Lavender Dreams...

Starting out with a few lavender plugs can someday lead to a field of Lavender Dreams...

The rule of thumb is the lighter the lavender the better for culinary,,, the darker the lavender the better for fragrance...

Ahhh, my sweet lavender....

My field of lavender dreams, a great place to sit and ponder...

I only have 7 white "Melissa" lavender plants.....

I planted them for interest and to use for tea and cooking.

Most of my lavenders are Grosso but I have about a dozen Provence....

I started out 3 years ago with 20 plants that grew into 125 by last year.

This past Winter I lost 7 plants to weather damage & a few to the darn gophers who have decided to tunnel in and around my lavender field.

This is the view up my driveway to the house.

I have started cutting my lavender starting out at the back rows,,,I want to let the bees take full advantage of the lavender. Plus it is such a good feeling to pull into the driveway and open the windows in my Jeep and take in the wonderful smell.

But by next week all but maybe a dozen plants will have been pruned....like I said, gotta leave some for the bees...

I am very un-conventional when it comes to gardening, including my lavender...I don't play by the rules and yes, I run with scissors!

Happy Lavender Dreams....

My Fantastic Find for the Day...

Wahooo! my new used "big girl Serger".

Lovely Tatted table cloth. (for my Scotty trailer)

I love this fun picnic ware... (in my trailer)

I found this bowl, and for only $1.29 Score! (also for my trailer)

Ok, I was not paying attention while driving back from Cheney this morning, missed my

Off-Ramp so I decided to just cruise on in to Spokane....Once there I decided to pop over to the Salvation Army store...so glad I did...Cuz I SCORED!!!!

I found the cool mid-century bowl as well as the fun 1960's plastic picnic ware.

I also found this beautiful table cloth with tatting all around the edge...

but best of all....

I found this awesome Serger.....and it was only $25.00 Holy Schmokes!

The clerk let me plug it in to test it...It Worked! Wahoooo!

I could hardly wait to get home & clean it up & play....

OMG! It works like a dream, I was even able to re-thread it with little difficulty.....it is so user friendly.

And to think for 4 years I have been using my little Tiny Serger for quick serger stitching... this will be a breeze....

Green Bluff,,,,

Gary loves to spend quality time with me, see, just look at that silly grin on his face! lol!

Wahooo! I am going to spend time with my sweetie, Gary.

Hubby & I decided to play hookey from chores around the property this past weekend so we put on our Cherry Pickin' Hats & headed over to Green Bluff.....

We loaded up on sweet juicy cherries, had lunch & just enjoyed yacking and picking and relaxing the day away.....Sometimes ya just need to play Hookey!

Free Lavender

I think Gardening is the ultimate "re-purposing"...

1. save seeds for following season

2. compost the plants from seasons end

3. use "found objects" for garden/lawn art

Well you get the idea.

I love my Lavender which I re-purpose into wands, sachets, spritzes, and use for culinary & tea.

I know it's kind of the slow way to grow (new) lavender plants but I dig up the little 'starts'...or plugs as they are called, transplant them into a recycled container, leave them sit on a sunny window, water when needed...and once they reach a good size I transplant them individually into a larger container and then by next summer when they are of a good size to transplant, out into the garden they go.

"Free Lavender"...just have to be patient while they grow.

Babysitting 101.......

I got to have my little LeiLei spend the morning with me....while her lil sister, Phoobit had a doctor's appointment. (because they are foster babies we do not use their real names in public)

Dollygirl is soooo good natured around the girlies....a good thing because the girlies are at the "grab everything" stage...lol!

Watch out Dollygirl, here comes Leilei, oh did I mention, Leilei is now crawling?

When I first found out that there would be little wee ones in our lives,,,,I wanted to pull out all my old baby clothes patterns, the same ones I used to make my daughter's clothes with, some 30 plus years ago.....and sew sew sew.....

I love this little Creeper outfit...it looks like a dress from the front(and buttons & snaps on-sweet & easy) and from the back it looks like a romper.

As for the little yellow Baby quilt...it was a stitching kit...all I needed to do was provide the fabric for the back side, the fiber batting & then sew away.

The reality of it is, it is much cheaper to buy baby clothes then to make baby clothes, unlike the days when I sewed out of necessity....but every now & then I want to make something special for the girlies and stitch in those cute little "Made with Love by Grandma" labels!

