Monday Morning...

Spring Break is over and life begins again. LOL. It was nice having DS home for a few days of fun. No homework, schedules, etc. That's gotten to be a rarity! We've even had some really nice weather. Which is nothing to take for granted when we only get about a dozen or so days a year that are really, really nice. Low humidity, no bugs and no storms.

I even did some gardening. I don't do gardening. My house plants thrive and I love them but I really don't care too much about what happens in the yard. But after this weekend, that could change. I had a pretty good time.

We're hoping that our landscape grows back after having a sustained freeze. But for now, the hibiscus, gingers and fire bushes aren't looking too good. We planted a few lilies in the back bed but for now the only thing making an impression is the GREEN box.


We tore out all of the grasses in the two front beds and planted some azaleas and heather. The color will be nice. And hopefully the extra mulch and stones will keep the mud and weeds to a minimum. Fritz and Bella love to be outside but with our unpredictable weather, it can be a challenge keeping them clean.

This photo is looking out of our bedroom. It will be so nice when everything starts to bloom. It's pretty bleak right now. The grass is still winter yucky and the trees have just started to put leaves back out.




Moving on to the front yard.... We had two large trees die on us last year which we had to have removed. That left us with not only a large empty spot in the pocket book but also just outside the dining room. We've decided not to replace the trees just yet. So what better to do in the mean time but plant bushes and flowers???? And again hoping that our smaller trees, and bushes survived the freeze and will come back. As with the back, we planted azaleas and lilies. We have a number of bushes and plants that will fill in the bare spots....that is, if they survived the freeze!

This is my one and only rosebush (I'm not a fan of roses). It DID survive and has buds waiting to open. And my favorite Yellow Tree (don't know what it's called and not pictured) also has new leaves on it. So, in a few weeks we should have lots of color.

Finally, just a peek at some of my house plants. More trees than plants, I guess. And Believe it or not, this Norfolk Pine was given to me about 11 years ago as a 'joke' present. It was not much more than just a stick in a 1/2 pint milk carton. I took it home, repotted it and look at it now. What a beauty. And my only evergreen plant! The rest of the gang will get repotted in the next few weeks and moved around the house for the best light. I should have taken photos of an ivy or two. Some of my plants have been with me for nearly 30 years!

And to round out the weekend, Fritz and Bella got a bath and brushing. Dirty dogs and light carpet don't do well together. And as you might notice, Bella is okay with it but Fritz is still pissed. LOL.

Well, got to go do domestic stuff. Have a good one!

An Irish Blessing

LISTEN
(length 3:55)



May the Blessing of Light be upon you
Light on the outside, light on the inside.

With God's sunlight shining on you,
May your heart glow with warmth,
like a turf fire that welcomes friends and strangers alike.

May the Light of the Lord shine from your eyes,
Like a candle in the window,
Welcoming the weary traveler.

May the blessing of God's soft rain be on you,
Falling gently on your head
Refreshing your soul with the sweetness of little flowers newly blooming

May the strength of the winds of heaven bless you
Carrying the rain to wash your spirit clean
Sparkling after in the sunlight.

May the blessing of God's earth be on you
And as you walk the roads
May you always have a kind word for those you meet.

May you understand the strength and power of God in a
thunderstorm and winter
and the quiet beauty of creation
and the calm of a summer sunset

And may you come to realize
that insignificant as you may seem in this great universe
you ARE an important part of God's plan.

May he watch over you
and keep you safe from harm.

~Read by Roma Downey~

May you find your pot of gold, eat too much corned beef and cabbage, enjoy your family and friends, and laugh so hard your sides ache and your eyes tear up. Wishing you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day.

IRISH PROUD!

First Etsy Item Listed...

I guess that this is going to be a trial and error proposition just like most everything else is. I'm disappointed with the way the pictures posted on Etsy but mostly it's 'operator error' I suppose. Sometimes it's really difficult to get the camera to justice for the subject. LOL.

This is such a darling runner. Too bad it looks so BUSY in the photos. If I didn't already have way too many 'favorites' I would be keeping it too. But I have 'too cute(d)' myself right out of storage space.

I hope to get a few more items listed tomorrow and Friday. I had no idea how long it would take to get an item posted. I'm going to need some sort of a template, I suppose. Oh well, it's a start!

Fairy Tale RR - Fairies Group

-Teresa's block
This is just a little update on what's happening in the Fairy Tale RR with Crazy4CQ. There are four groups, two of which I am participating in. Those would be the Fairies and the Unicorns.

This block was just mailed off to its new temporary home on Tuesday morning. It is just a lovely block. And was very easy to work with. I did take liberties with it (outer edges serged to prevent further fraying) that I normally wouldn't but it was minor and Teresa was okay with it.

This is the main part of the block. It's BIG, I didn't measure but I would say more than 12 x 12. I really wish I had made my own blocks bigger. Oh well, next time!















This, of course is my contribution; and


























And this is Rebecca's needle work.

Something Soothing

This poem came to me in an email the other day. And it came at just the perfect time. I have been feeling pretty mopey lately. I hope you get a chance to stop by and listen to it too. It's called An Irish Blessing.

I also ran across this site while trying to find the previous one. I consider it one of those rare finds. It's called a LuvAngel's Place Of Poetry and Song (Part 2). It's owed and run by Debi Ivy. She has many sites. All of them filled with poetry and music, and are just wonderful places to spend some quite and relaxing moments. I hope you will take a look. This is one of her poems.

One Perfect Rose

One perfect rose
Frozen in time
One perfect rose
Perfect for all time
Perfectly formed petals
Caught in a storm
Not eternally to be
Neither dead
And yet not alive
Destined to be
In a seemingly endless field
Of snow and Ice
Dances a small bit of color
Perfect petals wrapped together
Holding tightly to each other
Encased in the ice
That holds its very life
One perfect rose
One perfect time
Forever frozen in time

Debi Ivy 1/1/07

Enjoy

More Hearts Received

This is so much fun. I just love it. Some type of surprise or goodies in the mail every day is seems. The latest delivery brought these three gorgeous hearts. Thank you ladies. You are all so generous.

The first one is from the Chains of Hearts (COH) group. And it comes all the way from Margaret in Australia. She named this heart, Miss Dolly. I just love it. I am after all a big doll fan! She really is too cute. She has these lovely little pink curls and beaded necklace. She has the sweetest little face, which is a button. She just lifts right off of the background. The dimension is great. She looks as if she is strolling through the garden. She is precious! And also thank you, Margaret for the fabric squares and beads. I have never seen the little girl fabric that you sent. If I had, I would buy it all up! LOL.



The next two hearts were received as part of the Sharing Our Hearts swap with the CQForNewbies (CQN) group.

This little gem comes from Rhonda. She has done wonderful work here with the lace overlay on the fabrics. I really like the dragonfly and the "Quilting Around the House" is perfect for me. Because my quilting is literally Around the House. :-)



And last, but certainly not least is a beautiful heart from Wilma. She has also given me a spider in a delicate silver web. I especially like the lady bug. I've always considered them a good omen. And the dove symbolizes not only peace but also friendship.


Thank you Rhonda and Wilma for the extras you included. The laces, buttons, fabric...WOW!