Spring Has Sprung 2010

The season change always surprises me with how it seems to sneak up on me and happen over night. The first truly cold days of fall depress me with the thought of the long winter ahead. Then by the time warm spring days appear, believe it or not I’m always a little sad that the cozy cocooning evenings by the fire are over.

Just a little. Mostly because I’m not emotionally ready to parade my winter skin around in lighter clothing. I do, however, love the warm weather, sunshine, and greening of the landscape.

Here are a few signs of spring around our house.

Last fall, Craig planted three tiny forsythia bushes at the back of our yard. I wasn’t sure how much to expect from them this spring, but they actually produced a few little yellow blossoms.

He has also been working on our square-foot garden for a month or so now. He’s got the whole crop rotation planned out for the year, and covers to protect from rabbits, scorching sun, or cold. A couple early crops went in a few days ago. He’s really into this. Hopefully it goes well and is fruitful.

Our lawn is greening up, I put the spring wreath on the door, and Saturday I bought two Boston ferns to hang. Pretty soon I’ll get some flowers going in my chair planter.

If you look really closely, you can see a bird on the chain of the fern on the left. Pretty much as soon as they were hung, a pair of purple finches took a strong liking to the ferns. I’m not sure if they’re going to build a nest or what, but they’re fun to watch out the front windows.

Happy Spring!

Handy Man, Part Deux

Last Friday, when Craig was off to do another project for me, the plan was to put a drawer in the kids’ bathroom vanity.  Partly to see if we could get any supplies there, and partly just for fun, our first stop was the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Now, I have been there several times and have never found the wonderful and awesome bargains that other bloggers seem to.  But there’s always the possibility, you know?

Drawer supplies were a bust, but I did spy a double cast iron sink in good shape for only $30.  That’s when the plans changed.

This is the sink the house came with:  just your run-of-the-mill cheapo stainless steel.  I always had it in the back of my head that some day when I had an extra $200 or so (ha, ha) I would change it out for cast iron. 

Here, after a lot more work than Craig realized it would be, is the new sink.  I like it; I think it dresses it up a bit.

Now whenever I get that $200, I can get a cool new faucet.

I Have a Handy Man

Last week Craig took a few days off while the kids were on spring break and we did family stuff.  This week, he has taken two days off, just to get some things done for me.  What a guy!

Tuesday, he did some work on my kitchen cupboards.  The lower cupboards all have a roll-out shelf on the bottom, but the top shelf is just this narrow little thing way at the back.  Kinda dumb.

There was a lot of wasted space in there, and I had to kneel down and reach way in the back to get anything that was on that top shelf.  It was particularly frustrating with the pots, pans, and lids, and the containers.  It really made for a big mess, and the kids especially just tended to toss things in every which way.

So, I had Craig build a pull-out shelf on the top for both the pot and the container cupboards (only got photos of the pots).

You can buy ready-made pull-out shelves for about $50 and up.  Craig’s materials were under $20 for both cupboards.  That’s pretty awesome for something that just made my life easier.

Tomorrow is his second day off, so I need to check the honey-do list and decide what’s next.  Yippee!

Seen in Public

Today I was at Walmart at 2:30 in the afternoon, and I saw three different dads with a child in pajamas. Like, fuzzy fleece definitely pajamas (well, 2 were definite, and one I’m pretty sure). Not that I think it’s a big deal; I just thought it was funny, because you’d pretty much never see a mom in public with a child older than 12 months in pajamas. In fact, I rarely see any kids in public in pajamas, so to see 3 on the same day in the same store seemed notable.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that just last week, I was the mom in a store with a kid in PJs. Pinkerbelle was already dressed for bed and the whole family jumped in the van to go pick up Firstborn, and stopped real quick at Michaels for something Skippy needed for a school project. So, I don’t think I’d really count it, you know?)

ETA:  I just remembered this photo Craig had on his blog about a year ago.  This was all him; I had no idea he took Pinkerbelle to Krispy Kreme in this get-up.  Pajamas and completely clashing!

Anyway, back to Walmart. It made me think of the website www.peopleofwalmart.com –have you seen it? It’s all photos that people have taken of other people at Walmart. It’s pretty funny…and you might be somewhat amazed at what has actually been seen in public. Next time you need a good laugh, go kill a few minutes over there (fair warning: while I don’t think there’s anything really inappropriate, I would rate it PG).

