Saturday Digest

►As we were planting yesterday one of my daughter's came out barefoot and asked if I'd ever walked in the garden barefoot?  She was loving it.  Of course this part of the garden is very sandy so it is nice and soft.  I'm pretty sure I've never gone barefoot this deep in the dirt.  I'd like to say that I just kicked off my shoes and joined her and how wonderful it was feeling the earth squish between my toes....but, instead I said I didn't want to have to clean the dirt out of my toe nails and that I'm not a big fan of barefoot.  How stodgy I must be.  I wear shoes or slippers all of the time even in the house.   

I feel empowered and ready to work with shoes on!

How about all of you?  Would you have kicked off your shoes and joined her?

► The chamomile is blooming!

►Our late blooming lilac bush is also blooming.  So nice to get another few blooms to scent the room.

 ►Easy dessert idea for you:  A refrigerated pizza crust rolled out on the pan, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar baked according the the crust instructions.  Then drizzle it with a simple powdered sugar glaze.  Fast and pretty tasty.  A ratio of about 1/4 c sugar to 1 T cinnamon works well.  But, adjust to your tastes.

►FlorLarios has 50% off in her Etsy shop this weekend: Use code HAPPY50  I have purchased a lot of her wood blocks and stickers.  I have them in my home and have given many as gifts.  Her art moves me.

►We celebrate Memorial Day here in the USA this weekend.  It makes me emotional when I think of the sacrifices that have been made.  My Mom can recall the story of what they were doing when the news came on the radio that Pearl Harbor was bombed.  If you have a chance to hear the retelling of the war stories of "back in the day"  you've been given a gift.

Have a great weekend!

Sorting Buttons...Sorting Life...

I was sorting a jar of buttons for a bead project I was working on and as usual, I got far more caught up in the button sorting than the project. (See here and here for other sorting buttons posts.)

When I went back to it today, I was so drawn to what wasn't buttons in the button jar.  That which didn't belong, but did belong because this jar belonged to someone who had tossed the little pieces of this and that in there.

So much could be said about this as a metaphor of life.  

There are those who feel misplaced, not belonging, not appreciated, not noticed, cast aside for the prettier ones in the jar.....

tarnished, broken...

However.

There is a God who does notice you, who sees your value, and wants to pick you out and admire you. 

For you.  

For who He created you to be.

And the irony?  That most of those in life that you perceive as the shiny buttons would relate themselves to the
"out of place what-not" in the button jar.

We're all in this together.

Finally...the Planting Begins....Repurposed Planters

This is our shade garden space behind our garage; the ground cover looks great.  Around the corner of the garage...not so much.  :)

 The Lilly of the Valley and Columbine are in full swing here too.

I'm jumping on to the succulent bandwagon this year.  We'll see how it goes, I'm skeptical that I'll pull it off.  

But, for now just planted?  Love them!  This is a glass shade from a ceiling light fixture.  The hole in the bottom was rather chipped up and I knew it would never sell and I had no other use for it.  I'm wondering how the glass will fare with the water over the summer.  Will it get discolored with water deposits?  Probably so. Why do I have to be so realistic?

Now, here's another light part turned planter.  It's an old metal ceiling light fixture and I love this as a planter too.

Water deposits won't matter here!  Any advice on growing succulents is welcomed!

These are coming back in the house.  I've grown baby tears successfully as a house plant, but can I grow them without a drainage hole?  We'll see I guess!  I hope to macrame a hanger for the one on the left. The woman who I bought these from has been dividing and propagating her grandmother's baby tears plants for years.  Neat, huh? I bought one plant from her and divided into three pots.  The other is already hanging in the house.

I was able to plant quite a bit in the tank garden yesterday after it quit raining and hopefully will finish today.  We've had access this year to a few more varieties of annuals and I am excited about it!!

I don't have any of our vegetable garden in yet though. 

Have a great weekend!

A Little One Came to Visit

Our granddaughter was here for a few days while her parents were away on a work/fun vacation. 

She will finally sit for pictures again! Albeit with lots of wiggling and silliness.

We went out for a walk so I thought I'd take the camera along for fun shots.

I've always loved holding hands with my kids...now with her.

And there were puddles!

Little toes and a great reflection!

My little girls start softball practice today; moving up from t-ball into the 10 and under league.  They are a bit nervous!

~ I hope you are having a nice weekend ~

Another Room Tour

I posted last week some pictures from my granddaughter's bedroom and my daughter's room.  Here are some from the master bedroom that my daughter and her husband have redone.  It's come a long way from here!

Their room is a mixture of the old with the new.  The bedding and curtains are from Ikea and Target.  The rest is all thrifted.

Some thrifted items needed some work, some not.  Example: the lamp we plugged in for the picture then quickly unplugged because of  the frayed cord...needs to be rewired yet!

The wall behind the bed is paneling that they painted and it turned out just great.

These magazine page wreaths you've seen on my blog before.  We all love them!

(This door leads to a large walk in closet!)

To the left of the closet: another dresser and my daughter's own art.

Inspired by some abstract art she saw online, she painted her own!  I  wish I could say something quippy like 'just like her crayon drawings on the wall when she was little', but she never would have drawn on the walls!

Aren't these neat?!

Turning around from the bed this is the other side of the room.  I wish I would have had more sun when I shot these!

The chaise lounge there was refinished by my husband, Jim, and was his first upholstery job.  Now, it's sooo dated so it's covered with a blanket for now.  I tried and tried to find a good place in our home for it and had it moved all over the place.  I was happy when my daughter was able to take it because I didn't want to get rid of it as there were so many good memories attached to him refinishing it.

And, the dresser to the right of the door where we walk in.

....another original abstract by my daughter! 

I think her abstract pieces combine so well with the traditional art that she has picked up at Estate sales for a really fresh look.

I prepared this post a number of days ago and now need to just publish it and then finish getting ready for a big weekend here: a dance recital with two performances with my two youngest participating and my 15 year old gets confirmed on Sunday.

 I hope you all have a great weekend!