Garden Galore

So my flowers that I planted last year are sprouting up and the tulip that I planted even bloomed, Yay! I like buying tulips that are wilting from Kroger, because they have them for really cheap, like $1.00 or something, and I bring them home and replant them because they are perennials, and will grow back. Supposedly, and I usually wind up killing my indoor plants, but since this one's outside... it lived!



These are my gladiolas or gladioli, also called sword lily. One bloomed last year, but that was unexpected since I planted them from bulbs last year and they usually don't bloom the first year- so said my father-in-law who gave me the bulbs. I have a lot more around the yard.



Irises that were here when we moved in, but never bloomed...



Irises that I planted last year, along with a new set of wilted tulips from Kroger, which I hope the irises will bloom this year since they get plenty of sunlight..



And last but not least, my little veggi garden. I'm trying to get them to sprout so I can transplant after frost. I realize that I will prolly have to put them in bigger containers, but I have never really sprouted anything but alfalfa and I am excited! Adam built an AWESOME raised square garden container and I'm so psyched. I'll post pics of that later.

Pictures I promised...

Tripp had his birthday party and a not so homemade cake, but he liked it!



He is also my little musician. Erick likes to play on the piano too, but I think Tripp has more of an interest in the music than just the sound.



I took them to the park yesterday, and they had a really fun time.





Tripp's shirt says, "It's my brother's fault". Thanks Michelle ;P

I'm the 4-leaf clover whisperer...

Something you may not know about me, other than you Michelle, is that I find four-leaf clovers... and five and six and sometimes even seven-leaf. It's something I've always done, and sometimes amaze those who I'm with. Like on my mission in Finland, there were big fat clovers in one particular neighborhood, and I found at least a dozen in a few minutes. My companion, Sisar Holopainen thought it was pretty cool (they are called neljä apila in finnish).

There is a knack to it actually, I just have "trained" my eye so to speak to find them. There is an extremely lucky patch of clover in my front yard. I don't always pick the four-leaf clovers that I find, sometimes I'll tell other people, "there are some in this area here," and it's fun to share it with others and to hear them say, "I've never found one before"!

I really like this purple shamrock as well, even though it isn't technically a clover. It's scientific name is Oxalis triangularis and someone very cool once batiked for me a shirt with these clovers and some yellow mushrooms, thanks Michelle!

Anybody watch The Eleventh Hour?

When my mom starts talking politics, the world's status seems so apocalyptic. Everything has a black cloud hanging right over it waiting for lightening to fry it to ashes. I'm not very happy about who got to be president or all the things that he is doing really, but I have to have some optimism. My mom just painted a very dark picture of embryos with stem cells being sucked out of their spines as they're being aborted. It's hard to be happy for while after you hear things like that are now legal. I feel like I should being doing something activist-like, instead of cleaning my home for a book club meeting, which I was very excited about, and still am. But I need rays of sunshine and silver linings, but mom doesn't give me those as she throws out cold, hard facts-- which I would look up, but then it would just make me more sad (and I did look this up). I don't like it. I believe in saving lives, but to take stem cells from babies and then "throw" the babies away because they aren't wanted is tragic. I have maybe a not so appropriate analogy, but not trying to make the issue light, it's like the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Boxes of chocolate bars are being torn open for a golden ticket, while the bars are discarded, thrown to the floor for the next "opportunity" for a golden ticket. Science hopes for "golden tickets" all the time, and maybe I'll be put in a similar situation so as not to be so judgmental. But I would rather save the baby than just use it's stem cells.

I just wanted to make my presence known. I have nothing to say right now, but just letting you know that I'm here... watching... reading.


I'm feeling goofy- I'm just listening to my "cool tunes".

I really need to bring my camera up here and post all the pictures that have been accumulating on it. For example, we had a birthday party for Tripp on Sunday, but I had to call the fam to cancel because of the snow. So we had a lot of cake and ice cream. And I took pictures of that, but I didn't take pictures of all the snow. In fact, we didn't really go out and play in it either. I just wasn't in the mood for wet and muddy things (babies) in the house. We had a nice fire for when the electricity went out, which kept us from freezing, but it really only lasted about an hour.

GPB was having an Anne of Avonlea marathon and I cried a lot at the end. Anne and Gilbert were so meant for each other.

Erick is surprising me all the time with his speech. When I actually buy the cord for my video camera to upload to the computer, you guys will join in the mirth. He's very silly!

Pay It Forward

My friend Michelle is doing a "pay-it forward" post. In order to get something from her, I needed to follow these rules. Which will be the same for the first three people who comment on this blog.

The Rules:

Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and I will send you a handmade gift sometime in the next 3 months.
You get to pay it forward as well by doing the same thing for 3 people on your blog.
Once you leave a comment telling me that you want to participate, you need to make a pay it forward post on your blog within one day.
So, anyone game? You can be a friend, family member, or even a random visitor to this blog. Just as long as you’re willing to pay it forward, you are eligible to participate!

Please also answer these questions three:
1) What is your favorite color?
2) Would you like a craft that is knitted or painted?
3) If painted, and you have a preference, watercolor, acrylic, or oil?

Okay, so I totally forgot about the do it within one day posting, but you guys get the gist, and this is my post needed for my cool handmade thing from Michelle!