.
Thanks, Larry and Connie.

Bizarre Canadian beer from my sister.
Yes, it's now a garden ornament.
She's searching for a plastic squirrel to complete the ambiance.

Then there's the "native" plants when they don't actually produce wildflowers. 

But we do have -
"A rustic, antique swan with oodles of character reposing in the long grasses, adding charm to the front porch area"

Yeah?  So what's with the weird extra heads? That's charming.....

Or once again we can step back and see it's just an odd swan is dumped in a bunch of grass ,
grass that needs to be mowed.
Along with all the "native" non-wildflowers. 

And that morning-glory photo? Always be suspicious when only one bloom is showing.
It probably means the gardener pulled out the vines with ALL the other buds
when she was weeding.
Idiot gardener.

 But at least I have dirt....

Mostly rocks but nice soft dirt. 

That's because the dirt is a mole hill.
Bubble gum messes with mole tummies. This mole is discovering Dubble Bubble today.

Yes, there are many sad tales in the garden but at least I have plenty of food and I can put out terrific meals. Food?  OMG, I forgot the oatmeal on the stove... and left a burner on again.

Oops.
Actually, stovetop toasted, stone ground oats is usually delicious. 

Ick- lots of black stuff.  Another tragedy in paradise.

Saved by Breyers!

Pick out the gross stuff and add ice cream.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Not bad. 

And my counter top often looks like this.  How can one person make such a mess?
My next house will have NO horizontal surfaces.  None.

So there, the soft focus view of my paradise has been removed. I've revealed the truth.

 I have a bit of a mess out here. A bit of the dark side of life. Full of tragedies.

Today's tragedy?
The ice cream is gone.  

 ________________________________________________________________________________

The only photo of author available today-
this post was written and the photographs were taken while she was in her pj's.
Ah... that's paradise. 

And the best news of all?  I'm actually writing on my beloved MacBook Pro.  After spilling orange juice into the dvd drive.  And that, well, that's another story.  In paradise.

http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/10904/Soaking+an+%22Al+unibody+MacBook%22+keyboard+in+Isopropyl+alcohol