Hi all! Happy first day of Spring - especially for we northerners!!! Record snowfalls, record days below zero, that's what we had here in CT. I'm anxious about my saucer garden, but still optimistic. I took the last pix yesterday - the last day of winter. I can't yet get any closer than that pix shows but from what I can see, it's only the Blue Star Creeper that looks iffy to me. The three pix below are from Jan 21, Feb 14, and Mar 19, 2014. I still have a frozen stream along the path. In anticipation of success for this saucer experiment, let me add a few notes and tips that I forgot to include above. On my second try I used a lot of local dirt over the base of potting soil. Seems happier - potting soil not earthy enough? This sled is made of aluminum. I don't know about plastic - might its chemicals leach into the dirt over time? Maybe a year or two would be okay? I don't know - anybody else? Since last summer I water (drizzle) with rain water only, and only when needed, concentrating on the drier perimeter, letting it soak to the center. All that said, I'll probably finish this thread with one more pix in early summer - with critters. As for the rest of my time in here - I'm still learning from everyone else - with very little expertise. Onward and upward for us all - flowers included! -- K

Clare!!! Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Thank you for such a geat Christmas tour at your home!!! Your efforts have made a wonderful Holiday experience for us all. You are the 'Christmas' bomb girl!!!!!!!!!!!! I especially love all kinds of trash to treasure endeavors! Your wheelbarrow is so charming!!!!! We had an old metal wheelbarrow that needed a front wheel. I got a discarded child's small bike wheel (a tricycle wheel would have been even better, but what'a ya gonna do? Free is Free. I couldn't just knock on the door and ask if they had it in a different size.). Then I tore the rubber tire off of the spoked rim. You'll need one of those darned men with his 'Man tools' to help remove the center of the wheel if you do it this way. I spray painted it white, then ran a rod through the middle and attached it to the wheelbarrow cart. I'll post a pic soon because it really made a huge difference to my old metal cart. It would make your wooden cart even nicer. I bet you did work for months on the Venician plaster it looks so rich!!! Great idea to toughen up the heavy traffic areas. Loved the glow when the lights were turned down low. The fresh greenery is wonderful on the door. The ice skates brought back memories of my childhood immediately. It was all so lovely. Susie

Well, all I have to say is, HOLY COW Susie!! :)))) My birthday came a few days early, that's for sure! You are so sweet Susie, I can't believe how much you fit in that box, it was stuffed full! And things were wrapped up so pretty, I had so much fun opening everything! And here are the presents that were wrapped: Well, let's see here, I shall attempt to list everything that she sent me: -A book about growing plants indoors, which is just great for me, because I sure do need help with that, lol! Looks like some good info in there! -A very cute windsock -Shower gloves, which look really neat, I've never had them before -tulip and hyacinth bulbs, which I love, and will plant in my yard in the next couple days! -Eggnog flavored coffee! I love eggnog and I love coffee, but I never would've thought to put the two together, lol! I will definately be trying this, I bet it will be quite tasty -A really cute santa soap -Some fruit-scented incense, which smells very nice. I really like incense, so I will enjoy these! -Some doggie biscuits just for my babies! Thank you so much for including them, that means a lot to me. -An eye wear care kit, which comes with some glasses cleaner, (which I definately will use because my glasses are always getting dirty,) some lens cloths, and a tiny screwdriver with several little screws, which is so funny, because one of the screws on my glasses has come loose many times, and I've had to take them in and have the screw replaced and have them tightened. So now I can do it myself, how did you know Susie? -A really cute little green notebook, which I really like because green is my favorite color -A package of foot repair lotion -A light fixture to illuminate paintings and other such things! -A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup scented lip balm, which smells very yummy -Some yummy chocolates, crackers, and licorice candies -Some homemade raisin suet cakes, which I'm so excited about feeding to the birds, they will just love them!!! I was also wondering if I could have your recipe for these? I always buy the storebought suet, and would love to be able to make them myself. A little stocking filled with seeds! A very special little snowman figurine, which is just so cute and I have it sitting on my desk right now. I couldn't seem to get a good photo of it, and this pic doesn't do it justice at all, it's just so cute! -And there were also some delicious little jelly candies, I couldn't quit eating them, lol! Did you make them yourself? -And a very special gift, a cookbook on preserving what I grow. Susie says it has been her bible, and that there's a wealth of info in it. It looks like a really great book, and just what I've been wanting, too. I know I will get a lot of use out of this, thank you so much for passing it on to me! Can't wait to try the recipes out with next year's harvest. I sure hope I have not forgotten anything! I think I've remembered everything, forgive me if I left anything out. There was just so many great things in this box, I was like a kid in a candy store opening all these gifts, LOL! Thank you so much again Susie, you are so wonderful, you have no idea how much you've blessed me with this package. I have really been through a lot lately and have been pretty down, but getting this box from you has really lifted my spirits, to know that someone cares that much to send me all this neat stuff. ~Summer

Munkos We talked about installing a bathing station for the dogs when we started the kitchen remodeling. Somewhere along the way the thought was lost in the big scheme of things and I dont have the heart to tear a newly drywalled wall out again. (3x in 2 yrs is enough for me) Someday I do want to live without inhaling drywall dust. Pee wee likes to swim in the bathtub and Daffy will tolerate it. Abby just sits and leans against the side of the tub till you lean her back the other way so its not too bad. Ive had my days of bathing with the hounds too. Your right.. its not a pretty site. lol We have a ritual at our house.. I know this is TMI but when hubby gets home from work I run his bath and pour us a scotch. I have a small stool that I sit on next to the tub and dangle my feet in the water while hubby sits back and sips his drink and we talk about our day. One day Pee Wee decided he was joining hubby for his bath and I caught him leaping mid air and ended up herniating a disc in my back catching him. *yes you can laugh.. the doc and nurse at the ER did). However, they laughed harder the next week when I came in after trying to catch Pee Wee who escaped from the car at the grocery store when I was getting out. I was chasing him and fell and broke my elbow. Ok, if things were not bad enough, husband was out cutting trees the next week and Pee Wee was on a line to keep him from attacking the chain saw. He ran and the line wrapped around my ankle and tore the tendon. When I showed up at the hospital the intake nurse just looked at me and said... Why don't you just put that dog out of your misery? So these days I make sure I lock the bathroom door so Pee Wee can not join myself or my husband for fear I will have to go to the hospital again. I really do not think I could take the humiliation. We live in a small town after all. lol So, now that you know too much about us, I will close and say I think doggy bathing stations are a great idea! lol Lorie