POTPOURRI

 Polemonium caeruleum 'Brise d'Anjou'  or Variegated Jacob's Ladder. 

Our local greenhouse closed down a few years ago and I miss having one in town.  The neighboring town has a nice one called-Country Petals.  My daughter, my sister and I went over  to see what they had this year-lots of beautiful healthy looking plants.  I love variegated plants and bought this pretty Jacob's Ladder.  I have read mixed reviews on it and hope it will live for me. 

I also bought two Sun Coleus at the greenhouse and a Orange Prairie Grass from Wal-Mart. I am going to wait a few days to set out the coleus and grass but will go ahead and set out the Jacob's Ladder. 

Later:  It has been too rainy here to get the Jacob's Ladder in the ground-9 3/4 inches of rain since the 21st.  Some sun and no rain today but more rain to come later.  I try not to complain about too much rain as I know what July and August usually are like here in my part of Missouri-hot and dry. 

This is always my first iris to bloom.  I love the pretty lilac color and think I have the name right.

I liked the way this lavender card turned out.  I sent it to Cindy Motherway on SplitCoastStampers  congratulating her for 5 years on SCS and for all she does for others.  The agapanthus image by Stampendous  was stamped with VersaMark ink and them embossed with white embossing powder.  I like the look stamped direct on the dotted paper.

Think I will go pull a few weeds if I can without sinking into the ground-they should pull easy!

SWEET VIOLETS

I love violets, tame or wild.  They are one of the sweetest sights in early spring to me.  The Viola Johnny Jump Up's in the above photo return every year and in some unexpected places. 

The Viola Penny violet above was very pretty.  Reseeded back for a few years but haven't seen it this year.  Sad!

This is one of the prettiest colored violets and very prolific as are most violets.  My daughter gave me a start and this is the mother plant.  It has reseeded in the bed, which I want, and out into the lawn.  I dug some of those and replanted and the rest get mowed if they are tall enough for the blades to reach otherwise I enjoy them as I walk around the yard. 

 The bed above is the one that I want the violets to have free run in.  The mother plant is in the background.  Annabelle hydrangea is in the corner out of camera range.  There is also some reseeding Sweet Williams and some  iris, can't remember the kind at the moment.  Our dog, Lady,  lays on the other end of the bed  so I leave that spot open for her. 

Here are some cards I haven't posted.

This was for a challenge we were to title as a dance theme.  I called mine 'Doin' the Button Dance'.  I used a Cuttlebug Button embossing folder on the edge and used the Sizzix Button #5 die for the buttons that I added to the punched solid and music dp circles-someone said they looked like the old 78 records. The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up set Riveting and I used brown and white baker's twine for my trim.

My oldest daughter turned 48 last week-where has the time gone?  She is a jig saw puzzle lover so I used the House Mouse Piece Corps stamp to make her card.

This card uses another image from the Tim Holtz Journey set.  It didn't make a very good ink impression so I later colored it in with a black pencil and like it better but didn't retake a picture.

Wishing you all a good week.

THINGS ARE COMING ALONG!

Been a very busy week and the weekend has started out that way. 

The Dictionary Word for the Day was: futz \FUHTS\, verb:

1. To pass time in idleness (usually followed by around).
noun:
1. A fool; a simpleton.

I had planned for today to be a day to just futz around but somehow I went outside to do one thing and didn't get back in until after lunch. 


Did get several things done in the yard and flowerbeds.  Got my  three red Knockout Roses pruned and the sedum trimmed up in the driveway curve bed.  Trimmed back two pink Knockouts and cleaned out around the Sorbet peony at the end of the tomato garden.  That leaves three more red and one yellow Knockout to do. Set out a daylily a gentleman from Arkansas sent to me.  It is one of his seedlings-a purple double. Mowed the back yard this morning and set the mower on high and "pruned" some nepeta 'Walkers Low' and some henbit that was growing with it.  Henbit, creeping charlie, deadnettle are all very plentiful and very nasty weeds! 

I love heucheras (coral bells) and bought two new ones at Wal-Mart; Caramel and Georgia Peach.  I need to move three hostas to a new bed then the coral bells will have a home. 

