i'm in love . . .

meet edward.  he's a 6.75 horsepower 21 inch self propelled mower who was being put out to pasture from a friend's father's lawn care service.  we decided he had a little life in him yet, so he's come to live with us.  i love him already.  we spent quite a bit of time together this afternoon.  while we were walking along, we chatted about the weather and how good a little outdoor time is for me.  as he was pointing out all the sweet details of my yard, i was reminded of how good life really is.  it's going to be nice having him around.

now if only i could find a man who enjoys cooking and cleaning.  ha!  but seriously, no less than three hardworking men tried to dissuade me from purchasing a push mower for my one little acre.  i am so confused.  do i not need to lose a few pounds?  isn't walking good for that?  now i have not once looked back at a treadmill, track, or neighborhood block with pride and thought to myself, "yeah!  i just walked that!"  but my freshly mown lawn is a different story altogether.  proud as punch at that accomplishment i am.  american society is a bit whacked in places.  i mean, we pay the big bucks to go to gyms and the big bucks to drive little vehicles around our yards when we could save tons of money and kill two proverbial birds with one stone by pushing a mower.  not that i have anything against birds mind you.  but moving on . . .

i would like to mention that the kind man who delivered edward to me made sure the blade was set at the perfect height to preserve my favorite weeds.  viola and her wee friends were unharmed in the mowing of this lawn.

i'm sure my neighbors must think i'm whacked seeing me flop down on my belly with my camera for no apparent reason.  they don't say anything though.  us country folk have a live and let live mentality.

while we were outside enjoying life this afternoon we noticed lots of delights . . .

 g spotted this little charmer.  we think the pansies we planted last fall are reseeding themselves.

i suspect this is the parent plant.  she has gone through selective breeding, but our tiny little guy is reverting back to his natural state.

after waiting and watching and wondering for weeks, we had all but given up hope, but look!  the carrots have sprouted!  woot!  g spotted those too!  he has an eagle eye for green and growing things.

i spent a few minutes with my newest friend, dear columbine.  i have wanted one ever since discovering them in a flower identification guide as a child.  i think florida is not a good place for columbines, but home depot seems to think that tennessee is, so she came home with me on sunday.  i've decided to name her grace.

my toes are dirty and tired, but happy tonight.

chichi looks the way i feel . . . 

 i just want to roll around in all the springtime in the country . . .

thank goodness there is more lawn to be mowed . . .

and tomorrow is another day . . . :)

crocheted sproutling bookmark

this weekend i finally started the pompom garland that i'd intended to start last november.  originally it was going to be red and green for christmas, which morphed into red and pink for valentine's day, then green for st. patrick's day, then black for never (kidding).  finally it is yellow and blue for sunshine and happiness.  i'm going gangbusters and have already made two pompoms.  i'm fast, right?  ha!  g wanted me to add green to it, but i patiently yet firmly explained to him that i was going for a sky motif and green was more an earthy thing.  he still wanted a green pompom, so i ended up crocheting him this little sproutling bookmark.  i had seen one made from silk leaves a while back and cataloged it in my mind for a cute crochet project.  who knew i would actually do it?!  it was quick and easy and i whipped it out before church this morning.

here are the directions.  please bear in mind that i am not a professional crocheter, having only had rudimentary instructions from my mother at the tender age of eight.

supplies:
sugar'n cream 100% cotton yarn, medium weight (4)
26 gauge gold wire
jewel tag
size E crochet hook
plastic darning needle
sewing needle

directions:
chain 60, turn, *slip stitch in second chain from hook, single stitch in next, half stitch in next, double stitch in next three, half stitch in next, single stitch in next, slip stitch in next, on opposite side (of the part you already crocheted), slip stitch (across from last slip stitch), single stitch in next, half stitch in next, double stitch in next three, half stitch in next, single stitch in next, slip stitch in next, chain 1, cut and tie off.*

slip stitch onto original project at base of first leaf, chain 10, turn, repeat from * to * above.

unweave thread  at base of chain to create the sproutling's roots.  use darning needle to weave all other dangling threads into project.

fold wire end over sewing needle then use the sewing needle to weave the wire up through the chain stem and in one leaf.  cut wire, fold ends over, and weave into project.  weave a second small piece of wire on the under sides of both leaves.  cut wire, fold ends over and weave into project.

add jewel tag.  i have written "read" on one side and "grow" on the other.

