Busy Two Weeks and loads of computer problems

We have celebrated birthdays, had sleepovers with two year olds and four year olds at our house for the first time in a long time, celebrated a wedding shower, packed the house in preparation for new flooring, had to make the difficult decision to have our dog Baxter put to sleep, unpacked and moved all the furniture back in and whew! both computers got a worm of some sort and our email address was pirated and mass spam email was sent out from our address. Insight Communications shut us down not once, but twice. Both computers have had to have work and we are not sure even after the work that hackers can't get into them again. All that and work to go to every day on top of it. More than anybody should have to go through in a week. I will post pictures as soon as I get them downloaded.

Some Patio Pavers Go Down

Roger is in the middle of placing some pavers down where a pile of mulch once was. We are leaving the mulch as a base and adding sand for now. If it shifts too much then maybe we will start over and create a new base. The mulch was once the home of a big mud pile off the deck and it has worked well, but the mulch comes in on everyone's feet. Now the key will be if the sand particles and small rock chips come in with this onto the new hardwood when we get it down in a couple of weeks. Here is the start. Rained lots today so no work that way. I will post after we have it all worked out!

Susan Boyle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-KiGva9dV4 Check out this link to hear Susan Boyle sing. Amazing! Embedding disabled.

Wedding Centerpieces

I am trying to figure out table centerpieces for the Gabe and Melody's wedding. I can't seem to find exactly what we are looking for. The tables are round and we have already purchased two different height cylinder containers that will have pillar candles and clear half marbles. The other piece we are not sure about to complete the trilogy so to speak. I would like to do some sort of floral but can't quite get the shape or height right. I saw some florals in glass cylinders covered in water with a floating candle on top. Funny, Susan had seen the same ones and emailed me the link. Can't decide if they would look too strange or different and not traditional enough. Will the flowers last long in the water? How would I get them all made and looking good through the night and next day if I tried to make them early? Arrrrghhhh! Time is running out.

More anniversary pictures

Here are some shots of Victorian Square and Triangle park fountains. Some were through the pedway glass and the drops were raindrops that started to fall. The little nest at first when I took the picture I thought was real but as I looked at it closer up it looks manufactured. Cute anyway!

Anniversary

Today is our anniversary. We had a very nice dinner at DeSha's and a walk around triangle park. Mom brought us some beautiful tulips. Ignore the mess that surrounds the kitchen. We did not clean up much before we left.

Lexington Cemetery and Henry Clay's Home Gardens

Roger and I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather before the storm tonight and the projected drop in temperatures that are expected for tomorrow. We should have snow Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Look carefully at the trees in the first slide show. One tree at the base has some knarly twisted truck bark with knotholes that look like a ape face. The same tree at the middle has some more knotting that looks like a turtle head poking out. There were so many people at the cemetery with children dressed up in spring outfits taking pictures. The tulips were spectacular.

So many of the trees are just getting ready to bloom, so hopefully the weather will not freeze the blooms completely. It is supposed to be 28-30 degrees for 2 to 3 days so who knows what will happen but for today we had a great time out enjoying the bounty.

Cold Blowin' in

Went over to feed the ducks tonight. Thought they might be getting cold and hungry. We are supposed to get some snow and cold weather next Monday and Tuesday so I am not sure if this winter weather will truly ever be over! We also have picked out some flooring for the dining room, dining area and living room. We were in a dilemma with the concrete slab. We could not get the solid 3/4 inch hardwood that we love so much. We were stuck with getting laminate, bamboo, engineered or solid wood that was only 5/16 of an inch thick. We really did not like any of the laminates that we had seen because they looked so fake until we saw some Armstrong Grand Illusions. It has the look of real wood with the stability and durability of laminate. We really were considering bamboo because of it being a greener material but some articles we read said that bamboo was put together with formaldehyde which emitted fumes that bothered people with asthma. So we were back to square one.

Then we found some solid wood we liked but it was at lumber liquidators and we were not sure about the product and the service we might get there. I had an underlying feeling that it was not going to be the best product out there even though the price was pretty good. The wood was most likely seconds and there was a variance to the wood (each board a different shade)that we were afraid would make the room look almost striped. The wood was so thin and hardly had a finish to it. We did not like any of the laminates they had or any of the engineered. Lowes and Home Depot were not much better and the price there was double to quadruple the lumber liquidator price.

Then it was full circle back to the Armstrong Grand Illusions Cherry Bronze. It does have a high gloss finish so I hope we won't be disappointed in that. I know it will show footprints like crazy but they did give us a special cleaner and dust mop to use. We went with a more local "Mom and Pop" type place right up the street from us which makes me feel pretty good about supporting the local economy. They were able to match the price a place in Richmond had on the product and the labor price was competitive. The best thing about this floor is that it is a floating floor and no glue will have to be used. The other wood products would have had to be glued down and we could not have walked on it for several days after putting the boards down. We also worried about the fumes.

So, bottom line is we ended up going with a laminate which we always said we wouldn't. Hopefully, we made the best choice we could have. These big financial decisions in times like these are tough. We have needed flooring so badly and the carpet is shot! I will post pictures as we go through the process. Now I have to start packing things up in preparation for moving everything out of the downstairs. Fun!

Why?

Why is it that these beautiful little flowers are called weeds and we spend hours trying to eradicate them from the yard and garden? Why can't we just enjoy them and let them bloom?





Because we want these pretty little things instead.

Laugh for the day!

I love this star magnolia bush/tree. The blooms are so fragile and do not last very long but are so beautiful while it lasts.

Videos

I posted these videos the other day because I was trying to find some of Alela Diane on You Tube. I particularly love "Oh! My Mama" and "Pieces of String" by Alela Diane. The Angus and Julia Stone ones I just came up across and like the creativity of the videos and the music. A little odd, but reminds me of the 70's music a bit and I am a little odd in my tastes. The Headless Heroes "Just Like Honey" is also very good. At least give these three a little listen.

I planted onions, sugar snap peas and mustard greens this weekend. I planted the peas a little late but they will come on in time before weather too hot. I also started some cilantro and basil. Sweet and Genovese basil. Ohhh... the aroma and taste of fresh basil. Takes me to a happy place right along with Lavender and Rosemary.

I will post pictures as they grow. I want to put out some lettuce too. I will do that this week if it does not rain. It is supposed to though. I have all kinds of things popping up those pretty little heads. I have had some active rabbits and chipmunks though. Things are getting snipped down to the ground. We shall see how well the peas will germinate without getting nibbled. In that raised bed I found lots of buried sunflower seeds that were germinating already and nuts. I think they think that I am the one invading their space. Ha! Maybe they will leave some of the pea seeds alone to sprout and grow.

Spring is Trying!

The weather was really warm today when I got home from school. I had to go out and try to get some pictures. I cannot wait until Spring Break to really be able to get out in the yard and get some planting done.

The little yellow paperwhites or minature daffodils were a gift two years ago from my good friend Luann on my 50th birthday. They really have multiplied this year. The buds are the star magnolia "bush" that is out front. I am playing with some close up focus settings and got a couple of good ones. I can't quite get the crisp focus I want. I think it looks the way I want it in the lens and then on the computer it loses some in the translation. I do really like the buds of the magnolia.

The building is the old farm site that was up behind us. It is so sad to see it all leveled. Trees gone, old barn gone, no wonder I have rabbits and critters digging up my flower beds (hence the hole). I know my house was once part of that farm, but it sad to watch.

What a difference a day or two makes

I was on the swing in 70 degree weather Tuesday afternoon and Thursday evening here is the weather. What they say about Kentucky is true. If you don't like the weather, stick around and it will change.