Flower Pot Crafts

Last Friday, I took the kids to the local nursing home to help the residents make Easter decorations.  They were so cute, I couldn't help but share the pictures. 

They started with small clay flower pots that someone had painted white.  Using small sponge sticks of varied sizes, the kids dipped them in different colors of paint and sponged designs onto the pots.

Even Cami enjoyed helping. .and her pot turned out pretty cute too. .with no rhyme or rhythm to it! She was very intent on doing a good job!

After the designs were sponged on, they painted glue onto the top lip of the pot and then sprinkled glitter on.

After the pots dry. .Easter grass will go in,

as you can see in the pot center bottom of the picture. Plastic easter eggs will settle nicely into the grass, and they will really make adorable table decorations!! I think they would look cute with goodies in them to give to someone special!

The kids and the residents had a great time working on the project together. .and a super lesson for the kids in working with older adults, challenged adults, and, in general, getting out of their own small worlds!! I sure like Easter coming a little later. .It's nice to enjoy the warm weather along with the holiday!

Weekend of Blessings

We are back to the usual grind this week after a very enjoyable. .and overdue visit with my family.  We hadn't been back home since Christmas. .so it was nice to be there.  Of course. .the weather was perfect for gardening Friday. .and not even too bad Saturday.  Grant and I planted our beets, carrots, onions, Swiss chard, and some cilantro before we left on Friday afternoon.  The winds have been

F-E-R-O-C-I-O-U-S since then. .so trying to keep them moist will be tricky!!

My hometown has a BEAUTIFUL park. .and we took full advantage of the delightful April temperatures by spending some time there Saturday afternoon.  I would say that we took the little ones to play. .but you may notice that the BIIIIIGG one who lives with me. .is enjoying the swingset as much as the smaller ones on either side of him!

They have some great new equipment there. .and this triple layout of slides was a HUGE hit for race fans. .big and small.  The cousins don't get to see each other much. .and is sure fun to watch them play well together. .their smiles were that big the whole time!

This is one of my favorite shots of the day!! Dylan had just hit her little forehead on the side of the slide as she got to the bottom and was crying.  But she took Cami's hand and let her go back up with her to the slide for another turn!

Even the big boys (who REALLYdidn't want to go along) enjoyed the trip!  Even more so when my brother the vet called to see if they wanted to stop by his clinic and watch a C-section on a cow.  Tristan was not too impressed by it. .but Grant and Dev really enjoyed watching!

We missed seeing Colton and Brady this weekend. .they would have loved the park outing for sure!

But what a busy crowd the rest of them were!! We enjoyed a trip to visit my aunt and uncle on the way to my folks. .Jane and I swapped out some gardening stuff. .I received some water iris for the pond. .and she got some butterfly weed plants, a few tomato plants from my excess numbers, a pepper plant, and some basil to put in the co-op veggie garden with her neighbor this summer!!

We enjoyed a trip to the flea market outside of Wichita on the way home. .that sweetie that drives me around is getting pretty good about taking me places that he would rather steer clear of!! Even the kids seemed to enjoy the unusual things that we saw.  I got a great deal on a couple of antique oil cans for Jeremy's shop collection. .and a couple funnels for myself. .I saw a magazine picture a while back that used old metal funnels as planters and hung them up. SUPER CUTE!!! I will keep you posted on how they turn out!! I can hardly wait to get them fixed!

We enjoyed great food, good conversations, funny stories, and even watched the most hideous movie I've ever seen (28 minutes long) that starred my littlest brother as "a cowboy." Though we laughed through the whole thing (it was REALLY pathetic. .guess they had ZERO budget and mostly students doing the filming) My brother did a super job with his 15 second spot :-)

The prairies were all lit up with ranchers burning their pastures and fields to allow for the new grass growth. A beautiful site if you have never seen it!! And as another testiment to God's abundant blessings. .after a 3 hour trip each way. .the fuel pump went out on our Yukon yesterday. . as we drove by a friends house. .7 miles from our home!!! And I know all of our extended family is glad they didn't have to come pick us up!!

Thanks for stopping by today . .Have a great week!

Junior Chefs Strike Again!

Those junior cookers were at it again this week.  I like to think of that experience as a great lesson in patience!! We had 8 chefs Monday night. .and since March was National Peanut Month. .we started by making peanut butter popcorn. .which was a hit among the children!

Our next recipe came out of this book. .and if you don't have it and love cookies. .it's an excellent choice.  I bought it last fall from a Books R Fun dealer for about 13 bucks. .well worth every penny!! The kids' recipes for the Christmas cookie exchange came out of here too.  It calls for sweetened condensed milk and graham cracker crumbs in addition to the regular staples that you would usually have on hand in your kitchen.

