Sunday, April 22, 2018

It might be Spring...maybe...

So yesterday was nice and sunny ...and today is warm-ish, but not sunny and the rest of the week looks nice-ish with no frost warnings ...so I take that as a harbinger of Spring...and to celebrate that I went to 2 greenhouses today. I only bought a couple of plants and I'm not putting anything in the ground yet but it was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. I had a $5 off coupon for the first greenhouse and it expired today...gotta spend it!! Bought 2 small Queen of Hearts petunias... they look like this...mine are just buds...


And I got a perennial called Crocosmia Lucifer...


Mine isn't budded yet. I got one last year and it was so pretty... deer resistant and it attracts hummingbirds.

I picked up a Escargot Begonia...


I'm treating this as a houseplant. I bought that cute bird pot last year...it looks nice in the sunroom.

And I bought two more David Austin rose bushes to replace the one that is totally dead and the one that is 3/4ths dead...gotta dig them up. I selected Benjamin Britten...


And Lady Emma Hamilton...


As always hope springs eternal that these will do well and I can keep the deer from eating them. I got into a conversation with another shopper at the 2nd greenhouse...he was looking at roses too...and he recommended a new to me product called Deer Out ...you can see it here on Amazon... it is peppermint based...he said it doesn't smell bad and it works well. He said he even has hostas... I love hostas but have avoided them as they seem to be candy to the deer. I'm gonna try it.

By this date last year I had already bought flats and flats and flats of petunias and marigolds. I had my window boxes planted by April 24 (go back in the history and you can see them). Well this year I decided I shouldn't start so soon as everything peaked and faded early...seems like Mother Nature heard me and has made it impossible for any early planting. This coming week is the first week we don't have morning frost/freeze warnings. I saw signs in both greenhouses saying it really isn't safe from frost till May 15...Mother's Day week...and I know that...I've been told that my by sainted Grandma since I was knee high to a shovel. But I'm itching to get started. The guy who sold me the roses was a horticulture student from Univ of Cincinnati...he reminded me it is too early to plant these bushes... so I'll put them out in the sun everyday and drag them back into the garage every night for another week or two... I hate being patient...

On the stitching front I am almost done with Notforgotten Farms' Tis Spring...


I added ecru and topaz stripes to the hem... still have to finish the basket...sow/sew some grass around those carrots under her feet and plant the tulips. I'm more than ready to move onto something new... a new project that doesn't have a female character wearing an enormous article of clothing...

Have you been following anyone who is going to do Stitch Maynia? You can check out the Facebook group here... the plan is to start a new project everyday for the first 18 days of May... some people only do the first 15 days... others are breaking out UFO's and some are going to monogamously stitch on one project for Maynia. It sounds like fun to start a bunch of new projects...but then my Catholic guilt of not finishing kicks in ... and that would torment me...which wouldn't be fun at all... so I think I'll pass. I've got a bunch of Pineberry Lane pieces I'd like to do...most aren't real big...and I got a bunch of new charts from With Thy Needle & Thread  to go along with the stash of Christmas and Halloween charts from Lizzie Kate... I don't need to start 15 new projects... I need to finish one or two...along with several quilt projects and the new curtains I want to make for my kitchen and the 3 pairs of jeans that need to be hemmed...etcetera...etcetera... etcetera... you get the picture...

And speaking of pictures... I have more... I freshened up my new book shelf unit in the living room... banished most of the bunnies to plastic bins and broke out a lot of birds...





A smattering of cross stitch pieces and plates and birds and bunnies... Spring stuff...

I want to add the Notforgotten Farm Bunny to this display....hopefully this week.

I want to thank all of you who've left such lovely comments... I'm not doing well replying so I'll cover some stuff here. I was asked about the floor in the sunroom... it is carpet tiles from a company called Flor...you can check them out here. I've bought from them before ...the carpet comes in tiles about 20" square... you can cut them easily with a razor knife or a rotary cutter. My handyman, Dan, cut around the threshold and into the corners  and around the door opening and made it look like a custom job. The project took 28 tiles and he laid them all in about 90 minutes. They aren't stuck to the floor but to each other with a large adhesive dot that you place at the intersection of the tiles. If one gets soiled you can lift it up and take it to the sink and clean it off. They are made from a high percentage of recycled materials. Each patterned tile is unique so you are going to get a scrappy random look which I like. They feel good under foot and make the space feel like a room not a porch.

The Big Dude adores the porch...as soon as I open the door he's out there claiming his space on the sofa...however the color of the sofa...beige...shows every hair he sheds...and I'm getting tired of cleaning up every day. So I'm going to artfully throw some quilts over the sofa...it will add color and  hide the cat hair...hopefully... I figure then I can just shake out the quilts every now and then...will show updates when I get the quilts bound and arranged... another project on my list.

Well I'm not doing dinner with my son and daughter-in-law tonight...they have other plans...and I'm not really cooking, just heating up some stuff. We have leftovers from a excursion yesterday to Lexington/Nicholasville for Sonny's BBQ... I  LOVE Sonny's... I first ate it on vacation in Florida over 30 years ago...and then I lived in Albany Georgia for a while and ate there several times a week. The location we visited is about 90 minutes one way but it was sooooo  worth it. Brought home some ribs, chicken, sliced pork, brisket, beans and cole slaw...should have a nice spread tonight for me and my younger son.

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday... and I'll spend some time there tonight looking at what every one else is up to. Hoping for a quiet week where I can stay home and work on the many many many projects I have. My goal is to finish one project each day...hem a pair of pants...put a quilt binding on...finish a cross stitch piece...dig up a dead rosebush... wish me luck!!

happy stitching-
carol fun

9 comments:

  1. Gorgeous flowers. Hope springs eternal!

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  2. This spring has been very challenging--I have plants waiting to be planted which spend days/nights outdoors and other days they are in the garage. Am afraid to plant for fear of a late frost. Stitch Maynia--to scary for me--I love following but have to many projects in progress which I need to complete

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  3. I am trying to thin out the UFOs, so no Stitch Maynia for me. And I skipped the "March Madness" cast on craze for the knitting, too. I'm feeling virtuous - LOL.

    Love the flowers, yesterday was the first Sunday this month it hasn't snowed, so I'm trying to be patient about the outside as well.

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  4. Your nursery purchases look super. I am going to look into that deer out stuff you mentioned. Miss Bunny is looking good. I like the spring look to your book shelf unit. Well done! Enjoy your week.

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  5. What a pretty petunia. I know just what you mean about the weather. We had frost fairly nearby last night. All the stores and nurseries have annuals right now. I know better than to plant them but there are crowds buying things. I hope there will be plenty left when the weather is appropriate. I am dragging two dahlias and a fern in each night! I love your decorating. The birds and the stitching look just wonderful. So glad the porch is a joy for both you and the big dude.

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  6. I love following but have to many projects in progress which I need to complete
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  7. I’m itching to get out and do some gardening too! Our frost free date is May 24. Your flowers are lovely! I love to see your changing seasonal display. Your new bunny stitchery will fit in quite nicely.

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  8. Lots of wonderful color outside. I love David Austin roses. But yes, planting before mid-May is dangerous here too in western Oregon with frost still possible. I'm just getting started outside now - checking to see what over-wintered and what I need to replace. I really like your bird display.

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