I survived...

I know that I haven't been very good about posting lately. Well, this is why! I've spent a couple weeks getting ready for my moving sale. It came, it went, and I am so happy to be rid of the crap. I mean, stuff. After the sale, my mom (bless her heart) helped me inventory and then we boxed it up and donated it to the Cancer Society thrift store. It felt a little like that t.v. show "Clean Sweep"!

This is just part of what my living room has looked like... don't worry, I did NOT sell the little pink house! I've actually packed it all up and have it boxed and labelled for the move. I wish the big house was as easy to pack! I've been a little overwhelmed with this move, but also excited. This move is going to be a big deal for me... I'll fill you in on the next post! Stay tuned!

Welcome...

Hello, friends! I have 20 followers now! Wow! I'm so excited to welcome my newest friends:

Rosanna, a very talented miniaturist- lives in Italy-- and creates the most beautiful needlework pillows! (Among many other mini's-- but the pillows are my absolute favorites!)

The French Bear, creates the most wonderful vintage inspired bears... and noodles! She's a true artist- such great detail to her work!

Casey, another very talented, creative miniaturist! I love following the adventures of her mini dolls, Tessie and Zar. Her blog adds a wonderful whimsy to my day!

And Trinity, "A mother of 4, wife of 1" (I just love that line!) She loves vintage finds and creative baking. Her post about her grandfather was so heartfelt, it brought tears to my eyes. (I love my grandpa too)

Welcome, sweet friends!

Meet Hagrid...

Yes, this is my baby boy, Hagrid Jack Patrick, otherwise known as Haggie, Haggie-Jack, Hagimus Maximus, Hagus, and Boo-boo. He will be two years old on September 9th, and I think he weighs around 70lbs. He loves to go in the car, go to the dog park, go on walks, and go to work! Yes, I get to take him to work! I work at two nursing homes and an adult day health center. He gets to go to the nursing homes. He's been banned from the day center, but that's a long story...
Anyway, the residents at the nursing homes love him! Some of them even want him to lay on their beds next to them, and he's always happy to do so. I find that the people that love him the most are the ones that have had to give up their own dogs when they transitioned to long term care. I'm happy to share Haggie with them-- he's got lots of love to spread around!

My therapy garden...

I have a great career... I do occupational therapy. I'm lucky that in one of the settings I work in, I have a therapy garden. It's a wonderful therapy modality to treat standing balance, fine motor coordination, and cognitive skills. I'm really blessed to work with wonderful participants who have various levels of abilities. It's great to see them blossom just the same as the garden itself! So, anyway-- I'll take you on a little tour!
As you can see, we have raised planter beds. This enables people who are in wheelchairs, or have back or balance problems to be able to participate.


These are "Shirley Poppies"... they're one of my favorites. They remind me of crepe paper flowers! They re-seed themselves every year. They look pretty weedy until they actually bloom, but the payoff is great when they do bloom!

Can you believe how tall these sunflowers are?! They're taller than the awning! We've planted various bell peppers on the front row... and nasturtiums too. I love to mix flowers in with the veggies.

Here's a close-up of a flower pot... petunias, Marguerite daisies, and salvia.

And here's a close-up of our tallest sunflower... the variety is called "Mammoth".

...And here's some more sunflowers. I think this variety is called "Autumn Sunset" or something like that.

...More "Shirley Poppies"... with a zinnia hiding in the back.

...And of course, some lavender. Oh! You can't really see in the pictures, but we have about five heirloom tomato plants, a zucchini plant, and a pattipan squash plant. We also have a variety of fruit trees. I'll update you with some photos, as things start to really produce.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed my little tour! Have a wonderful weekend!

Welcome, sweet friends...

A very warm welcome to new followers: Teresa, Vicky, Marlene, Mercedes, and Claudia. Teresa, Vicky, Marlene, and Mercedes are all wonderfully talented miniaturists. I don't know if Claudia is a miniaturist, but I do know that she is a kindred spirit. When I visited her blog, she had me at the banner... such a beautiful blog-- with lots of the eye-candy I love! And hey- her glasses are my favorite color! So cute!

Thank you so much-- all of you-- for tuning into my little blog out here. You all inspire me!

Meet Meg...

You probably recognize Meg from my profile-- yes, that is not a picture of me on my profile! Meg likes to garden, just like me. In fact, at any given moment you can find her carrying a pot of flowers. Actually, it's not just because she loves gardening-- the pot is actually glued to her hand!

Here's Meg in her kitchen. Looks like she needs to water that pot of flowers!

Here's a better look at the right side of her kitchen-- don't you love that red kitchen step-stool-chair? My friend, Kathy, gave it to me for my birthday last year and I LOVE it!

Meg likes to bake peanut butter cookies! If you look super, super close you can see the fork marks on each cookie! Marsha from Sassy Mini Dolls surprised us with this peanut butter cookie baking set that she made. Meg says, "Thank you, Marsha!".

Oh- and don't you just love Meg's cropped pants and cute sandals? That was the clincher when I was trying to chose a resident for the little pink house. I thought, "She actually dresses like me!"

I think she's a great fit for the little pink house. Meg does think that she needs children in her home, so I'll be bringing her some little ones soon.

I hope you are all having a good week. I'm in the process of buying a people-size home... waiting for the seller to approve my acceptance of the counter-offer! I'm very excited... and a little anxious. I'm a first time home buyer (at 42 years old!) and this has been a goal of mine for so long. So far, it's been a good experience. Amazing things falling into place at just the right time. I feel really blessed.

Well, I must go now... but I'll be back tomorrow to welcome my new followers!
Mini hugs!