Secondhand Sunday...

I went thrifting yesterday (yes, that's a verb).  I was looking for something specific, which is a big no-no in the thrifting world since rule number one in thrifting is that you will NEVER find what you are looking for, but nevertheless I was looking for some small wooden bowls or trays for my classroom.  Didn't find any.  Shocking, I know.  Instead I found two men's dress shirts, one pink, one purple that I am going to upcycle / remake into dresses for my adorable granddaughters.  They were half price, so I got both of them for $3.  I will cut off the sleeves and cut the bodies off under the arms, make a band from the sleeves for around the chest (elastic in the back, for comfort), gather the body a little, add straps to the top of the band and POW!!  Two little sundresses for my pumpkins for $3 and a little time.  They will love them--and I will take pictures when I'm done.  

I also had a fun lunch with Kaleigh and Mary Beth yesterday--it was super fun.  CPK--had the Barbecue Chopped Chicken Salad.  

On Saturday I went and painted my classroom (the alcove), and cubbies.  I painted them a lovely sage green, I think I'm going to love it.  It definitely looks different.  It's time for that classroom to belong to ME and not the former tenant.  I feel very personally about my classroom and it's time for me to own it.  This is the year I do amazing things.  I declare it right now.  

Doing a little laundry today.  I took a couple of days off work this week and next week, and I plan to enjoy them completely.  I'm going to finish my bottle garden today, and go swimming.  Just take it easy tomorrow, maybe cook a nice meal.  

I'm off to dig out my bottle garden--TTFN!

Work, Work, Work (in the garden)...

My goodness I've been busy this weekend.  I had a long weekend, so I had four days, but to be fair, all the work I did in the garden, I did in two days.  Here's my list:

1. Did a lot of "research" about what I can plant now in Orlando.
2. Fertilized the lemon tree--it's looking a lot better, thanks for asking.
3. Cut a bunch of basil to dry.  I wanted to try out drying it in the oven, but it got discolored, so I cut some more today to air dry and see if that works better.
4. Cut a bunch of lavender to dry.  Once it was dry, I crumbled it up minimally and put it into a jar--IT SMELLS AMAZING!
5. Decided that if it was so awesome, I should cut some more to propagate, which I haven't always had luck with.  This time I dipped the lavender stems right into rooting hormone and planted them into small pots.  We'll see how that works.  They are covered with plastic bags and resting comfortably on my kitchen window sill.  
6. Decided that since I was propagating lavender, I might as well propagate basil while I was at it.  Cut some nice stems and put those in water in same window sill.
7. Decided that since I was adding all these cute little plants to my window sill, some of my houseplants needed to be re-potted.   Re-potted a spider plant, and two Christmas cacti.
8. While re-potting, noticed that my little African violets are kind of...well...dead.  Dumped them into the compost pile.  Sadness.
9. Made my new garden bed, which is about 6' x 2'.  Made the soil mix for it and filled it.  Will plant beans and I'm not sure what else, maybe some flowers (?) in it.
10. After going to my brother's birthday party and collecting an obscene number of beer bottles, I thought it would be a good idea to add a little herb bed with bottles as the frame, which I've seen on Pinterest and liked the looks of.  So I started digging the grass out, and BROKE MY SHOVEL!  Picture below.  Now I have a half dug bed, a broken shovel and 75 or so beer bottles laying around my yard.  Classy, isn't it?
11. I made little seedling pots out of newspaper, and filled them with my homemade potting mix, they are ready to plant my tomato seeds in for fall (also squash).  I'm going to try squash again, even though I never have any luck.   Green beans will go into the ground--they don't like to be transplanted.

I'm feeling really good about things right now.  

Hmm, Weird...

The strangest thing just happened to me.  About an hour ago, I went out into the sunshine, puttered around the garden, pulling weeds, moving my pots around, etc. and I decided to actually ACCOMPLISH something (no, that's not the weird part).  A friend gave me some reclaimed wood quite awhile ago to make raised beds, and I have been too lazy to do it not gotten around to it yet, so I decided now would be a good time.  I rounded up all my tools and the deck screws that I need and started working.  Picture it, I'm sweating like . . . well, a virgin at a prison rodeo and I've almost got the darn thing put together, and I hear this loud noise--it's like a train.  Or an airplane or something.  I stop, look up and in the distance I see a torrential rainstorm blowing toward me.  Literally, the sun is shining on me, and about three streets in front of me, over the roofs I can see just a sheet of rain, and I can hear it coming.  Before I can even get my tools and stuff together, I'm soaking wet.  Weird.  It was like buckets pouring out of the sky.  Very weird.

Cue elevator music...

Now it's later...the raised bed is built, and it's filled with my special recipe soil mix.  (Not so secret--approximately 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 super duper special compost.)  I also mixed in a little bit of dried grass clippings and leaves at the bottom, along with cardboard boxes--they really kill the weeds.  The peat moss and vermiculite help the raised bed hold water better than just the dirt.  Key in Florida.  

