Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a busy couple of weeks around here. Planting and fertilizing and trying to convince the moles there are better places for them to dig (like the neighbors yards).

I do miss the old garden but it's been great fun having a new yard to landscape. I decided to go mostly with annuals for season long color. I'll probably add a couple more perrenials next season. I think I need something purple and spiked. Maybe some salvia or veronica.

The last homeowner planted lots of peonies along the pool. Every plant is a little different. All of them have pale pink buds but one. I can't wait to see this one after it opens. Even the giant buds are pretty!

Below is my new foliage/ hummingbrid border. I just love the colors and textures you can get from foliage. This is my Coral Bells border which I planted right outside the bay window so I don't miss the hummers. I'm not so crazy about their flowers, but hummingbirds luv 'em. Now all I need are the hummingbirds! I did see one out there, one time. Just wait till the coral bells bloom!!! There is a humming bird feeder just out of sight of the camera lens as well.

I passed the coleous while I was carrying a purple leafed coral bells around at the nursery and thought they would make the perfect companions!

They were just planted last night and still need some mulching.
We wanted to build an extra shed to store pool toys and equipment but the township only allows one permanent structure separate from your house. So, we found a friend with some old rusty wheels and bought a pile of old barn wood from Craigs List. We are going to build our pool shed on wheels. Nothing permanent about that! My prim twin tells me it will look like Gypsy's have come to visit, LOL. But, I'm looking at my pile of wheels still attached to their old wood axles and thinking how cute it would be just sitting, as is, in the garden with clematis twining and flowering on it. Hmmmm........... maybe I need to buy some more wheels for the shed?

I was busy dragging up box after box from the basement and setting up a garage sale while hubby was opening the pool for the year, only to have the pump go up in flames and leave us with a green mosquito farm while we wait for the new motor to come in from Texas. We almost had a fire sale instead of a garage sale. We've also been without cable for 4 days. Come to find out that the wires were over heated from the fire and we needed all new. Good news is the cable is back on. Bad news there is going to be a bill attached to this cable repair.

Just a small sample of my sale including three 8 ft tables, one 6ft table, three 4ft tables, card table, 2 shelving units full, a 12ft rod of clothing, and a driveway lined with stuff.

Ahhhhh! Doesn't it look refreshing?

Bob (Hubby) has a friend who is a cabinet maker. I was after him all winter to make me a new door for the built in china cabinet. Unforetunately he didn't get to it until a couple weeks ago. Sure wish we waited until all our other projects (planting, sales, pools, painting) were done before we started this. Now I have a big old mess in my dining room while this project is at a stand still.

Before the tear out -

Hello 1970's!

In the middle of the remodel -

Will it ever be done?

The mess I'm living with in the meantime. I can't wait

to get the china and my milk pitcher collection into their new home.

Now, heaven forbid we should only have the previous 5 projects going on at one time, but we also built some new flower boxes and shutters in preparation for new divided double hung windows later this summer and for painting the house at the end of the month.

Before - After -

Yikes! Not the dreaded seventies

windowless arch!

After -

We really do have a remedy coming

for that arch. Really!

Unforetunately there is a raised brick border all around the windows and we couldn't think of a good way to mount the shutters closer to the widows without creating a roosting place for bats, birds, and squirrels behind them. Still an improvement though. Now for that top arch make-over and new windows!

This picture is my inspiration for how my windows ultimately "should' look.

We also built a rather large raised veggie garden from the dirt we pulled out last summer while digging the pond. The sides are concrete block. Some re-claimed from Craigs List and some seconds we purchased. Thats not quite finished either. It's all planted but the top of the walls haven't be finished off yet so it's just not picture worthy, LOL. Maybe next when I share pics of my finished windows and the annuals all filled in. Well, thats it for now. I better get back to work on all those half finished projects. Stay tuned!

Poor Baby Bean

Just as the weather has gotten nice enough to take walks and play outside, my poor Baby Bean began having knee troubles and needed surgery. We went through this same thing with our Zoey Bear 14 years ago. We were shocked at the "then" price of $350.00 for each knee. Well, I will tell you that the cost of the surgery "could have" bought me a new custom sofa from Country Manor. Now THAT is some serious mommy lovin'! The cost of doggie health care has sky rocketed, same as people health care. Sure would be nice if employers also provided doggie insurance!

Beanie in his bandages

(with a chewy so he didn't chew at his leg)

Bean with the bandages & staples removed 2 weeks later

Bean had to stay over night in the hospital, after surgery, for observation. When we walked in the door the next day to get him we could hear him barking in the back room. The receptionist said he hadn't stopped barking since he came out of the anesthesia. She said there was a momentary silence when he stopped long enough for a drink and everyone froze, hoping he wouldn't start again. But he got his drink and went right back to it. The surgeon came out and said "I don't know how you do it, living with him every day. We spent the day praying for laryngitis". My poor little baby! He really doesn't do that at home - much - unless the doorbell rings of coarse. I suspect when he needs the other knee done they'll ask me to take him home the same day. At least I'll save the hospitalization fee!!! :o)

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

For My Friend Bonnie

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

I have written here about my friend Bonnie earlier this year. She was diagnosed with a rare and incurable cancer a little over 4 years ago. She was told by the doctors to go home and make plans and arrangements. Well, the only only plan she made at that time was to find a doctor willing to at least try and fight for her. She had no health insurance and she and her busband spent a small fortune, their life savings, on chemo and radiation treatments, if not to save her life, they could at least extend it a couple years. Well, Bonnie was one heck of a fighter and went kicking and screaming and garage saling all the way. Oh how that girl loved a garage sale!

