October 15, 2013 by Born To Organize

Three Dogs: Clever, Sweet and Knotty

This is Titus. He’s a Doberman Pinscher by breed, but clearly a retriever at heart. I fell in love with him on the trail last week when he ran by carrying…a log!

Titus the Clever

He’s still a puppy, just a month away from his first birthday. According to his companion, Monique, Titus is quite fond of sticks. He carried this one around like a twig amazing all passersby.

Isn’t he clever?

Titus drops his stick

I meet plenty of dogs along the trail, especially when I’m walking with my friend, Karen and her dog, Dylan. Dylan is number one, but it doesn’t hurt to flirt now and again. No worries, Dylan. You’re still the apple of my eye.

Isn’t he sweet?

Dylan the Sweet

Last week I encountered the most unusual dog of all. You might even say he’s knotty. We stood eying each other for quite some time. I even snapped a picture to be sure I wasn’t imaging things. Back home, pictures downloaded, there he was clear as day.

Isn’t he knotty?

Knotty Dog?

Never a dull moment on the Almaden Quicksilver trail. That place has gone to the dogs.

Halloween Countdown:

Blog Love: A beautiful piece of embroidery from the talented Marlene Herself at In Search of it All.

October 14, 2013 by Born To Organize

It Takes a Village: Wee Little Carrots Under Wraps

Baby Carrot

If you’ve been reading along, you’ll know of my recent garden misstep: failing to thin carrots. I’ve always thinned the plants I grow from seed, but incorrectly assumed that the starter plants were pre-thinned. (They weren’t).

I’ve been getting wonderful advice (from The Contented Crafter)…

Oh dear Alys! Carrots need thinning, Boomdee was right. If you are concerned about the size of them [and you can always check with another dead of night forage] I wonder if you might suggest to the tiny gardeners that the garden fairy has whispered in your ear that the carrots need a little longer to grow a bit bigger …. … Whatever the outcome I’m confident that provided the tiny gardeners get to eat a carrot, no matter what size, it will have been a successful introduction. Can’t wait to hear how it goes :-)

moral support (from LB)…

I look forward to hearing about the tiny gardeners and their excitement over the harvest! (good thing it was Boomdee there and not me; I had no idea that carrots needed to be thinned)

and a fit of giggles from Boomdeeadda:

As for the carrots…..I only know that ONE thing about vegetable gardens because I grew a whole row of mutants and misfits myself, LOL.

Attention Gardening Nirvana readers: Boomdee knows basically nada about vegetable gardens!!! LOL.

I planted abundantly to ensure wee gardener success, so it was safe to unearth one of the plants when the coast was clear. Sure enough I uncovered half a dozen tiny carrots, clustered snugly together. They looked cozy, like a litter of tiny kittens intertwined. Carrots and kittens eventually grow up, though, and need their own space.

I quickly divided the plants, replanting within minutes hoping they wouldn’t mind the brief interruption. I patted the earth and walked away. Nothing to see folks, nothing to see.

By day two, carrot greens rested on the soil. I refused to give up hope. Day three, still on the droopy side. It’s now been a week and no real sign of recovery. So…

Today I decided to leave the rest of the carrots undisturbed. I’ll let them grow for one more week (it’s a 50 – 70 day crop). Then the wee gardeners can harvest and take home tiny carrots to share with their family.

One of the best parts of documenting your garden in a blog: lessons learned for next year. Thanks for supporting me on the journey.

Halloween Countdown:

Purple monkey on a pumpkin (This sweet little monkey was a birthday gift from my talented friend, Laura. She dyed him this color, then added all the beautiful details. Isn’t he cute). Dharma Trading Co.

October 11, 2013 by Born To Organize

Fairy Garden Additions and The Great White Terror

Good thing I took photos when I did. As soon as I turned my back, a neighborhood squirrel dug a hole in the center of the fairy garden. I guess he wanted to put his own mark on the place, casting aside the pistachio walkway and planting a peanut in its place. Rabble rouser! He could have asked first.

I added a small fence and a ladder to the garden, both courtesy of my son’s art project cast-offs.

Spooky fence

This way

When I bent down to take pictures, curiosity overwhelmed the cat. Mouse that is. He’s never far from the action, and the fairy garden is no exception. So, up he went. Good thing the fairies weren’t about. Imagine how frightening.

They must have left in a hurry, as I found a tiny shopping bag at the foot of the stairs. I’ll hang on to it for them. I’m sure they’ll be back to collect once the great white behemoth leaves town.

Shopping for peas

If you’re reading this Friday, I hope you have a terrific weekend. For my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, I’m so happy to know that Spring is under way. Enjoy!

