Milo and the Big Butt chair…

Big butt~ before

We’ve recently been bit by a bug…

Milo...

the world hopping millennium bug came to our casa via the post man

all the way from visiting Java Junie in Michigan

{Read about this little blog hopping bug

and his world adventureshere}

Right to work he went…The colorful little insect

finishing the Big Butt chair.

had to take off his handmade fur coat… it’s Florida for heaven’s sakes.

...little stuffed plumbers crack and all

Let me tell ya...

This little bug can haul hammer

Bigg Butt has two different fabrics

a linen{ish} on the outside and back…and

the tropical colored IKAT on the inside.

Thank Milo for the nail heads

Even bugs need 15 minute breaks

osha standards and all...

Whoa! maybe 15 second ones

adhd much, Milo man?

how much do you love that little handmade hat?

I am awaiting more nailheads…for the bottom the back…and then

the Bigg Butt will finally and happily be d o n e

wooooohoooo.

the D word.

{Pillow? You ask? had it made here}

Did you hear that Milo?

Milo?

Milo!?!

Not the big black dog cookies….

oooomph.

medic?!?

*Joining Susan for Metamorphis Monday...find some amazing before and after's Here*

Germany Is Just Around the Corner

Map is courtesy of About.com

I'm starting to get excited about an upcoming trip. We are going to Germany for spring break and to celebrate my 30th wedding anniversary! The idea came up about 4 weeks ago and April seemed so far away but now March is here.

My oldest son and daughter-in-law live in Germany and we are taking our grandgirls with us for a spring break visit. We have travel plans galore though I am a little worried about traveling over Easter. Many of the places may be closed because Good Friday and Easter Monday are official holidays in Germany. We have secured hotel stays (except for one night) but hopefully we can get this resolved this week. If things go as planned we will be visiting France (Strasbourg) and traveling down the Romantic Road. Tourism is easy when the country designates travel routes such as The Romantic Road and The Fairy Tale Road.

We had planned to take the girls to Charleston for Spring Break until this opportunity came along. I must say that I am going to miss the warm beach break but I can't wait to explore Bavaria!

I have a work trip to D.C. before our vacation and there is a very special exhibit I hope to squeeze while in D.C. Can't wait to tell you about that. Meanwhile I'll keep planning and dreaming about fairytale castles, half-timbered houses and the Alps.

The FETE DU CITRON is happening in Menton France. I hope to one day visit during the festival but in the meantime I participate online visiting here.

When Sir Cedric and Lady B Came Calling

I have not had the bone china tea service out for them or fed them wafer thin cucumber, crusts cut off sandwiches. No there's no standing on ceremony here as Cedric and Lady B are both standing out in the garden tonight. During the last few days the postie has delivered two more named snowdrops to add to my small but growing collection. Both these 'drops are relatively easy to grow. I already have 'Lady B' but a few snowdrops in my collection are suffering from that dreadful disease of lost labellus. I am trying to get some order in the chaos and this time I will be more organised with my labelling, so I can be sure that it's definitely her rather than probably her.

Galanthus 'Cedric's Prolific' was given to Beth Chatto by her great friend and mentor Sir Cedric Morris. He was a Welsh artist and eminent plantsman, who from 1940 until his death in 1982, ran the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing from his house Benton End in Suffolk. His work as a horticulturalist resulted in a number of plants being names after him including dianthus 'Cedric's Oldest', the Benton series of irises, narcissus minor 'Cedric Morris', papaver orientale 'Cedric Morris' and rosa 'Sir Cedric Morris'. He gave Beth Chatto many plants. One form of galanthus elwesii in particular was distinct and vigorous enough to warrant her naming it as galanthus elwesii 'Cedric's Prolific'. It lives up to its name by increasing rapidly. My Cedrics have come directly from Beth Chatto's nursery.

