Get Back To The Basics + Learning to Unplug
Thank you for all your kind and supportive words about our sweet Lucy. And thank you for loving her right along with us. It’s still so hard without her here.
We’ve mostly been keeping busy working outside in the yard and on house projects. I stayed off the computer and had my phone off nearly all weekend.
Being outside helps.
In The Kitchen
The HH set up one of those suction cup bird feeders on the kitchen window and apparently it’s a hit with the neighborhood birds. I forgot how much fun bird feeders can be. Maybe we should get a few more.
The pollen has been crazy lately. When is pollen season over? Does anyone know? It seems pretty intense this year.
Our first batch of baby birds successfully left the nest. They didn’t go far though, just over the fence.
The HH and I are wondering if we should move the nest or just leave it be? It’s in an arborvitae tree that we were going to plant on the other side of the yard and not in the best of spots.
Maybe we should just plant the tree and leave the nest intact? I don’t know what to do. Will the mama bird re-use her nest? Does anyone know?
Kitchen Goals For This Year
- Master the pear frangipane tart from Standard Baking Company.
- Put my Weck jars to use.
- Use two bins of beans {working on it}
Rug Hooking
I finally finished my Star Spangled Whale rug and I LOVE the way it turned out!! I like hooking big rugs, and I’m excited to get started on my next one just as soon as I get a few more things done in the garden.
Rug Hooking Goals For This Year
Finish drawing out all my patterns, making kits, dyeing wool by March 31st.- Release 10 new rug hooking patterns/kits. {4 down 6 to go}
- Hook 27 of the patterns from the “someday I’ll hook these” bin. {6 down 21 to go}
Go New Places – See New Things
Well the good news is Jen and I {and our group} won the Grand Canyon lottery. The bad news is that I decided to bow out of the trip. 🙁
With Lucy, the HH’s radiation, house projects and summer visitors, I just don’t think I’m up for all the training that I’d need to do to have the trip be a success.
I just want to hang around and work in the garden and keep an eye on the HH this summer. Maybe the HH and I can do something else… Maybe a mini adventure of our own in the fall instead?
I don’t know. But he did say he’s relieved I’m not going. And Jen was totally okay with it.
Travel Goals For This Year
- Travel someplace {internationally} that I’ve never been before.
- Travel somewhere in Maine {overnight} that I haven’t been before.
Places I’ve Been So Far This Year
- Boston {Birthday getaway}
- NYC {Girls getaway}
Walk And Stretch More
We did a couple of walks around the neighborhood but mostly we’ve been getting our steps in from working in the yard. Also, it’s been pretty warm around here lately so we are eating a lot of ice cream.
Walking/Stretching Goals For This Year
- Get into some sort of stretching routine
- Fast walk a 5K, 10K, and
Half Marathon
Garden
The peony border is in bloom! But I won’t be picking any flowers this year. I did some research and apparently you are not supposed to harvest peonies until year 3.
Which is sort of a bummer but hey, I want happy healthy plants and if I need to wait another year, I will. They are fun to walk past though. 🙂
Also, the raised garden beds are doing really well. I’ll try and remember to snap some photos today and show you how everything is doing.
Garden Goals For This Year
- Rework the driveway and garden areas {in progress}
- Go crazy and plant a ridiculous amount of flowers {working on it}
- Step out of my comfort zone and plant some flowers I’ve never planted before
Paint
And last but not least… Painting.
In addition to working on staining the picket fence, I’ve also been repainting all those wooden beams in the front room that I stripped last fall.
After sanding and staining the floors with a light finish, we decided we didn’t want to sand all the beams in the entire cottage after all. Crazy, I know, right? Oh well. You don’t know, until you do.
Fingers crossed we’ll be able to move the furniture back into the room in the next day or two.
Hey, it’s Monday. Can you believe it? I hope you have a good day.
~ Mavis
Painting Goals For This Year
- The Van Gogh wall
- The gallery wall down stairs
- The captains wall in the hall
- Trim and walls
Susan Williams says
I’m so sorry for your loss of Lucy. Our Theodore is on borrowed time at 17 3/4 yrs old.
