Seasonal Updates

I picked up this ornamental pepper plant

on the last business day at a local plant nursery. 

"Wow--last day! You must be so excited to have some time off."

But the nurseryman didn't seem thrilled. 

At least not as thrilled as I was for him. 

The tiny peppers were all purple, then turned 

a lovely, seasonal orange.

I got outside with my "real" camera on a foggy 

morning this week. Mist laced every spiderweb 

with delicate droplets. As the sun burned through 

the haze, it turned the drops to diamonds.

My heavenly blue morning glory vine is finally showing off. 

The vines have tangled themselves into a crown studded 

with sun-pointing buds. The base of the vine is as 

thick as a young tree--amazing.

Clematis Cutting Tutorial

We've had a very long winter here in Kentucky. 

Endless weeks of cold, snow, and ice with very few glimmer days*. 

But on the first day of February, the sun came out, and during my backyard wander, 

I was surprised to find Jackmanii clematis already hard at work.

The dynamism contained in a newly-awakened 

clematis branch is electric.

So I cut a handful of the woody branches (1), including more than one

 woody knuckle on each stem.

Sporting the most hopeful shade of green, these pioneer leaves are impossibly soft. 

Spend some time appreciating them, because the next step is 

to snap off each leaf bud (2).

I know it seems brutal, but that unique spring-renewal energy has to be firmly 

directed to earn those free clematis vines. If the greedy leaf buds are 

allowed to use the vigor for themselves, roots will never form. 

By removing the leaf buds, you're sending all that growth-power south. 

Obviously, I haven't done a thorough job of clearing the buds--I'm too soft. 

Place the cut vine sections in a jar of room temperature water 

in a brightly lit window (3).

Then it's a waiting game. 

You'll probably spend most of the summer changing water and 

keeping the stems free of algae and slime (4) while you wait to see roots.

But it's worth the work.

Explore other methods to propagate clematis here and here. 

* Glimmer days are unseasonably warm, typically sprinkled throughout the first three months of the calendar year.

Awesome Idea

We got this awesome idea last spring. It happens EVERY spring around here. 

The awesome ideas flow like tap water! Funds for financing awesome ideas don't. Most of 

the time, we remember this before we actually begin work on an awesome idea.

Awesome Idea: Build a deck behind the living room. 

We staked out the deck, making it plenty spacious, and discussed

railing options. Metal? Wood? Painted wood? Vinyl?

Did we want a roof? A partial roof? Pergola-style? Awning?

We planned to build it ourselves, we have lots of 'manpower', after all.

*To get a ballpark idea for actual cost of materials, we called for a couple of estimates.* 

In the time it took to get someone out to do an estimate, we dug the bed for this 

rock walkway. The walkway would edge right next to the deck and finally 

complete a rock path around the entire house. With the bed dug, we began the 

puzzling work (!) of placing rocks.

The first estimate came in and we laughed out loud. 

The guy must be crazy or not need this job - at all! What?! No way!

By the time the second estimate came along, we were finished placing and leveling the 

rocks and all that was left to be done was filling and top dressing. 

The second estimate was almost double the first. 

AND we found out that one of our vehicles would need to be replaced. 

Oh! Did you hear that nasty scraping sound?  

That was the Awesome Idea moving to the crowded back burner. 

We did end up with a really nice rock walkway made of native Kentucky stone. 

Now you can run all the way around our house and never have to get in the wet grass or mud.

Go ahead - run around! 

But don't try to stop for a rest on the deck ...

Stockings

These Christmas stockings were made for the boys as they were born. 

By me. (!)

I don't know much that is more soothing than following kit instructions. 

Making the stocking come together is so satisfying. 

A wonderful, intricate puzzle of felt, floss and sequins.

Over time, various bits of the stockings (doves, chickens, carrots) were pulled loose for 

closer examination, to make a trip to Grandma's

in a pajama pocket, or because the dog may have wanted a sniff/lick. 

No problem - all the bits sew back. 

Chocolate melting in the second stocking was alarming for a few minutes and actually 

'left a mark' that lends character. 

