Five for Friday--You take the good, you take the bad edition

1. I'm going to start of with my buzz kill news right away...

One of my female ducks died yesterday. I went out to their pen in the afternoon to clean it and noticed that she had never come out when Jake let the ducks out in the morning before school. It looks like she just died in her sleep, but I can't figure out what the cause was. the She was only about a year old. It makes me so sad. I've heard people say that they don't want to own pets because they worry about becoming too attached and then they have to deal with them dying, but I just find that my life is so much more enriched having animals in my life...

Case in point... Ellie wanted me to fill up the little kiddy pool the other day. I turned the hose on and went inside for a few minutes. This was the sight I saw when I came back out...

...and this was just moments later...cute, right?

Who wouldn't want to be a duck?! (except for the one that just died)

2. Ellie's end of the year picnic was on Wednesday...(93 degrees, people!) Imagine a day like this with 80 percent humidity! I looked like a wet mongrel by the time we left!

They had a mini "awards" cermony. The teachers told some personal characteristics about each child when they presented them with their certificate...Ellie was described as--

"Always inquisitive...and is everyone's friend"

She had a great time, in spite of the heat...
I can't believe that my youngest child will be going into kindergarten next year...
Wasn't it just yesterday that I was being induced?

3. Ice Cream...You scream...We all scream for icecream!
And indeed we all did when we heard crazy psychedelic music coming up our lane! Imagine the thrill! The icecream truck never takes a detour! This the royal treatment!
My mom had just arrived and she treated us all for icecream...

4. I helped my neighbor, Caroline, with a garden project a few weeks ago...
I've been secretly fantasizing about doing a makeover to the area by her back patio.
We planned a day to dig this area out...and dig we did! It was steaming hot and we worked our buns off (I wish that that expression were literal, because my buns are definitely still there).

This picture was before...

And THIS was after!
We filled it with some of the perennials that I divided, a few herbs and a miniature lilac bush...
This was so satisfying to be able to transform a space...

5. I've decided on a name for my little business...
Thank you to all my sweet friends and family for helping me with name ideas...
I decided on "Bloom"...(Amanda, did you hear me talk about it already? or was that just our spirits communing, as usual?)

My friend, Kelly, is a graphic designer and she's working on a business card for me...



Things are so crazy here right now...but I wanted to get something posted before I get so behind with documenting.
My mom and I are doing the flowers for a wedding reception/open house today...(we worked on them yesterday, but we're putting the finishing touches on today)
Next Thursday, I'm hosting a Relief Society Herbal High Tea at my house (50 + people), so there's lots to organize for that and my chicks should be arriving on Tuesday!

I'm running on adrenaline!

A penny ($25) for your thoughts...

I've been toying with the idea for quite some time now about starting a little flower arranging business on the side. In addition to helping Susan Taylor with silk flower arranging in her store, I want to have a business card printed up so when opportunities arise to do fresh arrangements, I can hand people something that has my contact information.

Here's where you come in...

If I choose the name that you propose, then you will receive a $25 Target gift card or if you are local, a flower arrangement from my garden...(whichever you prefer)...

I will be choosing the name on Friday...so if you are interested in participating, get those thinking caps on...

A day spent with Susan

One of Susan's clients whose home is on the local tour of homes circuit, hired Susan to do the flowers for each of the rooms in her house. (Including her daughter's closet--what the?!)

She asked me last Sunday if I would be available to help put some arrangements together...
I met her at her house this morning at 8am and was met with this glorious sight!...

So after a lot of this...(I should have taken a picture of the carnage before we got everything cleaned up)...

And a bit of this...(roast beef with spicy bleu cheese dressing on a ciabatta roll--crazy good!)

We ended up with THESE...

And THESE!!

And THESE!! (as well as several other arrangements not photographed)--we were scrambling towards the end because she still needed to get these delivered to Princeton, NJ and then drive tonight to NC for her granddaughter's birthday...(when does she ever sleep?)

I forgot to take pictures of these miniature arrangements that will go at each plate setting on her dining room table...(notice the cute little wild flocks (purple) that Susan dug out of the woods the night before...)

It was an amazing day to say the least...

It was so much fun spending time with Susan and learning a new way to arrange flowers...

I must admit that I was super nervous to help her out on these because I have a much more traditional arranging style, but I eventually caught onto her vision and all was well...

This was one of her lettuce arrangements (using different types of lettuce, cilantro, basil, hipernicum berries and tulips)...This never ceases to impress me...

I got to take home all of the overage flowers...

How bout those lisianthis, Susan? Not bad, eh?! (she calls those trash flowers and I must admit they're not my favorite, but I do like them in this arrangement...(the tall one).

My only regret today...not getting a self portrait together...dang!

And so ends a busy day...A hot bath awaits!

What's in bloom at 42 Anvil Lane

Spring, no doubt, is the busiest time of the year for me...

What you do or don't do in the garden now determines how things will look for the rest of the growing season...

In addition to pruning, fertilizing, edging, and mowing, Brian and I have managed to spread 15 yards of mulch as well as dig out for a new shade garden. (I've also helped a neighbor with a garden project--pictures of that to come in a few days)

"Through the dancing poppies stole, A breeze most softly lulling to my soul."--John Keats

Here is the view that I see from my kitchen sink...I feel like I'm standing right in the middle of my front garden...


