Friday, March 30, 2012

Chilly Spring Day, Flowers, Easter Promise

 I finally made it outside yesterday,
 a trip to the compost bin,
where I throw all the peelings from potatoes, apples 
and all the other stuff that I feel should go back into the earth.


As I came down the steps from the deck 
something caught my eye.
So tiny, yet there it was, 
a little Johnny Jump Up growing between 
the cracks of the bricks in the pathway to the gate.


 Now mind you, I don't carry my camera 
when I am on my way to empty potato peelings,
so I ran back into the house and grabbed my camera,
ran back outside and got down on my hands and knees
in the grass, all to get a better shot 
of this pretty volunteer.


 Then I see another!
I didn't attempt getting down on all fours to snap it,
(getting up is a Kodak moment in itself, believe me).
My thoughts were of how I was going to come out here soon
and with my little garden shovel, 
dig these up and transplant them to safety before 
the lawn mower clipped their heads off.
I know how they got there.
I usually always buy this flower as one of my 
filler plantings for my deck pots. 
They reseed themselves where the wind blows the seed.


 Unfortunately I did not make it out with the 
camera in time to get the hyacinths. 
They were so beautiful and fragrant last week.
I was in such a hurry one day I just never made it back out.
One bulb planted 2 years ago evolved into
8-9 individual flowers. They could use some separating.
I should also put some straw down to keep the dirt off of them.
Our thunderstorms with wind and rain are responsible.
We all know how brutal the elements can be on our flowers.


So I walked around the deck a bit and went to look for 
the one flower I love for its teeny-tiny blue blossoms.
My forget-me-nots.
The weeds have taken over in this patch of flowers, 
the kind of weeds that require a long straight digging tool
and gloves, the kind of weed that bites and is like thistle. I am forever fighting these no matter how deep we put the mulch. I refuse to use weed killer because of the bees, and
I cringe when hubby does his Roundup thing around the fences.


I walk a bit further to the forsythia bush.
It is all a bud with green sprouts,
but there are only 4-5 yellow blooms.
Something else I missed these past couple of weeks.
The mulch beneath it is littered with spent blooms.


My bittersweet vine made it through the winter.
I planted it 2 summers ago and the first winter the rabbits
really did a number on it.


They had feasted on one of the main stems.
I was not a happy camper at that point, 
and made a mental note that I would fix them!
I would be smarter and put some fencing 
around the base of the plant.
Well, Fall and Winter rolled around and I never got to 
doing what I said I would, so when I walked out to the 
back of the inner yard I was holding my breath.
Everything looked okay, thank goodness!


My rhubarb is looking good. 
I need to get out one day very soon 
and clean up the dead leaves that are littering my flowerbeds.
I need to get out here and use some elbow grease
and get my yard back to what it use to be.
Right now it needs work.
All I see is work, work and more work.


The red buds I planted are in full swing.
I have 2 in my yard. I planted both.


 I planted my trees when they were just tiny sprouts.
Years ago my mil found one growing behind her 
garbage can and asked me if I wanted it.
I took it home and planted it in my front yard.


This is the one in the back yard 
that I can enjoy from my kitchen windows.


And last but not least,
this is the one my mil gave to me so many years ago.
She passed on in October and I always think of her 
when I look at this tree. 
This Winter as it lay dormant I thought of her
and how her life here on earth is over.
And now in Spring my beautiful tree is once again alive
because God made it so.
I know for all her goodness and her faithfulness
to God, that she is also blooming and alive.
It is so close to Easter and we should all think about
the wonder of the Resurrection, 
the promise that God has given us of 
renewal and eternal life.

~*~ ♥♥♥ ~*~ 
 

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Holden 3 Weeks Old

We had a little visitor for about 3 hours last evening.
He is now 3 weeks old.
Such a good baby, although his mommy says he 
likes to be awake at night when she would like to be asleep.
It is hard for us to believe what she tells us.
He was nothing but a little angel while he was here with us.
She must be talking about someone elses baby!



 


~*~ ♥♥♥ ~*~

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Newborn Knit Hat

The yarn has not been packed away yet 
and remains in the tote next to my easy chair.
I know I said I was going to pack away the hex blanket 
for now because the warmer weather was making it 
torture to work on. 
Cooler weather is great when you are doing a WIP.
We had a bit of a cool down these past few days 
and as the temperature was dropping a bit,
my knitting needles were heating up.




 I found the pattern HERE.
This is the printable pattern page, 
but at the bottom there is a link to Bev's 
blog "The Make Your Own Zone". 
She has a lot of neat and nifty ideas and 
one is that those green lids you get on the 
Parmesan Cheese containers also fit on 
your canning jars. How neat a tip is that!
Check her out when you get a chance.
♥♥♥

Friday, March 23, 2012

Better Late Than Never


The other evening I wrote that I was having issues 
 downloading photos to go with my post.
I won't repeat myself here with the same old, same old,
but if you want to know what these are all about then
you will have to go back and read.
I will add captions to the pics for those of you who 
prefer the condensed version.

My hex blanket 1/2 finished. Burn out!

