A Perect Spring Day

A small section of our rock garden - a favorite place in our yard.

Kind of weird looking double daffodils.

Bloodroot.

After several very cold and rainy days (my days off ) we finally got one of those spring days you look forward to. Calm, warm, and sunny. It was a perfect day to work in the gardens. So we were out there the whole day, transplanting, mulching, and weeding. There is still so much to do, like putting straw on the strawberry bed, planting the veggie garden, and planting out annuals and new perennials.
I went to the garden center on Friday, just to see what they had out. And as I got out of the car, it started sleeting! Needless to say, I didn't buy any plants that day.

The chicks are in that awkward adolescent stage. Not as cute as they were, but we enjoy them anyway. Soon we will try them out in the hen house and see how everyone gets along.

I hope everyone has a good week, and maybe a perfect spring day to be outside.

Easter Weekend

What a wonderful weekend we had! Lots of things I love - family, friends, and gardening. It didn't hurt that the weather was fairly warm and sunny.

On Saturday we went to the garden center and got those pretty violas. I like them better than the bigger pansies.Then we picked up 6 chicks from the feed store. We have always ordered day-old chicks from a mail order company, so I was surprised that these were already three weeks old. We didn't really mind, because we weren't required to buy a minimum, and we didn't need 25 of the little guys:)

While Rick got the chicks settled into their new home, I played in the greenhouse and planted out the violas. What a happy time here, checking the flower beds several times a day to see what's coming up.

We were hosting Easter dinner, so I cooked all day. On the menu was ham, twice baked potatoes, roasted asparagus, deviled eggs and rolls. Our friends brought roasted brusel sprouts, salad, and a cheese and meat tray. For desert we had banana split dessert, chocolate cupcakes, and cookies. Lots of food for lots of people. We had to squeeze around the table, but we had so much fun.

Tad had a great time collecting eggs in the backyard, while the adults ran around taking pictures of him. Doesn't he look cute in the bunny ears I got him? And of course, Eric spent a good part of time reading Tad the books he got in his Easter basket :)

A New Look

I may have mentioned a few times that I have been changing up my decorating style. Going from a dark country look to lighter colors. Quite a change, wouldn't you say? My husband, bless him, doesn't complain, but I don't think he is completely on board with this new look. He did say that since he married an interior designer, he expected this would happen:)

I had already redone the upstairs a few years ago. It has my craft room and a guest bedroom and the lighter colors worked well up there. I have also been working on the kitchen. This spring I started in on the bathroom and our bedroom. I wanted to do it on a very small budget and it was actually kind of fun doing that.

Today I'll show the bathroom makeover. I made the shower curtain from a sheet and added a valence of a pretty print that I used for the color scheme. The room color was still OK, a very soft yellow, so no painting. Yeah! Then all I needed to do was repaint the little cabinet over the toilet, buy new towels and rug, and add accessories, which I "shopped" for around the house.

Our bathroom is really small. Hard to get a good picture:)

It looks better in real life, really!

This was dark red. Needed 4 coats to cover that!

I bought this set at Tuesday Morning.

Close up of embroidery on vintage towel.

I wish I had taken some before pictures. Anyway, I love how it looks. I will still add a few more things. I want to get a few plants and a framed picture. Fun stuff:)

Our bedroom is almost finished. I'll be showing that soon.
Have a very happy Easter!

Easter Swap Goodies

 

OMG, I couldn't believe all the cool stuff I received from the swap hosted by Sandy.  Gayle sent me so many wonderful crafty goodies. Lots of craft supplies, candy, and even vintage kitchen gadgets. And she made not one, but two spoolies! So cute. Thank you so much , Gayle!

So, we all knew we were getting snow last night, right? I remember getting snow in April, so it's not unheard of, but it's just that I'm so ready for spring!

It is kind of pretty, isn't it?

Our Weekend...And a Winner

 

 

 I heard it was in the 70's in St. Louis, but 6 hours away here in West Lafayette, it was cold, windy, and gloomy. We spent most of the Saturday inside drinking hot tea, playing Scrabble, and watching movies. I finished my hexagon afgan. ( Did I tell you how heavy it is? It's like a rug!) I also quilted up this little wall quilt. Binding will go on tomorrow.

But about 4:00 we decided we needed to get outside. So, of course, we went tromping through the woods to find the bald eagle nest on the Wabash River. It was so cold! But we found it and spotted a couple of eagles. (By then it was too dark to get a good picture of the birds.) We were very excited. We are so weird!

Today the sun finally came out for while, so I spent some time straightening the greenhouse and found some crocuses just about ready to bloom. Then we had dinner with Eric: homemade bread, vegetable soup and chocolate cake. It was so good, but I'm ready for some warm weather food, aren't you?

I had Rick choose a number for the drawing. So the winner is commenter #6 Stacy. Congratulations! Please send me you address and I'll mail the bag out to you soon. Thanks for all who entered and your kind comments on my shop opening. 

                                                                  

Announcement and Giveaway

Well, maybe it's no big announcement if anyone has been observant and seen my sidebar. Yes, I'm opening a new Etsy shop. I will be concentrating on small quilted items, some embroidery, some seasonal...and sometimes vintage supplies. Whatever catches my eye and I think others will like.

 

I've not made it a secret that I like to do hand quilting, so most of the quilts will showcase this. Though some utilitarian items will have machine stitching.

 

To celebrate the opening of my shop I'm offering a giveaway, this hand embroidered bag shown below:

Leave a comment at the end of this post and I will randomly pick a winner next Sunday. Good luck!

I wanted to thank everyone for their kind and supportive comments and emails about our son. I read them to my husband and we felt better each time. We started a 12 week workshop put on by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and we are learning about his disorder and ways to help him. I would recommend  it for anyone who has mental illness in their family.

I almost forgot - tomorrow is my birthday!  (I can hardly believe it, 58. How did that happen?) We are having the kids over for dinner and (hopefully) cheesecake. But the best part about my birthday is that it is the day I know spring is near and  I can usually start working in the gardens soon. (Not this year though. Four inches of snow just melted and the ground is saturated.) Also, I get garden related gifts. Gotta love that:)

I'm Still Here

Sent by Elizabeth for her Valentines swap

Several blogging friends have asked about my absence. We've had our minds elsewhere, for sure.  Our youngest son was in the hospital for 11 days and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. We knew there was something wrong for quite awhile, but he knew it was more than just depression. We are so proud of him that he came to us and let us know how he was feeling. Now he is back in his apartment with his friends from college and taking his meds and going to therapy. We are very optimistic for him!

I debated about saying anything about this here, but I want to help eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness. I suffer from anxiety disorder, which is very common as is depression. The best way is to talk about it and not hide it away and be ashamed. I hope others out there will feel they can do the same.

I will be back soon with an announcement and a giveway. Stay tuned!