LIfe as we know it.....

Today you get to see some of what's been keeping me so busy! First of all, I am getting my garden started. Last year, we had some cucumbers and tomatoes, rhubarb and zucchini. That, along with some green beans that did nothing and some beautiful herbs, was all we had. Plants are getting so expensive that that was all we could afford last year, and this year isn't any better. So.......I am started my garden from seed! I have never done this before, and it is so much fun! I bought a little "greenhouse" kit, plus some starting pots and soil, and I'm doing it myself.

These pots are for the corn, green beans, squash and melons.

This is our little "greenhouse". I forgot to take pictures before I planted.

I planted the "greenhouse" late, late Saturday afternoon. You could even say Saturday evening. And by Tuesday morning we had sprouts! I had no idea it would happen so quickly! The cucumbers were the first to sprout and they are growing like weeds. :)

This is 8 am on the 24th. They are about an inch tall.

Here they are at 11 am!

And here they are at 11 pm! See what I mean? You can almost watch them grow! The tomatoes and gourds are coming up, too, but the peppers haven't peeked their heads out yet.

These are the tomatoes today.

These are the gourds along the right side. The others
are the peppers that haven't peeked out yet.

Now, look at this! This is the cucumbers on today!

Our little cucumber forest!

They are pushing up on the lid and I'm going to have to take them out and put them somewhere else! They may be ready to plant, I don't know. I'm going to do some research and see. If so, my son and hubby better get busy getting the soil ready! I think we're past the freezing point, so it should be okay to plant them, but I remember reading somewhere that they should have their first set of true leaves before you plant them, and I don't know if these are true leaves or not. So I have to go googling.

Anyway, that's part of what has been keeping me busy. I've also been making card and envelope sets for swaps and gifts, etc. Plus I've been doing a little painting and creating. Oh, yeah, and we're getting the motor home ready for the trip on Memorial Day! We're going back to the coast, only this time we're not sleeping in tents. We had a major leak in the roof and the guys have been replacing the walls and the roof, and all the framework and everything in the over-the-cab bed. Then I get to wallpaper and paint.

What's been keeping me busy for the last two days is a wedding guest book. A young couple in our ward at church are getting married, and they have nothing! They've both been married before, and neither one had an actual wedding, so we are trying to give them a nice, small wedding that they can remember fondly in the future. She just joined the church a few months ago, and he will be baptized right after they are married, so this will be their first experience with the sisterhood of Relief Society, and what can be accomplished on a shoestring! They are both really nice. She has a son and he has two daughters, so they already have a family. The wedding has only been in the planning stages for about two weeks! They have been waiting for her divorce to become final, and then they were just going to go to the JP. I just found out Wednesday that she didn't have a guest book, so I took on that project, as well as helping with the decorations on Saturday. So, here are some photos of the book.

I'm making the book in a slightly different way. There won't be many people at the wedding, and if they all just signed their names, it would probably only take a page or two. I want it to look like more, and to be a little more personal than that, so I am making little envelopes and cards for each guest or couple to write a message to the bride and groom. The envelopes will go on one side of a two-page layout, and on the facing page will go a photo of the message-sender(s). That way they will have a permanent record of who was at the wedding, and since they are so new in the church, they may not remember who all these new people are, so they will have a pictorial record, too.

Her colors are black, white, red and sliver.

This page will have the bride and grrom's names, the wedding date, etc.

Sorry this looks so yellow. When I have my camera on macro,
I can't use the flash, so the only light is from the bulbs in the fan.
I finally tried my hand at making those beautiful paper roses I keep
seeing on blogs all over the place. Thes are really tiny, and hard
 to handle, but I think they turned out okay.

These are two of the page layouts. They will all have tags in the photo-corner
pockets that the photos will be glued to. I used ten different black and white
papers throughout the book. I found a really soft, light patterned paper that was
beige-y in color and copied it in black and white for the pockets.

Well, that's it in a nutshell! I have been one busy gramma. Plus, I have to keep up with my swaps, too. I would rather be too busy than have nothing to do, though, so it's okay. I will try to be better about posting, and not get so busy that I forget. I need to have a dailyplan so I can get it all done. I told my hubby yesterday that I wanted to volunteer at the library, and he asked me when I would find the time. I told him I would just have to make the time. Isn't that the way it goes? We find time for the things we really want to do. Until next time,

Friday Friends!

Good Friday morning!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! I wrote this post last week and forgot to publish! I am so sorry! That just goes to show how busy I've been lately, that I could forget to do that.

I am happy to be back! Even a little break leaves me wishing to be here. Today's findings are great and I hope you will all visit them and explore their blogs.

First up is Blog a la Cart. She's got some really cute crochet beaded bracelets that you are going to love! Now, some of you may be thinking crochet bracelets? UGH! But I promise you, these are CUTE! I'm going to be trying my hand at some of these. Go to http://blogalacart.com/2011/07/beaded-bracelet/#comment-5779 and see what I mean. Check out her other tutorials, too. There are some really good ones.

Next up is Grace at Whimsey Loft. She has a bunch of cute ideas and some good info, too. This little sock owl is the bomb! I need to find some cute socks, right now! Go to http://whimsyloft.com/2010/02/tutorial-socks-owl/ and check it out, and peruse the rest of her blog, too. You'll like what you see.

I can just see him in an argyle, can't you? Next on the list is another Grace, this time at Design Sponge. She had a guest post from Mandy Aftel, who is an artisanal creator of natural perfumes. In this post, she creates a solid perfume locket out of an old pocket watch, and it is really beautiful. The tutorial is easy to understand for those of us not experienced in such things. Got to http://www.designsponge.com/2011/07/diy-project-solid-perfume-pocketwatch-locket.html to check out the tutorial, and visit both websites for more info.