Halloween Countdown:

Pumpkin Mischief Maker

October 10, 2013 by Born To Organize

If Fences Could Talk

We’re finally seeing some fall action here in San Jose, which for us means cloudy skies and temperatures south of 50 F (10C). It also means perfect hiking weather!

Almaden Quicksilver trail view

My walking partner cancelled this week, so I took myself up to the Quicksilver trail for a ninety-minute hike. I love social hikes, but now and again, it’s great to go alone. I’m able to tune in more to the nature around me, to see things that I might have missed.

On my recent hike, I noticed the number of fences running along the trail head and into the hills as I climbed. Wooden fence posts seemed to be re-joining the landscape. Once tall trees, whittled into fence posts, forgot all about formalities. They were gradually returning to a natural state.

Like the understudy in a play waiting in the wings, here was their chance to shine. Each fence post took on shape and character, gathering moss, lichen and weathered decay. Fences meant to keep trespassers out quietly invited small guests in. Signs of a woodpecker, insects and moss were everywhere. I had the sense that if i lingered awhile, those fences would tell me a story. That perhaps I wasn’t alone after all.

If those fences could talk, what do you think they would say?
crossing fence posts fence with barbed wire fence with lichen

Halloween Countdown:

All dressed up: Lacy pumpkin

October 9, 2013 by Born To Organize

Vintage Style Makes You Smile

I feel like Marlo Thomas in That Girl! This charming vintage suitcase, lovingly refashioned and restored into a one-of-a-kind traveling case made its way from Alberta, Canada. As a girl I dreamed of having one of these suitcases. I can barely believe the circumstances that brought both the gift and the giver into my life. If you’re not already following her blog, be sure to take a look. Thank you, Boomdee for pop-popping the suitcase hinges of my world.

Boomdeeadda

As you may know, I have a thing for vintage luggage. A while back, I bought a set of three, ugly, vintage suitcases for $5.00 on Kijiji, an on-line classified site in Canada.

If only the seller could see them now! They’re all renovated with a fab aqua Sunbrella fabric. I also nixed the bland grey exterior with a fresh coat of vanilla. You might have seen my original post here . It was actually one of my most popular posts ever (thank you everyone) !

It’s always fun to incorporate vintage into the craft room. I keep my die cuts and Big Shot in them. All tidy and out of sight.

When I knew I’d be able to celebrate with my dear friend Alys (of Gardening Nirvana) on her birthday, I started thinking, “what can I make?” That’s when I spotted this vintage train case at…

View original post 272 more words

October 8, 2013 by Born To Organize

Carrot Countdown

If you look to the right (in the sidebar) you’ll see that we only have seven more days till the carrot harvest. I bought cell pack starter plants at the nursery in late August and planted them with the wee ones next door (aka Jassy’s day-care kids).

Cell packs of carrots (bottom, right)

Newly planted carrots (Jassy made each of them a place-holder)

I’ve kept a sharp eye on them in case they faltered. I didn’t want someone’s first gardening experience to be a dud. So…when one of the small plants drooped and then dropped, I sprung into action. In the dead of night (well…late afternoon anyway), I swapped out one of the healthier carrots on the other side of the curb garden. I want each of the tiny gardeners to harvest a carrot of their own.

Healthy carrot tops, seven days till harvest

When Boomdee was here last week, she wondered aloud if we should have thinned them. Hmmmm…I have no idea. I’ve always thinned plants that I planted from seed, but for some reason assumed these were one-carrot-per-cell pack. This morning I scraped away a small amount of soil at the root line, and sure enough, several tiny carrots are growing together.

It’s too late to do much about it now. Chalk it up to another lesson learned at gardening nirvana.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for harvest day. I’m pretty excited.

Halloween Countdown:

Final count (probably) not counting the still-green pumpkin growing near the curb garden.

October 7, 2013 by Born To Organize

Halloween in the Fairy Garden

We’re ‘Halloween people.’ We love everything about the season, and find ways to enjoy it throughout the month of October.

While my 13-year-old son occupies his time setting up larger-than-life inflatable spiders on the front lawn, I work in reverse, decking out the fairy garden in pint-sized Halloween decor. As in the past, I spruce up the miniature garden with found objects from around the house and garden. I admire the beautifully furnished fairy gardens I see around the web, but it is so much fun working with what I’ve got.

So, blink once, twice and imagine you’re a visiting fairy.

Once the type on this page appears to turn orange, you’ll know you’re the perfect size for a visit.

To enter the Halloween garden, please climb the rocky stairs…

…then cross Battery Bridge.

Don’t look down! Eyeball river is flowing fast and furious.

