March, April, May 2015

Sorry I haven't posted much lately, but we have been busy... WARNING...this post is very long and has lots of photos.

We attended a wedding in Jefferson, Texas...

Love the buildings, there were carriage rides, flowers and turtles in the fountain.

his ring looked like a tire...

Next are some garden pictures...

the daffodils,

we planted in the front beds this year,

three different types of cherry tomatoes,

summer squash and okra

we planted 50 bulbs all over the front and back.

looking North...

looking south...

I also planted flower seeds in each of the pots...

In back we have red onions and lettuce.

sun flowers and morning glories...

Chocolate mint...

hydrangea...

South bed...

everything is blooming and growing...

we also got back to redoing the guest room...

Kenneth scraped the popcorn ceiling and touched up the mud,

then we primed it white... no more pink.

We're adding blue...

to the ceiling...

and some glitter paint and glow in the dark stars...

there will also be a 4' X 8' chalkboard wall.

We built a twin loft bed to add extra sleeping space and have new roll out flooring to put in.

Needless to say, the girls are getting very impatient and can't wait to be able to sleep over again.

I also am making me a new quilted purse.

I got the pattern offline...

Just a little more stitching and it's ready for travel.

Spring trifecta Friday — solar eclipse, supermoon and equinox

Spring officially begins with the vernal equinox today – though it hardly feels like it in the eastern U.S., where winter is making an unwelcome comeback.

At 6:45 p.m. EDT on March 20, the sun appears directly overhead at Earth’s equator, marking the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the spring equinox has the unusual distinction of coinciding withboth a supermoon and a total solar eclipse. According to timeanddate.com, there hasn’t been a solar eclipse on either the March or September equinox since 1662!

We won’t have to wait 353 years for the next equinox solar eclipse, however. Another total solar eclipse will occur on March 20, 2034, followed by an annular eclipse in 2053. Unfortunately, like this year’s eclipse, neither of these will be visible from North America.

But while much of the world missed out on today’s eclipse, there are still plenty of reasons to look skyward. The spring equinox is one of only two days of the year when all places on Earth (outside the polar regions) see the sun rise at due east and set at due west along the horizon. With neither hemisphere tilted away from or toward the sun, all latitudes get approximately 12 hours of daylight and darkness.

Winter Arrived...

Wednesday we got a real wet snow... very beautiful...my view from the "Penthouse" where I work.  That's my car just left of the tree.

back view of the hospital from the monitor I have to watch.

Our house is in the yellow area, we were with out power for 46 hours.

Kenneth used the generator and fireplace to keep everything going.

He learned alot about what can run together and what has to be switched on or off to get the best usage.  It was like living on "Green Acres", for those who remember the show, she had everything labeled with a number so she would know what could be turned on or off.  

He did go through what I would call "electronic withdrawal", no TV or computer.  We did figure out the little older TV in the bedroom would work, so next time....... it won't be quite so bad.

But, actually it was the most prepared we have ever been, and the first time we got to use all the remodel work, switching from total electric to propane for heating and cooking, it was worth everything we've done. 

Shortly after they got the electricity turned back on I finally notified him that round two was on it's way!  Luckily we stayed just on the southern edge and didn't end up getting anymore.

our backyard...



feeding the birds (taken through the kitchen window screen)

We also started on the next remodel project...
redoing the Guest Bedroom (or the girls room, sorry Sam)

I decided to start by scraping off the popcorn ceiling, since we could hopefully control the dust/debris fallout by closing the door.

So we started by removing everything from the room...

the "crew" (Kenneth) worked on it during the snow, it came out really well.

Ideas:  Blue Sky Ceiling, coming down into white walls with clouds around the top (I don't know how yet, have to do some research)
A chalkboard wall with some kind of bunk beds.
Hopefully they will be big enough for adult guests too.
Did I mention the iridescent glitter?
stay tuned....

Entrance...

 What color should the front door be? White or light turquoise?

The entrance is finished...

Growing up in the country...
this reminds me of the girls from "Petticoat Junction"   now i'm aging myself...

all they needed was one of the dogs...

WE had a PARTY!!!

the month of January I was following four different de-clutter / cleaning blogs... see them here... well the month is over and I think we did pretty well so far.

I am still following the Declutter Calandar and Fly Lady, these are continued throughout the year.  Each one takes just a few minutes of your day or about an hour a week.  As Fly Lady says "Your Never Behind, Just Start Where You Are!"  and "You Can't Clean Clutter!"

   One of the things we were told to do in the middle of the "January Cure" was to plan a party for the end of the month to keep yourself motivated to finish.
   My first though t was, "I'm not planning a party."  A couple of days later I received a phone call that there would be a birthday party on January 31st., and (wait for it) it was going to be at our house!   I thought this was too funny, but we were ready!

it was a FROZEN  themed birthday party...

 her sisters also helped decorate the cupcakes...

yeah... she's a princess...

BLOW...

love the cupcake mustache...

a good time was had by all...

We love you...