English Garden Party

My lovely bloggy friend Sarah of Modern Country Style is hosting an English Garden Party today.  She can do that because she actually lives in England!  The Cotswolds, no less.  I’m sure to her it seems quite normal, but to me it seems so romantic!  She has a real English garden; that’s it on her party button.

 

I have a typical American yard, but I do not have a green thumb.  Every year I set out a few baskets of annuals, and that’s about it.  However, I did some looking through my photos and found some shots of flowers and such to give us a little visual relief from this winter weather.  Enjoy!

Around here one of the first harbingers of spring is forsythia.  Our red house had a large back yard that was surrounded on two sides with huge forsythia bushes.  It was quite spectacular when they were all in bloom, but of course I don’t seem to have a photo of that.

 Here are my boys in that house with our forsythia Easter tree, 2003.

 

Pinkerbelle at the apple orchard, 2003.

 

And here she is with a pot of flowers from my brother’s rehearsal dinner, 2006.  Classic P.

 

House #10 had two of these spring-blooming trees in the front yard.

          

 

In our current house:  first leaf buds on the little maple tree in our front yard,

 

baskets newly hung on the porch,

 

and (later in the summer) my grandmother’s ice-cream parlor chair turned planter.

I wonder if the sap is stirring yet,
If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate,
If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun
And crocus fires are kindling one by one:
Sing, robin, sing!
I still am sore in doubt concerning Spring.

                             from “The First Spring Day” by Christina Rossetti

Hurry, Spring!

Valentine’s Wreath and the Chocolate Winner

My Christmas wreath has been on the front door since I put it up in December.  It wasn’t so extremely Christmas-y that I felt compelled to take it down right away.

But with Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I decided to make a change.  Red berries worked fine with the theme, so I just popped the silver ornaments off and started from there.

I used some heart picks from Dollar Tree, and ribbon and a large glittery heart card from Target’s Dollar Spot.

 

I shortened the picks down to a couple inches, and just stuck them in groups around the wreath.  Then I punched holes in the card and hung it in the middle with some of the ribbon.

After about $3 and 15 minutes, here it is hanging on the front door again.

I received my chocolates from Heart & Soul Candies last night, just in time to try them out before I announce the winner.  As expected, they were very yummy!

Aaaanndd….the winner is #5, Amanda of Serenity Now!  Congrats!  (Thirty-two was the total number of entries including the participants of Monday’s linky party.)

Monday’s Tips and Tricks Party

{Today is the last day to enter my chocolate giveaway, plus anyone who participates in today’s party will get an additional entry!}  

Do you ever have issues with your brown sugar petrifying?  I keep mine in plastic Rubbermaid canister, and use it fairly frequently, but still sometimes ended up with a hard brick of sugar.

This summer when my sisters were here, one of them stuck a slice of bread into the canister, and it revived the hardened mess.  Now I keep a slice of bread in the canister from the get-go, and it stays nice a soft and doesn’t ever get to the point of fossilization.

I had heard of this trick before, but had never tried it out.  So I figure that there may be some of you who either hadn’t heard of it, or had never bothered to try it, like me.  I’m here to tell you that it works!

Your turn…please share your tips with us!

• share a tip that makes your life easier
• you must link back to me in your post
• link to your specific party post, and not your general home page
• please be polite and visit several other participants and leave a nice comment
• I will delete entries that don’t link back to me or do not fit the party theme

(Linky Tools is switching to a subscription service today, and is being bombarded with people trying to export their lists before they disappear, so if the linky isn’t working, leave your link in the comments.  Thanks.)

Dear Superintendent of Schools

In light of the weather events of earlier this week, I would like to thank you for putting the safety of our children first.  I was somewhat relieved when the students were sent home early on Monday, as ice had been falling for several hours and the roads were getting slicker by the moment.  Although I’m sure the bus drivers go through a rigorous training, no one should have to drive an enormous vehicle filled with giddy children on roads that could serve as an Olympic speed skating rink.

