I'll Make My Own Sunshine Then...

A peek out my kitchen window

The skies may be overcast again and the breeze gaining on wind status but I have a spot of sunshine to call my own!

This is the shady corner within the privacy screen around the hot tub. My begonia pots are in full bloom and starting to look lush. On the deck you can see my 2 Boxwood Basil, the tall African Basil, and the Rubin Basil. In the very back is the World's Smallest Fushia just starting it's first blooms, as well as a pair of dainty flowered Electric Lights Fuschias.

A close-up of The World's Smallest Fuschia blossoms

You can also see the top blooms of my Multi Blue Clematis poking through the lattice at the top of the privacy screen.

The first huge bloosom on my dark orange Non Stop Begonia.

This picture is from last week. This plant has added another four huge blooms since I took this picture (as you can see in the top picture).

A Bit of Whimsey

While I got things ready to go onto the grill for dinner, I decorated a basket I bought today with some whimsical ribbon.

I think it makes the perfect addition to my bike!

It's not a large or particularly sturdy basket, but I think it'll do perfectly to carry my sunglass case! And maybe an apple, or a small snack. And some lipbalm. And maybe a hairbrush for when I take my helmet off. And maybe a coin purse, just in case we ride past the ice cream stand. And, and, and....

Buttercup Fields and Cotton Candy Clouds

Dad and I went for a walk last week between showers and saw this beautiful vista. The birds were singing! The wind was a bit chill but the sun was warm on our faces. I enjoyed the fragrance of new green and flowers in bloom that always seem particularly heady after a shower. It was a good day.

Sunday project

We may not have had much sunshine, but at least it wasn't raining! And the sun did actually come out in the late afternoon, when these photos were taken.

Brent and Aizia, along with Dad's supervision, started my newest raised garden bed. This will be a mostly shade garden, as it won't get sun until late in the afternoon. I cannot wait to get some soil into it and start planting!

 Here Aizia spreads the all-important landscape cloth or weed-block fabric to the bottom of the bed. We do this in a vain effort to keep out the horsetails. At least it does help for a few years.

 And the untreated sidewalls go up.

After the boxes are completed. The bare wood is lined in heavy mil plastic to protect the wood from soil exposure. It'll buy us a few extra years of life for the wood, without having to resort to treated wood.

First into the new bed will be a division of the Dicentra, or Bleeding Heart, from the corner of the bed directly behind Aizia in this picture. It was transplanted from my sister's garden last year and has just gotten huge! You can see it above her head in this picture.

Next into the bed will be these clumps of fern. They were dug out from behind the steps seen here (before they were rebuilt with solid risers) and spent last summer flourishing despite the fact their root balls were exposed.

I think I will also add some cutting flowers to enjoy in the house, seeing as I still have a flat of Snap Dragons and mixed Zinnias to plant!

Happy Mother's Day!

For the first 24 years of my life, this day was solely dedicated to my Mama and thanking her for all that she had done for me throughout my life.

I remember the 'secret' projects done at school for Mother's Day surprises. In fact, while recently going through the family home (while packing Daddy up for a move into the house across the street from me), I found the napkin holder I  made while in Bluebirds. It was a five pound coffee can covered in crinkled foil, with an unrolled yellow nylon dish scrubbie stretched over it and had a very bedraggled blue plastic flower attached to the front.

Forty years later, it was still in the cupboard. It had no room inside it for napkins now, being full of memories!



1962
Mama: Geraldine Roxanna Fowles Clark Wallis, Nana: Malinda Pearl Bush Fowles (holding me), and Mumum: Theda Geraldine Fowles Clark



1962

For the next 22 years, we shared the day, our bond all that much stronger since I had joined the ranks of motherhood and had a truer knowledge of the depth of her love for me.

Today, after saying a prayer to thank God for the years I had my Mama's presence in my life, I will rejoice in the fact that God has blessed me with three children to love. Loved them as they formed within me, loved them as we raised them through all the heart-melting toothless grins, the temper tantrums, skinned knees, fevers, and teenage angst-filled years.