26 gauge wire is thin and weak, but it was what i happened to have on hand.  if i were to purchase wire exclusively for this project i would most likely choose a slightly heavier gauge and in green if it was available.

g declared his new bookmark "awesome!" and wants another for his librarian.  library day is thursday; i think i can do that!

and lookie at our cucumber sproutlings!  they're about to unfurl their first sets of big plant leaves!  so cute!

menu plan: fajitas IMperfected

does anyone out there have a good recipe for steak fajitas?  or tips on how to cook the steak so it's a little more on the tender side.  i'm getting better, but i'm not quite there yet.  so far, this is what we do:  cook steak, bell pepper, and onion in a bit of olive oil.  add a can of drained rotel.  that's it.  wheee!  see!  i need help!  and i would like to mention here that i do NOT put cheese on my fajitas. ew.  my son has a bit of a cheese addiction.  a squeeze of lime, however, is a nice addition.  it's also delicious on corn on the cob with a dash of sea salt.  mmmmm.

this week's menu:
sunday - chilli's
monday - taco salad
tuesday - country ham, baked potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce
wednesday - church?
thursday - rotisserie chicken, corn on the cob, salad
friday - open
saturday - bisquick mini pies (pinterest)

blogging is a "good thing"

 blue skies and redbuds . . .

swallowtails and cherry blossoms . . .

 does it get any better than this?

we have a new centipede challenge over at jbs mercantile from special guest, julie kirk!  i've mentioned julie here a time or two and have recently pointed out her current "push-up bra approach to blogging" series.  julie's challenge ties in well with her series, of course.  you simply have to create a blog post to "share one good thing that blogging has done for you."  leave a link to your post HERE on our message board and leave a link to your post HERE on julie's blog and you'll be entered to win one of two $25 gift cards to jbs mercantile!  we have lots more challenges too; the more you enter the more chances you have to win.  instructions can be found HERE.

also, even if you don't have the time or inclination to enter, i would encourage you to head over to julie's blog to check out her series on blogging.  she's put in a tremendous amount of work and it shows.  she's a fabulous writer and is using her talents to benefit children through "save the children."  awesome!

and now i must share one good thing that blogging has done for me.  there are, of course, many, many good things that blogging has done for me, but for today i'll go with the lovely sense of community.  we find the blogs that spark our interest and then capture our imagination.  we spur one another on to bigger projects and deeper thoughts.  it's like putting our best work up on the world's refrigerator.  i love that.

how about you?  won't you share?  :)

today was glorious, by the way.

jbs mercantile: april gallery updates!

well, my photography skills are a bit lacking today.  i took photos of these pages yesterday afternoon only to realize after the sun went down that i have horrible blowout and a blue sheen on photos taken in the shade on my back deck.  i retook them this morning and i'm not sure if they're slightly better or not.  it was early and way overcast as it's already building up for the strong storms we're expecting this afternoon.oh well.  at least there's no blue sheen?

do check the design team gallery.  there are updates from jill, briana, betsy, leah, amanda, and may.  stunning work all and well photographed!

i have come to the conclusion through project life that i am preoccupied with my cats and the weather.  the entire second side of this spread is devoted to our two kitties and the backlog of cute photos of them.  then on the bottom left you can see another lament to the lingering winter we had (and that many are still having).