I fully expected that school would be closed on Tuesday, as the ice had changed to snow overnight and the forecast was for blizzard conditions and 12-18” of snow accumulation.  The whole metropolitan area was basically shut down, and it was comforting to know that my children were safely at home with me as the snow continued to fall all day.

I questioned whether there would be school on Wednesday or not.  Since we actually only got about 5” of snow, and it had more or less ended by Tuesday evening, I figured the roads would be in decent condition by morning.  However, when we got the call that once again there would be no classes, I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.  After all, some areas in our district are more rural in nature and it could have been that not all of the roads were clear.

Nevertheless, I was confident that school would reconvene on Thursday.  Imagine my surprise when the phone rang and the automated voice informed us of yet another snow day.  The roads were clear and the sun was shining, so my guess is that you were concerned about the below-average temperature.  Never mind that my kids played outside in the snow for three hours straight on both Wednesday and Thursday; I can see why you would be concerned about them standing at the bus stop for 5 minutes.

Should this ever happen again, please be assured that I, and I’m willing to bet the majority of parents, would be happy to drive the children to school.  I would dress them warmly, so you need not fear frostbite.  I have been under the impression that the school building is heated, therefore I would be comfortable with them spending the day there.  Should the outdoor temperature warrant, I would certainly be in favor of indoor recess, as so often happens in the event of other types of unpleasant weather conditions.

At this point, I am in full confidence that the school bus will be here on Friday morning to pick up the kids and carry them to a joyful reunion with their teachers and classmates.  The temperature is forecast to be 4 degrees higher than Thursday; I trust that you will take that into consideration as you make your decision.

Thanks again for your dedication the children.

Sincerely,

A Grateful Mother

Beauty After the Storm 02/03/11

 

{My bloggy friend Amanda was my inspiration for this post format.  She has written “Dear…” posts several times.  Visit her at Serenity Now.}

{Enter my chocolate giveaway!}

 

 

Make Your Own Typography Spheres

{Chocolate giveaway is still open!}

I originally posted this project in April 2009, but I’ve decided to re-run it for CSI Project’s Typography challenge, because not too many people saw it back then, and because I still think it’s pretty neat! 

 

A couple of months years ago my friend Dixie and I were in Pottery Barn and saw a display with some ceramic alphabet balls. I don’t even remember looking for a price, but they were not on the website, so apparently were not available through the catalog.

We both loved the look and started brainstorming about how to create such a thing. Dixie thought of ping pong balls. I ran with that, and remembering some rub-on letters that I had, gave that a try. It worked great!

Coincidentally, the very next day I had an online gift certificate I needed to use. There were only two stores that I recognized that accepted it; one was Coldwater Creek, so I started there. I couldn’t believe it when I stumbled upon their Word Play Letter and Number Spheres! They were on clearance, and I got them for just a few dollars for the whole set.  They came in  large and small, and Dixie and I got both and divvied them up.  They no longer carry them, but I have since seen these type of ceramic alphabet balls in a number of places, usually for anywhere from $1 to $2 each!

 

I decided to go ahead and try one of the ping pong balls, just to see if it would work, and to give you the option of making them if you wanted to.

 

 

I got the little package of ping pong balls at Walmart, but they have a logo on them. If you were going to do this for real, you would want to get blank ones (check Ebay…they’re really cheap).

 

 

I cut out the rub-on letters individually, held it down sort of curving around the ball, and just rubbed it on with the stick. If you look closely at the top photo, you can see that each ceramic ball has the letter several times. Six, to be exact; four around the diameter and then one top and bottom.

 

 

Next, I gave it a few coats of glossy ModPodge. You can push a pin into the ball and use that to hold it while you brush on the ModPodge.

 

 

I then stuck the pin into some floral foam to let it dry. Obviously, if you were doing a bunch of these, you would need a lot of pins and a lot more foam to stick them in. Really, it could be anything that would support it and allow you to push the flat end of a straight pin into it. Maybe clay or playdough.

