Hello everyone. Hope everyone has had a nice weekend and for those of you who I only "see" on T day, I hope you had a nice week.
So back in 2014 my dog Harley died. He was a German Shepard mix and lived for 14 1/2 healthy years. Of course when he died I was devastated, and when I am upset, I need to be busy. I went out and bought 6 rose bushes on my way home from the vet's office, which I then came home and planted.
(My husband, who happened to away on business when this happened, was of course upset not to be there when Harley passed, but I don't think he expected a new rose garden either.)
And truthfully, the reason I stopped to buy roses was that I didn't want to go home to a dog empty house either.
The following year, I added a few more roses to finish the project.
I call it the Harley Memorial garden.
And my some of my roses are in their first blooms right now, and those first blooms are always the most impressive.
I thought you might enjoy some flowers today.
And if you are now dry mouthed from saying "Wow!" (smile, this is my kind of dry goofy humor), maybe I can offer you a drink in my new retirement gift mug.
Working for a publicly funded school , there are no gold watches or something more ostentatious as a retirement gifts. (Although the teacher funded Sunshine Fund did give me a nice Visa Gift card and the parent association gave me a restaurant gift certificate.) But the school gave all of the retirees these nice school insulated mugs.
They recognized the retirees last Thursday when they had a staff drive-in movie night at school. They decorated my car with balloons, which you can see next to my mug.
It also works well as my T Day post this week over at Bleuberd and Elizabeth's blog.
I tried my mug out this past weekend with a new beer.
I have been wanting to try this beer as it is brewed by my neighbors who live down my road. They opened a very small brewery and tasting room at their farm.
It was very very good. We tried the Hackamore Brown. It seems like most places are brewing lighter beers right now, but most of Muddy Road brews are on the darker side, that are more to my liking. 
I am linking up this post to the Tuesday T party over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog. It would be fun for you to join us also.
Have a great T day and
thanks for visiting my blog.
24 comments:
Somehow the images of roses were so compelling that I could clearly "smell" them in my mind's imaginative sense area. It was a funny sensation. How beautiful!
be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
oh how beautiful "Harley's" roses are. What a lovely way to remember him.
So nice to get some recognition for all your years dedicated to teaching!
And if I'm to have a beer- the darker the better like you prefer. Cheers and happy T day!
What a beautiful rose garden and a great memorial to your dog. They look gorgeous in full bloom.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
Harley's garden is splendid. The roses are so beautiful -- the fragrance must drive you wild with happiness. Looks like a good T Day!
Your rose garden is so beautiful and what a wonderful tribute to your fur family member.
I have tried growing roses and it's one thing in the garden I am not good at.
I love your retirement mug and the drive in movie sounded so fun.
My husband would love to share one of those beers with you. when he does drink a beer it is only the dark European beers.
Happy T hugs Kathy
Yes, my jaw dropped when I saw all the different types of roses you have planted. They are amazing because I was not familiar with so many different types. They really ARE all gorgeous.
How wonderful that you were gifted with this mug with your name and school on it when you retired. Although not expensive, it was thoughtful and generous of the school to do that. AND, it goes great as a way to share it for T this Tuesday, too. Thanks for sharing it and your roses with us today, dear friend.
Your new mug is great. I didn't get anything when I retired from school....The Harley rose garden is beautiful, it's good to remember a faithful friend. Happy T Day, take care, hugs, Valerie
The roses are beautiful. I hope your Harley could go in peace. Ours sadly not and I was too young to help. 14 1/2 is a good age.
That cuppa is nice and the beer bottle looks really WOW!
Last Thursday we went to our little brewery for the first time in weeks and weeks, so good!
Happy T-day and hugs, to the roses...
Well, actually I was saying"Wow!" Your Harley memorial garden is beautiful and some of those blooms are spectacular! What a great mug although for me an iced coffee to take out would be going in it! Happy T Day, Chrisx
I am loving your rose garden Erika. I have a few additions to our garden reminding me of past faithful family friends.
The insulated mug was a good yet unusual gift for your retirement from school and I like how they added your name to it, real useful if you were in the company of others with the same style of mug.
Happy T day wishes.
Yvonne xx
I enjoyed seeing the roses and especially the story behind the Harley Memorial Rose Garden.
Wow. Wow! Wow!! (my dry goofy humor) :-)
I wish your neighbor luck with his craft beer business. He hs at least one repeat customer it seems.
Happy T-Day! Hugs, Eileen xx
The roses are indeed, WOW Absolutely gorgeous. How nice the school recognized your years of service. The balloon decorations must have been a nice surprise and your mug looks like it will keep drinks nice and cold on these hot days. Stay cool and Happy T Day
Oh, your Memorial Rose Garden is stunning! so pretty, I love the shades of pink and red. happy retirement, and happy T day too!
What a beautiful memorial garden you created! Congrats on your retirement and your sweet gifts. Such a fun name for a small brewery ~ Enjoy!
I am speechless in the face of your gorgeous rose garden! What a lovely memorial.
I like the insulated mug as a retirement gift. Thoughtful :) Happy T Tuesday
Oh, what a lovely rose garden! Yes, I did go 'wow'. A fitting tribute to Harley.
Your mug is great. Sometimes a gift does not need to be expensive. This is so appropriate. You can drink out of that mug and remember the good old days at work.(While enjoying your retirement).
That beer certainly sounds very special. I suppose I would like to support these indi breweries if I could.
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca
The roses are so beautiful and it's such a lovely memorial to Harley! Such bright and happy colours and a wonderful way to remember him 😀. What great retirement gifts too, the mug is perfect. You know If love to try that beer too, delicious 😁. Also the tree die cuts weren't that tall so I extended them and there are no moose in Scotland they went extinct here in the Bronze Age, I believe there are some moose in Scandinavia though. Wishing you a wonderful week and a Happy T Day! Take care! Hugs Jo x
Harley's Rose Garden is simply spectacular Erika !! Your faithful friend would be happy to sniff all those precious roses !! Is very
emotional. My puppy turned 14 on May 30th, and we adore him.
I hope you had a very Happy T-day. And that retirement gift is very nice, and a nice touch, enjoy it very much.
Have a very happy Wednesday, and big hugs,
Caty
Your Harley Memorial Garden is beautiful. (And I understand how painful the loss of your beloved dog was.) I hope those roses are doing okay with this heat we've been having, with no rain. That's nice that you received a few retirement gifts, including the mug with your name on it. That beer looks interesting. Happy T-Day!
Beautiful roses Erika, a lovely tribute to Harley! xx
Ohhhh those roses are just lux. Beautiful photos of them. The craft beer is a good idea so good luck to all on that.
I am completely bowled over by your roses, Erika - wow and wow and wow some more. Utterly gorgeous (though your post title made my brain melt a little!). Glad to see your retirement has been properly commemorated by the school, even though you had to end your final term in such a strange isolated way. Enjoy the retirement - think how much time you'll have for crafting and roses now!
Alison x
Gorgeous roses! Love that your beloved dog has a memorial rose garden. :) We have a Sunshine committee at our building too. It's nice that they are able to give out goodies for big events or even just when someone might need a little boost.
Happy T day!
The Harley rose garden is wonderful.
I like your new mug.
All the best Jan
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