Olive!!!!

Olive Louise

 has arrived 

and 

she is

 wonderful!!!!

Love ya'll,

Sheen

I've a sweetheart I love, so dearly—
      She's all that is lovely and fair!—
      Her eyes are as blue as the bluebells
      Though, as yet, she hasn't much hair.
Her mouth is like a tiny rose bud,
      Just asking for kisses from me;
      And her sweet smiles are always ready
      To break forth for each one to see.
Oh, my little, innocent sweetheart
      Is the fairest flower that I know!
      I'm sure that she's loved by the Angels;
      They'll guard her where'er she may go.

~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham,

 "My Sweetheart" (1940s)

Grandparents

I am going to take some time off to practice being a grandparent!! I probably won't be able to resist posting a picture of Olive, but James and I are going to be spending our time rocking, burping, and adoring our new granddaughter. Until then, I leave you with these this story about my parents in their role as grandparents.

My nephew, Thomas, loved pecans when he was a little boy. Not having a pecan tree, my parents would by sacks of uncracked pecans to sprinkle around the yard every time Thomas came to stay with them. He spent many a happy hour picking up pecans, shelling, and eating them with his grandparents. Thank goodness he didn't go into forestry where he would have embarrassed himself when he identified the leaves of a river birch as a pecan tree!

 

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. 

~Alex Haley

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Sunday Schoolism Plus #11: Happy Easter

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

                                                                                                                  Isaiah 54:10

In The Greenhouse

 I've been working out in the greenhouse. You might remember my disastrous foray into seed propagation last year. I had the whole operation set up in my kitchen. What a mess! The seeds germinated, but without the proper light; well, let's just say it went down hill from there.

This year with a combination of winter sowing outside and new grow-lights inside the hothouse, I have had much better results. Most of all it has been so much fun!!! A Master Gardener, chicken- raising friend and I were recently talking and we decided that there is just something wonderful about caring for little things like chicks and seedlings.

These seeds were winter sown outside in this spinach container from the grocery store. Once they put on their first set of true leaves, I transplanted them into bigger pots.

These coleus seeds were started in the greenhouse.

Zinnias and hollyhocks in the greenhouse.

Things are moving right along.

Moving into the garden today...
Late freeze stay away!!!!

Love ya'll, 

Shelli

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn. 

~Lewis Grizzard 

Tulips

I am really enjoying this beautiful spring weather as I know you are.  I know that all of my gardening friends are out in their yards happily puttering around.  

 My front flower beds did well this year. I added hyacinths to the regular mix of pansies and tulips. The hyacinth bulbs were thrown into the refrigerator with the tulips bulbs back in October.

You can sort of make out the hyacinths in the front. They are multi -colored and smelled divine.

The tulips are blooming here, but the hyacinths were beaten down by the 20 inches of rain.

 Now the whole point of this post is to say that although there are beautiful bulbs to order from wonderful bulb catalogs and I am sure there are superior varieties that would take your breath away, I am always perfectly happy with the bulbs I buy at Fred's or Walmart.

Love Ya'll, 

Shelli

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. 

~Confucius

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.

 ~Robert Louis Stevenson

I’m just a simple guy, I live from day to day. A ray of sunshine melts my frown and blows my blues away. 

~Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Bonham,

 "Out On The Tiles" (Led Zeppelin)

Wreaths With Friends

Recently, my sister, Carole, and her dearest friend, Kelly, came to Turkey Creek Garden to spend the night. We fed the chickens, sat around the fire pit drinking homemade muscadine wine, and tackled a project. We are just project women - dog hair and potato peelings women. It's in our blood.

You may remember the picture above from the Northwest Louisiana Master Gardener's Seminar. Those cute little "zinnias" are made from pine cones that have been cut in half and painted with simple craft paints. My friend, Kit Hanley, took this idea and made an adorable wreath with it.

 Kit has a great decorating style and I love everything she does. When Carole and Kelly said they were coming to visit, I knew exactly what our craft should be - a Kit Hanley pine cone wreath!

I gathered and cut the pine cones before the girls arrived. Using my big, long handled pruners made cutting the pine cones in half very easy. We painted the pine cones Friday night after supper.  We gave them two coats. Setting them in egg cartons made them much easier to paint.

 Notice that we painted the bottoms of some cones and the open, cut side of others.

They dried over night. The next morning, they got a coat of high gloss, clear shellac. Then we used moss, dried flowers, and bird nests purchased at Hobby Lobby to complete our wreaths.

We worked outside in the garden because this part of the project was MESSY!! In the end ours weren't as cute as Kit's, but we were still proud of our accomplishment!

Love ya'll, 

Shelli

Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend. 

~Plautus

It is a good thing to be rich, and it is a good thing to be strong, but it is a better thing to be loved of many friends. 

~Euripides

A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad. 

~Arnold H. Glasgow

Sunday Schoolism Plus #10: They Are New Every Morning

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness!
                                                                                       Lamentations 3: 22-23