Please ignore the messy yard around it, and the horrible steps up to my front door.  I'm going to fix the steps next weekend, and trim the grass as soon as I get done here.  I swear.  On the positive side, I got a lot of use out of the beloved wheelbarrow that the boys got for me for Mother's Day.  I ADORE that thing.  

I think I'm going to try to start tomatoes from seed.  It's time to do so in Florida, and I've wanted to do so for awhile.  In a few weeks, I will plant green beans in the new bed, and I've been thinking about making a natural trellis with some old narrow branches I have around.  (My inner hippie coming out again.)

I'm enjoying my four day weekend for Independence Day.  I've been reading a lot and gardening, doing a few little projects around the house.  I wish I could hug my sailor (Brett), but since he's being making sure we are all free, I will just think about him, smile and remember that our freedom isn't really free.  I hope everyone did something independent yesterday.

A Lovely Evening. . .

I just spent a lovely hour out in the garden, watering, weeding, moving stuff around (my favorite thing to do), and when I was finished, I did a little reading out there while the tomatoes got watered.  My lemon tree is looking pretty awful--I think something is eating it.  I had to prune back a couple of branches that have all the leaves eaten off, and they looked kind of puny.  Maybe I need to plant it in the ground.  And get a few more.  I love that tree beyond reason.  My hands are dirty and smell like green tomatoes and basil.  Is there a lovelier smell than that?  I think I'm going to get a really good sprayer, the sprinkler I'm using is inefficient--the water goes everywhere, and I don't really mind standing out there and spraying.  

I knew this before (that's why I always talk about DIRT THERAPY) but I read an actual study that said that there are microorganisms in dirt that absorb into skin and affect melatonin (sp?) levels in the brain.  Pretty awesome.

Kaleigh is having some problems with depression, and this is when Hillarie's issues started, when she was 18.  We're trying some things which will help eventually, but it's a process.  I don't really want to throw her business out there without her say-so, so that's all I'm going to say about that.  The reason I even brought it up is that I've been thinking about changes I can make to help her.  I did change the house around and it looks more cottage-y, which I love.  It's also a lot easier to keep picked up for some reason.  I'm making more of an effort to stay up later instead of going to bed early all the time.  I don't think it does K. a lot of good to spend a lot of time alone.  Thank God for Tara--she and K. have bonded and I love that.  I trust Tara completely, so I get a little break and she gets someone to hang out with.  They have a lot in common.  I've been making a point to make time to putter around the house a little every day.  I love to do that, and I've gotten away from it lately for some reason.  Too tired, I guess.  But I feel very "homey" when I do it, so I'm making a real effort.  Kaleigh and I have been thinking about a couple of projects to work on together also, which I think is a wonderful idea.  She got a new sketch pad and I suggested that we decorate the cover together.  I was super surprised when she said yes, actually.  Then she asked me about sewing a 50's style pinup dress.  I found a vintage sheet with big blue 50's flowers on it, and suggested that maybe we could make it from that.  She's all about it now.  

On another positive note, work is going much better these days.  The thorn in my side is gone.  I feel so relaxed and free and able to get things done.  Isn't that sad?  Happy now, but sad that this has gone on for so long.  

I got some sun this weekend while mowing the grass and also I met my sister and her kids at the pool, which was nice.  I shopped for work shoes also, which makes me very happy.  

Well, I have a lot to do tonight--lesson planning for next week, and I'm reading a very compelling book.  It's called Lasher by Anne Rice.  It's a sequel to her book The Witching Hour, which I just finished.  Very compelling.  Over 1000 pages--I haven't read such a long book in awhile, but I surely enjoyed it.  

I am what I am. . .

Okay, I'm hanging my head in shame.  Can it really be May 21st?  Anyway, it hasn't been as long as last time since I blogged.  Not really sure that I'm cut out for blogging, but I'm trying.

I'm thinking of changing my house around.  I need to do something to make it more appealing to myself.  I used to love being in my little house, and puttering around, and I don't anymore.  If I'm home alone (which I used to adore), I am usually doing laundry, reading in my room or working in the garden.  I don't even move my stuff (meaning my collections) around anymore.  So naturally I thought, "I should change the furniture around."  Which led to, "I think I will move my sewing room back out into the den."  Which led to, "I need a bookcase for my bedroom."  So I guess this is what I'm going to be spending my vacation taking care of.  I was going to go out of town for a couple days with mom, but I don't think I will since  Brett will be leaving the following weekend, and I will miss him so much that I want to spend the time with him.  He's pretty awesome.  

