You can see I wasn't true to my word regarding posting pictures on Saturdays...but a few weeks later, here is a shot of the red and white petunia tubs on the front porch and over the arbor.

It's a good thing they bring me so much joy to look at, because we've endured a disaster recently. DH and I decided the time was overdue to replace the aging shingles on our home. We couldn't afford to have a roofer do it, and besides, DH is loath to pay for what he can do himself. He spent two grueling weeks stripping the roof to the bare wood. Now remember, we live in a desert here in Utah. We waited until the weather had turned consistently warm, but hopefully not blisteringly hot, so DH could survive the days working on the roof. The materials to dry it in (tarpaper, ice shield) and the shingles were due to arrive Friday morning. Thursday night it started to rain.

It wasn't any little afternoon thundershower like we so often get. This was freak monsoon rain sucked up from Mexico. We discovered that it rains inside the house when there are no shingles on the roof. Here are a couple of shots of what our house looks like now--after the disaster clean-up people came and dried it out. This is the kitchen and family rooms:

Every room looks something like this. DH calls it the Swiss Cheese Effect. I have a sign that used to sit on the sideboard saying "My house may be a mess, but you should see my garden." It's more true than ever now. I'll try to keep up with the garden shots of my baskets as we deal with putting the inside back together. You'll have to forgive me if I neglect my blogging.