 

 

Here, I’ve put the ping pong ball in with the ceramic ones. It’s the ‘U’ on the top left. If it wasn’t a slightly different typography, I don’t think you could tell!

This was really quite easy, and you could make a bunch of them without too much effort.  But if you didn’t want to make the whole alphabet, you could always just spell out a special word, or your family’s initials, or whatever.

I’d love to know if you try this!  Have fun!

Wishful Thinking in the Kitchen

We moved into our current house not quite three years ago (that’s almost a record for us; click on the “Parade of Homes” label on the right-side column for more on that).  It was a new-build, and we got to make several of the choices, but some of the choices had already been made by the sales agent.  We got quite a few upgrades at no cost because she had chosen them before we signed the contract.  That was mostly a good thing, but having now lived in the house, I would make some changes if I could.

In the following diagram, the one on top is the base model.  Notice how the kitchen does not go all the way across the back of the house.  On the bottom is the optional enlarged kitchen, which goes all the way across, and is what we have, thanks to the sales agent.



I like having the extra space, for sure.  We have more counter space, more cabinets, and the big laundry room.  Since I had them put the laundry on the second floor with the bedrooms (love!), this laundry room has become the mudroom (double love!).  We also got a bigger dining “room”, which was important since we don’t have a formal dining room.

However, it’s still not really big enough.  The dining room dimensions on the enlarged floor plan are 9’4”x9’4”, which is pretty tiny to begin with, but you also have to have enough room to access the pantry and walk past the desk to get to the family room.  In addition, the outside wall of the dining area has sliding doors which will be our access to the deck, whenever that becomes a reality.  It will be a really tight squeeze to the have the table and enough room for the pantry and walk-thru on one side, and to be able to use the sliding doors on the other side.

Here’s what I wish we would/could have done had we realized all this upfront.  First, I wish we had added the optional boxed bay window to the dining area, as shown in this photo of the model home.  That alone would have solved the future deck access problem.



Second, I wish that we had said let’s keep the enlarged kitchen, but shorten the long countertop a little and add the peninsula that the original kitchen has.  I would have lost a couple of upper cabinets, but I have more than I know what to do with anyway.  I would have gained at least a couple feet of floor space in the dining area.  Plus, I think it may have made the kitchen workflow a little more efficient.



If I had the peninsula, maybe I could even get a couple of modern bar stools, like this awesome Navy Barstool by Emeco.  Never hurts to dream, right?

Giveaway (Pssst…It’s Chocolate!)

February already, folks!  Time to start thinking about love, flowers, and chocolate!  I was recently contacted by Heart & Soul Candies offering me two boxes of their chocolates in exchange for having their widget on my blog until Valentine’s.  One box for me, and one for you!  That sounded like a pretty good deal to me.  I don’t willingly turn down chocolate!

I was not familiar with the company, so I visited the website to find out more.  I discovered that the company is founded on Christian principles.  From the website:

• The Vision: Heart & Soul Candies Vision is to give cheerfully and generously to good works around the world by providing scripture based high-quality chocolate and candy products that bless the hearts and souls of people everywhere.
• 2 Corinthians 9: 7, 8: Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
• The Mission: Heart & Soul Candies Mission is simply to love God with all of our heart, soul, and strength as a growing inspirational confections company focused on building long term loving relationships, offering exceptional products, and serving our customers with uncompromised compassion.
• Mark 12:30: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

 

Based on the customer reviews, the chocolates are delicious.  In addition, while you enjoy the candy, you can feel good knowing that H&S donates 10% of total sales to faith-based organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse.  It’s win-win!

H&S chocolates are available at Walmart (for only $5/box!),  Family Christian Stores and LifeWay Christian Stores, among others. 

For a chance to win a box, do the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post (mandatory)
2. Tweet or post on FB and leave a separate comment
3. Anyone who participates in next Monday’s Tips and Tricks Party will receive an additional entry

Winner will be announced next Tuesday, February 8, so hopefully you will receive it in time for Valentine’s Day.  Good luck!