Once 8 kids in two separate groups got into the swing of measuring, mixing, asking questions, and sharing tasks. .I totally didn't think about taking pictures. .until they left and all that remained was Dev's plate of cookies. .and a mess!!

And I didn't even take a picture of the popcorn littered floor. .or the flour layered over everything!! Aside from the mess. .the products turned out great!! And these cookies were even better than I had hoped they would be. .We used Recees pieces. .because that's all I could find in my cabinet after I decided Monday that we were making those (nothing like a little proscrastination, eh?) The real recipe called for M&Ms. .I used those yesterday afternoon in another batch. .I like the peanut butter better than the chocolates. .but Jeremy preferred the chocolates.  You choose for yourself. .but you GOTTA try 'em!! It makes a big batch!

Crisp Graham Cookies

½ cup butter flavored shortening

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 ½ tsp vanilla

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

1 ½ cup flour

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups plain M&Ms or Recees pieces

½ cup chopped pecans

Cream Crisco and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add vanilla and milk. Blend in peanut butter. Combine dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the candies and nuts. Using cookie scoop, place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.

Wishing everyone a terrific entrance to April!!

Spring's on the Way!

Though the weather has been as chilly as it looks in the above picture. .there are plenty of things around my yard that say spring is here!!

Hyacinths are pretty much my spring time favorite!! The smell is delicious!! Sometime or other I have planted these babies in places I don't even remember planting!! There is a clump about 15 feet from my back door that just entices me to deep breathe every time I walk in it! And unlike tulips, which are finicky at my house about coming back every year. .these little treasures do!! I've already picked one to scent my kitchen!

My forsythia bush grows ever so slowly. .and the blossoms are scant so far. .but hey. .blooms are blooms at this time of the year!

The lilacs seem to have lots of buds popping.  I was quite surprised a few weeks ago already to be able to see the buds emerging from the twigs. .it seems a little early to me..but no complaints from me either! The only type of vegetation (aside from cedar and elm trees) growing here when we moved was two lilac bushes. .one white and one purple. .and a handful of tulip bulbs.  6-7 years ago when we added on a laundry room, storage space and a second bathroom, we had to transplant the purple lilac bush.  Not sure if it would survive that move or not, I took several pieces of new wood and root and transplanted them into a short row on the north side of my house.  They are slowly enlarging in size and have been blooming for the last few years.  I don't think one can ever harvest enough of these scented flowers for spring time bouquets!

The multi-stemmed redbud bush is starting to bloom. .from the ground up. .And my redbud tree is also very close to showing off it's stuff too!  I do love the colors of these trees.  A couple years ago, we bought 3 flowering crabapple trees. .Those should be popping blooms soon too.  I was sad to see that one of the three may not be coming back this year.  Some deer really did a number on the trunk 2 years ago. .last year it seemed to do well. .and I thought we would get by alright. .this year, not a leaf as of yet. .just some growth coming up from the ground, that I would trim off anyway.

The moon has been wrong for planting seeds. .and if the moon is right. .the weather has been wrong!! The tomatoes are taking off in their individual pots, and the butterfly weed is starting to root out the bottom of their pots.  One of the passion flower vines has 2 big, fat flower buds on it. .I can hardly WAIT to see that bloom!! I've also noticed that some of my cheap Walmart roots are coming out of the ground. .Hee Haw!! The weather will feel like spring again in a few days!! Maybe to stay! What's coming up around your place??

You are NOT gonna believe this!!

Because I could hardly believe my eyes yesterday!!

Do you see it??  Look to the left of the new bluebird homestead. . 

Un-stinking-believable!!

An Eastern Bluebird!!

That's what I said yesterday as I dropped my fork and ran for my camera!! The little doll was drinking at the side of my pond. And was scared off by a car coming up the drive.  I never sited it again by the pond. .but we watched it dive for insects off the fence for quite a while.  I do hope it sticks around. .and brings all it's little friends!! 

It's a good thing Dev and I got a few more of these made!! We had a great time measuring, cutting, and assembling the houses.  He's getting to be quite a hand at the nail gun (which scares the CRAP out of his mother!!).  He and Grant spray painted them yesterday.  I know. .the paint is absolutely hideous. .but it was the best I could find in a small town dime store!! We have two cedar pickets left to turn into houses.  I think that he will stain those two. .and keep one of them indoors until the fair in July.  Hoping Jeremy will help us hang them up this evening in the cold drizzle.  We've had a relapse into winter. Brrr. . 

I did get my grass seed planted this afternoon. .figuring that the drizzle will help it along. While I was collecting laundry out of the boy's room upstairs. .I thought that the  world looked so frigid and still. .I had to capture it!  My Bradford pear tree is blooming. .I can hardly wait until it is big enough to look all white and cottony during its bloom. 