The stockings remain empty until sometime in the wee hours of Christmas morning, when we, bleary-eyed and full of our cut of stocking candy, stuff them and move them away
from the fire. Once we forgot that last part ... and someone's candy melted. Right.

Husband and I have stockings of our own that hang in our room (which I did not make). 
We follow our own stocking traditions which involve much anticipation, taunting and delight  - like any good marriage tradition. We drop items in the other's stocking, at least a week ahead. No peeking, but squeezing, guessing, and mocking is encouraged. It's fun, and the boys like to come check our stockings, too. 
They actually LOOK though, and taunt us also. 

Something Special

A few birthdays ago, I was given a gift of a kit to 

make your own scrabble tile pendant. 

Loving the idea, (it had been my idea, after all), I quickly opened the package 

and browsed through the supplies. I feel so  equipped  when every single thing needed 

is actually in front of me for a project! 

And that's where I got stuck. 

The kit included lovely papers for the back of the scrabble tile --- 

the papers were nice, but they weren't SPECIAL.

And you know it has to be special!

So the kit was put away for a couple of years.

Until - DING - an idea!

We've been focusing on marriage lately - even participating in a marriage class.

I recalled a bunch of wedding snapshots that were given to us from various friends, way back then, just after our wedding day. Some of them 

with very tiny images of us, since they were taken from the church pews.

So I dug out my album and found the perfect SPECIAL tiny Us to use for the pendant.

It's so small, I know, but if you squint, you can see our First Married Kiss.

And that, my friends, is SPECIAL.

They're easy to make - let me know if you'd like one for yourself!

Lust for Nuts

After seeing this on Pinterest, we gave it a shot.

Ours didn't turn out to be quite as tidy as theirs, but it's a pretty cool feeder, I think!

One slinky, a wire hanger bent into a circle and a few bread ties.

We filled it with raw peanuts bought at Krogers for $1.49. Pretty cheap project, when all is tallied up - less than $3 if you have a wire hanger and bread ties banging around the house.

We did get our big, tough blue jay. He was lovin' the nut buffet! 

I even saw a nuthatch who was able to get a peanut out of the slinky, but he couldn't fly with it. 

Is anyone else hosting an overwhelming herd of chipmunks? Our dog spends alot of time in pointing position, since everywhere she turns --- there's a chipmunk! 

So it's no surprise then to see this little guy shimmying up that pole, right? 

(The teacup and cupcake stand are inside the window.) 

On his hasty way up, he caught sight of us in the sunroom, watching the bluejays at the feeder, and he froze immediately. He was hiding, he thought, peeking out at us. Can you see him behind there,  clutching that pole, thinking he's finally been found out? That the end of the party has surely arrived?

Oh, how often I do that same thing! Do you see a bit of yourself in that silly chipmunk?

We thought he'd leap down, but the lust for nuts made him bold, and he leaped across thin air, right onto the swinging feeder. He grabbed his bit of bliss and jumped down head first - he had to hurry, before the jay returned to peck a hole in the top of his tiny head.

I think I saw him doing a joy dance out there in the grass! 

Sky Chairs

I love sky blue paint. We have a sky blue bench in our yard, out under the willows. There's also a sky blue swing, hanging from a branch of the giant, elder sweetgum tree. Now there are more sky blue yard citizens to enjoy.

The picnic table (thank you to the Lokit Family) doubled as a work bench where the many, many bits of four adirondack chairs were spread. And the paint flowed! Actually the paint didn't flow - it was more like paint fluff, or paint mousse, and so it 'spread'. It nicely covered the four chairs I connived to get from Ace Hardware's clearance row for my birthday last August.

It took a graduation party for them to be painted and assembled.

Do you know how this happens, or does it only happen around here?

Notice the grass stuck in the paint? Yes, this is NOT supposed to happen, we all know. But with novice grass mowers around, a little bit of paint with texture is bound to happen.

I'm learning to nod and enjoy!

I think they look wonderful sitting in a ring, joined by the sky swing and surrounded by lush grass!