~Planting~

 The sun was out this afternoon and the Youngest and I got right to work on his veggie garden. Over a month ago he had worked his hardest to clean out all the old roots, weeds and molded over cat 'surprises' it had still carried from last year. 

Then last weekend he and his dad added some fresh compost and he and I went ahead and bought our starter bounty. His pick: cilantro, parsley, grapefruit mint, leeks, spinach and various lettuces. 

 And so today, he planted.

And yes, I helped.

He listened carefully as he was told how deep to dig the holes and how far apart to make them. And he loosened and tore a bit of the pot-bound roots to get them going before they were planted.

He even whispered to his plants, "grow well" as he tucked them into their new garden bed. 

Eleven years old and still such sweetness.

While we worked Quinn helped, too.

He inspected the compost bed for us.

 And then he took a rest. Inspecting is hard work. And rather stinky.

After carefully labeling his veggies, the Youngest gave them a long drink and promised to visit them tomorrow.

I have no doubt they will do their best to thrive under his care. :)

And then when it was all done and everything had been cleaned up and put away . . .

into the house he went to play video games. 

Such sweetness, but still eleven years old. ;)

By the way- did you notice the great thrift store find I was gardening in?

 My four-dollar vintage gardening smock.

Complete with old plastic buttons and fantastic front pockets just right for your camera while you garden.

I just love it. It even matches my garden sloggers.

 And the price was so right.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

~Spring Break~

Even though Spring Break was two weeks ago I am still trying to recover from it.

 It started with Easter Sunday and two sick boys.

 Though being sick didn't stop them from dying eggs the night before,

or hunting for eggs on Easter morning.

And it ended with time alone with the Oldest while his brother was away being spoiled by his Nana.

We needed to get out of the house, so we spent an afternoon walking in the Portland Arboretum. 

The rain spared us.

The magnolias were in bloom.

And they took our breath away.

So that was the beginning and end of our Spring Break.

Curious about the middle?

Well- we spent the majority of it in our hallway.

Sanding it.

Taping it.

And staining it too.

From this:

To this:

TA-DA!

Not perfect, but such an improvement over three years of slivers from the unfinished floor. 

Exhausting, but definitely worth the effort. 

(we're talking four hours to tape off that floor!)

And now, with nothing but play rehearsals, school to teach, meals to deliver and a field trip that required hours of training to help with, I am in desperate need of a Second Spring Break. This time one that doesn't include sick kids, home improvement of any kind nor walking over a plank for four straight days to get to our only bathroom! ;)

Cheers!

~The Daffodil Tour ~

I mentioned in an earlier post just how much I adore my daffodils. Right before that nasty virus got to me last month, I managed to get a few pictures of some of the different varieties that call my garden home. Though they are now only a memory I wanted to share a few of them- especially since their cheer was so very welcome in my misery! (cue the violins playing) ;)

*please note* 

I understand each of these flowers has their own special name; most likely from some ancient Latin that carries an impressive number of syllables and has lots of 'us's in it. Something like, 'daffodilus yellowe frillus bulbuous'. 

And I understand that if you are a really serious lover of flora, you may well know each and every genus. If that is you, please forgive my novice ways, as for my purposes I have given them my own names . . . because I don't know Latin and it's just so much more fun!

So- on with the garden tour!

"Early Spring"

As these are the very first Spring flowers to bloom in my garden, they have been christened such.

"Pixie Daffodil"

This is one of the smallest daffs I have . . . they're only just opening their petals here. When they're all the way open, they look just like miniature, miniature daffodils. I think pixies wear them as hats.

"Trumpet Daffodil"

I call it this because of the bright orange announcing it's presence to anyone passing by.

 "Daffoney"

I can't see these daffodils without immediately thinking of peonies. Wouldn't they look amazing in a bouquet of pale pink and white peonies? If only they bloomed at the same time, right?

 "Daffy Dawn"

I think these daffodils are the happiest right as the sun comes up.