I haven't been very crafty lately what with bookwork and working outside.  Need to get at least two cards made to send out.  A friends mother died and I need to make a sympathy card for her and my oldest daughter has a birthday next week so I better get busy. I used to do most all the challenges on SplitCoastStampers but haven't done any for awhile.  Would like to get back to doing some of those.  Here is a card I made for a challenge awhile back using a Tim Holtz stamp and gave to my DH for his birthday. We were to use black ink and a silhouette image on our card.

Tuesday was the day I meet with 3 friends and we play games and snack. (we meet monthly) Played Boggle Tuesday.  The first Wednesday of the month is the day I weigh  with 3 other friends; we discuss our month and then go have a nice lunch together.  Both outings are always a lot of fun that I look forward to.  Wednesdays are my regular weigh in morning along with my sister and a friend.  We each weigh at home and then report our loss or gain online and try to encourage each other.  I am losing very slowly.  Maybe working outside now will help-hopefully!!

ANOTHER WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES POST

Sunday High Temp--86 degrees  with wind gusts to 40 mph
Monday High Temp--46 degrees with wind gusts to 35 mph, rainy and cold!

This garden bench has been under the tree for umpteen years and Sunday was the first time it has ever been blown over.  The very, very strong winds yesterday must have caught it just right and over it went! 

I have grown Pink Flowering Almond (prunus glandulosa 'Rosea Plena' for years and always look forward to it blooming. The Pink Flowering Almond is a small shrub that flowers in early spring with a display of double, light pink flowers before the leaves appear. It grows best in light shade to full sun. It prefers a well drained light garden soil and is adaptable to most soil types and moisture levels. Blossoms are beautiful but  not fragrant. I plan to prune and shape mine after it finishes flowering. If it was in a different location I would leave it alone, but it is by the garage so needs to be kept in check.   I took this photo today before the rain and wind damages many more blossoms.  Photo is a little blurry as the wind was blowing the limbs around. It blooms along with the forsythia and the redbuds for some pretty early spring color.

Went to the accountants office this morning and left our tax info.  We then went to a local cafe that serves breakfast all day and had an early lunch. DH had breakfast but I had the cheeseburger/fries from the childs menu and it was plenty.  I have to go back to town to pick up our meds from the pharmacy and buy some groceries at Wal-Mart and go to the bank. We were waiting for the mail to come with a farm payment check so I can put it in the bank. If I didn't need the meds I wouldn't get out again being the wimp I am. 

Thanks for visiting my blog and I appreciate the comments.

HAPPENINGS

Hmmm....looks like I took the whole month of March off from blogging.  Beautiful sunrise this morning, loved the pinkish streaks in the sky as viewed from my kitchen window.  I wish I had stopped and taken a photo now.  It is going to be a beautiful day in the Ozarks.  Have a full day planned but would like to be able to clean at least one flower bed and trim the KnockOut roses. Probably  not going to happen today but hopefully next week. My daughter helped me cut back 8 clematis and clean some flowerbeds earlier.  I finished our taxes yesterday and they will go to the accountant Monday.  I am always so glad when that chore (which I dislike) is finished. 

The flowering trees and shrubs are really beautiful right now.  Here is a photo of my daughter's Bradford Pear tree-gorgeous.  They have such a lovely shape.

Spring is my favorite season, closely followed by fall.  Helleborus, reticulata iris, Virginia Bluebells, crocus, daffodils, hyacinths and forsythia are some of the things that have bloomed or are blooming now in my yard. 

We have been having some nice rains and DH got the fertilizer spread on the pastures just in time for a nice rain to dissolve the fertilizer into the ground.  We sold our heifers and bulls this week but will be looking for some more to put on the pastures later. 

Noticed some bluebirds around the birdhouse and have seen the Mama with her head out-hopefully she is thinking about a family!   

The above photo is of my Helleborus or Lenten Rose.  It is one of the first things to bloom starting in very late winter and blooms for a long time.  I don't know the variety I have as it was a start from my daughter.