Outside My Window ~ 4.12.09
Outside My Window…Simply beautiful…..blue skies, not a cloud in sight ~ but we are cool and windy. It is only 47 degrees with wind gusts up to 23 mph. We are forecasted to reach the high 50’s, low 60’s. I guess I can’t complain about that.
I am thinking…how I would like another week off to finish up my projects. I was very optimistic in what I would accomplish this past week…..but I think we all do that when planning time off. By the time I return to work on Tuesday, I will have finished cleaning up the backyard and the flower bed on the side of the house. I haven’t gotten all my plants in because I don’t have them all yet, but that will come in the following week. And forget about the painting…..that didn’t happen! But that will come as well. I’m also thinking how I have enjoyed this time off, even though I was working my butt off! 🙂
I am thankful for…finally getting the backyard cleaned up. If you check out earlier posts on my blog, you will see some before and after photos. I decided this fall when all the leaves dropped that I wouldn’t rake them up but rather leave them for ground cover in an attempt to control weeds add more nutrients to the soil. Well, I got the nutrient benefit but there were still plenty of weeds under all those leaves. As you see, I don’t have any grass back there ~ it is a wee area so that is no problem. Well, it is a wee area when you look at it, when you are raking up more leaves than any tree can possibly produce; it is as large as an acre of land. I have never seen so many leaves from one tree ~ and I swear I don’t recall that many being on it when it was green!! Not to mention it drops random limbs all the time. So I have gotten it cleaned up and created two raised gardens because it is next to impossible to dig and plant anything. Another tree issue……..there are a lot of roots running through the yard. What I generally do is scratch the ground up, throw some wildflower seeds out and cover with some soil. If you notice in the photos of the tree, there is some greenery there. That is a shade loving ground cover that survived by scratching the ground and planting little seedlings. I was actually amazed it did survive. The raised gardens will be for specific plants……Lily of the Valley, Hostas and violets right now. Oh, I have planted a very small camellia bush my aunt had given me in one raised bed, but I’m worried about it. The bush did fine all through the winter in a small pot but when spring sprung, it got kind of sad looking. I’m hoping the transplant will perk it up.
From the kitchen…Loads of goodies today. For my contribution to my mother’s Easter dinner today, I have prepared a Hummingbird Cake, potato salad and crusty bread. I made the cake and salad yesterday and prepared the crusty bread dough as well as a no knead cinnamon roll dough. The crusty bread is also a no knead dough. You prepare this and allow it to sit for about 12 to 18 hours. It is now rising for a second time and will soon be popped into the oven. The no knead cinnamon roll dough is prepared and then refrigerated overnight. And right now, I’m enjoying one of the cinnamon rolls created from that dough……..yum! I will post the recipes and photos for the cake, crusty bread and cinnamon rolls on my blog later today or tomorrow so check back if you are interested..
I am creating…other than goodies from the kitchen, not too much else. I took a break this week from the research and development of the bath and body care side of life.
I am going…to my mother’s house early this afternoon for Easter dinner. I think when we leave there; we will take a drive along the parkway and see if I can get some shots of the dogwood trees in bloom. If I’m lucky, I may find some azaleas that are blooming as well.
I am reading…nothing at the moment. I have been too busy this week to read, and when I wasn’t doing something, I was probably snoozing on the couch after passing out from exhaustion. 🙂
I am hoping…everyone enjoys their day today doing whatever makes you happy.
I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks, a Zen garden CD and my wind chimes outside my front door.
Around the house…creations from my kitchen, some of the girls laundry that needs to be put away, and my once again messy room!
Plans for the week include…back to work……….and maybe trying to prep the kitchen so I can get it painted next weekend. Big maybe there ~ generally after time off I’m not so energetic when I come home in the evenings so we will have to see how that works out.
One of my favorite things…sitting back and enjoying something I created whether it is my soaps and creams or a dish I cooked in the kitchen. By the way, these cinnamon rolls are really quite tasty!
A picture I’d like to share with you…
