Decisions Decisions

I've been trying to figure out exactly how I want to work up the flower bed in front of my living room window. I knew I wanted Loropetalum bushes...

Image Source

but couldn't decide what to put on the ends. So, I only purchased the five bushes and brought them home, placing them in the spots I wanted, still in the pots. Hmmmm.... I should have gotten one more. Man! I really hate it when I do something like that! And I didn't want to drive 30+ miles back to Benton to get one plant. So, I planted four of them in between the Hostas.

Again, Hmmmm....not feeling it. So, to Walmart I go. And I find this lovelies.

They are Japanese Holly, commonly known as "Sky Pencil" and I'm diggin' it. Then I look and don't like the space between that and the Hosta. Do I add the fifth Loropetalum? Do I leave it bare and then see a huge empty space this winter when the Hostas are dormant? What to do, What to do?!! My dear friend Y suggested I live with it a while and then decide. She said I could always put a pot there this winter with some mums or pansies. And I lived with it all day long. That was as long as I could stand. I added the fifth bush. And here is what I got.

Aside from the Hosta on the far left being so much smaller than the rest right now, I love the look of the dark purple against the bright green. And when those pencils get a little meat on their bones, I'm going to really enjoy looking at this bed!!  I even added some Sweet Alyssum to the bed and when that takes off (hopefully) it will cascade down and smell heavenly.

I added clumps of "Monkey Grass" around my Oleander tree. I took three pots and split them in half. When it fills in it will look like a fairy ring. *grin*

See that little area to the left? I think it's my favorite spot in the whole yard! And it was just a haphazard fill in to try to camouflage the blocks in the foundation.

LMW loves to pet the little girl and call her "Little Mommy". He thinks she's LeLe I guess. It's so cute.

I absolutely adore the violets! They are enveloping "Little Mommy's" feet. What fun!

I'm almost done with the photos y'all... These are the Dianthus that survived all winter long in one of my pots. I often forgot to water them but somehow they still lived. Every pot I had of them is still blooming. Note to self...plant more Dianthus!

Last one...

 Super LMW to the rescue!! He saw all these pots jailed in the cabinets and had to free them!! Run little pots! Run!! My Hero!!

Lookie What I Won!

I don't enter a lot of giveaways. And I don't really expect to win when I do. But I won this giveaway from Hawthorne Threads and I was elated!!

It's 34, count'em THIRTY-FOUR fat quarters from Rosalie Quinlan's Folk Heart Collection.

Just look at all that beautiful fabric!  When Snoodles from Lilypad Quilting congratulated me on my win, I didn't even know I had yet. Somehow I missed the Hawthorne Threads newsletter with my name as the winner. Talk about surprised!!

 I don't know exactly what I'll make with it yet, but I have some ideas spinning around in my brain.  Maybe a table runner or a baby quilt or both...the possibilities are endless.

Thanks so much to Hawthorne Threads for their generosity. Please go check them out if you haven't already. They are awesome!

Simple Saturday

This is the first time I've stepped outside the house in several days due to being a little under the weather. I spotted blooms from my back door, and there was no way I couldn't go outside and capture them in a photo. This time of year, every bloom fills me with the wonder of God and His glory and beauty. How He thought all this stuff up is beyond me!

Wordless Wednesday

The Wearing of the Green

I don't have anything green to wear, but my yard sure does. In honor of St. Patty, here are some photos to enjoy. Pay no attention to the dirt, as we had a sudden downpour early this morning.

These are the first tulips I've ever had that actually came up healthy, and had blooms on them. I'm way excited. Have no idea what color they are. I didn't even remember planting them. How funny!

 Azalea, Tulip, Wild Rose, Hosta, Iris, and lingering greens of Jonquil. We won't mention any odd green weeds that might have raised their ugly heads.

 Grandma's Rose.

 Great Grandmother's Rose...Hey! What's that red thing in the background?!

Mother's Iris. I think it may be white by the looks of the bloom. I didn't think any of them would actually have buds this year since I just transplanted them Yay!

 The falling petals of the Bradford pears look like snow. When the wind was blowing yesterday, it looked like it was snowing in the yard.

 The Violets are blooming well now, even covered in dirt.

 Loropetalum bushes. I'm adding more soon.

And finally Dianthus. They bloomed all winter.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to each and every one of you, be ye Irish or no!!
 (I happen to be Scots/Irish *wink*)

A Different Perspective

There's landscaping, then there's landscaping. My friend Y has a unique perspective on it as you'll see in the photos below. She read my blog post about the yard work and landscaping, and told me she had adorned her yard with puppies! What fun!

