The pictures say it all.
3/29/10
3/27/10
New Flowers for the Garden
Winter was very mild this year and so it got me thinking about the garden much earlier than usual. It might also have something to do with the fact that my daffodils have been blooming for more than a week and the tulips are ready to open. This with all the summer time perennials starting to grow has made me realize how lacking in colour some of my garden space is.
I have now managed to get two of the sections in the front garden looking decent and this year it was time to tackle the next section. I had some plants I was able to divide from the other sections to help fill in the space along with the ever increasing Shasta Daisies that were left behind. On the whole this section has been very lacking.
So with this year's Mother's Day Present money ... I get to spend it on flowers! Yes, I know Mother's Day isn't here yet but, the plants are. I've been shopping around trying to get the best deals and I think I've done pretty good. I only got one plant maybe two of each kind and I got them all from independent growers which means less money and more plants. Again I with have to be patient and wait for them all to grow to their full potential but already it is a Huge improvement.
In order to help me figure out where each plant would go, I did some research on the web. Along with tons of info I found these beautiful pictures to share. I found most of the plants I bought. So even though they are not my own pictures (mainly catalog shots) they give some idea of what I hope will grow this year.
Double Sensation
One of my most favorite garden flowers are Daylilies which are second only to Sweet Peas. I have some in yellow and last year got a few in red but I had never seen any other colour except for a peachy one. I had hoped to get a division of one those plants some time in the future but I didn't realize that they came in any other colours. Today I found out otherwise. There are over 40,000 different colour variations and more being hybridized each year. This delightful information was given to me when I discovered Erickson's Day Lily Gardens. Oh my, I could spend every penny my dear husband makes in a year and never get them all. So after much deliberation these are the two I picked
I've already got them all planted in the garden and I am SOOOO Excited!!!!!
Now for the waitng...................
I have now managed to get two of the sections in the front garden looking decent and this year it was time to tackle the next section. I had some plants I was able to divide from the other sections to help fill in the space along with the ever increasing Shasta Daisies that were left behind. On the whole this section has been very lacking.
So with this year's Mother's Day Present money ... I get to spend it on flowers! Yes, I know Mother's Day isn't here yet but, the plants are. I've been shopping around trying to get the best deals and I think I've done pretty good. I only got one plant maybe two of each kind and I got them all from independent growers which means less money and more plants. Again I with have to be patient and wait for them all to grow to their full potential but already it is a Huge improvement.
In order to help me figure out where each plant would go, I did some research on the web. Along with tons of info I found these beautiful pictures to share. I found most of the plants I bought. So even though they are not my own pictures (mainly catalog shots) they give some idea of what I hope will grow this year.
Dahlias
Chilson's Pride
Castle Drive
Bristol Fleck
Also White Opal, Wilde Pink, Purple gem and Big pink all of which I could not find a picture for.
Lilies
Conca D'Or
Matrix
Salmon Star
Double Sensation
Crocosmia Lucifer
Crocosmia Cadenza
Campanula Glomerata
One of my most favorite garden flowers are Daylilies which are second only to Sweet Peas. I have some in yellow and last year got a few in red but I had never seen any other colour except for a peachy one. I had hoped to get a division of one those plants some time in the future but I didn't realize that they came in any other colours. Today I found out otherwise. There are over 40,000 different colour variations and more being hybridized each year. This delightful information was given to me when I discovered Erickson's Day Lily Gardens. Oh my, I could spend every penny my dear husband makes in a year and never get them all. So after much deliberation these are the two I picked
Grape Velvet
Janice Brown
I've already got them all planted in the garden and I am SOOOO Excited!!!!!
Now for the waitng...................
3/18/10
A game of Hide and Seek turns into a Fort
I keep meaning to post these but never got around to it till now. A few weekends ago my sister came out from the "big city" to visit us. We spent a lovely day just mucking about outside. The very best part when you ask the kids was the tall grass in the back field.
Reasons why tall grass is the best:
#1 You can play a really good game of hide and seek
#2 It's a great place to sit and look up at the sky
#3 Best of all if you ask really nice and look cute while you are doing it ....
You can get your Dad, Mom and Auntie to build you a grass fort!
3/17/10
Happy St. Patrick's Day
This St. Patrick's Day has come with much excitement and anticipation. We decided that our little imps were old enough to be introduced to those pesky little leprechauns from Ireland. This has led to many exciting conversations about how we should build our traps because no one likes green milk, or knots in their sheets, or heaven forbid if you are bad enough..... having your hair tied to the bed posts.
A trip to the library to find books on St. Patrick's day and leprechauns was in order and we have been reading up on these pesky little people and their country. It seems that their favorite things are gold, glitter, green things, shamrocks, rainbows and most importantly breaking rules. So we made a trip to the dollar store to collect our trap and decoy leprechaun supplies. That done all we had to do was wait for Dad to get home.
Once we had ours made the little princess had to call everyone and remind them to make their traps. I'm not sure how much of the information expressed was passed on but, the level of excitement was definitely understood.
I honestly believe my children were as excited about this, as they were Christmas Eve. The proof was when Sleeping beauty was up before her brother this morning to check her trap! We had some success but those leprechauns still managed to out smart us. Daddy and the little man checked their trap first, they were sure they had caught one. We all gathered around and even though all eyes were on the trap he still manged to escape. One of us must have blinked because all I saw was a flash of sparkles heading out the slider door. He did leave us a pile of gold coins in the trap.
