Brrrrr....

Google: "50�F / 10�C
Overcast
Wind: W at 9 mph
Humidity: 82%Today

47� | 32�Thu

53� | 34�Fri

58� | 38�Sat

60� | 40�"

It's cold and rainy today..... with a touch of smoke in the air. The last digital sign I passed said 48°. I'm not really ready to see my garden go.

I dug up a strip at the end of my lawn just inside of my fence for my tulip/rose bed. I can't wait to start planting my bulbs. I'll put some roses in next year. They don't winter well here. It will probably be too wet to do anything tonight and I don't think I need to get sick. I do have a 4 day weekend coming up though to celebrate our 14th Anniversary. Hopefully the weather will be good to us.

I've gone to the gym 5 times now. I haven't lost an ounce.... I guess it's a little early to be whining. I don't feel like going today and I don't have any clean work out clothes. I'm a little sore still so maybe I'll take the day off.

What's your garden style quiz

: "What's Your Garden Style?




Your Results




Your responses say: I favor an informal garden, but I'm not looking for the 'unmade bed' look.

Definitely work in lots of curving beds and don't worry about a setting up a central axis for your landscape. But odds are you can't tolerate a garden that looks like no one lives there, so proceed with caution as you plan. Go for the 'domesticated wolf' rather than the clipped poodle.
Of course, some people enjoy taking a vacation that's the very opposite of their day-to-day preferences. You may actually prefer a garden style that is the precise opposite of your 'day job.' So don't start scraping sod and laying paths until you've considered every garden style."

Yeah, I'll definitely stay away from the "clipped poodle" look.

A moral dilemma....

When the last (wicked) phone person vacated that desk I went over and improved upon that work environment... with a lot of warm water and soap.. and electronic cleaners. Then I cheerified it with a nice African violet. Today I bought the poor thing home and laid it to rest..... then I tucked a young, newly propagated from the white violet I bought for myself, into the pot. Now, I feel like I'm putting a baby in harms way. What an evil person I am! This young girl didn't mean to kill the first though....she really is much sweeter than that other bit...I mean person. I will try to educate her on how to care for this new little violet and how to protect it from the so-called "plant people" that come around and care for/kill the plants in the office.

Today is really goin g slow........ the air is off and we are all baking to death. I feel like those hotdogs that "plump when you cook'em". I feel nasty and I just want to take a nap! However, I will keep on plugging along until 6:00 today and then go to the gym like I should. Then I will enjoy a wonder weekend that will probably be the last one for enjoying my garden.

Never enough tulips!

I couldn't help it. I love white flowers and these tulips are so pretty. I bought some bulb food as well and I can't wait to start planting them.

Tulip - Double Late - Mount Tacoma - Fall Bulbs

After work I went to my first session at Curves. It wasn't so bad. I was worried I would be have to do something that required coordination..... but it was just working around a circle of machines and step pads 30 seconds at a time. It wasn't too bad and I didn't feel totally wiped out when I left. My husband told me to go ahead and get some new work out clothes using his account. That was nice of him! I was whining last night because everything I had was too small..... So now I'm ready.. I think I'll go tomorrow too. I think I can do this thing since it's not just diet and counting points.

I guess we shall see!

This is where some of my tulips will be going. I will also be adding handmade concrete stepping stones embedded with words from Frost's "Road less traveled".

Tulips

I am getting excited again. I just bought a bunch of bulbs to plant this fall. They will come up in the spring. I love planning! I can't wait to see how it will all look next year. I bought several different types of bulbs. Mostly they were in bulk and I have them mixed together for a surprise but I also bought a bag of "Groenland bulbs" and a bag of assorted Easter colored tulips. I'm not usually into those colors but they will be blooming around Easter so that will be a nice time for those colors. For effect I also have a touch of some beautiful reds, deep purples, and white with some daffodils mixed in. I've already planted some Grape Hyacinth Muscari armeniacum which will add a nice deep blue to the mix. After they start to die down I'll have my other perennials coming in and various rose bushes.

Tulip - Viridiflora - Groenland - Fall Bulbs: "Tulip - Viridiflora - Groenland
Tulipa Viridiflora 'Groenland'"

I'm looking forward to fall with a dream of spring.......

Smarty pantz

My oldest son was selected to be tested for accelerated math based on his Terra Nova scores from last year. He passed with flying colors so he will be taking 7th grade math this year. I am really happy for him because he was bored out of his mind last year. His grades were terrible but we all knew he was bored and not at all interested in what they were teaching..... Because he already knew that stuff. We will really have to work on keeping on top of his schedule because he'll also be in the orchestra which will also require him to make up class work. I hope there isn't anything else he wants to do this year because I'll have to say no. I don't want him to get overwhelmed. The biggest chore though seems to be keeping his head down to normal size. He got the second highest score in the school and although I am proud I'm also worried his friends wont be interested in hearing much more about it.

My youngest is in 3rd grade this year and I've not yet heard anything good or bad, which is good. With him no news is good news! Last year I got a call from the principal in the first week! Hopefully he will not have any troubles this year.

I joined Curves yesterday. That will keep me from gaining a ton of weight over the winter months when I don't like to be outdoors much. My first session is tomorrow and I'm looking forward to shedding a few inches. I really want to get back into my size 8's and start feeling better. I took the dog for a jog tonight and she loved that. It feels good to get outside after staring at a computer screen all day!

The weather here is amazing. It got cold enough to kiss some leaves in my garden with red and yellow and then it's in the 70's during the day?????? What's up with that? Is it fall or not? I was really hoping my sun flower would bloom before it got too cold but it doesn't even have a head yet. It is nearly as tall as the house now.....

A lazy weekend

I thought this weekend was going to be a total waste. I was so exhausted after last week that I slept in Saturday and then didn't do much the whole day. As as matter of fact...... maybe I slept all day, I'm not sure. I can't really remember anything about Saturday. Today (Well Sunday, it's 1 am now) I actually got out of bed before noon...... about 5 minutes before. I did a lot of cleaning. I was in one of those moods where I just want to throw away everything. Everything is clutter...... everything is taking up my space. I felt over-crowded by it all and wanted it out. So the garbage people will be ticked come morning time...... well, in a few hours.

I finally got out my new little "poetry stones" kit.... for myself anyway. I used it the first time to make a one-of-a-kind birthday present for a wonderful lady that was turning 75. She is a devout Catholic so I set into stone the first half of the Hail Mary prayer for her into two larger stones. Then I painted a little portrait of Mary on the bottom of one and a rosary on the other. It turned out very nice. I would have never been able to do it if my husband hadn't made this nifty wood frame stone mold. I could make several stones at once instead of using the little tiny molds that came with the kit. One word per brick would have taken a vary long time! For my garden walk my husband divided the molds in two and I made six terracotta stones with words of Whitman's Leaves of Grass. "Happiness,... not in another place but this place, not for another hour but this hour." I can't wait to see them finished.

~ip

Google: "Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.
- Christopher Morley"

Starting over again....

Since I had to move from my last blog I've never really felt at home. Hopefully this can be the place for me.