Library Day!

In any given week there is at least one trip to the library for me. At present I have over 30 books checked out and I owe $4.10 in overdue fines! I'm doing my part to help support the library! In our county the local libraries are given funds based on how many books are checked out throughout a year. It is my job to keep checking out books and keep reading. I want to insure jobs for the wonderful people who work in our library. The hours and days the library is open have been cut back drastically and it's really a shame to our community. Is it a reflection on our society? Is it a reflection on education? Is it politics? What do you think? How is your library system funded?

A time to celebrate!

This precious face belongs to our granddaughter! Friday night we celebrated two years of her life with us! It was a big time, full of laughter, dancing, bubbles and ice-cream! When the bubbles came out, she lifted up her heals and danced with glee! No one was untouched by her smiles and laughter!
Her life is being molded and made to reflect the JOY she creates! When God gave us LilliAnne He gave us the sun, moon and stars!
We are forever humbled and grateful! Grammy and Papa

It's time to clean out the junk drawer!

The day finally arrived. I had to clean out the junk drawer because it was driving me nuts!
The first thing I did was take the drawer out and emptied it into a cardboard box. I then started to separate out everything into neat little piles. The things that have no business in the drawer were put where they belonged and everything that didn't have a use or sentimental value was tossed. As you can see I had some interesting things in the drawer....incense, paint palette, floral tape as well as other types of tape, the all important 3x5 index cards, old greeting cards, old hand cream, used light bulb, old phone, hair clips, lids, toothbrush, clippers, pens that don't work, pencils that do, rubber bands, recipe card, Altoid box full of nails, and string. Actually, this drawer wasn't so bad...there have been worse messes in my house. But, that's another story. The "after" picture would not upload. Now isn't that interesting! I tried three times, too!
Needless to say, I feel so much better knowing my junk drawer is cleaned up and less messy.
Do you have a messy drawer that needs to be cleaned up? Tell me about it!

Three little chicks sitting in a bag and one curious cat!

Usually I hear my husband come home by the door to the laundry room opening, but tonight the noise I heard was very loud chirping....then the door to the house closed. Our cat, Simon, looked at me with his wide eyes, his ears bent back and he jumped off the couch to see what that noise was! Chirping is a noise that will draw any cat off its warm favored spot. This was no exception! Simon peered into the bag to see what was up. Another look was shot at me from Simon and from me to him. He knew these little birds were not to be his from the look on my face! They were quickly carried out to the barn and moved in with the older chicks.
They quickly adjusted to the larger chick family and all is well!

Chicks arrived and the skunk got skunked!

Ten little chicks arrived this week at the farm. We buy several chicks each year to add to the ongoing menagerie. There are more than 50 chickens in our hen house and people wonder what we do with so many? We sell the eggs. Our breed of chickens have the capacity to lay approximately 120 eggs(depending on the breed) in their life. When a chicken is through laying eggs they are welcome to stay in our hen house and live out their pecking life. And, that is why we have so many chickens. The lifetime of a chicken is close to five years. The chickens add up! For the first several weeks the chicks are in a wire coupe and have a heat lamp over them at all times. They get fed plenty of water and special chick food. If the chicks don't get the proper nutrition they won't live. It is a fine balance between life and death during the first few days. I sadly report that two of ours didn't make it this time. We have no idea why.
In a very short time the chicks will grow into a gangly, not so cute stage which passes quickly and they become beautiful full grown chickens.
Now, for the skunk who got skunked or better put, got himself stuck and died! This skunk tried to climb into a fence that wasn't large enough and he couldn't wriggle through. He died a short time before we found him. My husband came to remove the skunk from the fence and I must say that after the removal......a very strong odor settled in the air and we had to get back quickly!! The skunk is now bagged and the odor has subsided.....for the most part!!
Say goodbye to the skunk. He had a good life until it ended in tragedy. Poor little thing.
Slow Boy catches up with Fast Girl!!

Wedding season is about to begin!

Today was spent preparing for an upcoming wedding that I will be designing for and to take place in May. I've consulted with the bride, she gave me her dreams and wishes. From the time I spent with her I will determine which flowers to order and how many. The flowers will come from the Portland Florist Growers Market. At this market comes the freshest, most beautiful flowers anyone could ever dream of. The roses are especially beautiful as Portland is known for its perfect climate to grow these spectacular flowers. I often ask the brides if I can make last minute decision about exact flowers based on what is available that week. It really is to a brides advantage to let a designer do this because we can't always know ahead of time what might show up at the market.
Below is a wedding I put together last season. These arrangements include four different rose breeds, Lisianthus, Freesia, Star of Bethlehem, Stargazer Lily, and Stalk. It was a very fragrant wedding, as ordered!
The bride carried this hand tied clutch bouquet. She wore an ivory colored dress that had layer upon layer of organdy and these flowers were a stunning addition to the "frosting!!" Six bridesmaids carried smaller versions of the brides bouquet, with just roses, down the isles. Candelabra arrangement...
And, the Altar arrangement.

The Magnificiant Sierra's

While on vacation last week we were able to spend the time we so needed to be quiet, talk, read, hike, paint, dream, and gaze at the sky. The beauty of this earth is so amazing and we took the opportunity to take it all in. The lack of technology added to the quality of our time together and moving through the long warm days. This is what we saw when we came around a bend in the road just above June Lake. The clouds were billowing and soft. It almost looks like it would rain (according to Oregonians) but it was just being beautiful!
This is also June Lake but further over in our view. It was a sight of heavenly proportions! After a wonderful lunch at the Schat's Bakery in Bishop we headed on toward the entrance of Death Valley. The Sierra Mountains were towering and snow covered all the way. Another stunning view of some incredible territory!


Just a quick word about Schat's Bakery....O my!! If you ever go through Bishop by all means stop and have a bite at this huge bakery. The bread is out of this world and there are so many different varieties it's unbelievable! While I was standing in line to place my sandwich order I met a young man from France. He told me that he had only seen bakeries like Schat's in France. So....go skiing at Mammoth Lakes and stop for lunch!! Mammoth Lakes sits just above the town of Bishop, California.