A Lot On The Table! :)

Lately I've been poignantly aware of the fact that I have a lot on the table! :) ...

[Maybe a better phrase would be "a lot on my plate"!] :)





I'm not just talking about the Thanksgiving decorations, either, though looking at my table I can see where one could be justified in thinking so! :)

I'm referring to this inner drive, I've been feeling, to tackle multiple projects around the house! I've been focusing on the house projects with the same intensity that I often feel in the summer, tackling the yard and garden! :)

Lately, as well as preparing the Thanksgiving meal and doing the regular housework, I've been cleaning the walk-in pantry; the 'fridge; sorting through papers; and even spent two days shopping for a new 'fridge; ... all with the same intensity you'd expect to see from a dog with a bone! :)

The more I accomplish, the more determined I get about making other house goals come to fruition! All the while feeling like I'm in a race against time as I know the time will be here, before I know it, to start seedlings growing and gearing up for the garden season again! [Some seed catalogs have already begun to arrive in the mail!]

In the past the holidays have been my focus, and before I knew it the winter had come and gone without my having tackled my inside projects!

So I'm determined to accomplish my house goals, this winter, and am hopeful I can be successful at organizing our home while still putting myself into our wonderful winter holidays! :)

I'm so focused on all I want to get done, that I'm having to remind myself to take time out for interacting with people, and our pets too! :)
That includes this blog, and taking a moment to say how much I enjoyed Thanksgiving, and to tell you that I hope you enjoyed it too!! :)

Fall...ing Snow! :)

Last night the snow that was predicted came softly! There was just enough to frost everything with white! There's something magical about the first snow of the season! :)


I thought it looked especially attractive on the leaves of the ornamental cabbage! :)




It seems a little early for snow. Fall has just gotten here and it's Leaves that we should be seeing on the ground right now! :)

Even so, ... it never fails to fill me with wonder and make me smile! :)

My Ongoing Saga! :)

I have an ongoing saga with one of my flower beds! It's a pretty simple area, as flower beds go, as it's long and narrow, and never takes more than a day to weed and plant! :)

So what's the problem, you may ask? :)

I'll try to give you the short version! :) ...

When I first planned this bed, I envisioned a long row of colorful tulips, with little blue grape hyacinths in front! :) That worked for a couple years, and then the bulbs just disappeared! So I bought more tulips and replanted! The neighbor's chicken's decided to come over and scratch them to bits that spring as they started to push their new green stems! So, .... that Fall I replanted again! :) Nothing came up the following spring, so like a determined nincompoop I replanted tulips again that fall! I have a neighbor who loves seeing the tulips in the spring, when she drives past, and I was determined not to let her down! :) grin

Again, not one single tulip bulb, came up! So I decided to change my tactic! I bought a few imperial crown bulbs, (stinky) to discourage underground varmints, and replanted tulips and a few daffodils! :) The imperials and daffodils came up, but still no tulips!

So this Fall I planted all daffodils, and felt almost smug that I was finally going to outsmart my underground critters! :)

Now I have my new kitties, who recently discovered that long bed of soil, and started to unearth my flower bulbs from their latrine! :) So I scooped the bed clean of debris, re-hilled the soil, and put down fresh bark! :)

Already the bark is being disturbed and flung up against the garage by the kitties, so I will either have to continually maintain the bark in the bed, or give up all-together! :) ...

Give Up!? ... Not in your life!! :) ... There will be pretty flowers there, this Spring, if I have anything to do with it!! :) ...

Wish me luck, ... Lots of luck, as I square my shoulders and face off with - my ongoing saga!! :)

Touch Of Welcome! :)

I love using the front deck to welcome guests, and even ourselves, to our home! It's fun to set an inviting tone year round, but is especially fun during the holidays! :)

I set it up to please myself with hope it may please other's too. :)
Recently I removed a couple tender plants from a flower pot and added some winter hardy ornamental cabbage, heuchera, euphorbia, and even a variegated pineapple mint to the existing perennials that I chose to leave in the pot! The arrangement pleases me every time I walk past or see it through the window! :)
I love how the creams, greens, purples, and golden-orange colors work together and play off each other! :)
One of the perennials, in the back, gives it that little touch of height that all flower pots need! :)
I even added some winter cabbage and violets to the herb pot to fill in a couple of die back areas! I love how they look with the pumpkins and squash! :)
The squash from the garden used to be crammed in under the bench, but since it's one of our favorite fall veggies to eat it's fast disappearing! :) It, too, will add it's festive touch of welcome ... while it lasts! :)

Dancing Leaves! :)

I love all the seasons as each adds something special to our lives, and forever gives us something to look forward to! :)

One of the things I love about this time of year is driving through the leaves and watching them dance in my rear view mirror! :)

If it were possible to drive and catch the dancing leaves in my lens, I would have taken a photo of their reflection in my mirror, for you, so you could enjoy them with me! :)

How I love seeing them dance! :)
The dance never lasts long enough! As soon as one passes through they again settle to the ground and go still.
Some may get hung up on things, but the dance comes to an end almost as quickly as it started.
Like the untouched future, the leaves lay still, waiting for our approach to make things happen!
And like the past, our part in it is done once we've passed through! Our chance for making a difference has been accomplished, and the affect we've left in our wake depends largely upon the choices we've made while passing through.

The only time we have to really make a difference in this life, is now! This moment, as we're in the act of passing through!

I hope to be successful at sharing joy and laughter to those who I come in contact with, while I'm here, and give them reason to dance!!! :)

Smile! :)

I love going out and checking on Cali's kids in the morning! It's always fun to see where they are and what they're up to! :)

This morning they were all snuggled together on a folded tarp, purring a greeting as they saw me approach! :)

How I love them! They really know how to brighten my day, and always make me smile! :)

Hope they make you smile too! :)

Busting With Bounty! :)

November is a month for counting our blessings and giving heartfelt thanks! :)

As I'm a gardener, I'm especially thankful for the bounty we've been blessed with this year! :)
The grapes on the arbor gave us a record crop! :)
I was especially grateful that we were able to harvest them before the raccoons got to them! :)
Before I started to clean them, there were actually enough to fill a large Costco size box! :)
Don't the grapes look pretty in the top section of the steamer-juicer!? :)
One juicer full is enough to make 4 undiluted quarts! :)
Here is the right up on one of the tomato seeds I decided to purchase and grow this year! It almost sounds too good to be true! Big beef, delicious, early tomatoes that are extra large in size, and have a nice shape appearance, too! :)
Well, they were telling the truth, and ...
it only took one to totally fill my hand!! :) ...
And to fill an entire salad plate to overflowing! :) All this and super tasty, too!! :)
The brussels sprouts are getting bigger, and I trust the couple light frosts we've had are sweetening them up for us! :)
Everywhere you look there's bounty!! :) May we catch our breaths, at this busy season, long enough to whisper thanks to Him from Whom all bounty comes! :)