EVERBLOOMING FLOWERS

Staying with the Elders in Draper during our Education Week experience gave me the opportunity to give June some ceramic flowers I had made for her birthday in July. The flower on the right was already made and June had seen it on my blog or business website and mentioned that she really liked it. I set it aside, meaning to give it to her.  Then exactly a year ago when we stayed with them for Education Week last year, just as I was starting my business, June  bought 6 plates she thought I could make into flowers.  She pointed out one plate design she especially liked.  The plate was blue and yellow, which I always think of as "grandma's colors". So I made a flower for her from that plate as well.  It is the one on the left.

I know that my creations are durable in Seattle's temperate winters.  It will be interesting to see how they do in more extreme weather.

EDUCATION WEEK

o

On Sunday right after sacrament, Chuck and I hopped in the car and took off for Utah to attend
Education Week at BYU. This is probably the 6th or 7th time we have attended over the last 15 years.  It is a 5 day experience of attending classes which inform, enrich and uplift. We have taken classes on retirement financial planning, how to experience joy in the mundane things in life, how to be a better parent and grandparent, and lots of classes on improving our marriage, build relationships with others, and listened to Elder Bednar talk about and encourage us to use social media to promote wholesome, encouraging messages to our friends.

There are other enjoyable things to do on campus, as well.  The campus art museum currently has an exhibit showcasing the original costumes worn in many major motion pictures. We saw the costumes worn by Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightly in Pirates of the Carribean, costumes from Sense and Sensibility, the one worn by Anjelica Huston at the prince's ball in Ever After, those worn by Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes, Minnie Driver's costume from Phantom of the Opera, etc. There were so many, and each one more exquisite than the last.  They truly are works of art. We were also lucky enough to watch one of 3 premiere showings of a new full length motion picture made by the church called "Meet the Mormons".  It is a documentary featuring 5 different Mormon families around the world. It was touching and inspiring and I whole heartedly recommend it to all when it is released to the general public on Oct 10.

It is fun to spend this time together as a couple, learning new things, being inspired, being challenged to become a better wife, parent and grandparent, member of the church and the community.

PETER RABBIT OBSESSION

Becca's best friend Carly is having a baby and  the two of us were thrilled at the prospect of throwing her a baby shower, which we did last weekend in her mother's backyard.  Carly picked a Peter Rabbit theme, and Becca and I kinda got obsessive as we planned the event.  Becca did all the food (which was AMAZING) and I did all the decorations.

The venue was the White's backyard which is huge with lots of grass and trees, centered around their large vegetable garden, which fit perfectly into our theme!

It turned out to be a pretty warm day, so some last minute adjustments were made.  Originally, we were going to set up on the deck, but because it was in full sun, we moved it down to the lawn and the fire pit area which was a lot more comfortable with a lot of shade.

Carly is loved by all, she had about 40 people attend.

To decorate, I took scenes out of the book and made little vignettes here and there on the lawn:

And of course, I had to dress the part as Mrs McGregor!

The bunny banner that hung around the garden was a particular labor of love.  Each bunny was different, with his own personality.  Some were chubby, some skinny, some perky, some bored, and one had been in a skirmish with a coyote and had a chunk missing from one ear! Each swag of the banner was tied up with fresh carrots and radishes.

Because of the size of the yard (the house sits on nearly an acre) I filled in with some of my own garden art for punches of color.

A sweet side note: I decorated the buffet tables with ceramic bunnies and larges baskets of vegetables, most of which came from Juli's (Carly's mom) and Leann's (Carly's aunt) own gardens!


The star of the show was the brunch Becca created along our theme:

The menu (all prepared by Becca) included mini spinach, ham and swiss quiches, mini carrot muffins, mini chocolate zucchini muffins, mini banana cream pies from Grandma June's recipe (Carly's special request- it is her favorite!)-

Becca also made mini strawberry and raspberry cheesecakes by coring the fruit and using a pastry bag to stuff them with cheesecake filling, then dabbing the tops in crushed graham crackers. There was a fruit garden with flowers on stems made from melons-

 

And what garden doesn't have a few pesky caterpillers?

