Bits & Pieces

Nemesia

Nemesia Close-Up

I love this plant! I bought one last spring, but had bad luck in re-potting it and it died right away. I was excited to see it again at Fred Meyer and this one is doing great.
The Sweet Peas are slowly coming along, I think it hasn't been warm enough for them to really thrive yet. I'm going to wait another week at least before planting some herb seeds in planters, hopefully it will be consistently warmer at night soon so that they will be successful.


I experienced a real bummer this last week when someone took my clay planter that I had on the front porch and smashed it to bits on the sidewalk in front of my neighbor Dave's empty house next door. I had geraniums in it that I had wintered inside for two years in a row and they were in fantastic shape. I had planned on putting a few more planters out there this year, but won't be after this. I just planted one more hanging planter, hopefully that should be safe. I planted a purplish geranium with both light and deep blue Lobelia in the hanging planter.
I worked some overtime this week, we are starting to head in to the busy season. And yesterday I met with Denise, Jo & her mom Dot, and Steve & Naomi at AB Crepes downtown. The food was good, any they were busy which is a good sign for a new business. Jo owns the building, so I really hope they are successful and good long term tenants for her.
I also read in the Herald that a Philly Cheese-Steak shop opened up out on Mount Baker Highway; and oh man! I wish it was closer! The gal managing it used to work at the one in town here that closed almost ten years ago, and I still really miss that place.

Bits & Pieces

Sweet Peas & Obelisk

I got this obelisk at Fred Meyer this week for my sweet peas, I think this is going to work much better than the small trellis I got last year. I really hope that it ends up covered in blooms!
Boy what a nice weekend it turned out to be. I broke out the shorts and worked in the yard most of the day Saturday after Boo and I got back from her vet visit. It was time for her annual exam, and she actually was really relaxed with Dr. Feringer to the point that he was waiting for her to stop purring so he could listen to her heart. She just didn't like the car ride...

I planted some ivy geraniums in the recycled wood hanging planter I got from the Farmer's Co-op last summer. I planted 3 coral colored and one red together. I got a small purple/fuchsia colored geranium and a deep purple snapdragon and a few blue lobelia, but didn't get those planted yet. They are in a tub in the kitchen; I'm enjoying the color inside!
Pauline just finished her last dose of antibiotics today, and the cold seems to be gone. I made a batch of vanilla bean ice cream yesterday to take to work tomorrow. And today I baked Raisin Cake to take to my mechanic, and raspberry cobbler for my coffee break at work. I wanted to treat Rob and the guys at Hi-Tech, they are always so nice to me. They took my old lawnmower, so that I didn't have to deal with getting the gas out before taking it to get recycled; they did all of that for me.
It's been busy at work still, but no overtime this past week. I've been there a year now as of last Thursday, and it's been interesting being there for when the new seasonal folks start and seeing how it impacts the workload (and parking lot).
I played around last night with a new background for the blog, I wanted something different, at least for now. They just updated the blogs, and I like the matting around the pictures, it helps bring them in to focus. I better sign off now so I can watch the latest episode of Awake online before the news...

Bits & Pieces

The Flying McCoys

Spring has sprung, and I'm enjoying it. I like this time when the trees are sprouting and flowers blooming. I saw that the Magnolia trees are just starting to bloom around town.
I had to get a new lawn mower this weekend, and I bought one I had to assemble, my arms are still tired! I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but I'm not a complete dummy either - but that owners manual with assembly instructions was easily the most confusing I have ever read. I had to look at the old mower for reference, and thank GOODNESS it worked!
Pauline is doing better and getting over her cold with the antibiotics; it looks like just a few more days worth of doses in the bottle. Saturday was such a pretty day and everyone enjoyed getting out in the sunshine.
I should have gotten outside during the day more than I did; I did get all caught up on two weeks worth of The Daily Show and Awake, so I felt good about that. Awake has been a really good show, not a bad episode yet.

I hope we have some good weather this coming weekend, so I can get out and start working on sanding the desk 'parts' and hopefully finish that project this year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed......

