The roses in the garden have been blooming beautifly and today I went around the garden and snap some pictures to share with you.
Such a lovely display of color.
Martha.
Roses From The Garden
Mini is OK!
As I mentioned on my previous post, Mini and Mona visited their vet's office last Saturday; they were due for their shots. Also I discovered a few days back a lump on Mini's neck. Although, Mini never complained or showed signs that she was in any pain, my husband and I wanted to have it checked out as soon as possible. Their doctor, Doctor C., gently examined the lump and advised us that a biopsy was recommended... when I heard those words a million thoughts rushed in to my head. What if there is something wrong with my baby? My husband and I immediately agreed to the procedure; as sacred as we were we needed to know to better care for Mini. The procedure only took a few minutes and Mini was very brave and stayed still the whole time. The hardest part was waiting for the results... Dr. C. was kind enough to give us the results as soon as the tests were completed and were were very excited to learn that Mini is OK! The lump turned out to be a benign tumor made out of fatty tissue. It is such a relief! Mini already has a heart murmur for which she needs to have constant medical care. I just don't want her to be sick.
We thank God our baby is OK!
Martha.
Garden Update
After having such nice weather the past few weeks, yesterday the weather changed dramatically; the temperatures dropped and the sky turned gray. There was even was a thunder storm and rain last evening. It was a little nuts! Today we got a little more sun, but still was quite chilly. My husband and I went out to the garden all bundled up to pick some vegetables. Right now what is ready to be picked are peas, carrots and spring onions.
The snap peas are very sweet and tender and the shelling peas are amazing. Mini and Mona agree, I cooked some for them and they really liked them.
The carrots are very crunchy and full of flavor. I haven't decided if I'm going to put them on a salad or roast them with other vegetables...
I was surprised at how large the onions grew. Last year they didn't grow as big as this. Maybe we are finally getting the hang of things with this gardening stuff.
Speaking of getting the hang of things about gardening we still have to see how the red cabbage and broccoli grows. I'm afraid we are not having as much luck, but we still have to wait and see.
Martha.
Quilted Pot Holder
Saturday morning I got up with a terrible cold. I was feeling miserable. I hate being sick! After resting for a while and taking some cold medicine by the afternoon I was feeling much better. So I decided to do a little sewing. I've been crazy about these dollhouse pot holders ever since Aneela Hoey talked about them on her blog and I just couldn't wait anymore to try to make one. The tutorial is from Freda's Hive and you can find it here.
It was so much fun picking out the fabrics for each piece of the block.
Here is a pic of the finished block. The tutorial mentions using Insul-Fleece, but I didn't have any so I used two layers of cotton batting instead. I think this is going to be first of many pot holders I make. They are just too cute!
Martha.
Pretty in Pink
I snapped this picture the other day outside my local post office. I had gone to mail some things and before I went into the building I noticed this beautiful tree laden with pink pompom like blossoms; luckily I had my camera with me so I took a picture to share with you. I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it sure is beautiful.
Life is beautiful!
Martha.
April Around The Garden
So far, April here in California has brought us a mix of sunny and rainy days. While I'm anxious for more sunny and warmer days, the plants in the garden are taking the April showers very well. The lavender bush is covered with fragrant blossoms and if you come near you can hear the bees buzzing busy at work. The trees are now covered with new leaves...
including this beautiful Japanese maple. Its foliage is so vibrant that when the sun hits the leaves it looks like the tree is on fire.
The blossoms from the peach tree are long and now the branches are covered with fast growing peaches and new shinny leaves.
This is the newest garden resident... a mourning dove nesting on a garden trellis; the trellis supports the wisteria vines. I was able to spot the dove because the wisteria vines were bare at the time she began building her nest. Now the wisteria is beginning to bloom and leafing out providing more shelter for the dove and hopefully her soon to arrive chick or chicks.
Every year I await with so much excitement the arrival of spring and with that the wisteria blossoms, I just wish they lasted longer.
Also, a couple of weeks ago my husband and I started some vegetable seeds indoors and they are doing so well that we took them outdoors to acclimate them to the weather outdoors so we can plant them on the ground in the next few days. The plants are of cucumber, zucchini, tomato, squash, tomatillo and pepper. I hope all the plants yield plenty of vegetables we can enjoy and share.
And my succulents are thriving and ready to bloom. Sooner than in previous years. I think this year the garden will be very prolific!
Martha.
Outside in the Garden
The weather report predicted rain for today. It ended up not raining at all but it was cloudy and cold most of the day. Except for a short break in the middle of the day that it got sunny enough that we felt like going outside and checking on the plants in the garden.
The plants are doing beautifully. The garden is quickly being filled with the colors of spring.
Now the white daffodils are blossoming next to the freesias. And despite some harsh cold nights in past weeks we were able save the calla lilies.
The vegetables are showing a lot of progress... the onions, peas, carrots and radishes are growing very well. I can't wait for them to be ready. The cilantro, on the other hand, has been growing very quickly and we have a lot of it.
We cut some cilantro and more lemons to share with our friends, and finished just in time before the sky began to turn gray again.
It was a nice weekend outside.
Martha.
Drawstring Bag
I had time to do a little sewing today and I finished this drawstring bag. I'm planning to use as a project bag to carry around my knitting or crochet projects and avoid loosing my knitting needles and crochet hooks...
For the patchwork detail of the bag I used cotton fabric with cherry prints, as well as some plaid and striped fabrics in red and white. For the entire body of the bag I used linen, which is one of my favorite fabrics these days; it has such an organic feel.
I finished off the bag with a ribbon as the cord for the bag. I really like the way this bag turned out. I think I have to make some more.
Martha.