Look What's Blooming!

Here is another mosaic of what's blooming this week in my garden....mostly iris and some clematis. The peonies are just starting but I probably have enough varieties to do a mosaic of their own.

I had a lovely Memorial Day vacation. My nephew's son turned one and had a big birthday party, that was fun....lots of kids everywhere. My sister and her daughter and my daughter were all here on Sunday, I love catching up with them.

So far, it has been cold and I have put the gardening on hold. I think we are to get rain the rest of the week. I really need to get to a couple more greenhouses and get some flowers in the ground. Maybe later this week.

wii fit-

I've got a huge pile of mulch in the driveway to be spread, about 3 major projects crying to be worked on, a crazy quilt block to be pieced for an upcoming challenge and I am having trouble focusing on any of it because I bought wii fit this week!

I've been having a lot of fun with it and getting some exercise. Unfortunately, as an overweight-out-of-shape woman who is used to sitting at a desk all day, I may have overdone it a bit....my hip is hurting making it difficult for me to do any gardening or other projects....

So, for today, I'm going to get reacquainted with my kitchen so there is some food on hand for the Memorial Day weekend. I have Monday off and I'm excited about that! I'm hoping to be somewhat productive that day, if I don't decide to play tennis, go bowling or learn yoga poses.

Big ole spider web!

Today in my exit to leave for work, I happened to notice this big ole spider web by the garage doors. I have a busy weekend planned that includes making improvements to the outside of our place. You know what I'm talking about....getting out the garden statuary, cleaning up a few more gardens, pulling weeds, making the porch look more inviting, etc. I'm making a mental note to get rid of that big ole spider web as well!

Dining Room Project

I have the dining room project just about finished. I still have some things on the hutch that I don’t have room to store anywhere, but stay tuned, that will soon change too!

My project is one of those face lifts that really didn’t cost much at all but made a big difference in the look of the room. All I did was paint the walls and the chandelier and added shades to the chandelier, making a big difference with very little money.

One more project for that room is to paint Molly’s high chair that has been stored in the attic. The finish has baked off, I want to bring it down and paint it white and put it in one of the corners. My nephew’s son Tucker will be happy for it the next time he’s here for a meal.

Look What's Blooming in my Garden

I took a few photos of some blooms today....

My back hurts….my legs hurt….ok, I’m hurting all over, the gardening has started and I’ve been walking on the treadmill. I’m definitely out of shape and since I started working full time back in October I’m sitting at a desk all day which has contributed to a weight gain of about 10 pounds!!! So, I’m walking and gardening and trying to get rid of the extra weight. And to make this blog about gardening, I’ve been cleaning up the gardens and digging out weeds, etc.

I'm starting to dread the gardening, it has started to become a chore and not fun like it used to be. Oh well, I will persevere.

Easter Dinner

I cooked two Easter dinner's this year. My sister and her family were here Palm Sunday for ham and sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pickled beets, corn and a trifle for dessert. The next week Molly came home again and brought a girlfriend so I did it all again with a slightly different menu although she asked for the same thing. She took dinner back with her to feed a friend or two.

Now I can get started on the dining room project. Actually I have meetings every night this week so it isn't going to happen till next week! but I'm getting closer to getting to the paint store!

Molly's Office

Today I had to go to the hospital for my yearly tune-up and while there my phone rang, it was Molly wondering what I was doing. She works at the hospital doing her internship in Communications this semester and she wanted me to come visit her after my appointment. So I got to see her in her office wearing a dress and looking rather professional. She feels all grown up now that she works in an office and has her own phone and computer. She even has her own office. So here is a photo of my little girl out in the business world!

She has tests next week….they were supposed to be this week but her professors moved them back to next week for her since she has mono and every few days seems to relapse and spend a day or two in bed! So say a prayer that she is soon feeling healthy and happy again. It would be no fun at all to have to pay for another semester because she was sick and couldn't finish!!!

I Feel a Project Coming On...

I’m going to paint the dining room. I know it hasn’t been more than a year or two that I picked a very dark red wine sort of color for that room and although I liked it when I first did it, the novelty of it has worn off and I’m ready for robin’s egg blue. I looked for a chandelier yesterday and didn’t really find anything that I could get excited about so I guess maybe I’ll repaint the lamp yet again and see if I can revive it.

So tune in as my wheels keep turning and we repaint the dining room and add some crown molding. I’m having dinner here on Sunday so I have to wait till the following week to start painting because I sure don’t want to have the dining room torn apart before the dinner. I keep looking at the furniture and it is just crying to be white but since it belonged to my grandparents and has sentimental value I keep fighting the urge to paint and will keep the cherry color… But I’m hoping it looks better in a robin’s egg blue room.

Here is a photo of the dark dreary "before" dining room shot....

The Pansy's are Planted

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most of you that I keep a gardening journal. This year I am proud to say that I am further along with my gardening than I think I have ever been at this time of year. I was outside again today cleaning up the gardens and even planted some pansy’s and a primrose. I have planted pansy's as early as the first week in April in the past but I've never planted them this early here in Central Pennsylvania.

Tonight while we were eating supper I had the news tuned in and heard that we are supposed to get snow tomorrow… I don’t think my pansy’s are going to like that at all.

Anyone else going to have frozen plants come Monday morning?

Now that I look at the photo again I see my cast iron urn that sits on my front porch is a bit more shabby than I thought, it could definately use another coat of paint.

Bad Dog!!!

I have only ever had 2 dogs in my lifetime and both of them are currently living with my husband and I. Both of these terriers enjoy a game of “running” anytime they get the opportunity.

Earlier this week I put both dogs out on a lead in the front yard to enjoy the sunshine while I was puttering in the gardens raking up leaves, etc. We were out for about an hour when all of a sudden I looked up and Stewart broke free of the chain and was headed to the back yard and freedom!

Funny thing is that he doesn’t run down the street, he more or less stays in the back yards of the neighbors and our house but he absolutely will not come to me at all…. If I call him he takes one look at me and runs as fast as he can away from me. He usually is close enough for me to see where he is but will not come home and when he does he is ALWAYS covered in mud and plant material has attached to his fur….ugh….He likes to explore the farmers field behind our house as well.

Both my dogs play this game although the older one usually takes off and when I decide to go after him he will sit when commanded and come back home. But he has been almost as bad as Stewie in his younger years.

Now I know of many dogs who are content to hang out with their people and can come and go with no temptation to run away. What’s with Stewie? I’m afraid it’s going to be a long summer of worrying about my dog getting hit by a car.