The Mollie Makes magazine I purchased, purchase #6 Mollie I've bought to be precise.

One of the best Japanese books on YoYo's. They are so creative it makes my head swim.

Just look at this purse will ya! So cute, cute and more cute!!!

Another idea for the sunflower lovers among us :)

So I think I might try socks.

So if I make socks I need the sock yarn, right?

Patterns, YIKES! Years ago I could have bought 6-8 patterns for what they now charge for one! 

Cute sewing machine cover, I need that!

And our little guy Holden. Look how big he is next to his daddy :)
 
I could not end this post without our sweetie! 
Have a great weekend everyone.
♥♥♥

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Hexed OUT !!!

I took 4 photos of my 1/2 finished hex blanket.
Unfortunately there seems to be issues 
with getting the downloads this evening.
I have decided that I am 
completely burned out with crochet for now.
With the warmer weather the yarn has become 
just too hot to handle and torture.
We have this unseasonably hot weather right 
now in March. 
We will tough it out till we can no longer 
stand the heat, then the ac will be turned on, 
and maybe then I will once again feel up to 
handling yarn.

I also had pics of some items I splurged on.
The feeling that I needed to treat myself 
has lasted several days.
I wanted to share my excitement 
over a few of the purchases.

I bought some sock yarn and a couple of 
instruction books on knitting socks.
Have I ever knitted socks before, no I haven't.
My only feeble attempt at "A" sock was a
 Christmas stocking I knitted about a year ago.
I was not happy with the results, 
but my youngest daughter was.
It hung on her fireplace mantle this past Christmas.
It didn't look so bad afterall.
 All that mattered is she loves it.

I bought some patterns, one of course was a 
little sun romper for a boy, size: toddler.
(Gee, I wonder who that is intended for?).

I found an issue of Mollie Makes. 
Although I love the issues,
the magazine is crammed full of advertisements,
I am really thinking it isn't worth the cost, 
and have any of you ever checked out the price 
for an overseas subscription? WOW!

A couple of weeks ago I bought some 
vibrant Stylecraft Yarn from England. 
Boy, was I all excited to be buying some 
yarn from there!
Years ago I had purchased some 
baby fingering yarn from a gal in England whose mum 
use to own a yarn shop.
It was Teddy Baby and perfect, made in England.
Like I said, I was excited about the Stylecraft,
 until I saw it was made in Turkey. 
I will admit the colors are beautiful.
But had I wanted Turkish yarn I would have 
Googled "Turkish Yarn", lol.
And heavens, 
I have nothing personal against Turkey, 
or it's lovely people.

So I am resigned now to dig into my fabric stash 
and crank up the sewing machine. My oldest bought me a 
Gutermann "In Home" Thread Cabinet of 
100 colors back at Christmas. It was on sale at Joann's, 
and a bit of a hint that I "loved that thread" and "it was on sale"
helped to land it under the Christmas tree. 
The gift still has the plastic wrapping on it, 
it is officially unopened, 
and I say it is high time I remedy that.


Sooooo, I will have tomorrow as an official day where
I can stay home and we don't have any appointments.
I will plan to do some organizing in my sewing room, 
and while I am doing that I will think on what I plan to do next.
It has been ages since I pulled out the boxes of material.
Yes, the hex blanket will be put aside for awhile.
It is time to take a break from hooking around.
The only thing that could possibly drag me away from 
these plans is if my new grandson needs 
holding and spoiling by Grandma and Grandpa.
Now how could we possibly refuse him anything?

♥♥♥

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Holden's First Photo Shoot

My daughter scheduled her son's first pictures 
to be taken this week when he turned 1 week old.
The photographer lives close to her and comes to the home. 
She does baby pics similar to the ones
we see Anne Geddes take of a new born.
Below are just a sample of 3 photos she took of Holden. 
 
 


He is such a little sweet pea.
♥♥♥

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Random Thoughts

Let me get to the important stuff first.
Of course that would be "the baby", what else.
Yes, I know you are all probably thinking, 
"Here she goes again".
We are all smitten, and in love right now.
Yes, ga ga for our little new guy 
who will be a week old at 12:17pm today.
I am going to post one more pic, 
right now it is my favorite.


  It is Holden and Grandpa.
A little over a year ago our family was thrown into turmoil.
My husband was diagnosed with myeloma
which is cancer of the bone marrow, there is no cure.
It was a dark time for all of us.
He went through months of chemo all last year.
And through it all, back in July, 
we found out that we were going to be 
grandparents for the first time in March of this year.
I believe that was one of the happiest moments.
In August we were approached again about 
a bone marrow transplant for my husband.
If there were any doubts (about whether 
to go through the procedure) they kinda just flew 
right out of the window.
A new baby brightened the future and gives a whole new perspective on wanting to live.
I heard the comment, 
"I'm doing this for my family."
 That baby in the picture put a whole new spin on living.
It was hope for the future and that good things are 
still going on in this world, and most of all
that God answers prayers, 
and innocence isn't lost or a thing of the past. 
It shows us that there are angels sent from heaven, 
and God trusts us to take good care of his angels 
and to set good examples and to be better souls.
We never get tired of looking at that little face.
Like a magnet we are drawn to gaze upon it's 
sweetness and perfection.
It makes us realize also that God knew 
exactly what he was doing
from the very start.
 