Now, with pride, I step back and see them as adults, and love them even more!

November 2010

I want to wish my sisters, Janet, 'Reen, 'Manda, Georgia and Alyson a wonderful and very Happy Mother's Day!

As well, I'd like to send a special hug and kiss to the mother who raised the wonderful man I married! You did a good job, Mom! And I love you, thanks for being there, these past 30 years!

Labor of Love

Daddy's new house is officially his today when the closing papers are submitted to the county treasurer's office. He signed the paperwork on Thursday, but the county treasurer's office was closed on Friday.

That didn't stop us!

Friday, we went to the paint store, might as well give Chris at Sherwin-Williams a pat on the back for his helpful suggestions and patience, as I spent 2-1/2 hours picking out paint colors!

It's going to be Bright White for the insides of the kitchen cabinets, as well as the trim and window sills throughout the house.

For the great room downstairs, as well as the loft area upstairs, the color is Willowy White. It's a pale green that avoids being pastel by being on the gray side.  The bedrooms are going to be Platinum, it's a white with a blue-gray cast, as I wanted something bright for the bedrooms, as they seem dark compared to the all window front of the house. The bathrooms, will probably be the same color, but I haven't completely decided that one.

Friday evening I scrubbed the insides of the kitchen cupboards and readied them for paint. First tho', Daddy removed odd screws and nails to make wiping them down safe.

Saturday was official start date of painting.

I think the insides of the kitchen cabnets looks so bright and clean painted white, instead of the original gold. Don't you?

Here, Dad removes the electric baseboard heaters. With the beautiful Vermont Casting Gas Stove in the livingroom, there is no need for them. And let's face it, they're ugly. They were ugly, now they are for sale on Craigslist!

On Sunday, Brent got a start painting the great room. You can see the front of the loft area above his head. The ceiling is 2 stories high to his right.

 Large gaps and holes in the walls were filled with expanding foam. Here Dad trims off the excess, so it's flush with the wall, and ready to be painted.

A safety hand rail was removed from the stairway wall to receive a coat of stain to match the posts and rails of the stairway and the loft railings.

 Here you can see that the front walkway path is flanked by several large rhodies that are about to bloom into the most beautiful shade of red!

I gave the kitchen walls a coat of pale yellow. Pictures to follow soon. Today, I'll finish painting the refridgerator alcove, give the insides of the cabinets a second coat of white and start on the shelves.

Sunday dinner was served by Bob's at Birch Bay Square. Then Dad headed home as Brent and I headed to bed. All in all, a very productive weekend.

A Gift for My Sister Reen

A handmade gift for my sister Reen's birthday. A needlecase full of various needles and a small pair of embroidery scissors:

The appliques are wool felt. I had never worked with wool felt before, I really enjoyed it. I bought the wool felt squares from a my favorite quilting store, Folktales in Lynden and when I got them home I rinsed them in hot water and dried them in a hot dryer to increase their felting and loft. Believe me, wool felt in nothing like the cheap felt available at craft stores. It feels wonderful, not itchy at all, has a uniform thickness, didn't pill when washed and is easy to work with!

Here's a picture of the inside front cover:

The first page of needles are Sharps in a variety of sizes.

 The second page of needles is embroidery needles, in a variety of sizes. Embroidery needles have the same sharpness as Sharps, but the eye is elongated to accommodate larger threads, flosses and ribbons.

On the third page of needles, I added a variety of tapestry needles. These have a more rounded, blunted point, to slip between the threads of the fabric instead of piercing them.

The final page of needles contains a variety of household repair needles, including a spade-nosed leather needle, larger tapestry needles and curved upholstery needles.

On the back inside cover, I included a pair of embroidery scissors. Very handy to have!

This picture shows the embroidery embellishments made to the cotton cover. I added small yellow french knots to the center of the Forget Me Nots, to add emphasis and tie them into the embroidered wool flowers.

It was a very fun project and it was well received by my Sis!