Friday, March 25, 2011

Mother Nature is Not Cooperating

The snow and wind are getting me down. So I made my own little bowl of sunshine. Happy Friday! 

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A Nasty Night

Rain. Sleet. Ice. Snow. Wind. Thunder. Glad I'm not on the roads.
My computer is at the doctor so I'm stuck posting via email. Not ideal, but I'm sure I'll survive.
Just a little something I'm working on. With all the sogginess outside, a little punch of color is much needed.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Signs of Spring

Muscari pushing up through the ice! Those are
hardy little buggers. I also found some tulips and daffodils breaking ground. And the unmistakable red buds of the peonies. 

I divided my two peonies last fall (one pink and one white - both came with the house). Having never dug/divided a peony, I really didn't know what to expect. I had heard that they could be difficult to get out of the ground. That was an understatement! It took me over an hour to dig one and at least 45 minutes to get the other one out. I divided and gave some to friends, replanted others, and potted up a few more in the hopes they'd make it through the winter. So far, so good. I think all of them survived, and the ones in the pots are showing buds, too. Hopefully they'll flower this year. I'm not sure I'm expecting them to, but I'd certainly miss the lovelies if they didn't. I also planted three new ones that I purchased last year - so far I can see buds on one (the one I'm most excited about - a very deep burgundy red), no buds on a yellow one yet, and a white/yellow-centered one is still covered with snow. I have to trust that Mother Nature knows what she's doing - we're supposed to get an inch of rain tomorrow before it changes over to snow! Sounds like it's going to be a soggy mess - and it's certainly not good for the flood forecast. But I have seen signs of life, so I shall not be defeated today!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sunday Stash Busting - Tissue Holders

I've been sick for the past couple of weeks. During my few awake hours, I rearranged my office/sewing room and found stacks of fabric that I really don't know what to do with. You know what I'm talking about. I could sew for the next month straight and still not use up everything I have here.

I was in Hawai'i about a month ago and stopped by Kuni Island Fabrics and picked up this cute pink tissue holder. And after suffering through this nasty respiratory infection, I've found myself running low on Kleenex! So it seemed like a perfect time to recreate these.











Sorry about the terrible pictures. It's raining and dreary here so the lighting is awful. But somehow it's fitting for a Sunday. And I don't have to feel guilty about sitting around sewing all day.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Clematis


I took this photo last year around mid-June at the Clemens Rose Garden in St. Cloud. I haven’t added any clematis to my garden yet, but this inspires me! I love how the two varieties are intertwined. I’m hoping to plant a clematis at the base of a red rose bush this year. I think it will be spectacular climbing up through the roses.

I'm hearing that most of the snow will be gone by the end of the weekend - although it's hard to believe the four-foot-deep-wall-of-ice (otherwise known as the boulevard) will be snow-free before May. The down side of all the snow melt is that the flood risk seems to be ramping up very quickly. Preparations are already well underway around the state.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Rosemary Finds a New Home


I overwintered my rosemary plant which seemed to work out quite well this year. But now that it’s mid-March, the piney little leaves are afflicted with powdery mildew. So I’ve decided to put it back outside. It’s supposed to be relatively nice (temperature-wise) for the next couple of days with temps barely reaching freezing at night. I haven’t checked the hardiness of rosemary, but I recall seeing it in Italy covered with snow, so I’m assuming it will be fine. I should probably harden it off, but I just want it out of the porch - so on the front stoop it goes. Hopefully it doesn’t get a nasty sunburn on it’s first day back outside.