They seem to glow like the morning sky.

 Heralds of sunny mornings.

"Daff-O-Bells"

These are like Lily-of-the-Valley in the daffodil world. No, they don't have the scent, but they nod in the same delicate way and they very well may be my favorites.

Here they are in a cluster. Aren't they gorgeous?

"Winged Sunshine"

Okay, as much as I love the Daff-O-Bells, I think these may be my official favorites. Maybe it's their translucent petals that pull me in. They are so delicate and wispy but at the same time they make great cut flowers- this bouquet lasted for a week. 

I hope you enjoyed my little 'daffy' tour- thanks for coming along with me. And since so much has changed in the garden since these were taken, I'll have to do a 'tulip tour' soon. :)

Cheers!

~Finally Back At It~

 Greetings and salutations!

I am finally back after a much unanticipated blogging break.

As mentioned in the last post- (and a huge thank you to those of you who left a comment for The Youngest- they absolutely made his day!) -I managed to throw my back out pretty badly back in mid-March. Well straight after that I spent the next two weeks with some awful virus and then the very next week was Spring Break madness.

In other words, my life got shook up and spit out and truthfully, I spent most of it looking exactly like that feline below! 
(okay, minus the collar).

Have you ever seen anything so pathetic? Don't feel too badly for him though. He had only a simple little surgery to drain a nasty abscess on his leg and other than him being so drugged up from it that when he got home he ran into every wall and doorway for the first six hours (SO hilarious), he really was just fine.

Okay, he was fine besides that and the little fact that he couldn't go outside for TWO WEEKS! 
I know that some cats are perfectly happy to stay indoors, but -not! this! cat! 

To be fair, he really was very good the first week or so. He spent most of his time lying in strategic places so that he could be adored/pitied as much as possible. But even that grew old. 

By the last four days he was being SO BAD we were pulling our hair out! -scratching everything in sight, jumping on counters and even our heads, attacking our body parts as we went by- he even shredded that stunning blue collar he was forced to wear!-all so we would just throw. him. out!

Let me tell you he is lucky he's so dang cute or I don't know what we may have ended up doing to him! Needless to say, it was with great joy that we finally threw him outside just this last Monday. 
For all of us, a very happy way to start the week! Actually, it was an extra glad day around here because it was also the final day we had to let our new refinished hallway floor cur! - But more on that to come! ;)

Anyway, now he is just fine and dandy, as you can see from this shot I snapped this morning.

 Fine, but still mischievousness.

(I love this tail shot!) 

 I am very very happy to be back in this space one more. It was fun to finally be updating everything for Spring and as I have so much to share from all those missed weeks, I will be back very soon with new posts to get everything all up to date!

Have a lovely weekend!

Cheers!

~From the Youngest~

Hi there- 

I have a little guest post for you. I threw my back out and can only be at my computer for about five minutes until the pain is more than I can stand, but my Youngest had to write a descriptive essay for home school and he has decided to share it with you. It's about where he lives so I've posted a picture of our home from last fall. Hope you enjoy it! *Please note the typing, spelling- it's all his. :)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

My name is Asher and I'm going to tell you where I live, and what it looks like, feels like, and smells like. My street is "F" st., and my house number is 2000. It's a big house, and it's as yellow as the sun. My family thinks it's very ugly, and we want to make it green. Our house has a garage that's also very yellow, but it's okay. It's not nearly as big as the house, but has the same shape. Our house has a slanted roof, and a bunch of mini-roofs jutting out certain windows.
Now, our yard is a pretty big yard, about 3/4 anchor or so, which is very big for Vancouver! It's a garden, so we can't just randomly go crazy. It's lush green, with dazzling plants like weeds. And that's just one of the wonderful plants we have. We have a compost and garden box, one where all our eggshells and things like that go to help make fertile soil. (My brother Jonas takes care of the compost). I, on the other hand, take care of the garden box. I hoe and plant veggies and things like that. It can be a pain, but it's worth it. The garden smells like air, unless you smell one of the plants.
We live near the street, and cars seem to sometimes go past it. I live in the Arnada neiborhood. we live right across the street from our friend Diane's house. Her house is small and blue, with leaves ever so falling on it. Her yard is small and well-cared for, with lots of plants, few weeds, and a shed at one corner. So that's where I live, what it looks like, smells like, and things like that.    