Now meander down pistachio-shell walkway (don’t worry, the squirrels already took the spoils).

You’ll see a slinky black cat frolicking in the woods, with glossy pumpkins nearby.

There’s another one! She looks just like Blossum!

Soothing water flows down the waterfall. You can catch a few drops before your journey home.

Did you hear a ghost? She’s shouting “that was the best lavender I’ve ever tasted!!!”

Be sure to breathe deeply as you meander through lavender forest. Lavender soothes the senses, preparing you for your journey home. Thanks for stopping by. Please come again soon.

Fairy Goddess Stands Watch

Halloween Countdown: Boomdee Pumpkins

October 4, 2013 by Born To Organize

Craft it Forward: Tiny Album, Big Heart

My kindred spirit Boomdee is flying home to Canada today. Mr. B and the kitties can’t wait to see her. I tried to convince her to stay through the end of October, but she didn’t want to miss the first snow of the season. ;-) I reluctantly took her to the airport this afternoon after seven, extraordinary days.

Although I’m partially responsible for bumping her suitcase over the fifty-pound limit, I was happy to deliver Craft it Forward #5 directly into her hands. (It can’t possibly weigh more than four pounds (two kilograms). It must have been those cute new shoes.

Boomdee’s charming blog is about ‘art, life and other bits.’ She says

“Picking a Blog name is such a personal thing. Should it be a play on words, funny or witty? I want to do so many things and I’m passionate about a ton of stuff. What will I write about? That’s how I landed on Boomdeeadda. It’s a bit of a nonsense word but says so much about me.”.

The Challenge

I like to challenge myself with each of these projects. Though I’ve created many photo albums in the past, the challenge this time was creating something for such a talented crafter. If you haven’t seen her paper masterpieces, you are in for a treat. Take a look.

She encourages me to go the extra mile. I inked the edges, added layers of flowers, ribbon and photo corners here and there. Mostly, I had fun, choosing her colors and mixing it in with a garden theme.

Album pages are viewable in the gallery below. Please click on the gallery slide show.

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What is Craft it Forward?

Here’s how it works. The first five people to comment on the original post receive a handmade item with the gardening nirvana touch. In return, they agree to pay it forward, crafting their own unique item for the first five people on their list. Craft it Forward encourages community, creative spirit and camaraderie. It also encourages flexibility, so I expanded my list from five to seven based on interest in the project. Isn’t it fun making your own rules?

Craft it Forward: Grab a button

Further, in the era of the internet, who doesn’t like ‘real’ mail? If you haven’t started your own Craft it Forward, today is a good day to get going.

Craft it Forward #1: Living Journal
Craft it Forward #2: Flowers and Oscar Wilde
Craft it Forward #3: Three’s a Charm
Craft if Forward #4: Secret Garden in The Round
Craft if Forward #5: Tiny Album, Big Heart

October 3, 2013 by Born To Organize

Birthdays and Flowers

Mystery Blogger

I’ve been a bad blogger this week.

That said, I know you’ll all forgive me, as I’m having the time of my life living large with Boomdee. We celebrated my birthday today, laughing, lunching and loving our time together.

Then we took a twenty-minute refresher, before donning silly wigs and meeting my sister and another friend for dinner at the Left Bank.

I’ve been surrounded by beautiful flowers and lovely friends all day. My clock just struck midnight so I guess it’s not my birthday anymore, but oh, what a day it has been.

I should be in bed, but I’m still abuzz. See you tomorrow.

XOX from the birthday babe.

Stunning blooms in downtown Campbell

Hotel lobby orchids

What started as a random joke on Facebook, lead to identical wigs at dinner. My friends are all good sports.

September 30, 2013 by Born To Organize

Spina Farm with Boomdee

The sweet, lovely and indefatigable Boomdee’s in town. We’re having a great time.

If you’re new to Gardening Nirvana, it may surprise you to learn that the two of us met through blogging. We live in different countries, thousands of miles apart, but quickly realized we had something special. The ‘written’ word brought us together, with an assist from technology. We became fast friends. Like a twin, I missed her even before I knew she was there to miss.

Now she’s here for a week, so we’re eating, site-seeing, touring, laughing, photographing and talking our hearts out. She came all the way from Canada to be here the week of my birthday. Happy Boomdee to me!

A playful Boomdee at Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch

Field of Pumpkins

Honey, I shrunk the bloggers!

Spina Farm Pumpkin Patch

Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch Highlights:

Hay rides through the beautiful sunflowers fields
Over 60 pumpkin varieties
Locally owned and operated
The opportunity to meet and snuggle a few small animals (I got to hold a chicken!)
Climb on the over-sized Adirondack chair and feel like a child again