Friday, May 25, 2012

Progress is being made...

The side area of the house with the railroad ties is about done. I planted up the salvia, dahlias and gerber daisies. I hope that they will fill in nicely. Here are some pics of the work I did yesterday outside.

These are the gerber daisies and in the pot are some salvia and New Guinnea impatients. The other side of the steps I placed more gerber daisies and a dahlia.
The last of the salvia found a home on the back slope between the large pots that were filled on Tuesday.

That leaves me with just the last rhododendren to plant. I have to find a good spot for it yet that's why it isn't in the ground.

Several other things I accomplished outside that I don't have pictures of are, 1. I weeded in the front flowerbed and took another wheelbarrow of trash to the burn pile 2. The hanging planters for the bay window are in the wagon soaking up water so the soil will be ready to accept some new plants. I hope to get them back up before the weekend is over. 3. The hot tub is scrubbed clean. It still needs filled, filters scrubbed and chemicals balanced but the hard part is done. 4. A general clean up around the steps and all the plantings yielded another wheelbarrow of trash for the burn pile. 5. All the while I am working outside I have to stop and throw a tennis ball for Georgie, my ever faithful companion and shadow. Here is a picture of her eating grass.

I ended up needing a nap once I had all that done, therefore I didn't make it to the studio to work on the tshirt quilt until 7:00 PM, but I am pleased to announce that all the piecing is done. It is ready to put on Lola, my longarm machine for anyone who doesn't know, and quilt away. To me that is the best part, the machine quilting. I have not been able to fall asleep before 1:00AM the past couple days. I attribute that to working in my studio too late, if I am creating something it takes my mind several hours to slow down afterwards. In the past I've found that if I quilt after 8:00 PM I will have trouble turning it all off and sleeping but if this is a side effect of my treatment I suppose I can handle that as long as I can use that time constructively.

I am off to the hospital today, not for me but as a support for a dear friend. I will run some errands afterwards and then back home to work on getting the t-shirt quilt on the frame. Have a great day, do something kind for someone and be thankful for the holiday weekend that we have the priviledge of celebrating.


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Yesterday was a very productive day. I got a lot done inside and outside the house. First, while it was nice, cool and shady, I went out to work in the flower beds. I got some of my plants in the ground but not as many as I wanted. I did do a lot of clean up though. Here is a picture of what I did get planted.

A local artisan carved the eagle. I love eagles and this majestic one sitting there as though he is guarding the property, keeping an ever watchful eye on what is happening on his watch makes me smile everytime I go by. The tall plants in the back are black eyed susans and I planted the salvia and gerber daisies in front. Here is another angle of the eagle which includes the clematis that is on the trellis. It is covered in blooms. I haven't counted them but there must be a least 75. One year I did count them and I had over 100 blooms at the same time. They do really well there.

The inside projects that I got done were picking my new area rug and getting it into place. Here is a pic of the rug although it is difficult to get it in context with the furniture. You will have to trust me when I say that it compliments the room very well.

The rug that we did have in this room now went to my office space and here is what that looks like.


I also worked in my studio on the t-shirt quilt. I have the back done and the front is ready to add the borders to and then the quilting can begin.

Yesterday was a very productive day. My goal is to make today as productive. I have so much to do before we head off to Hawaii. The only way I am going to be able to get it all done is by the grace of God. He gives me the strength to breathe so without Him I couldn't do anything. He is so good to us. He loves us so much that He wants us to give Him all of our cares and concerns. 1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. The smallest thing that concerns us is a big enough problem in God's eyes to bring to Him. He isn't just interested in the problems that are too big for us to handle. He wants all of us. All of us, that means ALL. Everything. Try telling Him what you are concerned about today, not in a pleading type of prayer, but just like you are talking to your best friend. He has answered many of my concerns that I wouldn't even say are life shattering and He did it just because He loves me and wants to take care of me. The Bible says in James 4:2 "...You don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it." Well, why aren't you asking? God has everything you could ever need and He is not stingy or greedy, wanting to keep it for Himself, no, He wants to freely and lavishly give it to you.

I pray that you have a good day, no, a great day. Remember to do a kind deed for someone you know today.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Proof is in the pudding (scratch) pictures.