 

There was also a spinach salad and a fruit salad brought by friends to round out the offerings, all with lavender Italian sodas to drink.

 

There were two large tables laden with food which all vanished by the time the shower was over- literally not a scrap of food remained!

 

 

Becca and I had so much fun, we are looking for a reason to throw another party!!

LAZY LADDER

The ladder was lazy because everyone refused to use it due to it's rickety condition.  It was destined for the dump until I saw a way to incorporate it into my garden from a post on ( where else?) Pintrest.

My lazy ladder is now a stairway to birdie heaven.

You can't see it from the front, but besides the planter boxes on the rungs, I also planted a clematis under the ladder which is using the ladder as a trellis growing up the back and is currently almost to the top.  When it comes into bloom the entire ladder will be covered in magenta flowers.  It should be spectacular!!

THE POWER OF PEONIES

How is it that just the sight of the peonies growing in my garden can make my mood soar? Is it the promise that warm sunny weather is on the way? Or is it just the color and fragrance that lifts my spirit?

There is something about a garden that is good for the soul. Tending a garden is such an optimistic endeavor, it involves faith in the future, and anticipation for tomorrow. It is the ultimate in long-term gratification.  Nothing you do today in a garden (except water) will show any improvement by tomorrow, it takes time to reap the benefits of your labor.

Show you believe in tomorrow, plant a flower today.

A NEW ENDEAVOR !!

What an exciting day- in so many ways !! 

 I was really nervous for my first day at the farmer's market. I had no idea how long it would take me to set up everything (canopy, 3 tables, and all my wares and decorations) by myself and make sure no detail was overlooked to be ready for customers. I wanted to get there early so I had plenty of time to get organized then let myself relax knowing I was ready, so I could greet customers confidently rather than all flustered.

However, my day took an unexpected turn when I woke up at 5:30am to find Chuck moaning and groaning next to me in bed.  He had gotten up to take a shower and get ready to catch a 7am flight when he had an intense onset of chest pain, with sweating and nausea. Yikes !! Over his protests (typical guy) I drug him to the emergency room to get checked out. So we were there for several hours while they did and EKG, x-rays and blood work.  Apparently Chuck was right all along because they found nothing wrong (thank goodness!!) and said it must of been indigestion???? Good grief.  Well, at least now I had someone to help me set up, because he had definitely missed his flight to California and decided to take a sick day.

The side note to all this: I had mentioned to our home teacher on Sunday when he came to visit that I would be setting up all by myself on Tuesday because everyone else would be at work. He surprised me by showing up at the market early to help me set up only to find me not there.  What a sweet man! Not only that- but he waited around for quite awhile waiting for me to show up.  I felt so bad for inconveniencing him, after all he has a job to go to as well.

So after a frazzling start my day got under way.  I got to the market and set up in plenty of time and got to enjoy meeting all the other vendors and chatting with people all day.  The weather cooperated by not raining.  It was the opening day of the market for the season so there weren't a lot of visitors, which actually was nice for me so I didn't feel overwhelmed.  I had lots of positive feedback for my garden art.  People thought it was unique and creative. I only sold 2 items, but at least that covered the cost of my market rental space for the day. I have been told as the season progresses it will get much busier, so I am hoping I will sell more in the future. It was a positive experience and I am looking forward to next week.

 Just without all the early morning drama.

MOTHER'S DAY REVISITED

Mother's Day was a lot of fun this year.  This is me enjoying a sunny day while Becca was whipping up dinner on the BBQ. Jared gave me this giganto card and a cool potted plant that is now enjoying an extended life on the front deck in one of my chair planters. Becca gave me a gift card to Starbucks so that I can have my favorite hot chocolate every Monday morning after our 6am spin class.

 Rachel, Nate and the kiddos sent me a gorgeous bouquet of tulips (my favorite flower).

Thanks to all my darling children for remembering me, and thanks to my darling husband for all those darling children.