Deer Visit

 One of my deer friends dropped by when I least suspected it. I was just finishing making my dinner and went in to the living room to turn on the news and I looked over to see our friend here eating his dinner too...

The bowl of corn on the front porch has been steadily getting eaten all winter, but I was never actually seeing anyone until one night on the weekend when I was up past 11:00 in early March. I think it was a doe, and tonight this one looked to be a young buck who's antlers are just little bumps on his forehead at this point.

Bits & Pieces

Another nice weekend, it was a pleasant surprise. My Sweet Peas, continue to grow, except for one seed pot that didn't sprout at all.
Pauline and I went to the vet due to her sneezing for about two weeks, and wheezing since mid-week. We get the fun of me giving her a once daily dose of antibiotics via syringe for the next 10 days or so. Not a fun experience for her, but she is sounding better already.
After coming home with her and mowing the lawn, they all got to go out to enjoy the mild weather. There were two squirrels out playing - that kept Munchkin occupied. And it was really funny, at one point this one squirrel that was evading the other, ran right up on to the back stoop and across the deck, right past Woody. I couldn't believe it! The back door was open, so it was a good thing it didn't run in to the house or that would have been pandemonium...

Both of my Christmas Cactus' are blooming for Easter; I love flowers inside. The intense colors help brighten it up. The geranium that I have kept inside since I first brought it in to 'winter' indoors two years ago is blooming right now too. It is that really deep Fushia color that I love; it gets enough light in the south facing window in the living room to bloom on a regular basis.


I spent so much of this weekend catching up on sleep, that I didn't watch any Daily Show online, or catch up on this week's episode of 'Awake'.
But I did see the season finale of 'Republic of Doyle' and 'The Mercer Report' on CBC. Republic of Doyle ended with a cliff hanger that I hope doesn't turn out bad for the next season. (I can't give any details until Jo & Glen get a chance to watch it).

And finally after a 2 year wait - Doc Martin!! Oh my gosh how I love this show... And they haven't lost their touch, it was worth the wait, but sad to see some characters are gone (no detail here either until Steve & Naomi get to see it).
So I once again get to look forward to 8 o'clock on Thursday nights for Doc and the gang; life is good...

Spring!

Exactly a week ago today, during our beautiful weekend, I mowed the lawn for the first time of the season. That always wears me out a bit, due to the grass getting so high in most places before the ground is dry enough for me to mow. It wasn't too bad this year though.

I also planted the Sweet Pea seeds that came off of the plants that I had last summer. That was the first time that I ever grew them, and it was a nice little bonus that I wasn't expecting to have the pea-pods with seeds when it was bloomed out. I had saved them in a jar for this spring. I planted 7 little peat-pots, and 6 of them are sprouting!

I also bought some seeds at Fred Meyer this past week, and am going to try growing some Basil and Rosemary in containers on the deck. I also got a packet of Lavendar just for the heck of it.

The other "flowering' situation that I was pleasantly surprised by this week is both of my Christmas Cactus budding/blooming. The smaller red one is opening first and the larger pink one is running about a week behind. This is now the third time they have bloomed in the last 6 months. They always bloom between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and usually again in February, now this!

The cats also really enjoyed the weather last weekend and now are wanting out all the time (if only Mother Nature would co-operate). Boo will go to the back door and give me her mournful meow, while the rain is pounding against the windows...

My little boy Munchkin loves to explore; half the time he is outside, he is out of view, hanging out under the trees or bushes next door. But he was sitting still long enough sniffing the grass for me to get this picture.

The Secretary Desk - Part 2

My friend Jo said she was curious about what the secretary desk looked like before I refinished it. This is the only detailed picture I took before I stripped the desk itself.
I started with the drawers and stripped and sanded those first, you can see the bottom drawer here for comparison.

The cubby holes were a bit more work to sand, but they are so handy for my monthly bills. The actual fold down desk part was no longer part of the desk when I got it, but I actually like it open like this.

 This picture was taken after it was all stripped and I was still in the sanding stage. I managed to get it all done in one summer, the weather was more co-operative back then.

It was kind of awkward to have to lug that in and out the back door when I worked on it on the back deck. I got a work out that summer!