Well, yesterday morning, December 29th, Bonnie lost the battle to the cancer that had spread and consumed her body. She spent her final days at home with the help of hospice (angels on earth) who saw to it that she was made as comfortable as possible with meds and oxygen and a hospital bed. She was able to look out the window and see the fact that they had a white Christmas in California this year. A truely rare event . It was extra special and momentous occasion for her and her husband as their 1st Christmas spent together was in Jacksonville FL and it was a white Christmas as well. Just as rare. The only 2 white Christmas' they have had together, their first and their last. She also became a new grandma on Christmas on morning.

I have never been to California where she lived. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to live out there with the fires and earthquakes and rattle snakes. In the last e-mail I received from her she sent me several pictures of her property and mountain views which she had taken from several different directions. Now I understand why she loved it there. The views are heavenly! She has requested that she be cremated and her ashes spread across land she loved so much.

Below is what she called her red neck garden.

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

Whats been going on?

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

As many of you know it has been a long and hectic year for me. I spent most of last winter cleaning sorting and packing in preparation for selling our home of 20 years and moving. In the midst of it all, on April 10, I had to have surgery to remove some very large tumors. Just a couple weeks after the surgery I had listed my house never thinking, in this economy, that it would sell in just 12 days. We actually got above our asking price but we had just 2 days after closing to get out. On June 10 we moved into our new house and have working every since. We built a large koi pond, built a large bay area overlooking the pond, painted nearly every inch of the house, & replaced all the light fixtures. I also found some great new (used) furnishings on Craigs List, most of which needed to be refinished. And, it was quite a challenge figuring out just where to put all the furniture from the first house. Life happened along the way (unforeseen expenses) and ate into my decorating budget. No new carpet. No new counter tops. I'm not sure I would get them at this point anyway given the news of the financial state our banks are in and the bail-out and the auto makers all on the verge of bankruptsy. I have one dear friend (my prim twin) who has lost her home and her construction business after filing for bankruptsy due to the economy and another friend who is barely making ends meet, trying to avoid foreclosure. And, I know that I could just as easily be in their shoes as my husband works in the automotive industry. So, anyway, I am done spending on the house for some to come. I haven't been crafting or selling on ebay since last spring. Between everything else and my disgust with all the changes ebay has made and continues to make I just haven't been motivated. So, I finally decided to explore other avenues and I'm pleased to say I was recently accepted by Lemon Poppy Seeds to join their team. This weekend is my Grand Opening of the Willow Ridge Primitives Poppy Shoppe! So I'm back in gear and got my creative mojo flowing again. There may be a slight bump in the road as December 3rd I go back to surgery. There is a tremendous fluid build up where my 4lb tumor was removed. They are going to put drain tubes in again and I could be stuck with those tubes for several weeks this time around. But it has to be done. I still have several other tumors that can't be operated on till we get this first post-op problem straightened out. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

So it has been a flurry of activity around here the past 2 weeks. I have been digging out all the christmas trees and decorations and turning my house upside down. It's been a real challenge to find a home for all my trees and arrange all my christmas decorations in a all new surroundings. But I did it! It has really come together and I am so pleased with how it has turned out. I do still have one large tree to go up in the bay window, but that one will wait till Thanksgiving weekend, after the pond and waterfall are shut down for the winter. I hope you enjoy the slideshow of new house all decked out for the holiday.

Past Creations from Willow Ridge

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

Grandma' FavoriteTrick-or-Treater

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

My Baby Bean!

Isn't he the sweetest thing?????

My prim twin says she wants to squeeze the poop out of him!

LOL!

October Recipe - Pumpkin Oat Bread

****************************
Pecan Pumpkin Oat Bread

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

Flour 3 cups

Sugar 3 cups

Oat Bran 1 1/2 cups

Baking Powder 1 T

Baking Soda 1 T

Cinnamon 2 T

Salt 1 T

chopped or ground pecans 3/4 - 1 cup (optional)

***Mix the dry ingredients and set aside***

Pumpkin - 1 large can

Canola Oil 1 cup

Applesauce 1 cup

Vanilla 1 T

6 Eggs

***Mix moist ingredients in a separate bowl***

Combine moist ingredients with dry ingredients and bake at 350 degree's for 1 hour.

(Makes 4 loaves)

This is a recipe I grew up on. But you know how little attention was paid to fat content and fiber back in the day. I reduced the flour and substituted with oat bran for the fiber. I also cut the oil in half and substituted plain applesauce. I don't like the texture of the bread when all the oil is replaced with applesauce however. You could also sub even amounts of splenda for sugar and I added the nuts to the recipe. They could easily be left out if you don't like nuts or have allergies to them.

Enjoy!!!

This is a picture of what I did for my mail lady and my neighbor. I made some mini loaves of pumpkin bread and wrapped them in plastic wrap. Then I printed off the Halloween picture, put a note on the backside, and wrapped it around the bread like a protective sleeve, and taped the edge. I wish I could remember who's free clip art this is. I love it and use it ALL the time.

BTW - My mail lady carries candy for the kids on her route at Halloween and Easter so I thought it's about time someone leave her a halloween goody. Plus I use to work with her so we are good friends.