And our last friend for today is Ilene over at come on, ilene! She's got some super recipes on her blog, including this one for doggie treats! Aren't these little doggie gift bags cute?

I'm going to get out my ingredients and make some as soon as I'm done! On second thought, I'm going to do it right now......

I made hearts because I can't find my dog bone cookie cutter! I might have gotten rid of it, but I don't think so......?  Go to http://www.comeonilene.com/2011/05/31/homemade-dog-treats/ to get the recipe. My Molly dog is going to love them! (And she does! This stopping in the middle of blogging to make dog treats is probably what made me forget to publish. :) )

Okay, there we are for today. Some great ideas from some exceptional ladies! Be sure to come back next Friday for some new Friends! Remember this......."Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." Pablo Picasso

Until next time,

An avocado seed

Good Morning! Took a short hiatus last week, but now I'm back. I'm trying to catch up on some things I really need to do, plus my hands are really giving me problems, especially when I use the computer, so I've been giving them a break. Thanks for bearing with me. I have an appointment with a neurologist at the beginning of May, then we'll see if they can be fixed.

How many of you have tried to grow an avocado seed? You poke the 3 toothpicks into the narrow end and suspend it in a jar of water with the fat end in the water, and then you wait. And wait. And wait.

And then wait some more. Finally, you give up, probably just before the thing starts to crack open. Or sometimes, even after it cracks open, it seems to take forever to actually grow! Well, I've done it, more than once, too, and I've even got it to give me the beginnings of a tree, but then I didn't know what to do with it and it died.

This time, I decided to ride it out. I was determined to leave that seed in the water until it either grew or rotted in the water! And it did! Grow, I mean. It was now a foot tall!

And suddenly, I was faced with the same problem - what do I do with it now? How do I keep it alive? I got out my laptop and Googled "how to grow and avocado" and got a zillion hits! I read a few and then I happened upon the website for the California Avocado Growers Association, and it was chock-full of information. I read about how to start growing the seed, about how it will probably not produce fruit, about how I have to take it in and out-of-doors so it doesn't freeze in the winter, etc. etc. etc. And then I read the death knell - I had to pinch off its leaves! Oh no. I just got it looking nice and getting big! I wasn't gonna chance that! But everything I read said I had to do it. So, I took a deep breath and did one of the hardest things I've ever done......I pinched off that top set of leaves.

Now it said that every time it grew six inches, I had to do it again! Pinch of the top set of leaves. It was hard, and I actually let it grow another foot before I did it again, but it paid off.

Look at it now! It's turning into a tree! It is almost 3 feet tall and has beautiful, shiny leaves, except where someone splashed bleach on a couple of them. It's even started to grow another branch right above the third set of leaves. When it warms up a little more, it's going outside to enjoy Mother Nature. Right now, it sit on the washer, in front of a pretty big window that gets good southern light, and it seems to be happy there.( Personally, I think it likes the vibrations of the spin cycle.)



Sorry its so yellow. It's the lighting.

Anyway, that's the skinny on the avocado tree. If you grow one, pinch! Pinch, pinch, pinch! And don't give up. They really do grow into trees.

That's it for now. I leave you with this thought......the best way to predict the future is to create it! Until next time,

Friday Friends!

We've got a good selection of blog friends today. Some really good Easter ideas and one that's not Easter at all, but it's cute. So we'll start with Paula from JCs Loft. She did a guest post at the CSI Project that is really cute. I would give you a link to her, but it seems she's missing. I can find her on Facebook, but her blog seems to be gone. BUT...........the project is still on CSI, so go check it out. And check out the CSI Project while you're there. It's a weekly challenge that's kind of like a linky party, but it's a lot more than just a linky party. Anyway, here's the cuteness.

http://thecsiproject.com/2011/03/15/easter-candle-holderguest-post-by-jcs-loft/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheCSIProject+%28The+CSI+Project%29

These eggs are made with rubber bands! Aren't they beautiful? I want a bowl full just like this on my dining room table. These are from Inkspired Musings and there are about 6 other Easter ideas in the same post. PLUS, there are more Easter ideas in the archives on the sidebar, so go on over and see!http://inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-easter-egg-fun.html

Next are the cutest egg salad sandwiches you ever want to see! Beth over at Hungry Happenings has come up with a darling way to eat all those Easter eggs. I don't have the cream horn molds like she use, but I think I could make a foil cone to use instead. I'm going to try it and see what happens.

http://www.hungryhappenings.com/2011/04/fun-idea-for-easter-brunch-carrot.html

Last today, but definitely NOT least, is this cute little album from Rhonda at Nuts in a Tree. She is an elementery school teacher and has some really cute ideas. I bet her classroom is a wonder for her students.  I'm trying to talk her into doing a guest post for us. Go to http://nutsinatree.blogspot.com/2012/03/zoo-album.html and see some of what she does. And maybe we'll see a little more soon.

Well, that's it for today. If you see an idea that you'd like to see featured on Friday Friends, maybe even one of your own, let me know. I am open to a little help from my friends! Thanks for stopping by, and remember what Ralph Waldo Emerson said. "Write it on your heart that everday is the best day in the year." Until next time,

Bunny Bunting

Good Monday to You! We had a rainy weekend to go with the rainy last week. No yard work or outdoor stuff happenings. Lots of boredom for 2 kids that have been out of school for two weeks! So, I decided it was time to do the bunny butts, only we made them bunny backs, not just butts. Remember this from March 23rd's Friday Friends?

Bunny bunting from Clean and Scentsible

Here is our version.....

I think it turned out pretty cute! And the kids had a good time making it.

Short and sweet, but that's all for today. Hope you are enjoying the Spring and all it's bounty. As Doug Larson said, "Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush." Have a good one, and see you next time,