Instead of the usual pot of flowers near the steps, this is what she displays.

And of course instead of the big pot we normally sit at the bottom of the steps, she placed this.

 It takes a tremendous amount of energy to pretty up the yard! And let's not forget the little decorating "tidbits" they leave here and there out in the grass. It's been a very hard day in the decorating world as you can see.

Thanks to my friend Y for allowing me to share her photos.

Soil Toil

 I decided since it's so warm and things are a-blooming, I should get out in the yard and do some work. Here are some photos of what I decided to work on.

 I just cleaned this area up a bit, and put some of the leftover crystals I had around it. No big change here yet.
Edited: I went back and took some after shots. Nothing earth shattering, but you get an idea of the process. I'll add new mulch as soon as I can.

The Bradford Pears are in all their glory and before the heavy rain we got, they smelled to high heaven. It was enough to make your nose actually hurt and it wasn't a good sweet smell either. Just pure pollen.

I transplanted some hostas around the bottoms of them, and pulled weeds.

 Edited: Here are the hostas moved into their new home.

I separated the hostas here, to transplant. And I dug up the azaleas and moved them to other parts of the yard.

 Edited: This is how bare it looks now.

Edited: Here is where I moved the other azaleas. After seeing the tulips come up, I definitely want to make sure I plant some bulbs next fall.

I pruned the Oleander and stripped the ugly dying leaves off of it. I'm not sure I should have done that, but either the dry spell before the heavy rain, or the cool of the winter months had the leaves all curled and brown. Not a pretty picture and if the new leaves come on, the old ones would have ruined the beauty of it.

My Hydrangea is beginning to green up and the clover under it is getting big. Love that. SR thought they were weeds last summer and pulled some of them out, but they are pretty prolific.

I LOVE the little violets that are spreading all around. If you look really close, you can see a bud about to bloom.

My camera didn't take a very good shot of this bloom, but you get the idea. I had to document it for myself.

I'm not a gardener who likes it perfectly landscaped, but I'm not into total chaos as the english gardens are either. They have their place, and in some yards it looks amazing, but my yard is too spread out for that kind of thing. As soon as may be, I will plant some Loropetalum where the azaleas were, and hope they do better than the last three things I planted there. I'm still trying to find a bush for that bed, that will not just barely exist, but grow full and thick.
When I get a bit more done, I'll update you all on the progress and let you see how it looks.

WW update:
Didn't do so well on the eating Sunday, but since then I'm doing great. Or at least I think I am. MY scales say I've already lost, but my scales don't really count. We'll see come Saturday.

I Did It

I joined Weight Watchers. I felt that I really had no choice. For one thing, I just can't get a grip on my unhealthy eating habits because I always feel deprived. For another my cholesterol and triglycerides are way too high and I've got to get them down so I won't have to take a statin. And it was like the Lord just put WW in my head so much I couldn't get it out.

I went to my first meeting today and felt overwhelmed with all of it. Thankfully, the leader is a church member and I talked to her about it a little at an earlier time. If I got anything out of the meeting, it was that I can do this if I figure it out and stick with it!  I have a calculator to help me keep up with points and such and I've already used it several times, just checking on the food I normally eat. Yikes!

Portion control is a big issue for me, sweets and snacking. Hopefully, the little smoothie powder I bought, and ideas thrown around the room this morning will help me with that. I'll have to spend more time at the grocery store, figuring out what to buy, but eventually it will all click in my head and I can do it without taking so much time. I really really dislike grocery shopping. A. LOT. I can't stress enough how I dislike it. Can I get an Amen?!

I may or may not post about my progress. Depends on how I do and how much interest is shown by my readers. Anyway, here goes day one...wish me luck.

Card is Done

I finished my Bingo Card and you can see it at my other blog...The Seam Rippers.

Now I'm ready!

May For Me Bingo

I decided to join in a fun Bingo game for Marcia's and Tonya's May for Me Bingo Celebration this year. We will all create quilted bingo boards and play for prizes. If you are interested in joining in the fun, check out Tonya's blog Hillbilly Handiworks for the all neat prizes!

 I have my board half finished, but may wind up making a second one because I'm not sure my first one isn't too wonky looking. LOL!! When I'm reasonably satisfied with it, I'll post it on The Seam Rippers. The tutorial for the bingo board is on Sharon's Blog, Vrooman's Quilts.  Snoodles at Lily Pad Quilting will also be one of our guides.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

**Edited to point to Marcia's May For Me Bingo link and to say that yes, I did toss the first board and I am in the process of making another one. To be posted on The Seam Rippers shortly.