In the Garden

Taking advantage of the nice weather we had on Saturday we got some work done around the garden. All 6 raised beds are now built and in place. Next we have to turn the ground underneath them and get them filled with soil.

I weeded around the rather scraggy looking azaleas and put down some wood chips to keep the moisture in and the weeds out. The border is made from old bricks I found in the carport. If the bushed don't bloom this year they will be replaced with a permanent herb bed.

I also made a bird bath (although I am afraid some of our furry visitors might consider it a cat feeder - I found a bunch of feathers in the garden again) from old flower pots that had been laying around, glued together with construction glue. The birdies seem to enjoy it, I saw them skating and playing hockey on it yesterday morning (rather strong night frost). ;-)

The lilac bush has some promising buds and I hope none of the frosty nights will do any damage to it.

And this is a very early birthday present for me.

My actual birthday is in August and it is a tad too hot to sit in the garden then (at least for us non-southerners) so I got it now to enjoy spring and watch my veggies grow. Here they are:

This is the cat that is getting a bit too comfortable in our garden, much to Miss K.'s dismay - and mine after I saw her using my garden as kitty potty and she actually hissed at me twice. I am getting liquid fence this weekend to keep the cats away from the beds. It is okay for them to eat in the carport or sleep in the shed, but that is as far as they can go in the future.

Happy Easter!

From our house to yours.

12 x 12 x 12 Challenge May (2007)

My Favorite Flower

12 x 12 x 12 Challenge - April (2007)

I picked up my 12 x 12 x 12 Challenge project again and made the piece for April (2007). My theme for the project is "My Favorite Things" and I picked "Music" for this one. The three gentlemen in the photos represent the three genres of music I like most: Classical, Country and good old Rock 'n Roll. :)

Here are some detail shots of it.

Quilting - Quick Easter Project

I made a table topper for Easter. It is 17" square (don't know what happened to the 18th inch ;) ), machine appliquéd and machine quilted.

Curtains II

Before my poor husband came down with what I hope is just another cold and not the flu this time, he installed the hooks for the curtains in the dining room. We hung them yesterday and they give the room a totally different atmosphere somewhat warmer and cozy. I like it.

Anniversary

It has been 2 1/2 years today since we moved to North Carolina.

A Day in My Life - March 14, 2008

Jenny started a special project and I decided to join her (and a few other bloggers). Every 14th of the month we will be doing a post about our day with all the little things we do (or don't do). So, here it goes:

Friday, March 14, 2008, a day in my life:

6 - 7 am
Got up, fed her Highness, Miss K., fixed and packed lunch for Del (ham-cheese-lettuce wrap, green pepper, cucumber slices, baby carrots, homemade coconut-lemon cupcake, homemade yogurt with steamed apples and raisins, apple, banana, peanuts). Made breakfast (coffee, orange juice, cereal for Del, homemade bread with butter and jam for me). After breakfast we moved the seedling tray into the enclosed porch for the day.

7 - 11 am
Del left for work. Got dressed, took out garbage and put out food for our feline visitors. Fed ginger beer plant and rinsed sprouts (radish and broccoli). Checked emails, read favorite blogs, uploaded new photos to my online album, updated my blog. Checked supermarket specials, wrote down some possible meals for next week (I don't do a fixed a menu, just jot down some ideas and make sure I have the ingredients for them), wrote shopping list. Washed and hung one load of laundry. Had online chat with friends in MD. Turned bar soap into soap flakes (yuck, next time I put the bars out for drying a bit before I grind them) and mixed up a batch of laundry detergent. Checked some video tapes I bought on half.com (The Count of Monte Christo in French with my favorite actor - Gerard Depardieu), all tapes are okay. I had less problems with used tapes that I had with brand new ones. While checking through tapes (there are 4 of them, it was a mini series) I had morning tea (chai, that I got from my tea cozy swap partner Karen, very good, but a tad too spicy for my taste, and one of my lemon-coconut cupcakes). In between I made sure that my cat did not eat my tomato seedlings. :)

11 am - bedtime
Played with some upholstery fabrics from my stash. I want to make new covers for the sofa cushions and need to decide which colors to use (blue and green are the favorites right now). Had a bowl of homemade yogurt with steamed apples and raisins for lunch, used the rest of the yogurt to make cream cheese, washed dishes. Folded and ironed this week's laundry. Took today's laundry in, just in time before it started to rain a little. After it stopped I took Miss K. out into the garden and she headed straight for one of our feline visitors. I grabbed her and hurried back inside, I don't want to get into a cat fight or her catching something from the other cats. I spent the rest of the afternoon knitting, Del picked up Chinese takeout for dinner and we brought the seedlings back in. Rinsed sprouts again and did my favorite chore of the week, turned off the alarm because Saturday is the only day we can actually sleep in. Now we are going to listen to a hockey game on the internet, by the time it is over it will be bedtime.

Knitting

I made another batch of bath mitts and plan to use these for gifts.

Curtains I

I sewed almost all day yesterday. I am using the breakfast nook as pantry and needed something to keep the sun out now that it is at a different angle and shines right into my pantry shelf. I had a piece of fabric that already had a finished seam on the bottom, I think it once was some kind of window display in a home furnishing store. I remember buying it out of their bargain bin many moons ago. All I needed to do was sew two seams on the sides and a tunnel on the top. And now a flock of colorful birdies lives in my pantry.

I also made a curtain to cover the front of the pantry shelf and make the whole area look a little neater. This fabric is from Ikea also bought a long time ago.

And I finally made drapes for the dining room, but we have to install some hooks first to tie them back before I can hang them. Will post a picture of them later.

Finished

I finished another shawl for myself in a deep dark purple.

Meow!

This is another picture of visitor #1.

Another Gift

Phyllis at Carolina Arts sent me these beautiful cards as my Pay-It-Forward gift. I always have a special admiration for people who can draw and paint because that is something I can not do. It obviously skipped a generation in my family. Thank you Phyllis, I love the cards.

Outside My Window

March - Finally

I am a bit tired of Winter and cold and so very glad that with the arrival of March Spring can't be far away and I am so ready for it.

March in the garden:

March in the house:


In my reading basket for March:

Beauty in my Mailbox

Look what lovely things I got in the mail last week. I was the very lucky recipient of a Pay-it-Forward gift from Deb at Homespun Living. She does the most beautiful work. Thank you Deb, I love it all.

Much Better

Both I and my work space are doing much better. I am still not a 100% perfect but good enough to catch up on some housework like laundry and giving the stove and Mr. Coffee a good clean up (how does a coffeemaker get so dirty anyway?).
Here are some before and after pictures I took of my big sewing/cutting table and the various storage areas for yarn, fabrics and books.