♥♥♥
 
This early morning I set about looking at 
a few of my favorite blogs.
I will carry over a few words about 
that pesky word verification.
You can now visit my blog and not have to be 
bothered with that annoying detail 
if you want to leave a comment. 
I also did something else, 
I got rid of the "updated Blogger interface"
and went back to the old style. 
I am not partial for "new & improved"
when "tried & true" works just fine. 
It reminds me of Cool Whip, remember years ago when 
they "New & Improved" it,
someone had a slow day, 
because there was absolutely nothing wrong with COOL WHIP. 
Tell me, was it not good eating it right from the container 
with a spoon when you were a kid?????
That stuff was kid tested, and believe me, 
I grew up with 5 younger brothers and you were considered
a dare devil if you could put a Fizzie on your tongue 
and lived through it.
Remember wax lips, teeth and fingers?
That stuff was chewed like gum. 
Candy buttons were a hit and so was  root beer barrels.
Folks, I remember penny candy, heck, I remember when you got 
2 pieces of candy for a penny, a pack of gum for 5 cents.
Once when I was a kid my friend and I found a dollar, 
and you would have thought we found a million. 
We marched ourselves right up to the little store on the hill and we came back with a whole brown bag full of candy.
We thought we had died and gone to heaven. 
But I have gotten off track here, 
my intent was to let folks know that if you don't 
like the new blogger style then just switch back to what once was.
Okay, I am now getting off the soapbox and calling it a night, 
or should I say day 
since it is now the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Hope you have a great week.
 
♥♥♥


 

 
 
 

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Auntie Meghan & Holden

Everyone in the family has the baby bug now.
Our youngest daughter, Auntie Meghan with Holden.
She had posted this pic and wrote, 
"He's always sleeping when I have him. 
What my sister doesn't know is that he is my baby now." 
I think she will remember who his mom is
 when he messes his diaper, lol.
♥♥♥

Friday, March 9, 2012

Holden Going Home


Our little guy Holden made it home safely from 
the hospital yesterday. He will be 3 days old today.
Just look at him in his little blue jeans.
The sweater, cap and booties are what his 
mother wore home from the hospital when she was born. 
He is such a little peanut in that big ole car seat. 
What a sweet angel he is and God's blessing to our family.
♥♥♥

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Catching Up & Treating Myself

Have you ever wondered where time has went,
and wondered how you got so hopelessly behind?
One thing that has gotten ahead of me is 
my photos I wanted to share.


On the late afternoon of March the 3rd we had snow.
By night this is what I captured outside of my French door.


And this is what it looked like that next morning.


Then of course the grandson came and we are still
all a flutter over what a handsome little guy he is.


Then I had to treat myself to a Lollipop Pillow 
from Brenda who is over at Cozy Little House.
She just recently opened an Etsy shop and
you can find her link to her shop on her blog site.


This pillow will be given to my one daughter.
I couldn't help myself, 
I ordered a second one for myself.
Brenda's pillows have been selling like hot cakes 
so hurry on over and check out her shop.
She plans to be doing owl pillows next.

 
And then I splurged and gave myself a second treat.


You would have to feel and see for yourself just how
light as a feather and fluffy this soft shawl is.
Handmade by Mereknits on her loom in Florida.
You can find her here Mereknits
She and her sister Claudia have an Etsy shop. 


You can find the link on her blog site.
Well, I guess I have caught myself up a bit.
I have a few more goodies coming in the mail. 
One is some lovely yarn from England, 
another of course is my Waldorf Doll from Germany.
And for those of you who are wondering.....
I named him Fritzie, lol.
♥♥♥
 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012


Holden Tyree Benson
March 6, 2012

Our first grandchild. In this pic he is not even a day old yet.
How he got his name....
any of you remember Holden the character
who was married to Lily on the soap As the World Turns?
The Tyree of course is mommy's maiden name, 
and so it is for grandpa. 
Benson is for daddy.
He is such a good baby.
He is our family's blessing.
♥♥♥

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Our New Baby is Here!!

Holden Tyree Benson arrived at 12:17pm today,
weighing in at 7 pounds and 3 ounces, 
length is 19 and 1/2 inches long.
HE IS BEAUTIFUL!
Mom, baby and Daddy are doing fine.
I am sorry there isn't a pic to share, 
but I wanted one of mom and baby,
and mom has been very tired after all this. 
I didn't want to press her on trying to pose for a pic.
She was in labor for 19 hours.

Birthday?

Today is a good day to be born.
Today is a good day to become a grandma.
Waiting..........

Saturday, March 3, 2012

My Little Boy


And so I wait patiently for his arrival. 
He is coming from the city and country 
where I was born..
In the meantime I need to think of what to name him....
Hans, Fritzie, Hansel, Bruno, Shotzie.....
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