Not Nearly Enough Hours In A Day!

There just isn't enough time for me to do 

all that needs to get done, 

so lets procrastinate a little 

and take a walk around the yard.

We've had a few nice days in a row that has us 

thinking it's actually springtime!  

One of the things I love most about spring is watching nature's daily changes.  

 One day the Hostas are just poking through the ground...

And almost overnight, they've grown taller 

and the leaves have opened! 

The Tulips have gone from green buds

To full color,

fully opened flowers!

The trees have tiny leaves,

Dandelions are popping up all over the yard

 and the Columbine are standing taller.

I don't know if this is a weed or not, but for now, 

I'm enjoying the pretty little purple flowers.

Bleeding Heart is growing by the birdbath,

 My neighbor's beautiful color brightens up the corner,

Future Strawberries, 

(provided we don't have another frost)

and my mother's Rhubarb is growing like a weed!

 This odd looking plant starts out red, 

will grow to 10-15 feet tall 

and will have green/white variegated leaves 

on bamboo like stalks.

It spreads every year when the tiny white flowers 

drop their seeds.

Here, we find it coming up on the other side of the house!

The Smoke Bush is getting ready for the Hummingbirds

which means I'll need to hang the feeder soon.

I hope you've enjoyed walking around my yard with me.

BEFORE I GO...

My youngest daughter has contracted with 

the Army ROTC!

She has worked so hard all school year to achieve this

and we're very proud of her!

THE CARDINAL COUPLE ~~

appear to be having a discussion.

What do you think they are talking about?

I showed this photo to Hubby and asked him

what he thought they were talking about.

His answer ~~

"She's giving him the Honey Do List, of course!"

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

THIS ROLLERCOASTER OF A WEEK ISN'T OVER YET

I've been working on writing a post, but this week has just been such a rollercoaster.

The events in Boston on Monday...

the 3rd anniversary of my Dad's passing on Wednesday...

waking up to massive flooding and power outages from heavy rainfall and the explosion in Texas yesterday...

displaced people, damaged buildings, streets and bridges from continued flooding and events taking place in Boston as I write this today...

the stress, tension and emotions I'm feeling are overwhelming.

I so need a time-out!

Wading through all the flooding.  

We are lucky in that we have a dirt basement and didn't have anything of value down there.  

So many others are not so lucky.

Not everyone thought the flooding was a bad thing.  

Skye, our Grand-dogger, thought it was great fun to play in the water!  Of course, all the kids had a "rain day" as all the schools cancelled attendance too.

MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS 

ARE WITH

EVERYONE SUFFERING THIS WEEK

I WON A GIVEAWAY

Carol spoiled me with all the goodies she sent.  I love everything!  Just look at that beautiful little pillow!  It brightens my reading corner so much.

Thank You So Much Carol!

 

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY!

Dottie got to celebrate with a little 

mashed potatoes and gravy.

(Sorry for the blurry pic.  We took it in a darkened room.)

YIPPEE SKIPPEE IT'S FRIDAY!

Boy it's felt like a really long week!  Don't know about you, but I was looking forward to a weekend filled with stitching and relaxing.

Unfortunately, there are other things that need 

attention this weekend.

All this firewood needs to be cut, split and stacked!

Hubby takes any and all firewood that is offered to us.

His theory is that one can never have too much firewood.

Our wood pile is already 15 ft long by 8 ft deep 

by 10-12 ft high!

I'm counting this as working out!

STITCHING I'VE BEEN WORKING ON

 Flowers

Lizzie Kate Limited Edition Kit

Stitched on linen provided in kit

I chose DMC Variations in colors I had on hand.

 The kit came with the cute little button and beads.

The Lizzie Kate Limited Edition kits each have a 

piece of linen and embellishments.

Lizzie Kate put these kits together to use up bits of linen

they had on hand and each kit may have different fabric

than what is shown on the design cover.

 A Bee C

Lizzie Kate Limited Edition Kit

Stitched on linen provided in the kit

I chose DMC Variations in colors I had on hand

 Not quite finished though.

This kit also has beads that I will add when the 

stitching is completed.

 Wishes

Brooke's Books Bride's Tree Ornament Series

Started this just before I picked up the Lizzie Kate kits.  

I'll go back to working on this one when I 

get A Bee C finished.

I'm stitching up this series for a client. 

WOODPECKERS?

I've been seeing this species all winter.

And then this one showed up the other morning.

It kept going from the tree to the feeder.

Based on my iBird app,

I'm guessing this is a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

A Taste of Spring!

After what seems like forever, we've finally had a little taste of spring!

In "normal" years, we would have had at least a day or two of above normal temps and warm sunshine.

You know, enough of a tease just to let us know that spring is coming -- eventually, lol.

Amongst the brown, dormant grass,
small green tufts are sprouting. 

The green tufts are tiny bulbs that produce little
blue flowers every spring.

In the more protected areas, the little blue flowers are already in bloom.

 

 My MIL planted all of these and I have no
idea what they are called.

It appears there are several varieties.

Even though we clean the yard and get everything
ready for our long winters,
the strong winds out of the northwest 

always blow in leaves and trash.

Hubby decided to clean out the small flower bed at the 

edge of the front porch. 

It's hard to tell in this pic, but those piles 

are 2 feet and 3 feet deep.

One of my favorite things is seeing what treasures are
hiding underneath the leaves.

This Coral Bell is nice and green.

 The Bearded Iris are showing new growth.

Columbine are appearing too.

Out around the Maple trees...

the Tulips are breaking through.

Every year it seems they get further and further
away from the trees and out into the yard.

Meanwhile, Dottie Dog watches from the dirty window.

Aww, doesn't she look so sad?
(Those smudges are from Dottie's wet nose)

 
Everywhere I go, the black and white one follows me.  

On laundry day, she follows me to the laundry room and jumps around begging for a "cookie".

She follows me upstairs to my sewing/craft room, finds the only bare spot on the floor to get comfy, falls asleep --

and snores louder than Hubby! lol

Wishing you the joy of a Spring Day 
and the comforts of Home!