~Back in the Garden Again~

It's mid-March and Spring has sprung.

I'm out in the garden whenever I can be. 

Easter is quickly approaching and I'm dreaming of a cleaned-up garden for an egg hunt. I'm not sure which is least likely: the garden at any point reaching my standard of 'tidy' or having a March Easter that isn't cold and wet so we actually can have an egg hunt. 

Like I said, I'm dreaming.

But I don't have to dream of daffodils because they are now out for show.

As is the dwarf forsythia  And as I do every Spring, I wish wish wish it wasn't so small. But it is- hence the 'dwarf' before it's name.

This is a plant I obviously did not choose myself . . . it came with the property and I admit I look with constant jealousy at my neighbor's HUGE, gorgeous, PINK forsythia that stand a good seven feet tall and overflows with blossom. Perfect for cutting and forcing indoors. Perfect for filling the house with the subtle fragrance of Spring. Perfect for making a stunning arrangement in front of the fireplace. Perfect . . .

Ah, but in my envy I digress.

Back to my own garden. And one thing I do have and adore are my daffodils. This is just one clump of many around the garden. These always bloom first and I love how humble they look as they bend to the earth. Almost like they know how lovely they are, but would never parade themselves about on that knowledge. I have several different varieties all sprinkled about. Each different from the other. It's absolute anticipation waiting for them to open, and hoping I don't miss a display due to days upon days of showers.

My other Spring love is just starting to peek up from the ground. My tulips. Oh, how I love my tulips. All the daffodils around the garden were planted by the previous owners, and while I love them very much, they (and the forsythia) were all yellow! Nothing but shades of yellow and white everywhere. It is all very pretty and soothing I admit, but after a few years and all the cloudy, colorless winters I just needed COLOR come Spring! So, last year was the very first year I ever had tulips. And the color broke through all the yellow and grey and made me giddy every time I looked out the window. In fact, they were so memorable that I've been dreaming about them all year ever since. I planted a bunch more last fall and I am doubly excited to see what those will turn out to be! 

Back on the north side of the house is garden area we affectionately named 'Mordor' when we moved here years ago . . . it was an overgrown, hapless mess that somehow managed to look dark and barren even with out-of-control plants every which way.

Over time we have been taming it. Here is a small section I managed to clean up last Saturday. I've been working on the stepping stone path for three years now, adding more to it as I can. It wraps around Mordor a good deal, but I still have far, far to go. Kinda like Frodo.

Also in Mordor is our veggie bed. I never got around to planting anything here last year, so I am making a point of it now. The Youngest did a fine job cleaning out all the weeds, old roots and cat poo in here. We swept up the path around it and now are making planting plans. Lettuce for sure but we need to research the rest. Mordor doesn't get much sunlight, so we have to be very choosy about what goes back here. I would gratefully take suggestions as I am still very novice in the world of vegetable growing. All I know is I'm open to anything that will grow well in only partial sun to shade. Anything that is, except radishes. 

I just can't stomach radishes.

Happy Weekend!

Cheers!

~ For the Garden and Me ~

Just one of the many things I've been up to in the last couple of weeks.

Decoupaging a gardening journal.

It took five days of on-again-off-again exatco-knifing but I finally finished it. And I loved every second. Cutting can be so soothing.

I choose to highlight a very prominent flower found in my garden.

It seemed appropriate.

Music and weeds. That is definitely how I see my garden.

I hum and sing as I dig and pull- and just like the cutting and gluing, I am soothed.

Smoothed out. Refreshed. Made new.

Cheers!