I promised to post pictures of what Tina and I got done yesterday. I should have taken a picture of the back of her truck because we had it pretty full by the time we finished at the auction and went to a local nursery. She got several good deals and I got some too. The flats of annuals went pretty high so we weren't able to get much in the way of annuals. We did get some dahlias, coleus, and impatients. The big score were on the trees and shrubs. Tina got 3 dogwood trees for $7.50 each, I got 3 rhodedendrens for $9.00 each. These were 5 gallon pots too. Nice plants. I got DH 2 rose bushes for $15. each. Those were the good deals. Well, now on to the pictures to prove that we did something with these.

First of all every project has to involve a little clean up. I didn't take any before pics but we had to carry off at least 6 wheelbarrow loads of leaves from the patio area. I don't have all the furniture in place yet. I would like DH to go down with the leaf blower and blast out any stray leaves and the dust and dirt that is left before I do that, but this is where I am at this point with the lower patio.
It is looking fair, with a few more tweaks and setting out the furniture it will look pretty nice. Of course, MIL is not here right now to enjoy it, as this is off her apartment suite. I still have to clean the hot tub, get it refilled and chemicals all balanced out.

On to the plantings. These are 2 pots that sit on the bank around the patio.

DH can't mow the bank with the riding mower so I have been given permission to plant on the banks so as to cut down on his work in that area. Last year, I put in steps on the one side leading up the bank and planted some bushes. I made several little pockets too, for annuals to add a pop of color. Here is a pic of one of those areas.

These are zinnias, I hope they fill in nicely, they have perked up a lot overnight since planting them and giving them a good drink of water.

I also started a new bed several years ago that was out of necessity to transplant some divided hostas. I added these 2 rhodedendrens here. This will add a nice pop of color in the spring time to this area.
When I look across the side yard, this little bed always makes me smile. It just looks so natural and pretty. I want to do the same around some other trees that we have but that will take a lot of work that I am not up to myself. I will need a lot of help with that project.

This is what I have left to plant.

And I have to get these "beauties" cleaned up, soaked, planted and rehung. That will get done probably over the weekend when I have help. I can do every thing but get them rehung by myself. They go up around our bay window. I don't have the plants for these yet.

Well, that is it. As you can tell my treatment did not slow me down any. It really does give me more energy every treatment.

Have a great day and I hope that you will do some kind act today for someone who needs it, whether that is just a kind word, a smile, holding a door open, picking up something that someone dropped for them, or giving of your time to help a friend get projects done that she can't manage by herself. Thanks Tina your sacrifice of your time and strength is greatly appreciated. I love you.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Post treatment day...

Well, as I predicted yesterday was a very long day. I got up at 5:30 to be ready to hit the road by 6:30. I didn't get a phone call as to what time I was supposed to be there so I aimed at being there at 8:30. We ran into some bad traffic and then GPS directed us to go another way than our regular route so we ended up going round about, up and down, in and out at which time I finally saw a street name that I recognized and I said we are almost there. By the time we "valet" parked, yes they have valet parking, and we went to the rest room and signed in at the desk it was 8:25. Not bad for all the mis-turns we had. I think the worst part of the day for me is the driving in Pittsburgh, especially when TomTom takes me on a weird route. I don't know why TomTom changed the route. I didn't miss a turn or anything for it to recalculate a different route, it took us that way from the get go. Anyhow, the treatment part of the day went without hitch. I met a woman from Fredonia who is getting treatment. We chatted a bit and exchanged phone numbers in case we ever needed someone to ride with us to treatments. When it was time to go, 5-6 nurses came over with a cupcake for me and sang Happy Birthday to me. That was really sweet. They do take good care of you while you are there, always asking you if you need anything, a volunteer comes by with drinks, a lunch cart with sandwiches and soup and also with snacks. I got a ton of birthday wishes via Facebook and calls from my darling kids. My dear friend, Tina went with me so I had good company and lots of time to visit with her. We stopped at Cranberry for supper on the way home. A first for me was trying a fried pickle. It was pretty good. By the time I got home I was pretty tired. I slept really well last night.

Today, Tina is coming over and we are going to the plant/produce auction. She wants to get me some flowers and plants AND she is going to help me get them planted. How sweet is that of her. She knows I am not able to get all the outside work done by myself that I want and she has made herself available to do what ever to help me. I will post pictures of what we get done today.

I need to go and get some inside work done before she gets here so I need to close this post. Have a great day and remember to be thankful for those birthdays, that means we have made it through another year, with hopes and dreams for another one that can be as great as we expect because we know who ultimately holds our future in His hands.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Treatment day....

No post today as it is treatment day today. Leaving at 6:30 to go to Pittsburgh. It will be a very long day.