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!