In the spirit of making my house more appealing, I've been making a huge mess sorting through stuff in my bedroom.  Why does this ALWAYS mean I have a bigger mess to clean up than I originally had?  I really need to ruthlessly cull out my closet and dressers (that's right, I said DRESSERS).  Ruthlessly.  I also need to organize the absolutely ridiculous amount of shoes that I have accumulated.  Ideas and suggestions are welcome. 

A proposal that I and a coworker submitted to present at the Florida Association for the Education of Young Children was accepted so I will be shopping for a decent suit and sexy shoes soon.  I'm kind of thinking red.  Or purple.  We will present a workshop on Implementing the Project Approach Across the Domains in September.  This is a pretty big deal, and I'm pretty pleased with myself, I must say.

This weekend I will be working on building my potting bench.  I have a bunch of reclaimed wood just waiting to be made into something wonderful.  Why haven't I had the motivation to just do it?  It won't even take that long, I think.  I just need to do it.  Maybe getting the house in order will inspire me.  One can hope. 

Stress, stress, and more stress. . .

Well, I KNOW it's been a long time since I posted.  And I KNOW that I should post more often.   Work is stressful, home life is stressful, family stuff is stressful, do I need to go on? 

Never mind, this post is going to be full of good news.

1.  I paid off my car.  This is wonderful because it will give me some financial ease that I've been needing. 

2.  Hand quilting--I'm at it again.  I decided after finishing my yellow quilt that I would go back and finish my Hawaiian quilt.  After all, who starts a ridiculous project like that (and I've STARTED several!) and doesn't finish it.  Especially after researching all the traditions and superstitions about Hawaiian quilting; they are all so fascinating!  So I looked and looked and LOOKED AND LOOKED some more for my quilt that I partially hand quilted (a yellow and white hibiscus quilt), and could not find it.  SURELY no one would have THROWN IT OUT!!!  I don't know what the heck I did with it, but I can't find it.  I'm sure it's stashed somewhere super safe.  So, that left me with no project to work on.  So I did what all good quilters do...I started a new project!  I made my own Hawaiian quilt pattern of the plumeria, which is my favorite of all the Hawaiian flowers.  When we lived in Hawaii, we had a plumeria tree in our yard and it smelled like heaven.  No exaggeration.  So I drew out the pattern, and found a gorgeous green batik (I wish I could have found a pretty pink one, but the green is so pretty) and cut it out and basted the pattern on the background.  I'm now working to hand applique (yes, that says HAND APPLIQUE--by HAND!) the batik onto the background.  In accordance with Hawaiian tradition, I only work on it when I'm filled with good feelings because they get stitched into the quilt and stay there.  It's kind of like my "putting good things out into the universe" theory.  Can't wait to start hand quilting it, but I surely am enjoying the applique. 

3.  GRANDBABIES!  Is there a more beautiful word in the English language?  I think not.  Pictures of my gorgeous girls to come. 

4.  Lasagna--I made the best lasagna of my life this weekend.

5.  Brett is home.  I miss him so much--I forget how awesome these people are that I made from scratch.  He's funny and obnoxious and I adore him.  And his wife.

6.  I have a lovely vacation coming up.  I took a week off of work, and I'm going to go to Leesburg with my mom for an extra long weekend that week. 

That's all I have time to write about for now.  More to come--much sooner than last time, I promise.

Some Random Thoughts. . .

What is lunch with a fun friend worth?  How about a friend who has NO reason to, but still comes to visit your preschool class wearing crazy socks to read a Dr. Seuss book (which we ALL know are completely difficult to read!) and then takes pictures of every child in your class and adds a Dr. Seuss App (see below) just to make the kids laugh?  AND... lets everyone there call her Chicken Noodle?  I'm one lucky girl.



Anyway, I finally finished the quilt, including binding it, that I have been hand quilting.  It was so comfortable for me to take it back up.  I'm looking for another project--maybe I will finally finish my Hawaiian quilt, who knows?

These are the pictures of the quilt.  In the first one, you can kind of see the yellow blocks, then the gold ones at the bottom of the picture where she ran out of the first fabric and kept making them with another one.  I added the other photo to show the hand quilting a little.   I love this quilt.  I feel a real connection with whoever made the top.  I bound it with this weird yellow striped fabric that I had.  It wasn't perfect, but I think the original maker would approve.  She wouldn't have wanted me to go out and buy fabric to match.  

I really need to think about how to make myself more organized.  Or maybe I mean more efficient.  I come home from work exhausted, which is not a surprise since I chase after 20 three-year-olds all day, eat dinner, then do a couple of things around the house, read a little, and go to bed.  I'm missing out on getting a lot done during the week, then I have a lot to make up on the weekends, and this is not efficient.  I've cut my cable out to just local channels, which I think is a good thing, so I'm not spending much time watching tv at all.  I do love Netflix though.  I just need to get a schedule maybe.  Food for thought. 

I'm going to be really busy for the next few weeks at work, which gives me a headache to think about.  Note to self: TAKE TIME FOR PEDICURES!