I also shot this different view of the pond.  Much of the muck is clearing out. .and you can see the stones on the bottom. .even from clear up here.  The rocks sticking out of the south end were just unloaded there Friday. I intend to do some bog plantings behind them in the pond. .and hoping to fill much of the soil with plantings soon!!  I'll try to remember to include this view of the pond from now on. .it's easier to get the "big picture" here!  The little cookers will be here soon for another lesson of some sort. .so I'd better get back to planning!! Just wanted to say. . .

If you build it. . .

They will COME!!

Have a great week!

Bluebird Trail

Devin and I have been working on making our own bluebird trail.  We had a few pair of bluebirds a few winters ago. .but haven't seen them regularly since.  Lately, I have had my inner conscience nagging me to put up a trail.  So that is what we are doing!! It's so easy because it takes one 5 foot length of a 1X6 board. Pine. .Cedar. .redwood. .Your choice!

We chose pine to start with because we happened to have a couple boards leftover in the shop.

Tristan did one of his first 4-H talks on making these bluebird houses.  And his houses went to grandmas'. I've thought several times since then about making them. .just never got around to it! They are super easy and quick to make. .we got the first three done in about 1 hour cutting and assembling them in an "assembly line" type of fashion.

Here's some facts about bluebird nesting that we found useful to know!

--Bluebirds nest in suburban and rural areas (primarily)

--They don't make their own nests and rely on old woodpecker holes or other empty cavities to nest in

--The houses should be placed at least 100 feet from wooded areas where wrens might likely be living

--Open fields and fence rows are great spots to hang nests. .in addition to large yards, golf courses, or along open highways (we are in a great locale for those guidelines!)

--Because they are territorial, they generally won't nest within 100 yards from another nest. .so your spacing should reflect that

--That being said. .sparrows also like to use bluebird houses for nesting. So we put the houses in sets of two about 15 feet apart 

--They hang great on fence posts. .and ideally should be 4-5 feet off the ground. .ours are about 4 feet high

--The entry hole should be facing either east or north as this keeps it cooler in the hot summer

--No perch needed

--The houses should be placed in February for the south and mid March in the north. .I hope we weren't too late to attract some for this year.

If you want some more information. .you can find it at bluebirds forever

Devin and I are planning on making more of these this weekend. .we sure have a lot of fence posts available for hanging houses on!!

If you are interested in the pattern. .you can find it at this Birds and Blooms website. But be careful though. .you might get hooked!! Even if you don't have a good spot to hang them in a habitat acceptable to bluebirds. .they sure are cute. .and we have had a ball making them!!

Sidewalk Make-over

Last fall when we put in the pond. .we decided to take out the existing sidewalk.  YEARS ago, we took out the very old, very narrow, very straight sidewalk and put down native limestone (well, native to my mom and dad's place).  I loved it, and it was very functional.  Since we added the sidewalks to the east side of the  house, I have been longing for a wider, windier path to the front. And frankly. .while the old stone path looked cool. .it was a LOT of work..and I had NO desire to do the digging to add to the stones! So we hired our trusty carpenter-jack-of-all-trades friend do the work for us! We/he intended for the sidewalks to be completed last fall. .but as situations arise. .as they sometimes do. .they didn't get worked on until much later, like until a few weeks ago. 

So these pathetic views have been my life since October. .

And I was sure glad to get them traded in for new views over the last few weeks of labor and dirtwork!

The fun part was that we were able to take the sidewalk up to the front deck. .and then turn off and continue to take the sidewalk around the west side of the house. .

ending here. .the steps to the west deck. 

We had laid down a small landing of sand stone and limestone with pea gravel in between. .it has worked. I will appreciate being able to keep my feet dry now while checking on the flowers.

Going backwards. .here is our new walk from the west deck. .

(doesn't that look better already??)

Around the corner to the front deck. .

And down the front steps to the driveway!! Even the cat enjoyed trying out the new path. I was able to get some blue elijah fescue plants along the length of the walk to the left in the picture. .right on the other side of the rocks is the pond. .and I love the contrast already. It is drought tolerant. .and will provide some winter interest too! I plan to add a different variety of grass, maybe 12-18 inches tall. .hopefully with some color.  And have already decided that next fall, some tulips and daffs will need to go in there!!

The contractor put a light texture of stone into the wet concrete. .and will apply a terracotta colored stain to the sidewalk at some point! We have done a ton of dirt work. First to level up the yard. .and then several tractor bucket loads into the existing flower bed on the south side of the pond.  This will create a little nicer spot to plant. .and allowed me to put a stone walkway through the bed. So far I have enjoyed planting along the sidewalk in the beds and conjuring up what will go in next!

It's nice to get my fingernails dirty again. .and I can't wait to keep you all updated about the progress of the gardens! Thanks for stopping by today!!