'Lady Beatrix Stanley' is an early flowering double snowdrop from the garden of Lady Beatrix Stanley at Sibbertoft Manor near Market Harborough. As well as growing snowdrops she grew other bulbous plants. She is also remembered by iris histrioides 'Lady Beatrix Stanley' ~



Any tips on photographing snowdrops would be most welcome as most of my efforts result either in blurry blobs or the whiteness looks much too harsh.

So…Do you all…

Ever save images…and title them something like…

Living room inspiration…with no other credits?

Is it just me?

SO…as I wait for my nailheads and wax to come…to finish two other projects...

I peruse a bunch of LR inspiration pics

and I’m not sure what I loved

something in each of them, undoubtedly.

I recently found some Benjamin Moore Aura paint in Marscapone

yum...i am sooo distarcted by the name of paint...you?

that I plan to paint our LR and maybe foyer with...

just splotched it on...like?

Maybe that is why I saved this image...

Aha… no. This one is for the shelves…painted white. I plan on that.

watch me experiment…more splotching...

This one above is for the art…I am sure...We have an abundance of mismatched art

that I love in all of it's mismatched glory….that I want up. This one has been leaning behind the couch

tsk tsk

I think this one above was for the big art. maybe.

I’m getting confrused, scooby.

Do you all do this?

Do you all have any suggestions?

Do you all know whose images these are?…cause I would love to note them. Really.

Playing Mr. Right

My niece is a finalist in a student ambassador program sponsored by the Japan America Society of Georgia. It is truly an exciting opportunity and we are waiting to hear this week if she will be one of the four students selected to represent Georgia on a trip to Japan this summer. The Japan America Society pays all expenses for the students on this two-week trip.

The final interviews were over the weekend and I was lucky enough to tag along to observe. A part of the interview process were group games, and one of the games was Mr. Right. I'm forever looking for icebreakers type activities and this one was so much fun to watch. In the attached video the kids are untying the human knot. Unfortunately I was laughing too much at watching the confusion playing "Mr. Right" so I failed to tape it. Thought you might enjoy watching the kids try to untangle. You also might enjoy playing Mr. Right!

To play the game, participants need to be standing in a circle. Each participant needs to have one small object in their hand. The leader then reads the passage below in italics. Each time the players hears the word "left" they pass the object to the left and each time they hear "right" they pass to the object to the right. It is that easy - or not.

This is the story of the Right family. Last night the Right family went to see a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins. They left the house at 6:00, right after the family finished dinner. Mr. Right drove everyone to the game in the red family van, which is always parked on the left side of the garage. In the van were Mrs. Right Bobbie Right, Katie Right and Joey Right. As they drove down the street, Mrs. Right waved to Lisa, their neighbor, who lives two houses down on the left. She was watering her garden on yhe right side of her house. As the right family approached Fenway Park, Mr. Right exclaimed, "I can't remember where I left the tickets!" Joey Right said, " Dad, I saw you put them in your right-hand pocket." Mr. Right checked but they were not there. Katie said, "No Dad, that isn't right. You left the tickets with me for safe keeping. I have them right here in my purse." What a relief," said Mr. Right as he turned left into the stadium parking lot. Joey almost left his baseball glove in the van, but right when Mr. Right was about to lock the doors , he remember he had left it under his seat. The Right family had to wait in line a bit, but finally made it to their seats in left field. As they sad down, Mr. Right looked to his left at the whole Right family and smiled. He had made the right decision in getting tickets for the game.

Golden Grass in the Sunset!

Church Top

Coco Bongo

'Big Wheel Keep On Turning'

F IS FOR?





FERRIS WHEEL!

This is the Ferris wheel which graced Liverpool's Chavasse Park in December last year, providing much fun for families and friends alike. A more permanent structure is to be erected on Liverpool's fabulous water front later this year.

For more on the letter F fly over to ABC Wednesday.

"When Skies Are Low And Days Are Dark"

When skies are low
and days are dark,
and frost bites
like a hungry shark,
when mufflers muffle
ears and nose,
and puffy sparrows
huddle close -
how nice to know
that February
is something purely
temporary.

~ Niels Mogen Bodecker, 1922- 1988.

