So there's a puppy...

... and the cats are not happy.

Sping's a'comin

First iris of the year has opened - about a month early.


I love this black hellebore. It's in a very sheltered spot near the house so is a week or so ahead of the rest in the garden. But they are close!


I cheated with the daffs - they are from the grocery store. The ones in the garden are heading upward tho.


And look how bright this cyclamen is! Wow, does it put out the color.


Looks like we're in for an early spring, as is typical with an el Nino winter. I'm not complaining, even tho the weeds are getting a head start too.

More xmas...

I know xmas is over but there's still a few pics I wanted to share. First, here's a better shot of the tree. Those posted before were just too blurry to see clearly.


Daniels parents leave their plants with us every winter as they snow bird it to warmer climes so we always get to enjoy their xmas cactus blooming. It has been going non-stop for two months now.


And last are the button trees Daniel and I made using the buttons he inherited from his granmother after she passed away several years ago. A much better use than having them stashed away in a box somewhere. Joey did the first one for us (center) and we did the rest. The black velvet one with the mother of pear buttons still needs to be completed, but that can wait until next year.


So easy to do. We used old fabric we'd been carting around for years, cut it to fit the styrofoam cones we picked up at thrift stores and then used a spray adhesive to make it stick well all over. The seams are finished with a fabric glue. Then we added buttons (after a good washing and scrubbing - they were dirty!) using straight pins. Some are plain silver pins with a small glass bead added first, others have the large headed pins in gold, silver, pearl or other metallic colors. I think they turned out fabulously. Can't wait to do more next year - we've plenty of buttons left!

That's it for xmas this year. Promise.

Happy New Year!

Goodbye and good riddance to 2009. May the new year and the new decade bring better days for us all. Omens bode auspicious with the pleasant holiday season distraction of cat sitting for friends while they vacation in Europe. The outdoor kitty is Nancy, sister to our late Tuck, and very much like him. They had the same white markings but she is calico where he was black. She is sweet as can be.


The indoor kitty is an orphan we are calling Lola. She is just the most affectionate girl, and very talkative. Beautiful smoky gray coat with flashing green eyes, shes very roly-poly too. I am totally in love with her.


While I am sorry to see my caretaking coming to an end this weekend I'll be happy to have have my friends back safe and sound from their journey.

Toast the new decade with Cheers!

Bah Humbug!

.

Xmas is here!

Happy Xmas everyone!

Daniel brought home an excellent tree this year. We alternate each year between a live tree and our vintage 60's silver aluminum tree (and yes, we have the revolving color wheel too). This year as we are Poor (yes, poor dahlinks!) so we went the free route and took advantage of the natural bounty of the PNW. I don't know enough about camera settings to know how to time the photo for best results so here's shots with the flash and without.




Isn't is fabulous? It looks so much better in real life. More xmas pics to come...

(Hi Joey and Wes!)

Rainy November

We've nothing but rain for two weeks. It's getting old, but that's the PNW for ya. Beats snow. Here's a shot of that bed I've been working on in the back yard. Both side beds are now complete and planted (mostly). Still need to dig the center circle bed and get it ready to plant. We'll get an apple tree in spring to be the centerpiece. I wanted something we could prune to fill the space we wanted and that gives us the bonus of fruit and multi-season interest.


Speaking of apples, here's a crisp I made last weekend. Granny smiths and no sweetening but the topping. Delish!