Crossing My Fingers...

Right now, as I sit here and write, I'm highlighting my hair. I normally get my hair cut and colored by Kim twice a year. Once during the spring, and again around the Holidays. She uses the foil method, and three colors- one matching my natural color, one reddish tint, and a strawberry blond for highlights. Because of this layering of differen colors, I don't have a problem with roots as it grows out. I have some grays, but that's not the main reason I do it. I like to have it done because middle age has turned my hair dull, and it causes me to feel dull all over. Since a salon visit isn't in the budget at this time, I decided to do it myself. It won't be as professional as Kim's work, and there will be no red, but the blond highlights should brighten me up enough to feel better about myself. At least I hope so. Oop! My timer just went off....gotta go rinse....

Roses And Cats?

My potted rosebushes are alive with new buds. After feeding the cats Tuesday morning, I decided to take some pictures to show my readers the explosion of color that awaits us. Later, as I was reviewing the shots on my computer, I noticed that I had captured Scruffy and Sassy, peacefully enjoying their meal, in the background of one. I just love the way the rosebushes frame the two cats, adding an image of peace an contentment to the whole picture. I hope ya'll can see it, too. It's such a good feeling to provide feral cats with a place where they can feel safe.

Budding Bells

Not much to write today, but I wanted to share some more garden photos. These are pictures of four of my coral bell plants. The bud on the flower scapes will open to reveal clusters of tiny bell-shaped flowers, pink on the green variegated ones, and white on the darker leafed ones. Hope you enjoy...

Vinca Surprises

I love having a shady front yard. It makes sitting on the porch, or working outside so much more pleasant. I think it even helps keep the house cooler inside (of course that could be my imagination). As much as I enjoy all this, there is a big drawback. Planting options. Even grass doesn't grow in the more deep shaded areas, but to me that's a small price to pay for a cooler house.

About two years ago, Dave and I decided to plant a ground cover in one of the front planting beds. I've never been a fan of ground cover, but after many failed attempts to grow plants there, I embraced the idea. Not wanting to plant English Ivy (like everyone else all over town), I got online to shop for something else. Sadly, most of the ones I liked aren't available here, but I did find one that is. Vinca. It's something a little different, and readily available anywhere. We went over to Walmart, only to discover that Vinca is labeled an annual. Well, fine. I know when I've been defeated. I told Dave to go ahead and get the English Ivy, since we know it will grow to cover that grassless area, and we won't have to purchase it new every year. I did, however, pick up a couple of the vinca plants, just because I like them, and planted them in a pot with other annuals. It looked so pretty trailing over the side of my pot.

Fastforward to the next year. Fall and winter have passed, and the next spring has arrived. I'm in the middle of cleaning my annual pots out to make room for new ones, when, lo and behold, what do you think I saw? My vinca vine was reemerging from the soil. Apparantly Walmart had mislabeled this plant, because it has come back every year since I planted it. In fact, last year, I planted a different varietiy of vinca vines in two of my rosebush pots, and they have come back again this year. In fact, this year, I got an extra bonus...The vinca vines are blooming. I didn't even know this plant produced flowers, but there they are. Cute little purple flowers on several of my vines. One of the things I love about gardening is the many surprises it brings, and for me, this little vinca vine has been the source of many delightful ones.

For Glenda

I just didn't want the day to end without telling my sister how much I enjoyed our visit. The four of us may not see eachother very often, but it's always nice when we do. I hope you know that you're always welcome to come back. Maybe next time, It won't be too cool to sit on the back porch. Let Perry know we love him, and I pray both of you have a wonderful evening.

Fun Crochet Memories

It was probably about 15 years ago (give or take), when I had borrowed a crochet afghan pattern from my friend. Kim and I worked together at Unique Image, the salon where I used to cut hair (she, in fact, still works there). We both loved to crochet, and on slow days, we used to sit in the breakroom, and crochet on our afghans in progress. On one occasion, I had admired a double layered shell pattern she was working on, so she lent me the pattern. That pattern was so much fun, it wasn't long until I'd had it memorized, and had made several as gifts. During a recent visit to my sister's house, I retrieved the one I'd made for my mom. I freshened it up with a good wash, and now have it draped across the back of my couch. Of course, daily seeing it lying there, has revived my interest in the pattern. It had been so long since I'd made one, and I didn't even know where to begin. I tried crocheting a swatch to jog my memory. I had the concept in my mind, but not the numbers. After an exhaustive google search, I started a thread on Ravelry. Still no luck, though we all tried very hard. Finally, I decided to just give Kim a call, and ask if she still had the pattern. No, she no longer had the written pattern, but I was still in luck. This is her go-to pattern when she needs to make a gift, or just wants to crochet, so she was able to fill in the question marks for me. It was a lot of fun to get in touch with her, and talk about this afghan. It was almost like I was sitting in the breakroom at Unique Image, crocheting with my friend. Why I didn't just call her first, I'll never know.

Breaking The Silence

I can't believe a whole week passed, and I didn't update my blog. This is the time of year, when my plants awaken, and last year I had a post almost every day. Sometimes two a day. I guess part of me feels that it would be too repetative to reblog my garden every year. Of course, another reason I haven't checked in is because of the week I've had. Lots of anxiety, and I just didn't feel like boring my readers with another of my episodes. But, as always, this, too, has passed, ushering in a much more pleasant latter part of the week. Dave bought me some lemon thyme yesterday, and I did some potting. I took the potting soil from last year's annuals, stirred it up to break apart any clods, and mixed in some Shake n' Feed. There really is no reason it shouldn't work, and I'm pretty proud of myself for saving us some money. Today, Dave and I went to the Costco in Rockwall. We go monthly to stock up on our dry cat food and litter. We used to feed our cats whatever food was on sale at the grocery store, but when the food manufacturers reduced the size of thier food bags, we found it much less expensive to feed our cats the Kirkland brand food. It's a good quality food, with meat as the first ingredient, and comes in 25 lb bags. We also get Scoop Away litter for much less than most store brands cost where we live. We also take advantage of their sales and coupons on many items we use daily. These Costco visits are perfect, because they allow us a chance to get out of town once a month with no guilt. Well, there's really not much more to say. I just wanted to let my readers know that I'm still around. I hope all is well with each and every one of you.