2014 Christmas Project

Happy St. Patrick's Day ornaments for the month of March.  On one side is a pot of gold, and the other a lucky four leaf clover.  Gold and silver glitter cover both sides to add extra sparkle once the Christmas lights shine on them.

We got these done early this month.  Keeping the momentum has been a bit tough, but we will keep going until we have a year's worth of ornaments to give away.

2014 Christmas Project

 February's ornaments are simple wooden hearts with paint and either rhinestones or beads hanging from the bottom.  The hardest part was drilling the tiny holes without breaking the wood.

They sparkle so nicely in the light.

Spring Flowers

Spring is on the way.  The primrose under the rosemary bush is blooming and the daffodils are budding.  The rosemary has tiny little buds all over it.

I can feel my blood starting to pick up speed in my body and my hands starting to itch to dig.  Now if only the spring rains would stop long enough for me to prepare the ground.

I have my seeds and I'm ready to plant.  Please weather person, give me a weekend without rain so I can get in the dirt.  I don't have wipers for my glasses and you are making it difficult for me to see.

My crocuses are blooming too.  Lovely shades of purple and white.  As their tiny spiky leaves poke up from the ground I am marking the location.  Some bulbs have gone to deep to bloom.  I will dig them up later and move them to the garden until I have found all I can.

I hope to eventually get them transplanted under the maple trees in the yard.  For now, I have to rescue them from nearly a foot underground in some places.

Changing of the Seasons

The wheel is turning again.  If you quietly listen, you can almost hear the sounds of the new growth beginning around you.  When you smell the air, the gentle scents of fresh earth and early flowers permeate your nose.  As you look closely, you can see the shoots pushing through the cold earth and the buds starting to swell on the branches.  Early plants have begun to flower as my own witch hazel has done.

Spring is coming.  She is whispering in the wind and floating through the air.  Do you see it?  Do you hear it?  Do you smell it?  Are you ready?

My seeds have been ordered and added to the saved seeds.  Soon I will begin my starts, the plants that need a longer growing season than I have.  Time to start cleaning out the flower beds and checking what is pushing forth.  Spring pruning is around the corner.  I need to order my trees too.

I am excited for spring.

I am ready to grow.

Projects

It says, "Go slow and enjoy the journey."  The pattern was found at a garage sale in a fabulous box of "junk".  It took a while, but I finally got it done.

I am adding it to my box of glamping gear.  That's right, glamping gear.  The die hard tent camper is working to join the ranks of glampers.  You won't find me in heels, and there will still be dirt under my nails (and on the doles of my feet), but enjoying some of life's finer things even while living outdoors is a fine plan to this gal.  I have begun taking stock of the items in my home that I will be adding to the box, as well as the things I will make too.  Most importantly, I have started a "Glamper" fund to save up for a small "fix-her-up" trailer of my own.

So, added to the list of all the gifts I want to make for everyone this year, is a list of items I want to make for me.

A glampin' we will go, a glampin' we will go, hi ho the dairy-o a glampin' we will go..........

Spring Fever

You know you have spring fever when you hang your sheets out on the line just because it's going to  be a sunny day.

The grass under the clothes line was still covered in frost, but the sunshine was just too tempting.  It took all day, but the sheets, linens, and table cloth did dry.  When I brought them inside as the sun was beginning to drop, I kept my nose pressed into their coolness, inhaling the intoxicating smell that was the promise of spring.

With the lengthening of the daylight, the promise of the turning of the seasons gets stronger.  Each day I look longingly at my garden spot, impatiently waiting to turn the soil to work in the fertilizer and prep the beds for planting.  The garden expansion is planned, waiting for the time to sow.  I can see the changes around me and feel the changes in my bones (it's not all the ache of age).  Even the chickens are getting the fever.

The seeds have been ordered and the starts are being prepped for.  I want to be ready when the last frost happens.  Spring is a month away.  Time is passing.  The wheel is turning.

I have the fever.

Do you?

2014 Christmas Project

During the Christmas season this past month, my family and I decided to undertake the project of making 5 to 10 Christmas ornaments each month, and at the end of the year donate a fully decorated Christmas tree to someone or some family who would not have one otherwise.  Each month we will pick a theme based on the holidays in that month, or time of year, and make the ornaments.

We started with December and made some Christmas ornaments using old wooden spools, silver and gold paint, wire, beads, and scrap-booking paper.  They turned out pretty cool looking.  We left the labels on the spools so that a person would know they actually were spools in a former life and not just something we picked up at the hobby store.

For the month of January we went with the New Year Party theme.  We used all things shiny and glittery with pearls, metals, beads, and crystals.  They will look fabulous hanging around a tree with pretty colored lights twinkling off of them.

As a family, we are getting a great deal of satisfaction making these ornaments, not to mention some great time together talking about other ways we can give to people within our community and the importance of doing so.

After we made 2 sets of ornaments, we decided that they will also need a box to be carried in, so we are in the process of decorating one of those.  As soon as it is done, I will post a picture of it as well.

What do you do to give back to your community?