Ahhh, Babysitting 101............

Checking Out the Lavender...

LeiLei in the lavender...and from the look on her face, not all that excited...oh & yes, I notice the weeds too! I just haven't had time to play in my lavender...but will be remedying that this weekend!

Ah, sweet fragrant Lavender....

Fabric, Hats & Cute Babies

left over fabric...

makes for a set of cute reversible hats...

the Rose Pins are attached to a yoyo w/a button center.

Phoobit and her lil hat.

LeiLei in her hat...the best part, the hats are reversible & washable, so the girls can wear matching or opposites....what ever they wish.

Now That's a Birds Nest!

Momma bird watching over her nest... Papa flew over to the next pole.

Ok, Now That is a BIG Bird's Nest! Ya Think?

Gary & I were out for an afternoon drive when we spotted this nest along side the road....

Papa Bird spotted us & flew off , made a circle and then roosted on the next pole over, probablly to distract us.... I always kep a mini camera in my purse for unexpected moments like these, so I pulled out my camera & snapped these shots! A for sure..."Kodak Moment"....

You'll have to click on the pic to get a better view...

I couldn't tell if they are/were Eagals or Osprays/Osprey(sp).. but what ever they are, I think we will leave them alone! lol!

Quails...part3

Lover Boy came a courtin'

ok, that's just weird! A Quail looking down on me...

Ok, this time I had my camera ready...and sure enough, Lover Boy came a courtin'....so my hubby, the good sport and twisted person-like me, got his Quail Caller out and did his best female quail call/impersonation and sure enough, like Sailors on shore leave, the quail came.... 2 were very determined to find & woo the fair damsel,,, until they got close enough to see 2 kitties & a 6'2'' man staring back at them...lol!

I think even our resident Robins & Blue Birds find the Quail amusing in a goofy sort of way.

Pictures....

To "embiggen" my photos in my blog, just click on the picture....
"poof" they will get much bigger! lol!

Quails...part 2

Ok, so I am not so sure who is the smarter? Us or the Quail!

Once again, Hubby & I sat on the balcony relaxing and thought we would have fun with the quail, so hubby did his 'quail call' and right away we got lots of responses...this time 3 males were determined to find the elusive female quail, (little do they know that the female is really a 6'2" middle aged man.), well to our surprise, 2 of the males flew up to our balcony railing, they looked at us, we looked at them, we all screeched, the 2 males flew off & we regained our composure! Oh sure, were is my camera when I have the perfect photo-op!

Ok, way cheaper then going to the movies & no Quails were harmed in the making of a fun evening....lol!

The Twins....

Yesterday's weather was nice, perfect for an outing in town with my 'Baby Girl' and her 2 little baby girls....We ran a few errands and then took advantage of the nice weather and had lunch out on the patio of a local eatery....truth be known, we didn't have much options and had to eat outside...when you are pushing a stroller that is the size of a 747 airplane, you have to do some pretty smart navigating! Not to mention making a U-turn in a somewhat narrow hall way of a Medical building!But my 'Baby Girl" is quite the pro of "TwinStrollerology" and navigates that thing as if it were a VW Bug. I on the other hand am still fine tuning my twin stroller skills....give me time & I too will be a Pro! lol!

Quails...

OK, so I have said it before ...and I will say it again, Quail are NOT the brightest birds in the flock!

Hmmm, maybe I should title this post "What Hubby & I Do for Cheap Entertainment"...lol!

Last night while relaxing, enjoying the evening with a 'Farmers Cocktail' (Iced sweet tea) we were enjoying the sounds of the quail across the fields...when hubby remembered he had an old "quail call" whistle...so guess what we did for kicks-n-giggles?...yep we, meaning hubby, did his female quail call...OMG! it was the funniest thing to watch male quails running all over the property, calling back,,,and searching for that "Mae West" of a female quail!

Like I said, they 'ain't' the brightest birds in the flock....but certainly entertaining!

So, what do you do for cheap entertainment?

Dinner...

Speaking of birds....

Look who is coming for Dinner....

I love feeding my little birdies that, like clock work, are waiting on the railing each morning and each evening for their little birdie 'kibbles-n-bits'.... the Quail & Doves wait patiently down below for the cast off seeds to fall on the ground.

Apparently one of my little Dove's decided she doesn't want to wait for the cast off seeds so she has been a frequent rail sitter...smart bird!