Next we checked the girls trap. It had definitely been visited, the golden eggs weren't on the top anymore and the trail of them leading to the trap was missing, even the ladder had been tipped over. When we checked inside we didn't see any leprechauns but they left us some more gold coins. It was at this point that we noticed the trail of sparkles leading away from our traps. We followed the trail all the way to the fridge. The little man opened the fridge because his sister was too scared to do it. They got us again! Green milk!
Hopefully the rest of our day will prove to be as fun.
May the Luck of the Irish be with you all!
Happy St. Paddy's Day!
One of the decoys.
A trip to the library to find books on St. Patrick's day and leprechauns was in order and we have been reading up on these pesky little people and their country. It seems that their favorite things are gold, glitter, green things, shamrocks, rainbows and most importantly breaking rules. So we made a trip to the dollar store to collect our trap and decoy leprechaun supplies. That done all we had to do was wait for Dad to get home.
The Boys Trap
Dad had it rigged so that it would drop when you pulled the candy of the support stick.
The Girls Trap
Ours was a pit style with a falling trap door hidden under the chocolate eggs. Notice the chocolate on her face she had to make sure the bait was good enough.
I honestly believe my children were as excited about this, as they were Christmas Eve. The proof was when Sleeping beauty was up before her brother this morning to check her trap! We had some success but those leprechauns still managed to out smart us. Daddy and the little man checked their trap first, they were sure they had caught one. We all gathered around and even though all eyes were on the trap he still manged to escape. One of us must have blinked because all I saw was a flash of sparkles heading out the slider door. He did leave us a pile of gold coins in the trap.
Next we checked the girls trap. It had definitely been visited, the golden eggs weren't on the top anymore and the trail of them leading to the trap was missing, even the ladder had been tipped over. When we checked inside we didn't see any leprechauns but they left us some more gold coins. It was at this point that we noticed the trail of sparkles leading away from our traps. We followed the trail all the way to the fridge. The little man opened the fridge because his sister was too scared to do it. They got us again! Green milk!
Hopefully the rest of our day will prove to be as fun.
May the Luck of the Irish be with you all!
Happy St. Paddy's Day!
3/11/10
Dirt Cheap Laundry Soap
Michell Duggar's Laundry soap. I finally made it. I don't watch the show but, once and awhile I'll catch something from it as I'm flipping channels. I happened to catch a part of the show they did on money saving tips. I'm not really up for trying tater tot casserole but, Laundry soap I can do.
So last week when I found washing soda in my supermarket; I came home and immediately made it. It doesn't take long and the only down side is I have a 5 gallon bucket of laundry soap that now needs a home. The finished product once it sits overnight looks like really soapy water only thicker. The only change I made was instead of ivory soap I bought Dial (it was on sale and it was a bigger bar). I have been washing our clothes with it for a week now. A bit skeptical at first but, a woman that does that much laundry must know something, and it seems she does. The clothes come out just as clean if not a bit brighter thanks in part I'm sure to the Borax.
Okay this to me is the most exciting part; the cost. I'm talking so excited I called people to tell them. Normally I buy whatever detergent works out to be the cheapest at the time of purchase. Which means for a 4.4 litre (1 gallon) bottle approximately 96 loads, I pay on average around $10 - $15 dollars Cdn if not more. This recipe makes 5 gallons which you are supposed to then water down buy half when you use it. That means 10 gallons of soap. Of this 10 gallons you use approximately 5/8 cup per wash. So I'll end up going through this soap a little faster than 5 gallons of the store bought stuff. That figured.... Drum roll please.....
So last week when I found washing soda in my supermarket; I came home and immediately made it. It doesn't take long and the only down side is I have a 5 gallon bucket of laundry soap that now needs a home. The finished product once it sits overnight looks like really soapy water only thicker. The only change I made was instead of ivory soap I bought Dial (it was on sale and it was a bigger bar). I have been washing our clothes with it for a week now. A bit skeptical at first but, a woman that does that much laundry must know something, and it seems she does. The clothes come out just as clean if not a bit brighter thanks in part I'm sure to the Borax.
Okay this to me is the most exciting part; the cost. I'm talking so excited I called people to tell them. Normally I buy whatever detergent works out to be the cheapest at the time of purchase. Which means for a 4.4 litre (1 gallon) bottle approximately 96 loads, I pay on average around $10 - $15 dollars Cdn if not more. This recipe makes 5 gallons which you are supposed to then water down buy half when you use it. That means 10 gallons of soap. Of this 10 gallons you use approximately 5/8 cup per wash. So I'll end up going through this soap a little faster than 5 gallons of the store bought stuff. That figured.... Drum roll please.....
It only costs $1.30 per batch.
When I say batch I mean per 5 gallons! I couldn't believe it when I sat down and figured it out. What it comes down to for me is this; even if it takes the entire batch to do the same number of loads I would normally get from one jug of commercial stuff (which it won't)...I'm still saving!! I'm in shock over this, seriously I've checked my numbers over a few times thinking I must have gotten it wrong. Then I figured the cost with out the sale prices and I was still under $2 a batch. I don't think I will ever buy commercial laundry soap ever again!
Thank you Duggar's for the recipe.
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