March 30, 2013 by Born To Organize

Fairy Garden Fail: Are You Laughing Yet?

Bunny ear with a bit of laundry lint for the birds.

Some days you get it right and some days things go terribly wrong. Today fell into the latter. My concept for the Easter fairy garden was simple: The merest suggestion of an Easter Bunny watching over the little garden. Perhaps I should have quit with the bunny ears subtly peeking out from the fescue. I completely forgot the cliché ‘quit while you’re ahead’ and kept going. Now its dark and starting to rain so I’ve no time for a do-over. When I downloaded the pictures, they were, well…kinda of creepy. When my son saw the photos and burst out laughing, I knew I was doomed.

So…here is what I initially wrote, and the pictures that don’t quite go with it.

Tiny eggs appeared in the fairy garden today. I guess the Easter Bunny started his rounds early.

Easter eggs!

I completely understand. I started my own rounds by reaching into the bag of tomorrow’s candy so I could do a little ‘quality control.’ No sense making my kids sick on untested chocolate.

So far, so good. 🙂

The Easter Bunny seems to have grown since we last saw him. Like many of us, he’s suffering from a bit of middle-aged spread. He wears it well though. Perhaps I need to wear more pink…or eat less chocolate.

Big Boy Bunny

Nah. I’m searching the web now for the latest in pink confections..I mean fashions.

Happy Easter!

This little deer found an egg.

Look left little frog…you’re getting warmer

Bunny ears!

Cute ‘little’ bunny with a tulip petal nose

I hope you’re laughing, too.

March 10, 2013 by Born To Organize

There’s No Place Like It

Flowers in a cup
‘Kiss me I’m a Scrapbooker’

What a fun weekend! A group of us stayed at a local hotel and worked on crafts and photo albums the entire time. We did lots of eating, laughing, and impromptu dancing as well. Michelle Obama’s not the only one doing the ‘Sprinkler.’

I finished one of my craft-it-forward projects, and got a start on a second one. I came away with lots of great ideas, one of the perks of spending a weekend with so many creative souls.

One of the women at my table gave each of us a St. Patrick’s Day cup. March crept up on me and now Saint Patty’s day is just a week away. I bought the silliest of impulse purchases at the craft store before I left: a small shamrock kit, promising a sprouted plant within the week. We’ll see.

I walked in the door around 5 today, to the smell of homemade carrot soup and decadent brownies. A lovely bouquet of flowers were waiting on the counter.

My youngest son wanted to plant the shamrock seeds with me, something we often did together when he was younger. It was fun, proof that you have to go away once in a while to be missed. That little pot of seeds already brought me luck, whether it grows or not. ♣

If I had to summarize the perfect time away it would be this: feeling lucky to get away, and even luckier to come back home.

Will you be wearing green next Sunday?

December 8, 2012 by Born To Organize

A Treasure from the Past: The EncyclopÆdia of Gardening

Sulton's Seeds, Fertilisers, Horticultural Lundries

Sulton’s Seeds, Fertilisers, Horticultural Sundries

Mom only saved a few of Dad’s possessions after he died, but what she did save are gems. I have his photo albums, some of his landscape drawings, a few paintings and his painter’s easel. What I didn’t realize before today was that the battered, green book of his that I’ve hung on to all these years is a gardening encyclopedia!

While rummaging through a cabinet in search of a White Elephant gift, I removed the book to reach the back of the cabinet. Before returning it, I cracked the cover and there it was: my father’s lovely handwriting dated January 3, 1930. The next page revealed that I was holding The EncylopÆdia of Gardening by T.W Sanders, Knight of First Class of the Royal Order of Vasa, Sweden.

The Encyclopedia of Gardening

My dad was a horticulturist, so it’s not surprising that he had this book. What amazed me is that I didn’t realize what I had all these years. It’s a small book, no bigger than a paperback. There are no illustrations, but a few advertisements appear on the last few pages of the book. I’m dying to sit down and read it cover to cover. I read the forward and some of the introduction, then decided to look up a few plants.

Adverts

I’m named after Dad’s sister, Alys, so I started with Alyssum. Not only did I find it listed, but there was a small mark next to the entry. Goosebumps! As an aside, I learned that Alyssum was first introduced in 1710. I can’t get the grin off my face.

One last little treasure: between the middle pages were four postage stamps from India, where Dad lived before the war. The stamps say India Postage, Three Pies.

I’ve been beaming all day.