Bloomin' Weekend

This weekend was awesome! The weather was perfect...cool, overcast mornings and warm days. The time seemed to go by slowly...something that rarely seems to happen. And, we had loads of fun! Hubby and I went for a road ride on our tandem bike on Saturday morning. Along the way we discovered a single track trail leading into the hills for a little off-road adventure. Woooo Hooo! Fun! The rest of the weekend was filled with yard work, family time, good food, knitting, and relaxing. I loved every minute of it!

We spent a lot of the weekend outside, working in the yard. We trimmed, mowed, weeded, and did a lot of planting. Here's a color pot my daughter created. The inspiration started with the little carnation plant. She added a white Ivy Geranium that had a bit of the light color found in the Carnation and a little flower in the dark color of the carnation. Pretty! It's sitting next to our patio fountain with several other color pots we planted this weekend.


I planted the beautiful Foxglove that my daughter gave me for Mother's Day. So pretty!...


I love the blue color of the Marguerite we planted...


I planted Nasturtum seeds several times last year and this year before I finally had some success. I'm so happy that they're growing. And, look...they're blooming now...


Our Myer Lemon tree has been growing and blooming like crazy this year. We're looking forward to a nice crop of lemons this winter...


Our lettuce has done well and we've been enjoying a LOT of salads...


Hubby enclosed a corner of the yard and started building raised beds for veggies. The fence will keep our dog from eating our crops and I think it's cute. So far, we've planted five different types of tomatoes, eggplant, strawberries, and two kinds of squash...


There's nothing like warm, beautiful weather to inspire creativity and make hard work a lot more fun. We got so much done and with great weather forecast all week, I feel a lot more great things coming. :-D

Recent Finds

I don't shop as much lately as I use to and I don't have the budget for it. However, once in a while, I find time to wander around antique and thrift stores and other fun places. I'm usually on the hunt for one thing or another. Sometimes it may take years to find...especially, since I try to buy things on the cheap. So, when I do find something it's especially exciting. Like finding treasure. Here are a couple of things I've found recently that I'd been hunting for...


I call this one, "Violet" because she's purple. I found her at a local thrift shop. I love her metal base. It's much better looking than new ones with their plastic bases. She's close to my size, so she'll come in handy if I start sewing clothes...which I'm feeling inspired to do. And, she'll be great for modeling knitting projects for blog photo shoots. I think it's funny that the sticker on her chest says, "Acme". That makes me think of old cartoons. I'm not crazy about her purple color though. I bought some neutral fabric to try and recover her. I'll let you know how that goes.





I found these old wood sock blockers at a yarn shop that's going out of business. I've been watching for some of these for quite a while. I think they're the perfect size for hubby socks. And, they'll look great hanging on the wall in my soon-to-be craft studio (currently a guest bedroom). Fun! :-D





My daughter is about to graduate from high school and we're looking forward to some time (finally) this summer to go shopping and exploring again. Life has been so busy that we haven't had time to do that like we use to. She loves to hunt for treasures too. I wonder what we'll find?

Sangria Shawl

A few weeks ago I went into town for a mammogram. Being a good girl and having that unpleasant but important test done and out of the way for another year, I decided to treat myself with a visit to a yarn shop. The first thing that I saw when I walked in the door was this Katia Calibri yarn and it was instant love. Then, I saw a sample of how it knits up and I knew I couldn't leave the store without it.


With just a simple garter stitch, it knits up into something fabulous! The colors remind me of the fresh fruits I put into a Sangria. The open air, lacy fabric it knits into makes it perfect for warm weather as a scarf or a shawl. Together, it all says summer to me. What fun! I think it'll be great to wear this summer on an evening out at a local winery for blues music, wine, and time with hubby.


There are 223 yards in one ball. That can go pretty far with an open knit project. The colors, texture, and effect are so much fun! For only about $7 per ball, this yarn provides so much for so little. I love it!

It's so important to get regular health screenings, like mammograms. Tests and doctor visits definitely aren't fun. But, knowing I'm healthy and doing all I can to stay that way feels great. An extra little reward, like some yarn, makes it even nicer. Have you had your mammogram?

Butterfly in My Garden

I noticed this beautiful butterfly in our yard last week and had to get a picture.


Only one problem...it landed in a tree. What to do?...get a chair, stand on it, hold the camera way up high, aim the best I can, and start shooting. I got a lot of shots of just the tree and many with just part of a wing. But, I did get a couple good ones. Isn't it gorgeous?!! I've never seen this type of butterfly around here before. I'm glad I was outside to see it when it stopped by for a visit. :-)

I'll Be Back Soon....

I'm still here. I've been so busy with painting and spring cleaning that I haven't had time to put together posts this week. However, the painting is done...at least for the room I've been working on. I'm putting the room back together. And, I hope to have stuff to blog about very soon.

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)