on this page:  a pic of my parents with the latest great grand.  a handmade birthday card from bridgette, yardwork, red lobster birthday treats, and more snow.  i bet you can guess which of those didn't make the favorite things list.  ha!  everything here is from our (sold out) historian kit except the butterfly (antiquarian - sold out), yellow dotted envelopes (artisan), and jbs red skinny asphas.  oh!  i also wanted to mention that the filter and frame on the bottom left photo was added through the vignette app i found recently.

on this page:  more kit bits, plus i dipped into my washi tape stash to border several of the photos.  i've figured out how to print almost 3x4 prints with that diptic app i've mentioned before.  they're just about a third of an inch too narrow, so i've taken to adding washi tape to the excess white space on the sides.  i like it!  it really jazzes up pages like this where the photos have so little color in them.  hey, my cats can't help it that they're shades of grey.

nature in the home: cherry blossoms

i have discovered many lovely new blogs that i enjoy lately.  i linked "little green shed" last month on my list of good blog reads and have been wanting to participate in her "nature in the home" series ever since.  this is my first contribution; it was so simple and quite fun.  it helped tremendously that i added it as one of the centipede challenges over on the jbs mercantile message board.  80s inspired challenges are so motivational for me. ha!

i had intended to use some vintage soda bottles that i chose from my mother's collection, but alas, i seem to have left those in florida.  luckily, i had several coke bottles on hand due to my addiction.  they held the trimmings from my cherry tree beautifully.

i added a little willow tree angel with bouquet to the grouping.  i am so amazed at susan lordi's ability to show emotion and connection without words or even facial features.

i noticed a charming ladybug on one of the trimmings and had to snap his pic outside in the good light.

and, of course, that gave me the urge to snap several more photos of the light filtering through the cherry tree's branches.

and then i was so appreciative of so much.  appreciative of the ethereal, the emotional, and the mundane, like the fact that scrapbooking has empowered me to take pretty pictures that i treasure.

i then was distracted by the busy bees and snapped a few photos of them as well.

i could stay out there all evening, and that wouldn't be a bad thing . . .

. . . but when it starts to get dark and i have to come inside, it's sure nice to have a little "nature in the home" to greet me there.  :)

garden journal: building a raised bed

an acre of land and a 16 square foot garden box.  it's not much, but it's a start!  we've planted carrots, watermelon, cucumbers, and honeydew in this one.  at least that's what we think we planted.

gabriel started the seedlings the week before and totally forgot to label them.  doh!  the carrots we are sure of as we planted those straight from the seed packet.

this little guy i am fairly certain is a cucumber and the honeydews still had the seeds attached when they burst forth from the soil.  won't it be awesome to see them all cascading down the sides?  grow little plants grow!

this one, well, we have no clue.  we found a watermelon seed in an ungerminated pot in its row, but it doesn't at all look like the watermelon seedlings i googled online.  anybody out there know?  i guess time will tell.

we're hoping to build 2 more boxes next weekend.  i bought a 2" x 10" x 12' piece of untreated lumber at lowe's.  they cut it into 4' lengths for me so i could fit it into my little corolla.  i also bought five 2 cubit foot bags of garden soil and the nails.  once i'd nailed the box together i cut the sod and turned up the soil with my shovel then had g and his little friend break up the clumps with a couple hos ( <<< sorry, it's juvenile, i know, but i have to giggle).  then we poured the soil in and planted.

here's the breakdown of our shopping trip.  i could have bought a 2" x 12" x 16' piece of lumber, but it was $27.00.  i felt like the little plants cold dig their roots into the soil for that extra $10.  g bought the lettuce seeds.  i remember being charmed by all the colorful seeds packets as a kid too.  heck, i still am.  :)

lowe's "never stop improving" prices:
2" x 10" x 16' top choice #2 lumber  $13.33
2 cubic feet bag of flower/vegetable garden soil  $6.17 x 5 bags
1 lb. common galvanized nails  $4.47
lil gem romaine lettuce seeds  $2.47
3 cuts  $free

i finally got my toenails painted too; just in time for flip flop weather!  what a productive weekend!