April 19, 2013 by Born To Organize

Ladybug, Ladybug, Char-donn-ay!

Sterling Vineyard Napa Valley 2010 Chardonnay
Ladybugs, ready for dinner at dusk. What’s on the menu? Aphids.

I’m repeating this soothing mantra as I reach for inner calm after this tragic week. Ladybug, ladybug, chardonnay; ladybug, ladybug, chardonnay. Professionals warn that viewing too many violent images will only confound our sense of loss, sadness and grief. As we honor and grieve for the people of Boston, MA and West, TX, may the sun shine in their lives again soon.

Wont you come with me?

You can lighten your load at:

Marking Our Territory. Meet Will and Eko, a man and his Rhodesian Ridge-back. Will writes with wit and sensitivity. Wise and silly and full of unconditional love. Today’s entry: One Minute of Pure Joy. You’ll be grinning in no time.

Boomdeeadda blogs about art, life and other bits. Her posts are light-hearted and often whimsical. She holds a special place in my heart and makes the dark days brighter. Boomdee has something for everyone: a bit of history about her home town of Edmonton, beautiful crafts (and tutorials) and a pair of sweet kitties. Go take a look. You know you want to!) You’re welcome. 🙂

Teddy and Tottie is a recent follow. I enjoy her posts, and think you will too. Today, she published a recipe of comfort food: Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins. Yum! Let me know if you give the recipe a try.

Peace.

Snapdragons and Status

April 17, 2013 by Born To Organize

Summer Camp for Sunflower Seeds

They’re not really at summer camp but it looks that way, doesn’t it?

Sunflower Camping

Keeping the sunflower seeds in the ground long enough to grow is an ongoing effort. They’re simply irresistible to squirrels. It took three tries last year. I finally came up with a contraption made from small, sliding window screens locked on the planter boxes on the deck.

This year I wanted to plant seeds in a new corner plot so I needed more coverage. I ordered a pair of pop-up tents, also know as mini-greenhouses, from a company called FlowerHouse. They’re staked in place, with rocks for added weight. They seem to be working. So far.

Mighty Mouse stands guard

I bought assorted flower and vegetable seeds last month at the garden show. They came in the prettiest packets. The corner plot, tucked up against the sidewalk, includes sunflowers, violas and forget-me-nots. The purple and yellow are a nice complement.

Franchi Sementi S.p.A

I’m already seeing poppies blooming all over the neighborhood, so wish I had planted mine sooner. I added some new color this year, so it will be exciting to see what comes up.

Renee’s Garden Cosmos and Poppies

I hard-pruned the lavender, making way for sunflowers and cosmos.

This bed is a diamond in the rough. Once the lavender comes back, along with cosmos and poppies, it’ll be gorgeous.

I scattered these throughout the garden. They were beautiful last year and a favorite with the birds.

I hard-pruned the lavender to remove the dead wood below, then tucked in a few seeds in the newly open space. I had high hopes the critters wouldn’t notice. Silly gardener. Of course they noticed. So, I’ve put my proverbial eggs back into one basket, the tiny plot that reminds Boomdee of a camp site for squirrels. Nooooooooo!!!

I’m on it!

Smashing Good Time?

I had a smashing weekend, which is to say I smashed several fingers in the fire door leading to the garage. Heavier than usual winds blew all day. The draught created by the wind pulled the door closed faster than usual, smashing three of my fingers in the process. I went down on my knees, the pain was so intense, but I’m on the mend now and extra vigilant around that door until the winds subside. My dear friend C. stopped by with a card of well wishes and two comfy pairs of gardening gloves. Isn’t that the sweetest? Between finger-smashing and the news out of Boston, this thoughtful gift was a bright spot in my day.

A sweet gift from a dear friend

Sending love and healing energy back out into the world. Thanks for joining me on the journey.

April 15, 2013 by Born To Organize

Boston: In Other’s Words

Warning: The words in italics are not my own, but I agree with all of them. I’ve removed the f-bomb to keep my G rating.

Tragedy…and hope. The world is still a good place. Plant flowers, hug your children, pet your cat and love the ones you’re with. And yes, grieve.

To read the post in its entirety, please link to Oswalt’s facebook page.

Please join the conversation in the comments section, below:

by Patton Oswalt

Boston. F**ng horrible.

I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, “Well, I’ve had it with humanity.”

But I was wrong. I don’t know what’s going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.

But here’s what I DO know. If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in a while, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We’d have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.”

My heart goes out to the people of Boston, the families and victims of the attack, and yes, to the heartless soul or souls who are behind this violence. I’m trying hard to understand your heart of darkness.