This is the beginning stages of the front rose garden coming to life...

I always catch my breath when I see these yellow irises around the pond...

My neighbor tells me that all of these were the result of only a few iris bulbs being planted...

The line up for this year's vegetable garden is...3 varieties of tomatoes, sunflowers, corn (our first attempt), pickling cucumbers, spaghetti squash, basil, bak choy cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, yellow wax beans, green beans, asparagus beans, dill, peas, rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries, black berries, swiss chard, carrots, purple potatoes, yellow potatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, and a small cutting garden in one of the beds...

This was another Saturday afternoon project...We got this coop from a kit, but didn't realize it was so dinky...I've got to be able to fit 5 chickens in this thing. We're going to expand it a bit with an outer yard connected to the back.

Our chickens are set to arrive at the end of this month (just in time for a wedding that I have been asked to do the flowers for as well as planning for a huge Herbal High Tea Relief Society Social that I'm hosting for 50 + people the following week...)

So there you have it...a quick "here's what's blooming" update...

I'm spending all day with Susan T. tomorrow arranging flowers for one of her clients, but I will be sure to take my camera to document....It makes me sad when I get behind on blogging....

What's growing at your house?

An Unlikely Friendship

Watch this short 2 minute video and prepare to be smitten...

Now THIS is what I'm talking about!!

I hope it makes your day as much as it did mine...

This I know...

1. A good time was had by all at our recent egg hunt...I love the absolute look of joy on everyone's face...

2. I love buying new Easter dresses for my girls every year. I'm glad they still indulge me and let me dress them alike from time to time.

(Since we didn't go to church on Easter Sunday

this year because it fell on General Conference weekend, they wore their outfits the Sunday before)

3. My spring/summer fling, J. Deere and I picked up where we left off in the fall.

Reunited...and it feels so good!

4. I saw a MINK (what the?!) scurrying across our lawn yesterday!!!!!! Fortunately, I was able to find him again after I ran inside to get my camera. These things are nasty little boogers and not a friend to ducks, by the way. I'm nervous that we've got mink in the area now...

5. I always forget how much I love springtime! It's such a gift to have this kind of beauty after a long, snowy winter.


6. When my mom came for a visit recently, she helped me with the massive undertaking of repainting my dining room (first coat was wheatgrass--which was a gorgeous color but ended up being super gloomy and shadowy at night) so I repainted it the same color as my kitchen...which is silvery sage...

I love the contrast of the silvery sage with the hallway's new color of gold strand...(all of these colors were per Susan Taylor's suggestion)...that girl knows color!!


Here's a shot of the gold strand in the hallway leading into the old living room which has svelte sage on the walls (and ceilings!)...All of the woodwork (oh! so much woodwork!) is painted in pear tint...

As if all of that painting (including the upstairs hallway and trim) wasn't enough, I painted the laundry room in wheatgrass. It's such a fresh color, and I hated that it didn't work in my dining room, but because this room has a pot light on the ceiling, there aren't any funky shadows being cast. I love this room and the framed piece of fabric goes perfectly with the new color!

7. Window boxes make me just plain happy.

8. I love having opportunities to participate in my kids' school. This was taken during a mystery reader Friday for Jake's class...

9. We got a new car! (Well, it's a new "used" car, but still...it's new to us!) I love it! My poor van was on it's last legs so this was it's replacement...a Ford Freestyle! It's a conversion utility vehicle--it almost looks like a jacked up station wagon. It can accommodate 7 people plus cargo space...I've had a blast driving it...

These white instrument panels are so fresh looking to me...

10. I'm not sure I'm ready for summer to be here...These are just a few samplings of misdemeaners I discovered during spring break. I know now why they call it spring BREAK!!!

(I think they're referring to my nerves!)

I found a way to keep myself from obsessing over not being able to have our kitchen redone this year (or next, at this rate!)...

P.S.--I've read all of this since last month's bookclub!

... Reading books on human reaping, injustices done to the hired help during the 1960's and books on the Holocaust seem to be really doing the trick...

I'm finding solace in learning about the struggles of others, and it keeps me from pining away for anything frivolous...


The Hunger Games was a different kind of book than I am used to reading...I'm not big on science fiction, but I found myself many times while I was in the middle of it thinking to myself how gratetful I was that my life was not like that...


The Help was just plain awesome...I loved every minute of it. I actually felt depressed when it was finished. Oh! How I wish I could meet these women in real life. Aibileen was my favorite character. I felt like I could actually hear her speaking!
We take so much for granted in our day. It's amazing to me that it wasn't that long ago that these kinds of struggles were such a part of normal life.

Sarah's Key was a story about the Holocaust. Historical Fiction books are my favorites because they give history a personal story for me. It makes it easier for me to understand.
I really enjoyed this book and once again, found myself being totally thankful that I have the life that I do.


Night was a memoir written by Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor. It was very interesting and intense. The ability to persevere is the message that I get from each of these stories. It's amazing to me how resilient we are as humans.

Does reading about other people's struggles help you to cope with your own?