I love all of your gardening advice over the years. Could I ask what you used to combat slugs eating your garden when you were in the PNW? I have a bit of garden I started last year on the side yard which is just inundated with slugs (which of course I can never see, I think they do their damage while I’m sleeping). I had a spaghetti squash start to come up and before a full leaf even opened, it’s been topped. 🙁
Mavis Butterfield says
Beer in tiny dishes or Sluggo {you can buy it at the garden center}.
Barbh says
I can attest that the beer works great! I used empty tuna cans and buried them so that the top rim was even with the ground. The beer attracts the slugs and then they drown
Sue says
Good friends understand when plans have to change, which makes Jen a good friend. She’ll go, and have a great time. And you’ll be thrilled for her, which makes you a good friend.
It’s all good. ;^)
Richelle says
This!
Peg says
It’s the only downside to sharing life with a pet. I’m so sorry for your loss. I always enjoyed reading about Lucy.
Annette says
You made the right decision to not go on the GC trip. Now is the time to show yourself some grace and take it easy.
Sue S. says
I agree 100 percent.
Archie says
Agree with your decision 100%
Lynn says
We bought a couple of those window bird feeders thinking they would keep the squirrels out of the seed and entertain our cats. Until the day I spotted a squirrel laying in it enjoying all the birdseed! We think it jumped down from our roof (we have a one story house). We have a lot of very resourceful squirrels in our yard so I should have known. We gave the window feeder away.
Susan says
Sending love as you miss your dear Lucy.
I believe you had mentioned considering a trip to PEI or Nova Scotia. I just got back last week for a week there, and would highly recommend. I live in MA, and we drove to the seasonal ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, NS then drove up to Halifax (about 3 hours). We spent a few days there, then went to PEI, then drove home (about 9 hours for PEI-Boston). Some highlights include lobster rolls (at Peggy’s Cove, NS), seeing the Bay of Fundy at low and high tide — wow, and just being in the quiet lovely setting of PEI. In the 2nd week of June in PEI, there were restaurants and other sites that were closed for the season — that was fine for us since there were no crowds or lines for anything. I just wanted to go somewhere quiet and beautiful, and NS and PEI delivered in spades. Some great cuisine was a bonus!
Judi Y. says
Your whale rug is beautiful!!
Jj says
For what it’s worth…you should leave Lucy’s picture up in the beginning of the emails. She was always part of the family for all of us..
Sue S. says
I wish peonies lasted longer. They seem to fade quickly, and their fragrance is just so wonderful.
The whale rug is outstanding! And thank you for the nice portrait of Lucy! It’s a nice opener to the blog post.
tia in boise says
I’ve heard others mention that their seasonal allergies seem worse this year, as well! Ugh! I hate the years I have to medicate from spring through summer and then right into fall!
Rj says
I started with 1 of those feeders and now have 3! Never ending entertainment! Buy a big bag of bird food at Costco!
maureen detmer says
i am totally lov’in that rug, has a folk arty feel to it which i love and i am digging the stars as well, above and below. sweet little puggles in puppy heaven, our ole gal doesn’t have much time, i take comfort in thinking maybe they will be best buds and be partners in crime forever
Mary says
I am so sorry you lost your adorable Lucy. So hard to lose these furry family members. You were the best pawrents to her.
Judy says
You totally made the right decision to stay close to home. It would be nice if you and HH take a little trip together.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I remember Miss Lucy as a puppy.
My favorite memory: in her little life jacket on the boat. I could see her joy.
Take care.
Cheryl says
Your peony border is just beautiful and I bet they smell awesome. I have them on the south side, east side and north side as well. I plant daisies in between them so I have color after the peonies die off.
Some of mine have been there for 40 years. One interesting thing? Every year when I cut some and bring them in the house, they have lots of ants on them. This year? None. I have heard that ants help them open but now I just don’t know. hmmmm
I imagine you can just plant the arborvitae with the nest in it.
Molly says
So sorry for your loss. Our Fur Babies leave such a huge hole in our hearts when they must leave.