I LOVE this guy’s work. You will too…

...I’m pretty sure.

No words even needed.

Photographer Jacob Termansen.

Just THAT good.

Really. Really.

Ear,Ear

Give me an hour or so pottering in the garden at this time of the year any day. It beats mid summer gardening hands down. Fingers might be dropping off, nose might be running etc., etc but oh it does such wonders for the spirit. This morning's snow showers gave rise to a decent enough day so I have spent some time outside. Hampered by coat, scarf and gloves I have not actually achieved much. I did briefly take the gloves off and sowed my first seeds of the year (onions Rijnsburger and Red Baron) but mainly I just mooched, looked and made plans. Whilst looking I came across this fungi growing on the bark of a rather dilapidated buddleia. I have come across this before but never in the garden. It looks quite disgusting but fascinating at the same time.



I think that it's time to remove the shrub as despite bearing a few leaves it does not look like it will flourish again. Wonder if I can persuade himself to do aforesaid deed. It does not require his strength but I am worried that I might topple over. Would that I were twenty years again and more athletic. Then who am I kidding - have never been athletic. Our garden has a small stream on one boundary - aforesaid fungied shrub is just on the edge of a rather disconcerting drop down to the stream. I have visions of falling in and floating off, as in the above painting of 'The Lady of Shalott' by Millais. I would certainly not look as romantic as I wended my way downstream to the nearest culvert.



Back in the warmth now feeling reinvigorated. Hopefully there will be more opportunity to get out over the weekend. If not with the arrival of the March editions of 'The Gardener' and ' Gardens Illustrated' and a book to read before Tuesday's reading group meeting, I am certainly not short of reading matter.

Soft buttery citrusy crunch….Lime in the coconut bars

A little spring for your soul.

snow chasers

My mother made these…with a recipe from her sister waaaay up in Canada

They truly are lemon bars…but go ahead

use key limes…or plain limes

you have my complete permission.

But. Do. Not. Skip. The. Coconut.

thank you

Combine:

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter

Crumble with hands and press into a 9X9 pan

Bake at 350 20 minutes

Then……

Mix 2 slightly beaten eggs

3TBSP of lemon juice…or more if you like things tart

1 C. sugar

2Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 Cup of coconut

1/4 tsp salt

pour over baked crust…pop back in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes….

~~~~~~~

If ya wanna be all pretty and all…sprinkle it with icing sugar…kinda like a teensy icing sugar snowfall.

Oh Heavens to Betsy as my Canadian born Mom is known to say say

These are coconutty lemony heaven.

truly!

Harvest Home

E IS FOR?



ENGINES!

We were enchanted by a display of agricultural engines and equipment at the Malvern Autumn Show last September. Eager to find more about the letter E then why not escape to ABC Wednesday, kindly hosted by Denise Nesbitt.

A little green…a little warm

Just because... you may need it

From my favorite landscape architect

Made Wijaya

Wrap yourself in it.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - February 2010

I have just been peeking at my first my very first Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post which was a year ago. There is less colour in the garden today which is not surprising after such a cold winter. The stars of the show at the moment are definitely the snowdrops. It was a cool and damp morning and the single flowered snowdrops had decided not to cooperate, with flowers remaining closed. The doubles were making more of an effort ~



My named snowdrops are again later in coming to bloom but there should be plenty on a variation of theme of whiteness soon. The pot below is of galanthus ‘Ginns Imperati’ which is a particularly strongly scented variety ~



I have still to plant my recently purchased hellebore 'Walberton's Rosemary' (below) whilst the older residents have started to plump up nicely and show colour ~



Before more rain stopped play a welcome warming influence from hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena' ~



I felt guilty as I forgot all about her when I took part in Rebecca's recent 'A Rainbow Invitation' meme - how could I?

and finally especially for Frances over at Fairegarden I have lots of this ~



Looking forward to seeing what's blooming in other parts of the planet over at May Dreams Gardens, kindly hosted by Carol on the fifteenth of each month.