Further disclaimer: I have not spent a lot of time perusing the mentioned website. I am not aware of anything that may be distasteful or demeaning, but that doesn't mean it isn't there somewhere. People of Walmart does not represent my views, and my intent is not to promote malicious ridicule of others.

Taking a Breather

I have had so much fun writing this blog for the last 18 months!  Really, I can hardly believe I had that much to say, and that so many people cared to read it.  I appreciate each and every one of my followers, those who read and comment regularly,  and even the lurkers!

But I’ve got to tell you something…for a while I’ve been kind of struggling to come up with material.  It’s not coming to me right now as easily as it was, and lately, I’m not having too much fun.  I feel totally self-imposed pressure every evening to think up a good post for the next day, but I’m not coming up with anything.

I realize that just last week I was asking for feedback on the idea of a weekly linky party, and the response was favorable.  But again, I have a confession.  I was trying to recharge my blog mojo, and unfortunately I’m just not feeling it.  Right now, I don’t really want to do a party!  Maybe in a couple weeks I will; I don’t know.

So, right now, I’m going to take a step back.  I’ll probably be posting less often, because I’m not going to put pressure on myself to post.  If I’ve got something to say, I will.  If I don’t, I won’t force it.  I’ve had this post (partially) written for a  couple  weeks, and have put off posting it, but nothing has changed.  This just feel right for now.

I may have just written my blog’s death warrant, but I hope not.  I hope you’ll still check in when you see I’ve got a new post up.  Thanks for understanding!

Featured Blog: Finding Home

This week I’d like to introduce you to Mandi of Finding Home.  I kind of feel like I know Mandi; we’ve been visiting each other’s blogs for some time.  She is originally from Pennsylvania, but married a Canadian and now lives in Northern Ontario.  I’ve actually been to her town, and it’s pretty far north.  (BTW, Mandi, I’d still like to hear the story of how you and Shane met!)

While Mandi waits for Permanent Residency so she can get a job, she has taken on the role of full-time homemaker.  Check out her Home Notebook to see how she keeps herself organized and on task.  You can even download her scheduling page and start on your own home notebook.  If it will help me be half as organized as it’s intended to, my life will be a lot easier!

Mandi likes to be crafty, and you will often see examples of goodies she has made in her posts.  Here is just one example of an easy, quick project she made with dollar store frames.  Isn’t it cute?  I can see lots of ways to use this idea.

She has made her home inviting, and so cute!  Look at this little armoire she painted for their bedroom.  I love the cupboard, but I also love everything about this picture—the wall color, the weathervane, the crock, the simplicity of it all.  And next time my sister comes to visit, I’m totally telling her to bring me some of those seagrass baskets from Canadian Tire!

I’m going to show you some more of her decorating because it’s so cute!

  (Look, more seagrass baskets.)

She painted this old sewing table for the entry.

( Love this little Christmas vignette with the skates!)

One thing that always shines through on Mandi’s blog is that she loves Jesus.  Here’s just one example:  in Follow Your Heart, Mandi tells a story about how she followed God’s prompting one night, and in so doing, may have saved a girl from who-knows-what. 

I just love Mandi and I know you will too!  Please go say “hello”!

Partiers Wanted

You may have noticed that I haven’t had a Thrift Store Thursday post in a long time.  Or, for that matter, that I haven’t even mentioned a thrift store in a long time.

Unbelievable as it may be, I have hardly been to a thrift store since Christmas!  Maybe twice.  I just suddenly started feeling like I didn’t need to bring any more random items into the house; if anything, we need to get rid of a bunch of stuff.  Not necessarily stuff I bought at thrift stores, just the accumulation of 18 years of marriage, three kids and nearly a dozen houses.

But, I kind of miss my Thursday parties, so last night I was thinking about it…how about a party called just Thrifty Thursday?  It would be for sharing tips on saving money, economical and tasty recipes, and yes, any bargains you may have found at Target or a thrift store.

It’s a pretty broad topic, and would leave a lot of leeway for posts of different types, though I would kind of  hope to keep the focus on saving money and not just spending money on random things.  Admittedly, my original Thrift Store Thursday was usually more about spending.

So, what do you think? Any interest?  Would any of you participate?  I really value your honest input.