Spring, A Second Look

Spring was off to a great start this year as you can see HERE and continues to be busy and beautiful.  Here is just a sampling of what is going on around our house...

*Maggie, our 14-year-old Chihuahua, finds a sunny spot on the kitchen floor.  It is especially bright because I am STILL in pursuit of the perfect kitchen curtains!

*Levi and Liam go for a ride in our new walking stroller.  This was taken on one of the chillier/rainier days of spring.  We were disappointed to discover that the stroller will not fit into the trunk of our car so we are relegated to walking up and down the gravel road until we find a solution.  My car is looking a bit shabby... <wink, wink>


 

*Dahlia... Amelia's favorite.
*Lantana... Reminds me of candy.
*Zinnia... Beauty doesn't have to be flashy.
*Double Petunia... Traditional femininity never goes out of style. 

 

*Zinnia... Bright and spicy.
*Petunia... Purple. THE color of my childhood.
*A view from the deck.  Rosemary, Daffodil leaves, Hydrangea, Peonies, and a couple of ground covers (ignore the chunk of machinery!).  If you look closely you can see indentations in the mulch between the rosemary and hydrangea.  We are not positive who is digging those as we've not seen any critters about.

*A new addition... I found an antique jar lifter (yep, technical terms are always important!) for $1.  It goes perfectly with this slap-dash vignette of antique jars, wreath of teal eggs, and antique cheese box.
*My husband gave me a balloon on Mother's Day.  I'm pretty sure it is the only balloon he has ever given me. 
*An adorable little singing bird that my daughter made for me for Mother's Day in her ceramics class at college. He quickly found his home in an empty spot among some of my treasures.
*Photo Unavailable of my son's Mother's Day gift to me.  He gave me cash to buy my own.  We had a good laugh over that one!

*Amelia and I did some kitchen experimentation with making kale chips.  Our results were unimpressive.  Too salty, too oily, and had the mouth-feel similar to that of a clump of grass. How do I know about the mouth-feel of grass clumps? All you need to know is that I have an older brother.  'Nuff said!
*A huge pot of chili to eat on a cold, rainy spring day.  Leftovers to be served the next day as taco salad when it is too hot too cook. 


Our son and his family moved out and our daughter came home for summer, so in the space of weekend we went from a household of 6 (including 15-month-old twins) to a household of 2 (just us old folks) to a household of 3 (gotta love those college kids).  As if that transition weren't enough, we decided that this is the perfect time to turn our house practically upside down.  The "kids" room, which was formerly a pit of clutter  garage, is being turned into a home gym.  The babies' room is being turned into a guest room.  Our family room downstairs has been emptied (more about that later) and will be the new home of the furniture currently in our upstairs family room.  The upstairs family room is going to become a formal dining room.  Those are just a few of the re-arrangements being made in the house but I am feeling the veins in my neck popping so I'll leave that til another time!

So, yes, Spring has indeed continued to be busy and beautiful.  Just be warned... if you stop by anytime soon you are likely to find any number of craft projects mid-crafted on the kitchen table, a dis-assembled bed in the living room, a stack of new towels that are too fluffy to fit in the cabinet sitting on the couch, dust bunnies tumbling down the steps, and me playing Candy Crush in a feeble attempt to remain sane.  But do stop in anyway.  I might have some work for you to do.


Oh, I almost forgot!!  This is the flower I've waited for a whole year to see... My peonies!  They bloomed!